Writing a series with a continuing cast of characters has its drawbacks. Sure, I know everybody, like everybody, even the villains. But there are a few inherent problems. The main one is I have to remember all that has gone before, especially character names and traits. I mean, really? I’ve just finished the 10th book of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries and I’m supposed to remember what I wrote in Murder is a Family Business, book 1? Unfortunately, yes.
I can’t change the eye color of a character, for instance. No blue eyes in one book and brown in another. Unless the character is wearing contacts for some reason. Of course, I can justify just about anything on a temporary basis, but the eye color, height, and age of a character, where they were born, their parents, all that basic stuff just can’t be tossed around, willy-nilly. Willy is willing but Nilly doesn’t like it at all.
If I have a character who is a pegleg sea captain in one book and in the next book I have him running a marathon, I’d better come up with a pretty danged good reason as to how that can happen. That’s why I probably should be keeping copious notes on the physical, emotional, and mental goings on with each continuing character. But do I? Well, I did have one somewhere, but like most of my lists, after I write them they seem to take a hike. I am even plotted against by the universe. I had a fabulous running list on the computer once and then my computer crashed. The only thing that couldn’t be restored was that stupid list. I gave up after that. So on the rare occasion I’ve forgotten something, back I go into each book searching for a specific something. A refresher course, if you will.
I just ran into this problem with my WIP, Cleopatra Slept Here, book 11, almost on the first page. I couldn’t remember Gurn’s mother’s first name. Or his father’s first name, either. I went into a panic. I usually remember things like that (probably another reason why I am sloppy about my lists) but this shocked me. So I went back into The CEO Came DOA when his parents first showed up, and discovered I never gave them first names. Lee and Gurn’s wedding turned out to be a free-for-all where anything that can go wrong did and the weather was the number one culprit/character. If I was going to give a name to anything, it would have been the wind, and as we all know from the song, I call the wind Mariah. So did the lyricist.
On the plus side, when I go back to previous books, I sometimes discover a sentence that could be written better. So I do just that and upload it. Now and then I discover certain phrases I tend to use over again (stop that, stop that, stop that!). I rewrite those, too. Because as we all know, writing is rewriting. And if you don’t want it to be finished, it doesn’t have to be.
So, on those frankly-not-too-common occasions when I have no idea what I wrote before, I try to use the experience for the better. Lemonade, doncha know. Which reminds, me I should remember to buy lemons. Where’s that list?
Ladies of Mystery 
You are so wonderfully organized! I appreciate that. Thanks for checking in and commenting.
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Whenever a reader walks up to me to chat, I dread he or she is going to ask about a specific character, and all I’ll be able to say is, Who? It’s so embarrassing, but then I don’t remember most of the people I meet. Over the years I have developed the habit of keeping a notecard for each character, but that just means I have lots of notecards with a name and nothing more. I’m pretty good with the main characters but not the others. Sometimes I wonder how I ever get a next book in a series written. Good post. I feel less embarrassed by my failings.
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I don’t consider you and I failures, but rather pantsters in every sense of the word. I’ve had people tell me they liked a particular book and for the love of me I can’t remember a thing about it. So I just nod in appreciation, hoping they won’t ask me where I got the idea from.
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Fun Post! I have a notebook for each series. When I started, I kept a list of the main characters and eventually, I began adding even the characters who were only in one book. As I write a book, I have a page to the side where I add each new character whether it is a local or not. Then after the book is finished, I add those people to my ongoing list of characters. And I’m old school, I print it out and add it behind the next tab for the book. that way I always have the characters sitting in front of me when I’m writing. But I have also had to go back to previous books to look up something that I should have had written down. It’s a never-ending list of things to remember when you write a series, that’s for sure!
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