WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.410 --> 00:00:06.249
Tom Wilde: Okay, hey, everybody, we are live.

2
00:00:06.430 --> 00:00:09.980
Tom Wilde: We're back. Thanks for joining us for the next session

3
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:18.900
Tom Wilde: in Crime Writers week. So we're on day 4 out of 5 and we've got a great one for you right now, before we do that, I'm going to

4
00:00:19.398 --> 00:00:43.330
Tom Wilde: ask you to do the usual, and just add where you're joining us from in chat so that we can see how wide and far our audiences spread today. Sunny, your first, st you win a prize Steve from Texas back again, Barbara, were you on my 1st session today? From Victoria? I wonder which? Victoria that is

5
00:00:43.771 --> 00:00:53.460
Tom Wilde: and we've got New Zealand. Hi, Becky, from New Zealand, Christia from Nyc. Awesome. Thank you for joining us to scat Saskatoon, Canada.

6
00:00:53.660 --> 00:01:05.190
Tom Wilde: In fact, I this I should have mentioned this earlier, Tom. We had someone from Mississauga earlier on joining our earlier session. I've given the whole thing away now. Alright.

7
00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:22.050
Tom Wilde: Thanks again for everyone for joining while we wait for last few people to to to join and post in chat. I'm just gonna run through the usual kind of joining instructions usual.

8
00:01:22.334 --> 00:01:37.979
Tom Wilde: God, I've I'm I've I've lost my train of thought already, but you know the usual housekeeping. That's what I mean. Oh, and I've got one. Ask for you, please, as well. We'd love to get your feedback. So I'm gonna post a link to a feedback server. If you've been part of Crime Week.

9
00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:53.869
Tom Wilde: and any capacity so far, please take a few moments just to give us some feedback. You can do that right after this session, or or after the week's finish, is totally up to you. But we'd love to get your feedback. Alright. Let's get in and let me share my screen so that we can have a look through

10
00:01:53.910 --> 00:01:55.890
Tom Wilde: housekeeping points.

11
00:01:55.960 --> 00:01:57.529
Tom Wilde: So here we go.

12
00:01:58.190 --> 00:02:26.790
Tom Wilde: replays everyone also about replays. Obviously, they're gonna be added to the hub page. So you should all be familiar with the crime rice this week. Hub page they will be there as soon as they have been processed by zoom that can take a few hours. It can take 24 h, but they will be there. We guarantee it replays will also be available on the Pro. Writing a community page for all members. I think Tom's also provided a copy of his slide, so you'll get all those bits and pieces for you to view

13
00:02:26.790 --> 00:02:32.570
Tom Wilde: after the event. Don't forget. This is the last of our 4 days

14
00:02:32.972 --> 00:02:59.630
Tom Wilde: for free days. If you want to attend the Friday, it's for premium and premium pro users only you can upgrade. So if you're a free user. We love all users. But if you wanna upgrade to premium and premium pro, you can do that by Friday morning and you'll get access. You'll get a an email with instructions for attending the live sessions and viewing all the replays tomorrow, and we've got a little incentive, and I'll go into that in a second.

15
00:02:59.630 --> 00:03:10.090
Tom Wilde: Oh, here is already 15% off premium or premium pro you'll probably be familiar. The differences between the free and premium and premium pro versions of pro writing A

16
00:03:10.090 --> 00:03:16.320
Tom Wilde: with premium and premium pro you get to see advanced suggestions. You get author comparisons.

17
00:03:16.370 --> 00:03:43.170
Tom Wilde: full integrations for Scribner word and many more desktop and web applications. You get more access to rephrase AI sparks and critique, which most of you will be familiar with by now. You get to look at larger analysis larger text analysis. So you can review whole chapters and manuscripts. Manuscripts. Excuse me rather than just 500 words at a time.

18
00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:47.429
Tom Wilde: and you get to use things like snippets, dictionaries, style guide rules, and more

19
00:03:47.650 --> 00:03:49.170
Tom Wilde: to access, or to

20
00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:58.059
Tom Wilde: take advantage of the discount. The discount code is CWW. 2, 0 2, 4. So that sounds for crime writers week 2024.

21
00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:02.650
Tom Wilde: If you put that in on the purchase page where it says promo code.

22
00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:12.890
Tom Wilde: you will get 15% discounted of premium and premium pro licenses, and that offer runs until July the 6.th So please feel free to take advantage of that

23
00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:41.510
Tom Wilde: at your leisure. Right? If you wanna keep talking about crime writing, please also join our community. Okay, there are thousands of great for writing aid users in the community. Lots of chats, lots of forms being run, and you'll see lots of events notifications for future events there, too. So you can see the link there. I will post the link to the community in chat towards the end of the session, too. So don't worry if you haven't had time to note that down.

24
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:48.969
Tom Wilde: And then, just for this session, just a reminder. Please use the question and answer the Q. And a

25
00:04:49.453 --> 00:05:04.280
Tom Wilde: feature on zoom. If you want to ask Tom a question, chat is often quite busy, so we may miss that question. There will be time at the end. Plenty of time at the end for questions, Tom. So yeah, please

26
00:05:04.380 --> 00:05:18.359
Tom Wilde: do that. If you want to have chat with other viewers. Other attendees, and absolutely chat is the place for that. We love to see all the back channel conversations going on at the time. It's always heartening to see how you guys help each other.

27
00:05:18.460 --> 00:05:36.099
Tom Wilde: and finally links to other offers from the speakers. So from Tom, will be available at crime writers week Hub, and we'll post that also in chat towards the end, I think with that I am pretty much done. I'm going to stop my share. I'm going to post a link to that

28
00:05:36.768 --> 00:05:40.189
Tom Wilde: survey in chat, and I'll follow up

29
00:05:40.200 --> 00:05:43.850
Tom Wilde: with other links towards the end of the session. But

30
00:05:43.930 --> 00:05:53.549
Tom Wilde: onto the main event, and I'm really delighted to have Tom Mcgee here from Wp. Today. I've got to know Tom a little bit over the last few months.

31
00:05:53.650 --> 00:06:18.510
Tom Wilde: and I've got to know what pat a whole lot better. It's a fantastic platform, and Tom is a a really interesting speaker with lots to talk about. So I'm really excited to be hosting this one. I think you're gonna get lost out of here. Just a quick introduction to Tom. So Tom, when he helps all he helps. Writers of all kinds tell the best version of their story possible. He's the creators and content development lead

32
00:06:18.510 --> 00:06:24.359
Tom Wilde: pad where he oversees team that help hundreds of writers hone their craft with both

33
00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:29.169
Tom Wilde: storytelling advice and learn how to succeed in a web novel environment.

34
00:06:29.270 --> 00:06:34.279
Tom Wilde: Previously Tom worked as a dramaturge, helping playwrights develop the script.

35
00:06:34.330 --> 00:06:59.499
Tom Wilde: An award winning actor, puppeteer, director, writer, and producer of Indy, Theater, Toronto, a communications and crisis consultant specializing in storytelling, and he recently taught playwrighting to at Queen's University. In fact, he's got ma in theater studies from University of Toronto and A. BA in drama and classics from queens. I love this part. Tom grew up on murder, she wrote, who didn't.

36
00:06:59.650 --> 00:07:19.689
Tom Wilde: Also Nero Wolf and Sherlock Holmes. He loves a good crime story. Tom was also the long suffering showrunner, dungeon, and dungeon, master of dum, dums and dragons. Can they, Canada? So Canada's biggest D and D live play, podcast and several other shows with his company, dum dums, and dice.

37
00:07:19.760 --> 00:07:41.511
Tom Wilde: He lives in Mississauga. I hope I pronounce that correctly, Ontario, Canada, with his wife, toddler, and a stack of unread mystery, books that horn his waking hours. So true. Who hasn't minor hidden behind that screen, Tom? Great to have you great to have you with us? Really delighted to have you talking one of our weeks?

38
00:07:41.890 --> 00:07:50.239
Tom Wilde: we. I'm not going to say anything else. I'm going to hand the floor over to you. I'm going to sit in the background and and just watch and listen over to you.

39
00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:55.290
Tom McGee: Thanks so much, Tom. And thank you for that. The lovely introduction. I

40
00:07:55.817 --> 00:08:14.369
Tom McGee: yeah, I it's been my absolute pleasure chatting with you about stuff. Pro writing aid has long been my go to grammar checker, both of my own writing and in my professional life. So yeah, it's it's really great to be here. And thank you all so much for for joining us today from around the world. That's super super exciting. I hope those of you who are in heat dome are

41
00:08:14.760 --> 00:08:33.860
Tom McGee: surviving. And thank you. I got sure compliments, too. So that's lovely. Alright, I'm gonna jump right into this and we'll get going. And yes, as Tom mentioned, lots of time for questions afterwards, happy to chat about whatever. But 1st and foremost, let's do this presentation. So we get that under

42
00:08:34.150 --> 00:08:41.150
Tom McGee: about. So here we go. I'm gonna do the usual. Zoom, is it working? It looks like it's working dance. Okay? Wonderful.

