Hey, SEers! This is one of those months with five Fridays in it. That means today is a group post.

The theme for today is Favorite Book Written and Why. We’re each going to tell you our personal favorite. We encourage you to share yours in the comments.

Ciao, amici! Staci here. It was hard to pick a favorite, but I chose Tortured Soul. It’s the fourth and final book in the Medici Protectorate Series.

I won’t swear it’s my favorite, but it’s up there. And here’s why.

• The writing is a lot stronger than at the beginning of the series.
• It’s the culmination of a work inspired by my grandfather.
• It’s a springboard to another series that I enjoy.
• I love these characters.

You can read more about it here or purchase it here.

Hey SE Readers. Joan here.

So far, my favorite book to…

Hi Gang, Craig with you again. You’ll hear authors talk pretty frequently about how their characters take over and improve the story beyond what they had outlined. When this happens its magical, and one of the best parts of being a writer.

In a classroom explanation, your character has to change over the course of the story. They evolve in some small way. This is called the character arc. Some plan it, others write by the seat of their pants, but to have a successful story it has to happen.

This is my attempt to help you bottle some of that magic. We’re going to try fishing in those waters.

Ask yourself, who is my character? Then find their happy place. We’re talking about their primary motivation in life. Are they family oriented, workaholics, campaigning for an issue or position. This should be deeper than simply what they want.

Once…

Ciao, amici. Lately, I’ve been in planning mode. I’m one book into a five-book series, and if you’ve ever written a series, you know there’s a lot to keep track of and a lot to plan.

The best way to keep track of everything is to create a story bible.

I do most of my writing in Scrivener, but I tend to plan in notebooks or Word. You can make your plans anywhere that works for you, but I suggest eventually you consolidate everything into a master file and keep it in or as close to your master document as possible.

So, what goes into a series story bible?

• Series Premise
• Character Sheets
• Setting Descriptions
• Book Outlines
• Blurbs

Series Premise

There’s no point in starting a series if you don’t have an idea of what you want to accomplish in it. There needs to be a reason this isn’t a…