Take careful notes on which plot development methods work and how the writer pulled them off - you can refer back to these if you run into any structuring issues ahead. Read like a detectiveĮven if you’ve already read many trilogies, chances are you didn’t read them while wondering how to write a trilogy yourself, so return to them with the forensic, inquisitive eye of a writer. Just know that if you’re trying to write a romance trilogy, The Lord of the Rings isn’t likely to be much help (though Gimli and Legolas ‘shippers’ may beg to disagree). Trilogies are more common in sci-fi, fantasy, YA, and dystopian fiction, but they can appear in almost any genre: a few notable examples include the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel (historical/literary fiction), The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett ( historical fiction), and The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (crime fiction). Once you know them well, you can make your stories more impressive by playing into tropes or subverting them.

Know the tropes of your genre inside-outįamiliarize yourself with the tropes of trilogies - specifically the ones in your genre. This is critical for structurally complex works like trilogies, where the author must find a balance between long-term plot and characterization, while also producing satisfying conclusions in each installment. The key to beginning any writing project is to read around it. Click to tweet! Step 1: Study popular trilogies in your genre Thomas Cromwell, 'entertaining' his guests with a quick reading of the Gormenghast trilogy.

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