43
00:08:41.809 --> 00:08:55.889
Tom McGee: So thank you all once again for attending and welcome to serialized killers. How to expand your story into a series now before I mentioned who I am, although, Tom, just give me a great introduction. I wanted to ensure that if you only remember one thing from this workshop. You remember this?

44
00:08:57.690 --> 00:08:59.429
Tom McGee: Nope, it's not going

45
00:09:00.280 --> 00:09:02.859
Tom McGee: such an intro, such a fail. There we go.

46
00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:06.810
Tom McGee: Modern readers have an enormous number of stories to choose from.

47
00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:15.840
Tom McGee: They often have high cognitive load going into a story, and this cognitive load must be managed. They're reading on a device they are likely a distracted reader.

48
00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:26.349
Tom McGee: So developing a series helps you leverage the work you've already done, and it helps a reader with the problems of choice cognitive load and distraction. It's a win-win for you and the reader.

49
00:09:26.930 --> 00:09:41.000
Tom McGee: But in order for a series to succeed, you need strong characters with clear goals, motivation, conflict, and stakes or Gmcs. And a plotting model that will help you move the series. Plot forward and ensure readers, come along for the ride

50
00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.829
Tom McGee: today. We'll be talking about how you can do that for your crime or mystery story.

51
00:09:45.120 --> 00:10:13.423
Tom McGee: So by way of introduction again, Tom, just give you a wonderful intro here. I'd also written one which is super awkward now. So I'm just gonna skip mine but as Tom mentioned I've spent my whole life trying to help writers tell the best version of their story possible, even if that means ignoring my advice. So I make that same offer to you. If something I'm saying makes sense to you if it's really clicking with your style, or what you're trying to do. Amazing if what I'm saying doesn't. That's fine, too. This is just kind of what I've seen and and how I think about things.

52
00:10:13.915 --> 00:10:37.984
Tom McGee: And the main reason I want to include a bio in all this is because it's important to me that you kind of understand where I'm coming from and what my frame of reference is. Also forgive me in advance, for how many times I say audience instead of reader today the theater, Kid and me dies very hard as Tom mentioned. Crime and Mystery stories are near and dear to my heart. Is raised on a steady diet of murder, she wrote. Neil Wolf, Sherlock Holmes old the Shadow radio serials.

53
00:10:38.230 --> 00:10:53.919
Tom McGee: and of course, Scooby doo, which I'm now watching with my toddler. So mysteries are fresh in my mind. I mentioned these again because I will be touching on some of them throughout, and I want to give you kind of a sense of of what's influenced me the most in my kind of core of understanding, of of mystery and crime.

54
00:10:54.351 --> 00:11:12.190
Tom McGee: Also, the best crime book I've read recently is Essay Cosby's Blacktop Wasteland, but a retired wheelman has come back for one last job can't recommend it highly enough, and it's a crime novel that lives rent free in my head right now. So I want to make sure I pass that along as well. It's an absolutely amazing read. I get no commission from saying this. I just

55
00:11:12.350 --> 00:11:19.899
Tom McGee: really like it. So, as I said, I mentioned all this mostly because I want you to understand my frame of reference, and where I'm coming from.

56
00:11:20.170 --> 00:11:25.350
Tom McGee: and the perspective and learning that I've gained through a career of working with writers and thinking about such things.

57
00:11:25.949 --> 00:11:51.160
Tom McGee: At Whatpad. So for those of you who are unfamiliar, Wattpad is a web novel platform. This is where writers can post their stories often chapter by chapter, for readers to engage with for free. Now the engagement piece goes beyond reading, as readers are also able to leave comments which creates an immediate feedback that writers seldom get, and, as you can imagine, that comes with all the good and bad of getting immediate feedback from people who are just reading and interacting with your story.

58
00:11:51.160 --> 00:12:07.767
Tom McGee: We also have a monetized program called Wattpad originals that allows writers to earn from their stories and readers to use coins to unlock chapters or full books, part of an ecosystem that includes web tune, Watt tune studios that adapts our stories into film and television. And our parent company web tune that deals mostly in web comics

59
00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:19.249
Tom McGee: primarily in web comics exclusively in webcomics. Now, web novel style is the primary style and format on whatpad. And you're gonna hear me talk about this a lot as we go.

60
00:12:19.250 --> 00:12:40.489
Tom McGee: Unlike traditionally published novels, web novels are built specifically for reading, either on an app or website. And this includes, considering chapter length, the need for immediacy. And a reader who's reading on their phone. As I mentioned before, a distracted reader, this style is built to be immediately engaging and to feature commercial tropes that help a reader decide that of all the things they could do on their phone.

61
00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:42.040
Tom McGee: this is the story for them.

62
00:12:42.140 --> 00:13:07.249
Tom McGee: Now, what I'm gonna talk about today is drawn from web novel style on what pad? Because that's what I'm the expert at. But it is not exclusive to it. I'd also argue that in today's world, where we have so much entertainment content available to us at all times and in all formats. It's worth considering this, even if you want to be traditionally published. After all, our phones are never very far away, even with a book in hand, as Tom and my shame pile of crime novels will attest

63
00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:23.999
Tom McGee: now the big disclaimer. I'm from Wattpad, and I'm going to speak to the things I've seen working in my time there and in my previous careers. But you do not need to post your story to Whatpad. In fact, I would highly encourage you to consider if it's the right home for your work, which we'll talk a bit more about at the end.

64
00:13:24.338 --> 00:13:43.030
Tom McGee: You may be familiar with some or all of these concepts. And that's okay. We always wanted to find these things so that you can understand how we're thinking and speaking about them, to set a a baseline of mutual understanding so that if we're mentioning something like Gmcs. We all understand what I mean by that, even if you have a slightly different definition.

65
00:13:43.050 --> 00:14:04.210
Tom McGee: Also, there's no right or wrong way to do that. All I could do is speak to what I've seen work again. It may work for you, it may not. I just want to give you some options. And finally, and most importantly, you know what's best for your vision of the story, as I often tell writers at the end of the day, no matter who you've received feedback from, whether that's a reader, whether that's a friend or family member, or even your editor.

66
00:14:04.400 --> 00:14:17.230
Tom McGee: you have to wear it. It's your story. And you ultimately need to make the decisions that will make you comfortable with what the end result of the story is. So, as I said, some of this works for you. Amazing if it doesn't, that's fine, too, just here to provide options.

67
00:14:17.710 --> 00:14:21.070
Tom McGee: So with all that in mind, let's talk about series.

68
00:14:21.710 --> 00:14:33.190
Tom McGee: So none of our series conversation will matter if the 1st story doesn't hook a reader strongly enough for them to want more stories in that universe. To get to series, we need to start with story.

69
00:14:34.530 --> 00:14:46.569
Tom McGee: So again, this is going to sound very basic. But I cannot stress how important this is from all of my experience with acquisition and the success of stories on Wapad. The 1st thing your story needs is a strong hook.

70
00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:53.140
Tom McGee: The hook is the 1st major event in a story that sets the tone, establishes the characters and gives the readers something to invest in.

71
00:14:53.250 --> 00:15:17.640
Tom McGee: The successful hook is emotional, specific and establishes the stakes and tone of the story. These are high tension, high emotion, moments that immediately grab the readers interest and promise them a certain kind of reading experience. I know this is very common in mystery and crime stories, so I feel like I'm preaching to the choir a bit here. But starting a story on a note that's high tension, high action, high emotion, all the above is vital to ensuring that a reader doesn't leave.

72
00:15:17.850 --> 00:15:28.230
Tom McGee: As we discussed off the top breeders today are generally distracted. You can't trust that just because they've started reading something, they will stay. A strong hook is going to keep them reading

73
00:15:30.900 --> 00:15:52.959
Tom McGee: at the heart of a lot of story issues that I've seen as well is a lack of one of the key elements of writing engaging stories. As I mentioned, earlier goals, motivation, conflict, and stakes or Gmcs. Now, Gmcs. Is by no means a new concept, nor is it unique to web novels. But I'm going to be referencing it a lot. So I want to make sure we spend some time defining it and creating that shared understanding of it.

74
00:15:53.220 --> 00:16:07.049
Tom McGee: So goals, motivation, conflict, and stakes are the building blocks of plot, sometimes called a story engine. Well, none of these elements are themselves plot events. They create the conditions for plot to happen and to matter to the characters and the reader.

