Hi, friends! I noticed that...

[Krizzirk]

I haven't had to articulate this before, so talking out of my butt a little, but three seems to be a "magic" number in writing. Something happening once or twice can be coincidence. Three times, not so much. One or two tries at something, not enough to build tension. But three seems to be just right, because four may feel like too much and may make it so the reader feels like things are being dragged out.

Three also makes it so you never really have a stalemate when voting. Person one votes A. Person two votes B. Now it's up to Person three to make the deciding vote, or they may vote for C. Either way, it creates disagreement/tension among all three. Person three's choice will affect their relationship with Person one and/or Person two. Three characters makes the interactions and relationships between characters more complex, where one person can always be pulled in three different directions, and be constantly making choices between three things, instead of two if there's only one other person involved. You can agree with one of the other two characters or you can have your own opinion. This can help maintain conflict in the story, because there can always be a situation where there's one dissenting person.

A lot of the things that apply to the number 3 can apply to other odd numbers as well, in terms of voting, etc. Also, numerology may come into this. A lot of people say 7 is a lucky number.

my2cents

These are very sound perspectives, it didnt occur to me that way, I really should rock away my procrastinative habit, and star poring over novels

 

[Azul-din]

Not forgetting strophe, antistrophe and epode- elements of Greek classical Ode.. Sort of like statement, counter-statement and resolution. LOTR is a good modern example in literature.

 

[Krizzirk]

I dont get what youre saying, but I agree that LotR set the standard for modern literature, judging from reviews and reaction that Ive seen so far

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Think of it this way, plays tend to be written in a three-act format. Trilogies fit neatly into the Beginning-Middle-End format. Now, there are other reasons... like, it's really expensive to print the Lord of the Rings in one book. But if you look at movie series, they also tend to—best—collect into three parts. When a series of movies goes beyond that, they tend to be getting long in the tooth. The same can be said for books. Readers will drop out as the series goes on and on and on, even if the bulk stick with the series. I had a reader comment just the other day that they weren't going past the third book because they didn't want to get stuck in a long series. But! Three books was fine.

 

[Krizzirk]

I see. What about few sets of trilogies done in the same settings? Oh wait did I miss a point

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I am kind of doing this now. But! Having a large series can also have the advantage of bringing the readers along. You can't please everyone, so you do what the story demands. That's your best bet.

I see. What about few sets of trilogies done in the same settings? Oh wait did I miss a point

 

[Rexenm]

Not forgetting strophe, antistrophe and epode- elements of Greek classical Ode.. Sort of like statement, counter-statement and resolution. LOTR is a good modern example in literature.

Sounds like a chess move.

 

[Azul-din]

I dont get what youre saying, but I agree that LotR set the standard for modern literature, judging from reviews and reaction that Ive seen so far

Blame it on a classical education which gives me the power to bore the pants off anyone.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I see. What about few sets of trilogies done in the same settings? Oh wait did I miss a point

Robbin Hobb has done this with the Fitz stories. Check the Farseer trilogy, Tawny man trilogy, etc. I think there are 4 trilogies in that series.

I think one very important aspect of series, trilogies or longer, is money. If you have 1 book, you can always only sell that one book. If you have a series, then if you sell the first book, the next few will sell themselves. It takes the same marketing effort to sell more books. And if you're advertising on Amazon, then the cost per click is so high, that you'll only ever make money if you have a longer series.

 

[Krizzirk]

Robbin Hobb has done this with the Fitz stories. Check the Farseer trilogy, Tawny man trilogy, etc. I think there are 4 trilogies in that series.

I think one very important aspect of series, trilogies or longer, is money. If you have 1 book, you can always only sell that one book. If you have a series, then if you sell the first book, the next few will sell themselves. It takes the same marketing effort to sell more books. And if you're advertising on Amazon, then the cost per click is so high, that you'll only ever make money if you have a longer series.

I see, that's sounds a good one! And yes, whatd you call it again? Snowball effect right.
and the only other example that I know of is the Magician saga by mr Raymond E Feist..i goes on and on within set of trilogies..,.and afaik it is complete, I think back in 2012 I think, was one of the saga I wanna purchase and collect, because I read the first half of Magician, called Magician Apprentice, parrantly the splitted the Magician into Apprentice and Master

 

[Rexenm]

I see, that's sounds a good one! And yes, whatd you call it again? Snowball effect right.
and the only other example that I know of is the Magician saga by mr Raymond E Feist..i goes on and on within set of trilogies..,.and afaik it is complete, I think back in 2012 I think, was one of the saga I wanna purchase and collect, because I read the first half of Magician, called Magician Apprentice, parrantly the splitted the Magician into Apprentice and Master

Yeah, I read a bit of Feast, and the second.

 

[Ender Falls building]

I noticed that a lot of authors like to write their books in trilogy. Why is it so?

The books usually take a lot of work and money therefore taking longer and making the publishers feel like they have no autonomy.

 

[Krizzirk]

The books usually take a lot of work and money therefore taking longer and making the publishers feel like they have no autonomy.

What is autonomy xD
Sorry
Oh ok, freedom..