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Story Structure

“Standalone With Series Potential” Has A Catch

March 7, 2026March 7, 2026 by A.B. Channing
You are gazing up from the base of the leaning tower of Pisa, except made of books. Books with antique covers and glittering gold sprayed edges. They teeter, precarious, in laughing defiance of gravity and god. In a strong gust, they are poised to topple. Their cataclysmic collapse will obliterate the coffee cup or inkwell of whoever dares to labor in their shadow… Okay, really it’s just a stack of pretty books made by someone who really hates organizing. I’m being dramatic.

You can’t always have your cake and eat it too. How about a muffin?

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How To Predict Book Size (Before You’ve Even Started Writing)

March 7, 2026February 6, 2026 by A.B. Channing
A selection of eggs clusters tastefully against a blue-grey background. They are all white, but vary in size. The difference between the smallest and the largest is appreciable, but still nowhere near the size gap between the short story you tried to write and the six-book series you ended up with.

Never write an accidental series again!
(Results may vary)

Categories Story Structure, Writing Advice Leave a comment

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Recent Posts

  • You are gazing up from the base of the leaning tower of Pisa, except made of books. Books with antique covers and glittering gold sprayed edges. They teeter, precarious, in laughing defiance of gravity and god. In a strong gust, they are poised to topple. Their cataclysmic collapse will obliterate the coffee cup or inkwell of whoever dares to labor in their shadow… Okay, really it’s just a stack of pretty books made by someone who really hates organizing. I’m being dramatic.
    “Standalone With Series Potential” Has A Catch
  • A selection of eggs clusters tastefully against a blue-grey background. They are all white, but vary in size. The difference between the smallest and the largest is appreciable, but still nowhere near the size gap between the short story you tried to write and the six-book series you ended up with.
    How To Predict Book Size (Before You’ve Even Started Writing)
  • Before you is a cemetery, or perhaps simply a collection of gravestones overlooking a lake. Buried here are all your favourite characters. Their authors probably did this on purpose, to torment you.
    6 Ways Character Death Can Hurt Your Story

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