75
00:16:07.070 --> 00:16:10.199
Tom McGee: Strong Gmcs. Gives a forward Sir

76
00:16:10.350 --> 00:16:16.590
Tom McGee: Strong, Gmcs. Gives a story forward momentum and helps guide decision making, as writers decide what to write

77
00:16:17.110 --> 00:16:18.000
Tom McGee: goals.

78
00:16:18.140 --> 00:16:41.890
Tom McGee: the external thing the character wants to achieve, the thing they're moving towards. Characters are almost always conscious of their goals. The character does not need to achieve their goal in order for the story to be satisfying. But if the protagonist doesn't achieve their goal, they should ideally have some kind of change of heart about it. A character can have multiple goals throughout the course of the story, or a big goal that's broken down into smaller goals or goals that change and evolve in response to events.

79
00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:43.100
Tom McGee: Motivation?

80
00:16:43.160 --> 00:16:54.619
Tom McGee: Why the character does what they do. Motivation is usually tied to the protagonist characterization and or an event in their backstory. The goal is what is the what of the character's actions? Motivation is the why

81
00:16:55.300 --> 00:17:03.960
Tom McGee: conflict at the most basic conflict is a struggle between opposing forces or characters. In Watpad stories. This is usually created by having the protagonist

82
00:17:04.281 --> 00:17:14.790
Tom McGee: Is usually created by having is usually created by the protagonist having a goal that is blocked by some other force. The friction between the protagonist wanting something and trying to get it is the conflict.

83
00:17:14.800 --> 00:17:20.210
Tom McGee: Conflicts could be internal or external. Stories can lean harder on one or the other, or have a mix of both.

84
00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:47.159
Tom McGee: External conflict is when the blocks the character's goal is a person or force outside of their control. The story is about the protagonist defeating or failing to defeat the external block to achieve their goals. If the conflict is external, the story has an antagonist of some sort, either a person or force. Internal conflict is when a character struggles with their own beliefs, desires, and actions. The character is their own block to their goals, and the stories about them changing to be able to either achieve their goals or let it go

85
00:17:47.720 --> 00:18:00.220
Tom McGee: stakes. The consequences of the character's actions, their success or failure stakes answer the question, Why do these events matter which in my theater days was always the big improv question, why this? Why now.

86
00:18:00.280 --> 00:18:02.279
Tom McGee: why is this the day of days?

87
00:18:03.280 --> 00:18:13.190
Tom McGee: So, to sum up, Gmcs. The protagonist desires their goal because of their motivation, but the conflict prevents them from attaining it easily, which matters because of the stakes.

88
00:18:13.190 --> 00:18:37.259
Tom McGee: Now, again, these are the building blocks of stories, and I guarantee each and every one of you has heard some variation of this, or has already used this, but in the same way that airline pilots have to do all their individual pre-flight checks before they take off, no matter how many times they've done it. It's always worth us going back to these basic principles and making sure that they are explicit in our thinking. It's very easy for us to gain an intrinsic understanding of these things just kind of do them

89
00:18:37.260 --> 00:18:50.419
Tom McGee: naturally as we work on our stories, but the more we can think about them make them conscious and understand them, the more we can use all the tactics and tips we're going to be describing, or that you may have read in other resources, or even in some of these other webinars

90
00:18:50.470 --> 00:18:53.689
Tom McGee: to really maximize their impact on your story.

91
00:18:55.310 --> 00:18:59.749
Tom McGee: So here's another big disclaimer, the curious case of the unsuccessful genre.

92
00:18:59.820 --> 00:19:05.780
Tom McGee: I want to preface everything I'm about to say by saying that mystery is not a particularly successful genre on Watt.

93
00:19:06.110 --> 00:19:14.639
Tom McGee: We have some incredible mystery writers and crime stories on the platform. But mystery stories traditionally perform slightly lower than other genres.

94
00:19:15.100 --> 00:19:20.770
Tom McGee: The main. My main theory on this is that mystery, more than almost any other genre, requires trust.

95
00:19:20.860 --> 00:19:27.710
Tom McGee: Specifically, a reader needs to trust that the mystery will be solved or resolved before they commit to investing in the story

96
00:19:27.850 --> 00:19:36.080
Tom McGee: for an ongoing serialized story. This is a big ask of a writer or sorry, a big ask of a reader, particularly by a writer they may not have any history with.

97
00:19:36.090 --> 00:19:50.250
Tom McGee: with so many published stories that are guaranteed to resolve satisfyingly or not on physical bookshelves or in, you know, ebook stores around the world. It's harder to convince a reader to take the risk of reading an unfinished or unproven story

98
00:19:50.740 --> 00:20:06.929
Tom McGee: that said good hook and strong Gmcs. Help override this initial resistance and form trust with the reader by giving them a clear understanding of the story they're signing up for. You're making a promise to the reader, and they can decide if they are engaged enough by the hook and Gmcs. To go on the journey with you.

99
00:20:07.020 --> 00:20:14.430
Tom McGee: It indicates that you've considered your story and can bring it to a successful conclusion again, I can only speak to the Wadpad side of this, but

100
00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.910
Tom McGee: as any of you who have picked up a mystery that doesn't have a super strong hook can probably attest.

101
00:20:19.180 --> 00:20:27.050
Tom McGee: It's hard to decide whether or not you want to go all the way on that journey, so the more trust we could make, the better the promise we could make to our readers, the better.

102
00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:34.730
Tom McGee: So ultimately the question to a reader at the end of your 1st story will be, do I want more of this?

103
00:20:34.910 --> 00:20:53.219
Tom McGee: If your character, Gmcs. Is strong, or the tone or vibe of the story is strong, then the answer should be. Yes, they should be saying, I like this. I would like more, please. If the Gmcs. Of the main character didn't really hook me, I might have enjoyed the mystery, but I'd enjoy a completely different mystery with different characters written in the same way. Just as much

104
00:20:53.520 --> 00:21:02.250
Tom McGee: for a series. You're better served by maintaining characters across multiple stories. Even if the protagonist changes a good example, being different detectives in a precinct.

105
00:21:02.350 --> 00:21:17.649
Tom McGee: it reduces the cognitive load of your reader by giving them familiar elements to connect to, and saves you, needing to start from scratch each and every time, which, as I mentioned, is another chance for your readers to bail out of the story every time you have to cook up new character. Gmcs.

106
00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:24.139
Tom McGee: you have to hope that the your reader is just as interested in that new Gmcs as they were in the previous one.

107
00:21:24.540 --> 00:21:36.660
Tom McGee: The question to you as the person plotting the story should be, should there be more of this. If you can't find an overarching goal for your characters or world beyond this one specific story, it might make sense to wrap the story in one.

108
00:21:36.820 --> 00:21:57.509
Tom McGee: For example, I mentioned Black Top wasteland before Bug. The main character in that spot leaves a lot of questions and room for expansion, but also the ending completes his arc very, very cleanly. It could go on, but should it? In my experience, Cosby's books are self contained so for him the answer was No, and honestly for me as a reader the answer was, No, as well as much as I like. That character

109
00:21:57.510 --> 00:22:09.839
Tom McGee: where he ended up was great, and I think I would have been disappointed if we tried to stretch the story and build another piece on the back end. You can think of any movie or TV show you've seen that shouldn't have a sequel. And does to get a really really clear sense of this.

110
00:22:10.100 --> 00:22:22.880
Tom McGee: Now that said for a detective with an unsolved case hangover them like Harry Bosch in the TV series, or the books early on. There's plenty of story to go without breaking the initial mystery or story, so the series can expand comfortably.

111
00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:24.560
Tom McGee: and I guess my big

112
00:22:24.710 --> 00:22:31.499
Tom McGee: goal with this whole piece is to with this whole presentation is to explain that this shouldn't be left to chance.

113
00:22:31.830 --> 00:22:45.479
Tom McGee: We should be able to build the potential for expansion into our stories if we have any interest in building them out into a series. So the rest of this presentation will be about answering those questions and talking about how we build out a satisfying series arc.

114
00:22:45.610 --> 00:22:50.590
Tom McGee: particularly in a genre where once the mystery is solved or the crime is resolved.

115
00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:56.789
Tom McGee: it can be hard to think about. Okay, but what's next? Without breaking the satisfaction of that ending.

116
00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:58.270
Tom McGee: So

117
00:22:58.420 --> 00:23:07.140
Tom McGee: serial stories when looking to write a serialized series. It's helpful to think of series Gmcs. In addition to individual character. Gmcs.

118
00:23:08.560 --> 00:23:21.910
Tom McGee: So this begins with a series goal. This is the overarching goal for the entire series. A good series goal is believably attainable, but convincingly far off. The more steps your protagonists have to go through to get the series goal, the more story you have.

