Ever since joining Holly’s Boot Camps, one of our members has worked very hard on an epic fantasy story that will span three or four books, but he’s run into some questions that don’t fall neatly into place.

As he moves from HtTS to HtRYN, he’s becoming more aware of the complexities of juggling the intricacies of a series, while giving the reader enough information to identify with and understand the major characters, introduce the world and the way it works, and the characters’ backgrounds and goals. It’s a balancing act, and it’s not always easy to know what to do.

On the one hand, he wants his characters well enough drawn and understood to draw the reader’s empathy and make a connection–but how much of their lives and their relationships does that require?

On the other hand, he needs to move the story forward and carry the reader with them, without allowing their attention to lag.

This is a normal dilemma for novel writers, which has produced a number of responses to his questions — empathy, advice, ideas, and more. Take a look here and join the conversation. There’s much to be learned in this thread.