How to Write a Trilogy - Part 2: Building a Solid Plan
Today we’re circling back to talk a bit more in depth about writing a trilogy, specifically a dynamic trilogy–a single overarching story told in three acts (each act is a book).
I didn’t finish the dynamic trilogy I was writing a few years back and I don’t want that for you if you’ve got an idea you want to span three books. So let me share the lessons I’ve learned.
I work with a lot of fantasy and sci-fi writers and dynamic trilogies are definitely a popular way to tell a big story. It’s not the only way a trilogy can be told, which we talked about in the last article, but it’s a big bite to take so let’s talk strategy.
How to Plot a Dynamic Trilogy That Holds Together
If you’re dreaming up a trilogy but only have a solid handle on book one, or just have no clue where to start, this is for you.
I run into many writers—especially speculative and romantic fantasy writers—who are planning a trilogy, but they haven’t figured out how to make that story arc stretch across three books in a way that keeps building tension and emotional resonance.
They often have a really solid idea for the first book, but haven’t looked beyond that and often worry that they don’t have enough plot to sustain the story.
And get it. I started my trilogy exactly the same way: didn’t think about where I was going (or the bigger scope of the conflict) and because of that I didn’t write the next two installments—yet anyway.
Now that was me, not everyone will experience the same fate. I’m sure there are plenty of pantsers out there who have written armfuls of trilogies without knowing where they are going or how they’ll end up.
But if you’re like me, prone to worry and like a little more control, then I hope this chat on strategizing the trilogy will help you gain some purchase.
No BS. A trilogy is a beast. But it’s also deeply satisfying when it works. And you write it just like anything else: one word at a time, one book at a time. And the time will pass whether you invest in that story or not. So if it’s on your heart, and it’s a story you want to tell, don’t let the length overwhelm you. Instead let’s use strategy to make sure your trilogy (and you) can go the distance.
First, let’s set some terms:
What Is a Dynamic Trilogy?
In general, there are two kinds of series: static and dynamic.
A static series is episodic. Each book stands alone and the reader doesn’t need to read the first in the series to get the conflict or what the protagonist is trying to do.
A dynamic series tells one long, overarching story. Each book builds up to the next. And in a trilogy, it’s broken into three acts—aka, books. Think The Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone, The Empyrean Series, The Cities of the Weft, or The First Sister trilogy.
A dynamic trilogy needs four things:
A central conflict that evolves and escalates–often it’s far bigger than what is introduced in book one. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the reader and often the main characters.
A protagonist whose internal arc transforms across all three books.
Progressive stakes—emotional, relational, and external—that rise all the way through.
Each book needs to contain a satisfying arc on its own, and move the larger story forward. No filler. No “middle book slump.”
Here are some basic footholds you can use to get started planning your dynamic trilogy.
Step 1: Find Your Series Start and End Points
Start with the big picture. What changes over the course of all three books?
Examine The External Conflict
What’s wrong with the world at the beginning of the story and why?
How will that be resolved by the end?
Track Your Character Arc
What false belief does your protagonist carry at the start of the story? What do they believe about themselves and their world that doesn’t serve them? Why?
What do they believe (about themselves, others, and the world) at the end of the series and what made them change their point of view?
Consider The Relationship Arcs
This is especially important for a romantic fantasy or series with strong character bonds:
How does the main relationship start? What’s it like? Why’s it like that?
What does it look like in Book Three? What changed and why?
Consider The Antagonist Roles and Arcs
Who or what is working against your protagonist and why?
What do these forces want in book one and how do they show up?
How do they evolve over the series, and what becomes of them by the end?
Step 2: Understand Story Structure (for a Single Book)
Even if you’re a discovery writer, it helps to know the major turning points of your story. Think of this as your story’s spine.
Act 1 (0–25%): Introduce the world, protagonist, and false belief. The inciting incident disrupts the protagonist's norm and introduces the major conflict of the story.
Act 2A (25–50%): Enter the “new world.” Try/fail cycle begins. Midpoint twist changes everything.
Act 2B (50–75%): Stakes rise. Things fall apart. Character starts to shift internally.
Act 3 (75–100%): All is lost. Dark night. Breakthrough. Climax. Resolution.
Over the course of book one, your protagonist goes from reactive to proactive as they go after their goal. From clinging to their false belief to embracing an often hard truth (or at least some of it). That same shape can (and should) apply across the full trilogy.
Step 3: Apply the Three-Act Structure to the Entire Trilogy
Think of your trilogy like one giant story, with each book acting as a major structural turning point.
Book 1 = Act I of the Trilogy
Introduce the world, character, false belief, and the central conflict for the first book and hint at the larger conflict of the series.
End with a major choice, betrayal, or discovery that escalates the conflict and sets Book 2 in motion.
Book 2 = Act II
Things get messier. Allies shift. The antagonist makes big moves.
Midpoint: a massive revelation changes the protagonist’s understanding of what they’re up against in light of the global series conflict.
The book ends on another high-stakes turn: loss, betrayal, revolution, or a deeper personal fracture.
Book 3 = Act III
All threads converge. Final battles, final choices, final internal reckoning.
The character must let go of their false belief (or major flaw) to win (if this is a positive arc of change story—many trilogies are).
End with a resolution that reflects meaningful change—personally, relationally, and globally.
Example: The Hunger Games:
Book 1: Katniss volunteers, survives the Games, and sparks rebellion (the bigger story conflict).
Book 2: She's forced back into the arena. The rebellion becomes unavoidable.
Book 3: She becomes the Mockingjay, confronts the truth about power, and ultimately reclaims her life on her own terms.
Step 4: Weave in the Romance (Optional—but Powerful)
If you're writing romantic fantasy (especially if it’s more in line with fantasy romance: read must have a HEA or an HFN), you’ll want the emotional arc of the relationship to evolve in tandem with the fantasy plot.
Use Gwen Hayes’s Romancing the Beat (this is a great romance resource) structure to stretch the love story across all three books:
Book 1:
Meet Cute, Resistance, Adhesion, Growing Connection
Ends with an emotional turning point or temporary setback
Book 2:
Emotional Deepening, New Obstacles, Intimacy, Major Conflict
Likely ends with a breakup, major rift or being torn apart by external conflict.
Book 3:
Longing, Reconnection, Big Sacrifices, Grand Gestures
Ends with commitment, HFN or HEA
Each beat should reflect the internal growth of the characters—and echo the rising stakes of the main plot.
Final Questions to Ask Yourself
Does your external conflict escalate in each book?
Are your characters evolving emotionally in meaningful ways?
Do your romantic (or other relationship) arcs parallel the growth in the main plot?
Does each book earn its ending?
Do the first two books set up the next leg of the story?
Takeaway
Trilogies take some planning. But you don’t have to know everything and the story will evolve as you write it. Just make sure you’ve got a big enough conflict and room for enough character growth to sustain the plot.
If you start by mapping out the emotional and external shifts that happen across each installment, you’ll give yourself a roadmap that keeps your story cohesive, but also allows for lots of freedom.
You don’t need to have every scene figured out. You just need to know where you’re going—and why your characters are willing to fight to get there.
And if you’re staring at Book 2, terrified you’ll mess it all up? You won’t. Just get the bones down. The story is created in layers during the drafting and revision process. You got this. Go to it.
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