119
00:23:22.070 --> 00:23:37.091
Tom McGee: The classic Mr. Example of this is the case that haunts the the lead character. Whether that's the murder of their spouse, or a family member or an innocent, they never managed to close as I said, I recently watched Bosch and the 1st few seasons of Bosch feature the overarching mystery of who killed his mother?

120
00:23:37.350 --> 00:23:59.937
Tom McGee: the Veronica Mars series has Veronica Mars solve individual episodic problems while still seeking answers in the death of her friend. Recent literary example for me is Steve Hamilton's the second Life of Nick Mason, which I'm gonna talk a little bit about as an example throughout this section. In the book. Nick Mason is an ex con man who is granted parole in order to work for a crime Lord, who basically bailed him out of jail to be his

121
00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:11.349
Tom McGee: personal crime. Guy, each book covers a job that Mason is assigned to. But his series goal is to be free from a life of crime, no matter what's happening. That individual book.

122
00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:14.980
Tom McGee: it's still him driving towards. I want to get out of this life.

123
00:24:15.470 --> 00:24:41.520
Tom McGee: Now, the series, motivation is the main motivation for the series. Goal above. This is the in order to of the series goal for many detective series. The in order to is to restore justice to the world after a crime has been committed in many crime stories. It's to get away with it, or to get out of the life altogether, for Bosch, solving his mother's murder will bring him closure, or so he thinks and will ensure. A guilty person doesn't get away with a crime. There's a big problem for him.

124
00:24:41.570 --> 00:24:59.199
Tom McGee: for Nick Mason, getting out of the life of crime will allow him to be a quote, quote, normal person and a good father, and from a societal lens it restores order from chaos. As a master criminal becomes a productive citizen, showing that the way of society is better than the way of crime which in a lot of these redemption stories we kind of pick away at

125
00:24:59.810 --> 00:25:18.409
Tom McGee: it's also worth having a serious conflict. This is the main thing standing between the protagonist or protagonists and their goal in a serial story. This is often, though not always, an actual antagonist who has their own goals and motivations for blocking the protagonist. For Bosch the system is protecting the criminal, giving way to the actual murderer, blocking the investigation

126
00:25:18.410 --> 00:25:30.979
Tom McGee: for Nick Mason, the crime lord who arranged his release, and subsequently that Guy's boss and the cops who put him away are the antagonistic forces aligned against him, book to book over and above the people. He's fighting in any given story.

127
00:25:31.430 --> 00:25:53.080
Tom McGee: Terms of the Series Stakes. This asks the question, what are the consequences for failing the series? Goal? In other words, what does any of this matter for Bosch. He can't give closure to his child. Self and order is disrupted in his world because a murderer walks free for Mason, his son, grows up without a father and Mason can never experience fatherhood. He remains a prisoner, even though he's free of jail.

128
00:25:53.470 --> 00:25:59.360
Tom McGee: So the point of developing series Gmcs. Is to set up guard rails for the story and to create its basic shape.

129
00:25:59.410 --> 00:26:06.380
Tom McGee: This ideally happens in conjunction with developing characters and a world in order to create the frame for the kind of story you want to tell.

130
00:26:06.450 --> 00:26:15.309
Tom McGee: I like the way that Michael Connolly and the TV writers have drawn Bosch, and I'm invested in the unsolved mysteries. So I'm happy to come back for another season, even after the case is solved.

131
00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:24.069
Tom McGee: Nick Mason may have pulled off a dangerous job, but he's still not free. So that story isn't resolved, and I'm inclined to wait since 2,017 to find out what happens next.

132
00:26:24.150 --> 00:26:29.359
Tom McGee: It gives the reason the reader a reason to care about the series. Not just the story.

133
00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:36.160
Tom McGee: and sorry. That's that slide. I duplicated it.

134
00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:47.940
Tom McGee: So how do you do this with crime fiction. I want to spend the next few minutes drilling down a bit deeper into how this all manifests in crime fiction, because there are some specific genre specifics that it's important to look out for here.

135
00:26:48.270 --> 00:26:51.799
Tom McGee: So, 1st and foremost, what is compelling about your main character.

136
00:26:51.810 --> 00:27:06.250
Tom McGee: good mystery or crime is essential to your 1st story. Obviously, that's why we're picking up the book. But unless that event can carry over such as the money and drugs in James Elroy's la quartet, or the kind of knocking over dominoes of crime in breaking bad or

137
00:27:06.310 --> 00:27:11.500
Tom McGee: getting to the suppliers and City Hall and the wire. Then it's the character we're really coming back for

138
00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:31.859
Tom McGee: so in thinking about building out a series, what makes that character interesting? What makes them specific? What is the hook of that character that's going to keep you coming back for more. I think if you look at any of the great detectives or criminals you've encountered in your own life as a reader or a viewer or a listener, you can point to those elements I love

139
00:27:31.890 --> 00:27:37.470
Tom McGee: love that all Nero Wolf wants is to tend to his orchids and eat good steak.

140
00:27:37.540 --> 00:27:42.289
Tom McGee: does not care about mysteries, does not want to solve mysteries, just wants to deal with orchids.

141
00:27:42.670 --> 00:27:57.359
Tom McGee: To do that he has to solve crimes. That's what's going to give him the money to just live in his greenhouse. Amazing, fascinating hook to a character reluctant detective, not because he's out of the game or anything else, just because he couldn't care less. Similarly, Jessica Fletcher

142
00:27:57.410 --> 00:28:06.369
Tom McGee: from murder, she wrote, our dearly departed Angela Landsbury, generally speaking, just trying to live in a nice town, the murder capital of America.

143
00:28:06.772 --> 00:28:26.640
Tom McGee: Cabot Cove, and occasionally New York City. But wouldn't you know it each and every week. A nephew we've never met, or the one we frequently met, or friend or neighbor, or someone is accused of murder, or is murdered, and Jessica has to put an end to it. But at the end of the day she just loves small town living. She loves writing books, and if she has to solve a crime to do those 2 things, she'll do it.

144
00:28:27.180 --> 00:28:36.380
Tom McGee: These are the sorts of things that make us come back so again in looking at your character. What's compelling about them? What makes them different from every other detective or criminal you've ever read?

145
00:28:37.270 --> 00:28:58.559
Tom McGee: The next thing to look at is, what is the tone, vibe or experience you're giving your readers that they will want to come back for. I apologize. But using the word vibe, I know it's a very trendy term, and can sometimes be a little ill defined. What I really mean by this is the feeling that your reader is getting from the stories. And my favorite example of this is the La Quartet, so blockedalia la confidential

146
00:28:58.590 --> 00:29:00.969
Tom McGee: white jazz, and

147
00:29:02.100 --> 00:29:21.829
Tom McGee: I wanna say fire and ice. But I think that's wrong. I think those are the characters from Black Dylan, anyway, you know the one but in that all of those stories. They're very different stories. Often they have very different perspectives. Sometimes even elroy style changes particularly in the the more jazzy white jazz. The the tone is very, very different.

148
00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:36.979
Tom McGee: but they're all centered around hard boiled, more in kind of a a few decades in La. So if that's the Vibe you're interested in, if that's the experience, if that's the tone or the feeling, if that's the world you want to immerse yourself in, it doesn't matter which of those books you're reading? You're gonna get that?

149
00:29:37.010 --> 00:29:56.560
Tom McGee: And he also very cleverly has added the movement of drugs and money as a corrupting factor through all 4 of those books you can track, how the money and drugs specifically one specific shipment and the money that comes out of it destroys characters throughout all 4 books. If you read them individually fine, the arc is there, but if you read them across the books.

150
00:29:56.560 --> 00:30:07.299
Tom McGee: you get a of a much different experience. So again, that's a reason to come back when you're you're itching to go visit that really, really grimy Noir world is set up.

151
00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:08.690
Tom McGee: you know, where to go.

152
00:30:09.665 --> 00:30:22.480
Tom McGee: And then the next question coming out of this is, How can you derive strong series Gmcs. From either your lead character or that Toner experience again. To my earlier Nick Mason example, his desire for freedom is a very clear hook.

153
00:30:22.570 --> 00:30:37.420
Tom McGee: It's a good motivator. It's 1 we can really get behind. It's 1 we can all identify with. And it brings us from story to story. Similarly, Bosh's unresolved case, the TV show does a really interesting thing with this where they resolve it, and then they go oops. We really need to that. So they open it back up.

154
00:30:37.757 --> 00:31:06.350
Tom McGee: But the unsolved case has been a detective issue forever. So a very classic thing. But again, we need to care about that detective to care about that unresolved case. What does that done to them? To their world? Why should we care about their need to resolve it? You know, book to book. And again, similarly from La quartet. Yes, there are some characters that we follow between books, but ultimately the main character is la in that period, and the other through line is the money.

