Before I start, I wish to make a
full disclaimer that I wrote this, in 2015, as part of my MA in Writing for
Young People at Bath Spa University. So it doesn't cite newer series. And
that's why it has some clever quotes from academic references. This is not
normal for me.
Early series fiction is the staple diet of a newly
independent reader. Graduating from being read to with picture books to early
readers, children aged 6-8 years old devour stories about everything – from
animals to adventures, school life to sports.
At this age, these newly independent readers are not only
reading for pleasure, but they are also understanding the new world of primary
school, figuring out social life and coping with every-day challenges.
Transitioning from nursery and reception to the big school
in Year 1 & 2, these children are discovering and making sense of the world
around them. Series fiction in this new world is like a BFF – best friend
forever with characters to get to know, make friends with and to return to
again and again. And it is more joyful when they can share these characters
with their real-life best friends too – as Lauren Child shows us in her Utterly
Me – Clarice Bean.
As Denson puts it, ‘a
“system of repetition and variation” is the basic stuff of seriality itself.’
(2011:5)
I wanted to examine the ingredients that make an early fiction series appealing.
Characters in such series get into all sorts of interesting
escapades not unlike the reader’s own life or at least what they hope they’d be
able to do. Series fiction gives the reader the safety of the familiar to
explore the unfamiliar.
This could be anything from having a pet (in the Lulu series
by Hilary McKay) to finding out you have a new cousin who is very different (in
the Ruby Lu series by Lenore Look).
As Makowski (1998:2)
notes in ‘Serious about Series: Evaluations and Annotations of Teen Fiction in
Paperback Series’, ‘single texts of fiction are like “one-night stand[s]”,
while series aims to provide the reader with “that same grand experience night after
night, week after week, year after year, ad infinitum.”’
I wanted to examine the ingredients that make an early fiction series appealing.
As a child, I too devoured every series I could lay my hands
on – which in my childhood in India was predominantly R K Narayan’s Malgudi Days,
combined with Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven, Famous Five, Malory Towers and the
American Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys collections.
Even though most of these books were set in a different
country and in some cases in a different decade, and even though the lives of
the characters appeared so different from my own – there was something
comforting to return to find out what the characters in these books were up to.
This can be compared to children and adults returning again and again to
popular sitcoms that revolve around a group of friends or lead characters.
The most conventional
narrative series, serials, and sequels for young people are characterized by a
constant narrative presence, a common set of characters, the same or similar
settings, recurring plot structures, and familiar themes. (Reimer, Ali,
England, and Unrau, 2014: 10)
And that is the security blanket that young people want
after they have left behind their favourite teddy to go to the big school.
Early fiction with familiar characters of family, school and neighbourhood
reinforces a child’s understanding of the world. Very often the writer brings
the reader into a conspiratorial whisper, perhaps making fun of their
family/school situations or the grownups in their lives, just like a best
friend does.
It is important that they recognize familiar settings in the
stories – so they can learn to read by context more easily. They are newly
independent readers and reading and recognizing words through context boosts
their confidence immensely.
Philosopher Rolli (2012:96) observes, “many of our everyday
experiences are embedded in a structure of repetition; we believe in the world,
we believe that the world will continue to exist even when we close our eyes.”
So what goes into a successful young fiction series?
Almost every series written for this age group is funny. That does not mean they
don’t have some serious stuff in them – they do. But the approach to voice,
plot and cast are aimed to keep the tone light, the humour irreverent and the
plot slap-stick. This is true whether it is Steve Voake’s Hooey Higgins or
Francesca Simon’s Horrid Henry or Joanna Nadin’s Penny Dreadful or The World of
Norm series by Jonathan Meres.
Almost all of these books use the white space on the page creatively. The illustrator plays a key role in bringing these characters to life. Whether it involves B&W drawings, lists, doodles or use of font face and sizes, these books are not densely written novels – but more often journals filled with doodles. Whether it is a catchphrase, or disasters caused by character flaws of the lead character or one of the ensemble, the humour and tone of the stories showcase the joy of the writer.
