As I near the end of revising the seventh book in my debut series and start outlining the second book in my new series, I’m reminded of the persistent challenges of plotting a paranormal cozy mystery series. This ongoing process is a testament to the complexity and depth of the genre.

When I set out on this adventure to become a full-time author, I knew I wanted to write in this genre since it is the one I read the most. Yet, no matter how many books I read, I still find myself in the same spot when it comes to figuring out the plot for my next book.

I have already developed a basic overall idea of where I would like each series to go. Titles are figured out, although they can change from time to time, depending on what actually ends up being the final idea. And there is the occasional insertion of an entire novel when something happens at the end of a book that completely throws the current plan out the window. (An example would be Halloween, Hexes & Handcuffs since the ending came out of nowhere and led to the current book I am revising instead of the one I will begin plotting soon).

For my Grissel Wells Paranormal Cozy Mystery series, I even have the artifacts they will be searching for planned out. But that isn’t where the problem lies – I have all this information and don’t know exactly how to assemble all the puzzle pieces.

Take the current book I am plotting, Fang & Order. I knew what the artifact they would be trying to find was. Already having some of my character’s journey through this series figured out, I had a rough idea of what I needed to happen to my Paranormal Artifact Recovery Team members. Still, I didn’t have the story idea. The mystery that needs to happen to make this a cozy mystery.

That is the unique part of each novel. Each one needs to be a story all on its own, with a central mystery to be solved. Now, for this series, the mystery almost always involves finding the artifact causing the issues in the small town they are sent to. Yet, although this may seem like it makes it easier, it actually makes it more complicated. Why?

Well, I don’t want to tell the same story over and over again. I want each book in the series to be new and fun. And that is where brainstorming comes into play. Brainstorming is always my go-to when I work on plotting.

For my newest release, Up in Fangs, I knew the plot needed to revolve around an artifact that caused chaos. So, I sat down with my notebook and just thought about everything that this object could cause to happen.

I have been doing this with my current project, which I am trying to figure out the plot for. I started with the object itself and what it did. This is always the fun part of creating a plot in my mind. I curl up with my notebook and spew everything that pops into my head. Some of them are ridiculous, but even those “no way is that going to happen” ideas lead to something that sparks the creative side.

Now, to actually plot the novel, once I know what things I want to happen, that is when the true work comes in. Not only because I now need to put all these incidents I came up with into a reasonable and believable order, but I now need to include all the little character things I know need to happen in my book.

This whole process is really like creating a vast puzzle. A piece may fit in one spot, but when you take a step back, you see that it doesn’t really fit in with the whole of what you are creating. And I will admit, these can be frustrating times because I want this thing to happen in the story, but it doesn’t work no matter how I try to jam the edges into the slot.

So, this means back to brainstorming. But I’ve recently discovered a method that has been working (at least for this time of plotting out a novel and doesn’t guarantee it will work the next time). I have started to work backward.

Let’s say that I know what I want to happen at the moment when everything appears to be lost, and my character doesn’t know where they are going to go. This is one of those big moments towards the end that I know needs to happen, yet I can’t figure out how to get from the middle to this point.

I know what will happen in the middle, so I just need to figure out how I got from this point to the one where things are bleak. I pull out my notebook and focus on the bleak moment. Then I ask myself, “What needs to happen right before this moment?” It can be something as simple as one of the members accidentally coming in contact with the artifact to something huge, like performing this massive ritual that doesn’t go right. And then I take another step backward. What leads to the member touching the artifact? And so on, and so on. Until I finally figure out the plot that will lead my character from point A to point B.

Now, since I have characters whose lives continue as they deal with the mystery they are facing, I also have to consider that. Once I have figured out a fundamental plot with the mystery, I must throw in all the little things happening. And sometimes, while doing that, I get another piece that doesn’t precisely fit the overall plans.

This can be a huge hurdle when it comes to plotting a series since I already know where I want my characters to end up when I finally write the last THE END. Sometimes, they don’t really want to go in that direction.

For example, a huge thing happened to my main character’s boyfriend at the end of Halloween, Hexes & Handcuffs, that I had not planned to happen. Yet, as I wrote the novel, this was where the characters led me. This meant that my next book had to go in an entirely different direction than I planned to have the boyfriend end up where I needed him to be at specific points.

I had never planned to write the current book that I am revising. It never crossed my mind, but I need to take this direction because of how the previous book left off. And I am loving this new adventure.

Sometimes, even the best plans for a series take a little side. This, to me, is what makes writing so much fun: being able to let my imagination give me the direction that the story wants to take. It can really mess up the plot, causing me to go back and practically rewrite an entire book, but in the end, I also find it is these books that are the most memorable to me.

As I continue exploring the complexities of plotting a paranormal cozy mystery series, I am constantly reminded of the rewards I get when one is finished. It is a journey that I get to share with my readers. I am learning what it takes to plot and will continue to learn with each new book. I sometimes wish I could come up with that magic solution that will make plotting novels easy, yet each time, it is different, as different as each story.