155
00:31:06.350 --> 00:31:15.979
Tom McGee: So again, these are all various things. You can kind of pull out of your existing story in order to give those hooks for expansion to give readers a reason to want to come back

156
00:31:16.280 --> 00:31:37.950
Tom McGee: and again in a world full of distraction. The more reasons you can give them, the bigger that trust is, but also the better hooks you'll have for having them return when you release your next story, because, as evidenced by the Nick Mason books, which haven't come out since 2,017. A lot of books have come out since then. It's easy to fall off of a series, and writing takes a long time, Wapad, where we.

157
00:31:38.470 --> 00:31:55.719
Tom McGee: our systems, are built for our writers to write very, very quickly and post constantly. But that isn't always true in traditional publishing. So what are those hooks that are going to live rent free in your head? Such that some guy is going to mention your book that you published in 2,017, in a presentation in 2,024, as he eagerly awaits your 3rd one that is coming out in August.

158
00:31:56.540 --> 00:32:01.790
Tom McGee: So, continuing on from tone, maintaining consistent tone, between your books in a series is essential.

159
00:32:01.800 --> 00:32:25.939
Tom McGee: My favorite example of this cozy mystery can't suddenly become gruesome. If Jessica Fletcher walks into a scene from 7 as an audience. We are going to be deeply upset. My gran is not gonna love that episode of murder, she wrote. So it's important to recognize what the the tone is for your story. What are you creating? What is that promise you're creating to your readers about the sort of experience they're having in romance, which is Wat's primary genre

160
00:32:26.231 --> 00:32:34.689
Tom McGee: capital art romance requires happily ever after. That's the reader expectation. So if I give you Romeo and Juliet, you may be like, well, this was a really interesting story.

161
00:32:34.770 --> 00:32:51.980
Tom McGee: but I'm on the beach, and I wanted a nice romance, and instead, you've given me a double murder, triple murder. So again, that's going to create a disfluency in the readers. Brain that we don't necessarily want. Also, I apologize that it's getting dark. It's about to rain in in Mississauga. So I'm just gonna get more and more Noiri as as the time goes on.

162
00:32:52.479 --> 00:33:07.739
Tom McGee: Similarly, Dexter made the big shift in the books from psychological to supernatural, which was not very well received. As I mentioned, my toddler and I are watching Scooby doo. And we're currently in the good era where every monster is just a usually an evil capitalist in a mask.

163
00:33:07.820 --> 00:33:19.719
Tom McGee: We're about to move into the era of oops actually ghosts, which I think is much less satisfying. It breaks the promise to the reader, which is, there's always a logical explanation for this instead becomes I don't know it's a ghost.

164
00:33:20.070 --> 00:33:31.919
Tom McGee: So consistent tone is part of the promise to the reader, and a factor that will keep them coming back. This is particularly true in an anthology series like the La Quartet or in TV, shows, like true Detective or Fargo.

165
00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:52.943
Tom McGee: even though every true detective season is vastly different, often with a different showrunner. There's a certain tone we expect that keeps us coming back. Similarly I was shocked when I was reading the la quartet for the 1st time that they all weren't la confidential. I liked La confidential a lot. I was looking for that specific style of book, and each one was very different when I opened Block Deli, and it was 1st person. I was deeply upset.

166
00:33:53.310 --> 00:33:54.110
Tom McGee: but

167
00:33:54.290 --> 00:34:01.019
Tom McGee: the tone was consistent. So I was like this is different than what I wanted, but it's close enough. So I'm I'm here with you, and I want to see how this all connects

168
00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:26.429
Tom McGee: the other way to look at this is through genre analysis and comparative titles or comp titles. So take a look at the most popular tropes in your genre space. These will help give you clues about what your reader is expecting. So if it's a locked door, Christy style mystery, then the final, you know, Poirot, reveal of the assembled suspects where everyone has to sit in a room, and the detective will explain the brilliant thought process is expected.

169
00:34:26.707 --> 00:34:41.409
Tom McGee: If it's a we're just doing one last job, and then we can get clear of the life. We're expecting big complications, because that never happens. If the cop has one day left until retirement. That cop is going to die. So there are tropes that we're looking for, and as a reader.

170
00:34:41.510 --> 00:34:58.939
Tom McGee: yes, if they're overused or they're not connected to the story. Then they feel cliche, but we also expect a lot of those tropes. So which ones should you be using in your story? How can you bring those in to again continue to reaffirm that promise you've made to your reader of like, Hey, yeah, this is the story you thought it is. Please come along for the ride.

171
00:34:59.290 --> 00:35:20.800
Tom McGee: Similarly, if we're here for twists and turns in a thriller, we are expecting to be constantly off balance. That's totally fine. I'm not saying it. All has to be predictable or anything else. Just that. There are certain things we expect any of us when we engage with a genre, and it's worth being conscious of those, so you can either lean into them or subvert them. But be careful when you subvert them, because again that may disrupt the reader. Experience

172
00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:27.339
Tom McGee: also. Those tropes will help you build trust, as I mentioned, and give you touchstones across books in your series.

173
00:35:27.680 --> 00:35:51.809
Tom McGee: the La Quartet. We know there's going to be corruption and the dark side of humanity, and everything is generally going to be awful for everyone. So I know I'm gonna see corruption across all those books. I know that I'm gonna run into, you know, bad people trying to do good things and good people doing bad things. Those tropes are going to be present, and that again gives me yet another comfort as a reader to know. Okay, yes, I will get what I'm looking for when I read this series.

174
00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:59.569
Tom McGee: and in terms of comparative titles, always just looking at what stories are doing this? Well, it's very, very helpful, because, honestly, if

175
00:35:59.570 --> 00:36:22.809
Tom McGee: you look at what is doing well, you'll have a good sense of what might be in your readers head when they they come, what what series have you been most engaged with? Where have you fallen off in a series? Game of thrones is becoming a perfect case. Study of television for what happens when you really tank the final like, tank the finale. I mentioned Dexter as a book series earlier. The move to supernatural is wild. That's a very interesting case. Study.

176
00:36:22.810 --> 00:36:31.299
Tom McGee: It's worth looking at. What series is. Continue, what series continue to hold your attention, and which ones have disappointed you so you can try and avoid that or lean into it in your own work.

177
00:36:31.570 --> 00:36:46.749
Tom McGee: So how do we actually do all this? Well, creating a story that can last over a long period of time is very difficult. I want to acknowledge that and underline it. For Watpad. This is made even more complicated by the majority of writers being pancors, as in they fly by the seat of the pants while writing rather than plotters.

178
00:36:46.750 --> 00:37:09.559
Tom McGee: But even these writers, who want to write whatever the creative urge tells them to need to consider how to maintain sustained reader interest over time. As I said, consider your favorite TV show that's dropped in quality or interest over time. So, to assist writers of all levels and inclinations, our team developed a model called the Story Coaster, to ensure that writers have the tools to keep their readers hooked, and it's 1 i'd recommend you. Consider if you're looking to develop your story into a series.

179
00:37:10.090 --> 00:37:33.649
Tom McGee: So why, the story coaster in traditional writing advice? It's kind of predicated on the idea that you write a draft come to the end and revise the draft, but at least on Wapad. That's not how it works. There's a focus on serial fiction with regular updates. To use a a favorite metaphor around our parts. Wapad writers are often building the track as they're running the train. So we need a method. That doesn't require finishing and revising. Otherwise the they'll never get it out the door.

180
00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:59.160
Tom McGee: and we found that this was particularly apparent when we're trying to coach rising and falling action. So traditional discussion of rising action like free tanks. Pyramid also assumes a much slower pace of story than is optimal for web novel lens, or, as I said before, I would argue a distracted modern breeder lens. So we needed a concept that was widely applicable and flexible enough to work for most of our writers while also solving the problem of boring scenes where nothing happens. So

181
00:37:59.520 --> 00:38:23.380
Tom McGee: the easiest way to think about action, conflict, and tension in the story is to think about a roller coaster. As you know, a roller coaster builds up slowly to a peak and then sends you rushing down from the peak, which is, of course, the fun part. A roller coaster doesn't need to be hundreds of feet tall to be fun. It just needs to offer the writer ups and downs, and the same is true of your story. The story story doesn't need to be the most dramatic, just needs to offer the reader a rhythmic buildup and release of tension and conflict.

182
00:38:23.500 --> 00:38:48.019
Tom McGee: So to map this out, the climb is before it happens. It's the buildup of the scene. Tension rises. Peak. It happens the thing the character wants or fears that we've been building towards happens the plunge I've heard this called falling action a lot, and no matter how many times I've even taught it in my head. It always means things wrap up, not what we're talking about. These are consequences. These are the changes that that happen in the peak initiate these consequences. All the promises made in the climb come true.