An ensemble cast
A regular ensemble cast supports the main character – either to help or hinder, sometimes both. This includes the friends, family, bully, teachers, friendly and unfriendly neighbours. Some of the cast might come and go. But a few would stay in the core team and in many cases a lead character has a partner in crime.
Going from here, I also examined what goes into making a successful series with a BAME character as the lead. But as this is my last post for 2018 on ABBA (sorry everyone, life is getting in the way)… I’ve put the part two of my post on my blog. Click here to read, What additional ingredients are required to create a series that is led by a character from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic heritages?
Almost all of these books use the white space on the page creatively. The illustrator plays a key role in bringing these characters to life. Whether it involves B&W drawings, lists, doodles or use of font face and sizes, these books are not densely written novels – but more often journals filled with doodles. Whether it is a catchphrase, or disasters caused by character flaws of the lead character or one of the ensemble, the humour and tone of the stories showcase the joy of the writer.
A regular ensemble cast supports the main character – either to help or hinder, sometimes both. This includes the friends, family, bully, teachers, friendly and unfriendly neighbours. Some of the cast might come and go. But a few would stay in the core team and in many cases a lead character has a partner in crime.
Cohesive and
consistent portrayal of plot and characters
Once the rules of the world are laid out, the characters
obey these rules, across different stories in the same series. The characters
might discover new strengths and weaknesses as they go along, but they do not
contradict themselves across the series.
In the humorous Agatha Parrot series by Kjartan Poskitt and
David Tazzyman, there is a cast of characters with specific likes, dislikes and
ambitions. Their behaviour in the entire series is driven out of these
characteristics and personality traits.
While there is a familiarity and comfort across the series,
each book in the series stands on its own. Each story has a beginning, middle
and end, with all major plot points tied up. For this age group rarely are
crumbs of clues left in to be picked up in a future story. In an early fiction
series, when a reader discovers a book out of sequence, he/she finds sufficient
introduction of the cast and the premise to follow the story. Of course if they
like the book, they go on to read every single book in the set.
A distinct main
character with a unique-selling-point
Like all good stories, series fiction is primarily led by
character. While the main character has to be distinct and likeable, they must
have something special that differentiates them from so many other series. For
example, series with girl characters as leads, there are many successful series
in print and each main character has to hold her place on the bookshelf.
Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke, Penny Dreadful by Joanna Nadin,
Agatha Parrot by Kjartan Poskitti, Iggy and Me by Jenny Valentine, Ottoline by
Chris Riddell are just some of the funny ones with girls as leads. Each lead
character is different, special and distinctively funny.
Universal themes
The underlying theme of each story should be universal.
Whether set in Africa in the family of Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke or the Precious
series by Alexander McCall Smith or set in contemporary England in Joanna
Nadin’s Penny Dreadful’s life or Horrid Henry in Francesca Simon’s popular
series – the themes revolve around the key concerns of this age-group:
friendships, new school, losing someone, getting into trouble, dealing with
conflict and loss of control.
These books deal with emotions that children of this age
group are coming to grips with – from anger and jealousy to empathy, hope and
joy; but with a twinkle in the eye, a wink here and a smile there.
Going from here, I also examined what goes into making a successful series with a BAME character as the lead. But as this is my last post for 2018 on ABBA (sorry everyone, life is getting in the way)… I’ve put the part two of my post on my blog. Click here to read, What additional ingredients are required to create a series that is led by a character from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic heritages?
Chitra Soundar writes picture books and series fiction. Her
second book in the Prince Veera series, A
Jar of Pickles and a Pinch of Justice (Walker Books, illustrated by Uma
Krishnaswamy) has been shortlisted for the Surrey
Children’s Book Award. Her latest book out is You’re Safe With
Me (illustrated by Poonam Mistry and published by Lantana Publishing). Follow her on Twitter @csoundar.
2 comments:
Fascinating stuff Chitra as I have a grandson (Yesr 2) transitioning to longer stories so the academic insight into this is very useful.
We're sorry to see you go from ABBA and will miss your energy! But will pick up on your exploits through other sources. :)
thank you
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