The Phantom Menace. Halloween 4. Alien: Resurrection. Jaws 4: The Revenge.

Why do we make fourths in a series? As the titles above prove, they rarely measure up to the first, or the first three. Is the fourth in a series cursed?

Money is behind a lot of fourths in Hollywood, surely, but authors continue to pump out a fourth book in a series. My fourth novel in a series, Will Be Done, comes out on July 4. What motivated me to write another?

It certainly wasn’t money.

The way I look at my Kingdom series is different from most. I have published three, but I don’t consider them a trilogy. Instead, the novels depict the major events in the lives of my fairytale characters. They are standalone adventures set in the kingdom of Kingdom. The prior three aren’t “leading up to this” as in some series, and you don’t need to read the others to enjoy the fourth. The fourth is its own adventure.

Fourths may be repeats of the prior three (Friday the Thirteenth, Jaws) or a slight twist (Alien 4). Another common theme is to mine the past (Phantom Menace). One of the largest sins is to try to make it bigger in scope. You know the drill. “The last time the galaxy was threatened, now it’s the entire universe!” I think that’s a mistake. The stakes are far smaller in my fourth from my third, yet the stakes are real. In fact, they are more personal than ever.

In my opinion, if you care about the characters and allow them to grow, it doesn’t matter if it’s the fourth, tenth, or hundredth in the series. It has to stand on its own and deliver an emotional punch. You care about the outcome because you care about the characters.

And I like the modern point-of-view that major characters can die. I always promise a significant kiss and a significant death in each novel. It exists in my fourth novel as well. Without a death, the stakes seem lower. Perhaps one of the central characters doesn’t die, but the death has to reverberate through the characters and have long-lasting impacts.

In the examples above, you see a movie rehashing old elements. Star Wars must explain what came before. The mystery of the past, how Darth Vader became this horrific villain, was better in my imagination than how the prequels explained them. The creators felt you must explain the past (no, you don’t). Halloween 4 must be gory and kill people in unique ways (no, it doesn’t). Indiana Jones 4 must have a family reference now that Last Crusade was a hit (no, it doesn’t).

Yes, fourths in the series can be done successfully. The key is the writing, the work you put into the characters, plot, and themes. And the risk to change the status quo up a bit (but not too much). There are successful fourths. For example, Toy Story 4. 

Enough said.