183
00:38:48.040 --> 00:38:58.869
Tom McGee: Valley. What has changed? How did the consequences of the peak change things for the character? What new desires or problems arise as a result of the peak and the plunge. Now, here's the really really really important part

184
00:38:59.050 --> 00:39:13.400
Tom McGee: escalating the story coaster. So to create multi chapter narrative arcs consider escalating the story coaster. So rather than the valleys resetting at the same level as the previous valley, the new valley should be at a higher level than the previous one. As a result of the intensity of the peak.

185
00:39:13.610 --> 00:39:32.709
Tom McGee: This is essential for the series model. You want your storyline to advance your series, storyline to advance, and for the reader or characters to feel a sense of forward momentum and progression, but without making the mistake of escalating too far too fast. My favorite case study for this is the television show 2424 begins with a man whose family is kidnapped

186
00:39:32.710 --> 00:40:01.479
Tom McGee: having to assassinate Presidential candidate. Season 2. He has to stop a nuke season. 3. There's bio weapons. Season 4 more nukes. They just went way too high way too fast, and there was nowhere else to go to. So it just became the same basic idea repeated, and variations. So again, you don't need to go from 0 to 100. You should spend your time over a series slowly ramping up to these things the wire and breaking bad are both pretty masterful cases of how to do this gradually over time.

187
00:40:01.870 --> 00:40:18.960
Tom McGee: So when looking to advance your mystery or crime, Gmcs, consider the story, coaster, and we, as Tom mentioned, we have a creators portal that's free that has all these resources. I've linked it in here. He's linked it in the chat. If you wanna read more about this? We have videos that explain it everything else. But ultimately the key being

188
00:40:19.100 --> 00:40:27.079
Tom McGee: ups and downs don't need to be huge, and they should still escalate on on a line, so that readers and characters feel that sense of advancement.

189
00:40:28.720 --> 00:40:44.360
Tom McGee: So let's recap and pull this all together, so we can get to questions so strong. Gmcs hooks. Readers, into your character and your 1st story, strong series, Gmcs. Builds off and integrates character. Gmcs. To give readers a reason to care beyond the 1st mystery. Slash crime, slash Story

190
00:40:44.600 --> 00:40:58.530
Tom McGee: Series. Serve the reader, need and reduce writer work, but only if you give us a reason to care beyond your 1st mystery or crime. Consider your character, the world and tone, and the reader promise, as well as the experience you're trying to create for them.

191
00:40:58.900 --> 00:41:10.900
Tom McGee: As I mentioned, all of our key resources have been collated into a single guide which you can click here. There's Pdf, this is essentially our web novel style manual. Even if you're not reading web novel again, a lot of this stuff is applicable. Just

192
00:41:11.010 --> 00:41:35.120
Tom McGee: understand, that's written through that lens and we have our creators, portal, which is searchable. So if anything I've said today sparks some interest in you, you can go click through that and discover all sorts of fun versions of all this. So, as I said, you only remember one thing from this whole presentation. Modern readers have an enormous number of stories to choose from. They often have high cognitive load going into a story, and this load must be managed. They're reading on a device they are likely a distracted reader

193
00:41:35.190 --> 00:41:58.979
Tom McGee: developing a series helps you leverage the work you've already done, and helps a reader with the problems of choice cognitive load and distraction by giving them something familiar to click back into that they're already engaged with. This is a win win, but only if you have strong characters with clear goals, motivation, conflict and stakes, and a plotting model that helps you move the series plot forward and ensure that readers come along for the ride.

194
00:41:59.430 --> 00:42:02.269
Tom McGee: Thank you very much. Let's switch over to questions.

195
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:25.780
Tom Wilde: Tom. Just wanna say big, thank you. That's fantastic, really fascinating. Love the insight into what had. And it creates program as well we have. Can you can just uncheck. Can you see the questions you want to go through the questions or drop me to to? I'm not sure.

196
00:42:25.780 --> 00:42:41.189
Tom McGee: Yeah, I'm just reviewing chat real quick, and then I will open up open up the questions Scooby, do fans scooby do fans of essay. Cosby, just like a wipad. That's fine plus one scooby do. N. Cosby, Christmas episode of Merge Road, where nobody died.

197
00:42:41.360 --> 00:42:44.106
Tom McGee: Yeah. I mean, no one that we saw.

198
00:42:45.430 --> 00:42:51.779
Tom McGee: yeah, Scooby do is just a side character. Hate that game of thrones. Season 8 doesn't exist for a lot of folks. Season 8. What's season? 8.

199
00:42:51.870 --> 00:42:55.520
Tom McGee: great, and some thanks. And yes, you can get a copy of this in. Pdf.

200
00:42:56.935 --> 00:42:59.424
Tom McGee: okay, awesome.

201
00:43:01.510 --> 00:43:08.010
Tom McGee: great. Okay, so I'm gonna jump to Q&A, and then there's a question in the chat here that I'll oh, actually, it's it's in in here already. So.

202
00:43:08.010 --> 00:43:09.479
Tom Wilde: Be repeated in Q, and a.

203
00:43:09.480 --> 00:43:32.240
Tom McGee: No sweat so Christina Wattpad showcases, specific genres on this platform, billionaire romance wherewith romance, romantic Mafia romance. Are there any crime genres that are doing well on Wapad or in serialized platform. Are there any examples as I mentioned? In the presentation itself? Crime, fiction and mystery. Do not do tremendously well on Wapad. I've read some amazing ones in my time, both for acquisition and for performance.

204
00:43:32.240 --> 00:43:47.680
Tom McGee: But the genres you've indicated in the QA. Are the primary genres that are working on Wattpad right now. And again. My, I mentioned my theory in in the presentation itself. But if I could just go by a book that I know, an editor is looked at, and will have a resolution.

205
00:43:47.780 --> 00:44:01.686
Tom McGee: or I can roll the dice and hope that someone who's posting chapters week to week might finish it eventually. I'm always gonna go purchase the completed book. So that's something we're actively working on again. I wouldn't be here talking to you if we weren't but

206
00:44:02.020 --> 00:44:15.350
Tom McGee: part of the reason I wanted to talk with series-based stories. And again, this can be a series of books rather than serialized fiction. It doesn't need to be released weekly or anything else. If you don't want to. Is because that's an area of expertise, I think, is applicable

207
00:44:15.350 --> 00:44:35.459
Tom McGee: to crime fiction because of all the long running mystery stories. And again the cognitive load issue that I that I indicated earlier. So again, it's not Wapad's forte. That's something I'm hoping to change over time. But right now. No, I don't have tremendously good examples of it on our platform, which is why, as a mystery and crime writer, you should very seriously consider whether or not it's the right home for you.

208
00:44:35.812 --> 00:44:47.800
Tom McGee: So thank you for the question, though. Are there differences between retail book tropes and serial tropes. Are there any popular serial tropes? Yeah. So the main difference between serialized stories and

209
00:44:48.415 --> 00:45:16.564
Tom McGee: traditionally published stories. I think there's a couple. One is you usually don't need to hook as fast in a traditionally published book often, because if I'm reading that book I've either got it from the library, picked it up in a bookstore, or I've bought it. So my investment is already there. The difference with a serialized story is it's much similar much more similar to netflix or podcast queue, or anything else where it is so fast to click out of it, to disconnect from it that

210
00:45:17.290 --> 00:45:28.809
Tom McGee: trying to write a traditional style story in those spaces tends not to work. And I I had. I really personally start as a writer, I struggled with this on wallpad myself. When I started out I wrote a sci fi noir.

211
00:45:28.810 --> 00:45:54.720
Tom McGee: That was just for me, apparently so like I've lived this particular journey on what pad and I grew up reading classic crime novels. So I wrote it like a class classic crime novel. And the pace was too slow. I started with an you know, a prologue to set up the threat 1st murder all that fun stuff! But I was way too slow getting to the point. And that just doesn't work in in web novel. So there's a structural piece from a trope based perspective. I would say that what I've seen is that serialized readers tend to be more

212
00:45:54.999 --> 00:46:18.829
Tom McGee: committed to wanting tropes things that we might roll our eyes at in a traditional novel. They're like, no, give me that. I want that because as a distracted reader with limited time they want they want to. They want a sense of certainty. That one of the jokes we use internally is like, if you're ordering a pizza, you, you want a pizza to arrive, and if I show up with a calzone I'm like, look! It's like a pizza, but it's different. You'd be like I

213
00:46:18.860 --> 00:46:46.419
Tom McGee: I only had enough time to eat this pizza, and I really needed it you to deliver that to me. So we do have for, like guidelines on our side, for what we call our verticals. But again they will. They're less applicable to crime and and mystery. But yeah, the standard trips the tropes that people really like from, you know, any popular story that's managed to serialize successfully, I would say, are are worth looking at. And again, from mystery or crime perspective. I wanna get out of the life. But there are things that are preventing me from doing it. If you're on the criminal side.

