: Re: Is it a common practice to provide a chapter/section reference from the next volume in a series to the previous? When writing a series of fiction books in which characters, universe, and events

@Michele605

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I don't think it's common practice at all. I also don't think it's a good idea for similar reasons as covered in Using footnotes in fiction: children's book which can be enjoyed by adults already linked by F1Krazy.

If at all possible, I'd include reminders about who this character is or when the reader might have last seen them within the text itself. In your example, the character is talking about an event (meeting another character) that the reader might remember if you give enough in-universe reminders. You can reference the place the conversation took place, the time (maybe it was shortly before the start of the war, or during that really cold winter, or during the full moon festival), or anything else that might jog the reader's memory.

In other circumstances (e.g. when the MC meets someone again they've met before) you might have the characters remember the earlier meeting, or alternatively (if that's what you're going for) struggle to remember while being unable to shake the feeling that this person seems familiar. (In that case, pointing out exactly where the character was last seen out-of-universe might even defeat the purpose.)

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