Daily Archives: January 3, 2021

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Starting a Novel Series with a Partner–The Stakes by E.J. Williams

January 3, 2021 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Starting a Novel Series with a Partner by E. J. Williams tagged as E.J. Williams, Planning, writing a series, writing partners

Picture of writing partners, E.J. Williams, both wearing hats and one holding a gun.

The Stakes

My husband, Will Zeilinger and I are E. J. Williams and we co-write the INTERNATIONAL CRIME FILES, a hardboiled/thriller detective series that takes the reader from 1960s Southern California, then on to international locales. STONE PUB goes to Ireland and is our first book of the new series.

Every author has a unique way to begin writing a crime novel. In this new series, we asked ourselves, “What is at stake?” This question gives the reader something to look forward to as they delve into the story.

The nature of these stakes needs to be agreed upon when writing with a partner. All future books should have stakes of a similar or more intense level.

When we brainstormed about what would be at stake in our first story, we arrived at four great ideas. After talking about them and coming up with subplots for each one, we wrote them down and decided to meet again. Our second meeting focused on the pros and cons of each stake. After considering all of them, we chose the third stake. Once we had the stakes chosen, the story was ready to be outlined. We didn’t realize until much later that we had stakes for the next three novels, all ready to go!

Brainstorming is the best way for writing partners to set the stakes. Remember . . . the most crucial thing is to write a good story. So stay tuned . . . there is more to come.

STONE PUB will be published May 2021, it is the first in the series, and yes . . . we are still married!

Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn

Website: Will Zeilinger