214
00:46:46.420 --> 00:46:49.340
Tom McGee: on the detective side, haunted by something

215
00:46:49.650 --> 00:47:01.800
Tom McGee: are the big 2 that have been eternally good. And again, the the La Quartet does it well, but lots of shows have as well. Lots of books have. Is there something we can follow book to book that keeps us engaged, or kind of the big troops? I would. I would point to

216
00:47:03.240 --> 00:47:20.600
Tom McGee: Do you think mystery authors should avoid referencing previous crime solutions to avoid spoiling readers that might read a series out of order? That's an interesting one. I ruined a bunch of the Jeffrey Deaver books because my ex's father gave me a random one to read, and I was like cool. I enjoyed bone collector, and I was like, oh.

217
00:47:20.650 --> 00:47:45.800
Tom McGee: this reveals a lot of stuff from the series I was kind of into oops. So that's kind of up to you. I would say it partially depends on the amount of serialization. So if you are building on, I'll use the the wire as a TV example, each season of the wire leans very heavily on what came before it. There's always kind of a new entry point, but the gradual unpacking of the corruption and everything else requires it. So if your stories require

218
00:47:46.006 --> 00:47:53.029
Tom McGee: let's say it's a serial killer they haven't caught. Then. Yeah, we do kind of need to know what happened there. If it's a crime syndicate, maybe we do need to know the resolution.

219
00:47:53.305 --> 00:48:04.619
Tom McGee: But at the end of the day what serves the the book you've written most. If you're writing standalone books that are lightly serialized, then yeah, maybe a good idea not to spoil that. But if you're writing a heavy serial.

220
00:48:05.070 --> 00:48:10.540
Tom McGee: there may be payoff for your readership. Just be aware, the more you lean into knowledge of previous books.

221
00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:14.949
Tom McGee: the more you run the risk of alienating your your readers. So

222
00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:21.280
Tom McGee: good series means that people will get hooked enough to want to go back and read the whole thing, in which case you're fine.

223
00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:27.424
Tom McGee: but it's a risk you you take. And again, it's there's no right answer to this. This is a a a sort of tricky one to balance. But

224
00:48:27.830 --> 00:48:30.749
Tom McGee: that's my half answer for you. I hope that helps

225
00:48:31.068 --> 00:48:54.361
Tom McGee: what genre does best so woppad is a romance based platform. That's a lot of our readers and writers started out as like young readers and writers who were writing romance. So we see a lot of romance mafia as a big genre. But I do want to keep this focused specifically on how to build a series. I'm again, there's lots of resources for Watpad on the creators portal. But

226
00:48:55.190 --> 00:49:16.931
Tom McGee: The site is less relevant and applicable to this particular topic. So if you want more questions, or if you have more questions about that again, ton of resources there, including guides to how to write all these. And you know what our creators program is, and all these other things. So there's lots of opportunity there. But it's all in the creators, Portal. So I'd encourage you to check that out when writing the premise for the 1st book in a series. Should the premise hint about series potential?

227
00:49:17.420 --> 00:49:20.729
Tom McGee: I would say, this is a delicate, really delicate balance to walk

228
00:49:23.180 --> 00:49:42.419
Tom McGee: with web novel particularly. We don't want to save the best content for late in the series, because then you run the risk that no one will stick around long enough to get to it. No one likes a this will be like you. You gotta watch a hundred episodes, and then the show gets good. It's not gonna happen. So I would say, like what really serves that 1st book?

229
00:49:42.710 --> 00:50:03.529
Tom McGee: I do think you should leave the breadcrumbs. If you have ideas for hooks, but make sure they don't overshadow that initial book one of the biggest mistakes I've seen serialized writers make, and this is true in movies. A lot, too, is devaluing the story that I am reading now by teasing. The next thing in theory, a tease for the next thing should get me excited. I should be like, Oh, cool! That's where we're going next. I'm into that.

230
00:50:03.890 --> 00:50:12.150
Tom McGee: But you know, to use a superhero example, if the superhero is dealing with a bunch of like low powered goons. And that's the movie I'm here to watch.

231
00:50:12.390 --> 00:50:22.169
Tom McGee: And then at the end the super villain shows up. I'm like, well, that's the story. You see this with backstory a lot. If the backstory is too engaging as a reader, I start to go well, why aren't I reading that

232
00:50:22.330 --> 00:50:42.480
Tom McGee: so? All that to say? Make sure that your 1st book is is powerful and interesting and engaging. It has all those strong GM. Cs elements, because then you have the best chance that people will stick around. I like to leave those breadcrumbs. I like to leave the avenues open. So you don't have to invent them. My personal case study for weird sequels is the pirates of the Caribbean movies.

233
00:50:42.480 --> 00:51:05.380
Tom McGee: where the 1st movie is kind of a closed story. And then the second movie tries to re Ret ret retroactively. Continuity recon all this stuff from the 1st movie to make it seem like it was always an intended trilogy, and it's very awkward, so don't do that leave some some hints and guides for where it might go next. But again, if I'm reading your crime or mystery novel, I wanna see that crime or that mystery, not your next thing.

234
00:51:05.581 --> 00:51:13.249
Tom McGee: It's also a critique. A lot of the most recent marvel movies get that? Each one is just an ad for the next one instead of being its own story. So just be be careful in those regards.

235
00:51:13.825 --> 00:51:23.920
Tom McGee: David says, I have a 2 book series, but 8 books with one character, who will be the main character sharing his experience in astrological math and isotope themes cool.

236
00:51:25.160 --> 00:51:25.990
Tom McGee: So

237
00:51:29.350 --> 00:51:31.629
Tom Wilde: I think the question carries on Tom.

238
00:51:31.810 --> 00:51:32.220
Tom McGee: I see no.

239
00:51:32.220 --> 00:51:33.520
Tom Wilde: Exactly. Yeah. Gotcha.

240
00:51:33.520 --> 00:51:39.869
Tom McGee: Question is, what are your thoughts on using a single character to explore various themes across multiple books? Thank you. So

241
00:51:40.560 --> 00:51:44.061
Tom McGee: as long as it's consistent. I think you're fine.

242
00:51:44.800 --> 00:51:51.850
Tom McGee: that to. Again, I apologize to lean so much on TV and film as a former playwrighting Prof. I had to lean on TV and film a lot more than plays, because

243
00:51:52.210 --> 00:52:04.129
Tom McGee: my students had rarely seen the same thing. So good lean on movies for a second. Here. John Wick is a basically a genre study. Each film takes kind of a different genre and plugs a character into it.

244
00:52:04.344 --> 00:52:29.029
Tom McGee: So John Mcfar, for example, which just came out is their take on the good, the bad, and the ugly. I found that deeply dissatisfying, because I was very committed to John Wick the character, you know. He's a very simple man who has a very simple drive. And then suddenly, this film was doing a lot of stuff from like Whoa, this, this feels weird for this character, what's going on. And only later, when I read that oh, no, we didn't actually care about the continuity. We were just trying to tell. Good, the bad and the ugly story. Did I go? Oh, okay, I understand. I'm bummed about it, I understand.

245
00:52:29.030 --> 00:52:38.060
Tom McGee: So if you want your character to explore different themes in different books, I think that's fine. If the promise to the reader is, this is a character who's going to explore different themes in different books?

246
00:52:38.310 --> 00:53:04.390
Tom McGee: If you set it up and I mean Ryan Johnson doing an interesting version of this right now with the Knives out series. We're like Ben Wall, Blanc is our guy. So like that's gonna be our constant. But glass onion and knives out are drastically different films. So again, just give us something to hang on to. That makes us want to go into that next story. And alternatively, if, as a reader, we really enjoy how you're exploring those themes. We may just come with you to go. Honestly, I want to see what you do in that next

247
00:53:04.820 --> 00:53:25.210
Tom McGee: in that next book. I would argue for SA. Cosby. That's kind of what brings me to his stuff. His. The second book I read by him didn't hook me as much. But I'm like, I just really like your style. So I'm just gonna read this regardless. And I had a great time with it. So yeah, just make sure that it's built in. Bake it in so that we understand that that's what we're getting. And that way. We won't be disappointed.

248
00:53:25.420 --> 00:53:27.289
Tom McGee: Hope that answers your question.

249
00:53:27.669 --> 00:53:48.389
Tom McGee: Courtney says can setting be considered serial ellen held Brand based in all books in Nantucket. Is this where you're referring to when you talk about the La Quartet? Yeah, absolutely it. And the key to that is that your setting has to be very compelling and engaging enough for us to stick around. But, I've long been a fan of the idea that law and order's main character is New York City.

250
00:53:48.793 --> 00:54:14.756
Tom McGee: And of course, like, you know, Jerry Orbach cause he's amazing slash murder, she wrote. But overall, the main character of that story is New York. That whole series bleeds New York. I'll also say every single actor in New York has been on that show in some some regard. So yeah, you can absolutely use the setting to be serial. What we tend to recommend is the key to serialization is really about world crafting. And that doesn't have to be for for just science fiction and fantasy, it's

251
00:54:15.030 --> 00:54:36.589
Tom McGee: A consistent world gives me something to come back to as as a reader Cabin Cove. Being a pretty good example, like having watched a lot of murder, she wrote. I know everyone who lives in Cabot Cove, and if you're gonna write a story about like you know any of those characters I'd be like, Yeah, I know who that is. The Gilmore girls. Stars Hollow is a big character in that show. So no, absolutely. I'd even argue like Bosch is in la

252
00:54:36.700 --> 00:55:03.209
Tom McGee: character like La is a big character. Hollywood is a big character in those books, so yes, it absolutely can be. However, the advice we always give in world building to our sci-fi and fantasy writers as well is, why do we care? There still has to be characters that we can connect to within that interesting setting to bring us through. So if you're gonna use Nantucket or any location, make sure you populate it with a really interesting group of people. And that way we'll want to keep coming back.

253
00:55:03.557 --> 00:55:08.269
Tom McGee: Because we like being there. But we have to have a reason to care that we're there

254
00:55:09.030 --> 00:55:11.100
Tom McGee: did not mean for that to run. But you know, here we are

255
00:55:11.412 --> 00:55:31.600
Tom McGee: action stories fare best on whatpad. Yes, actually, no. Action isn't a huge genre on on whatpad it could be. One day action lends itself very well to serial. But again, romance is our is our number one. Are there any common hooks used in serial writing to engage readers. Attention. Yeah. Gmcs, out the gate, like, basically what we tell our writers is

256
00:55:31.600 --> 00:55:45.061
Tom McGee: honestly for a lot of the pitches we take you start with one chapter, and if we get what we need from that one chapter, we'll ask writers to expand it. You should be able to deliver the entire Gmcs. For your series in that 1st chapter for web, novel style.

257
00:55:45.430 --> 00:55:57.039
Tom McGee: and so the hooks that that bring me through that are like? Do I know who this person is? And do I care? Do I want to see them go through this journey? Do I get a sense of what you're selling me, and if the answer is yes.

258
00:55:57.120 --> 00:56:00.870
Tom McGee: I may still not want to go on that journey. That may not be the book for me.

259
00:56:00.900 --> 00:56:20.619
Tom McGee: but it will indicate clearly whether or not I should go on the ride with you. So yeah, and again making it very clear upfront and the stakes having very clear stakes, I think, helps a lot. Why does this matter? Because we're gonna need to care over a very long period of time in theory. So giving us a very clear why do we care? Upfront is is key to that

260
00:56:20.869 --> 00:56:31.360
Tom McGee: A very silly example of this is pokemon upfront in the theme song. We are told that this kid wants to be the best like no one ever was. He's gotta catch all the pokemon. He's gotta become the best pokemon guy.

261
00:56:31.360 --> 00:56:47.329
Tom McGee: and the 1st thing we seem to do is be really really nice to poke them on in a way, seemingly no one else is. And we're like, that's our guy. We wanna follow ash schedule to the end of end of space and time. So it's not to say you have to save the cat. But you have to give us a reason to care that will carry us through. You're theoretically hundreds of chapters.

262
00:56:48.456 --> 00:57:11.009
Tom McGee: Oh, and sorry just to the location as serial Coronation Street was my grandmother's favorite show. She watched that show like every day until she passed away. That's a fascinating study of like the cast changes soap operas in general, the characters change, locale remains the same. Graz and admin. You might be a good example of this, too, so you can always look to those sorts of shows and go what is happening here that can exist over that period of time. Despite a rotating cast.

263
00:57:12.920 --> 00:57:25.193
Tom McGee: yeah, hyperlinks are in the chat here somewhere. Should we keep some of the same subplots in the series, or have all new ones. Yeah, I'm a fan of subplots carrying over again just as long as they aren't frustrating to us.

264
00:57:25.840 --> 00:57:50.300
Tom McGee: breaking bad's a good study in this, because that was meant to be a Mono narrative is supposed to be the story of Walter White. They were gonna Kill Aaron Paul's character, Jesse in the 1st season and then they realized, Nope, it's a dual lead. So suddenly they had to make content for Jesse moving forward. So yeah, there's a lot of good reason to keep subplots going just again. Be careful they don't overshadow or drag us away from why we're here.

265
00:57:50.542 --> 00:58:11.429
Tom McGee: It's very tempting when we're inventing these characters and falling love with them, to really build out their world and their side quests and everything else. But like, why is the reader here, and particularly over hundreds of chapters I know for me. When George R. Martin, it got to a point with me in his most recent 2 books in the Game of Thrones, recent 2 books in the Game of Thrones Series, where he'd introduce a new character like the Headsman of like

266
00:58:12.030 --> 00:58:26.040
Tom McGee: for your dorn, I guess, and I literally went. Oh, cause I just didn't want it. I wanted to see what was happening with the main characters. I didn't care about these extra things he was starting to bring in, and so be careful of that. You don't want your reader to do what I just did with apologies to George R. Martin.

267
00:58:27.770 --> 00:58:53.579
Tom McGee: copyright and web novels. Could you publish sales if you're successful on Wapad? Again like I'll leave that there. All writers keep their their IP on wopad. So yes, you own the copyright. There are some exclusivity things, if you sign to deals. But again, all those details are are on our website. So check that out average work count too long, too short. Short short story. Okay? So for web novel style. You're looking at like 1,500 to 200 sorry, 1,500 to 2,500 words

268
00:58:53.580 --> 00:59:05.379
Tom McGee: literally, because that's how long it is comfortable to to scroll on a phone before you start to feel uncomfortable about how far you've scrolled. That won't apply if you're writing traditional. But that's how we do it for web novel style in terms of length.

269
00:59:05.380 --> 00:59:15.639
Tom McGee: It's really what can your your story be? Withstand? So in a mystery? What are the steps as long as we aren't padding it. So what's engaging? And again, just constantly ask yourself, like.

270
00:59:16.370 --> 00:59:27.179
Tom McGee: basically, is this interesting? Am I still engaged? But no, with a serialized novel. 500,000 words! A 1 million words go go nuts. But yes, that is, that is my recommendation. There.

271
00:59:28.120 --> 00:59:28.880
Tom Wilde: Tom.

272
00:59:29.140 --> 00:59:30.210
Tom Wilde: Amazing.

273
00:59:30.430 --> 00:59:42.380
Tom Wilde: Your timing is perfect as well. I can't believe that it literally will just on the hour. Really appreciate. I think you've answered every single question asked.

274
00:59:42.859 --> 00:59:46.770
Tom Wilde: There's lots of well, as you see, lots of lovely comments in the chat.

275
00:59:46.900 --> 00:59:55.389
Tom Wilde: Thank you ever so much. Really appreciate you spending some time with us, preparing that for everybody. As part of Crime Writers' Week. Fascinating, as I said before.

276
00:59:55.430 --> 01:00:12.450
Tom Wilde: it's a great platform. i i i really like particularly the creative program as well. And yeah, it looks like everyone got lots out of that. So really appreciate that. And just a quick note. Thanks for everybody for joining us for today's sessions. I've I've hosted a couple, and both being

277
01:00:12.790 --> 01:00:19.460
Tom Wilde: equally brilliant, look forward to Tom having you back for more hopefully in future events.

278
01:00:19.837 --> 01:00:31.530
Tom Wilde: Would really love to see you back. And and for everyone else have a great rest of your sess. Hope you can join us for for our final day crime writers week. Next week we have got.

279
01:00:31.570 --> 01:00:36.180
Tom Wilde: I think, 2 more events coming later in the year. We've certainly got our 1st ever horror week.

280
01:00:36.570 --> 01:00:40.539
Tom Wilde: Which, as you might expect, will be somewhere around about Halloween.

281
01:00:40.550 --> 01:00:49.919
Tom Wilde: And yeah, just I again, I'm gonna finish just with a big thank you, Tom. Appreciate your time, and have a wonderful rest of your day. Thanks.

282
01:00:49.920 --> 01:00:53.049
Tom McGee: Very much, and thank you, everyone for your great questions. Happy writing.