Let's discuss what makes a serial!

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

 Hi there!

Last week, I posted on my blog about serials and series and serialized novels. I thought it might be fun this week to see if any of the people drawn by the spotlight had opinions on this topic!

So far, it seems like a continuum to me: at one end, you have old-fashioned serials, which encompass many, many plotlines and have no anticipated ending. These show up in soap operas, and comics, and quite a bit of web and newspaper fiction. Ongoing personal blogs are basically serial memoirs, by the way, although usually with less drama than your average old-fashioned serial.

Somewhere in the middle, you have series stories. Each story has a beginning, middle and an end, but the characters and setting carry over between stories, usually growing as the series progresses.

Then at the far end are serialized novels: novels written in advance and published one chapter at a time, in order to delight, torment or otherwise utilize an audience. They've got a beginning and an end, and when they're done, they're done. 

What I've found out through digging around on the web is that a lot of people have a lot of opinions about what works best as webfiction. Of course, tastes vary, but I'm curious what Crowdfunding's new (and old) readers think. What kind of stories do you prefer in your web reading?

For myself, while I find the ongoing drama of a serial addictive, it doesn't satisfy me as much as a finished story. I probably fall somewhere in the middle, because I place a lot of weight on solid endings to stories. But I also like to return to the settings and characters I love.

 

How about you?

Comments

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I also prefer endings (even if it's just the end of a "segment" of an on-going series, where something is brought to closure but other things continue). Mostly because I barely have time to keep up with real people's lives... keeping up with fictitious ones, knowing that they will never come to a close, is an exhausting thought.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>So far, it seems like a continuum to me<<

I agree. There are novel series too, some of which have a closed arc (Harry Potter) and others an open arc (Miles Vorkosigan).

>>What kind of stories do you prefer in your web reading?<<

As a reader, I like things that have a beginning and an end, or at least a comfortable stopping point. I'm okay with serial work of various kinds if it fits that. I'm not as fond of things that sprawl, which is why I don't read webcomics day-to-day: a few sentences of plot is frustrating rather than entertaining for me. I like episodic serials and series of stories. The Kherishdar stuff by haikujaguar is a great example: individual pieces can stand alone, but when you put them together, you get more perspective.

As a writer, I do different kinds of serial work. First, I've always had certain settings that I return to; my main fantasy world of Hallelaine is, gosh, well over 20 years old now. You can piece together some of my stories and poems to get an idea of what that world is like.

My Poetry Fishbowl has developed a bunch of poetic series (http://penultimateproductions.weebly.com/serial-poetry.html): settings and characters that people ask for repeatedly. One, the Origami Mage, has a closed arc (resolution of a conflict between two characters); most have an open arc such as Monster House (stuff that happens to a family living with paranormal characters). This development has been audience-driven; I've done batches of poems before, but rarely true serials until this happened.

I've also spent several years working in Torn World with ellenmillion. I have plot arcs there which deal with certain characters: Fala the ranger, Rai the shopkeeper, etc. Some of those stories are self-contained, while others intersect with things written by different contributors. For instance, "Leaves in a Bitter Wind (http://www.tornworld.net/storypageview.php?id=200)" came from me asking the question, "What would Fala be doing when the people of Itadesh discover that their village has burned down?" And it connects to ellenmillion's story "The Last Walk (http://www.tornworld.net/storypageview.php?id=201)" too.

Re: Yes...

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

Exploring an ongoing setting via different stories is one of my ongoing goals. I've created multiple settings and stories for just that purpose. I think I blame Discworld, primarily...

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea. I do enjoy serial writing for the chance to explore a place, double back, look at it from a different angle, and watch the characters evolve over time.

The Origami Mage series actually has a spiral plot structure, as is typical in eastern literature. There are places where I can see it looping back around to cover the same motif, but it's slightly different each time, because it's a higher turn on the spiral and the characters are more mature.

Re: Yes...

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

That sounds absolutely awesome. I must remember to check it out.

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

All of the Origami Mage poems are listed on the "Serial Poetry (http://penultimateproductions.weebly.com/serial-poetry.html)" page, with links to the published ones. This is currently my most popular series and I already have a publisher waiting to do a print edition once it concludes.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I like (and write) series stories. They're satisfying, and I can get something out of them even if I'm not following something closely (which I am rarely called to do).

[laffingkat.livejournal.com]

Egads! The thought of a story with no anticipated ending sort of scares me! I do like series stories or poems though, where I can revisit settings and characters. And I'm fine with serialized novels, though I get a bit nervous if they haven't been written in advance and I don't trust the author to finish them.

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

That's interesting! I've heard some people say that serializing a finished work robs it of life, energy and interactivity. Not something you consider a problem?

[laffingkat.livejournal.com]

No, I think that's more of a strength than a problem. If it's a well-written story (more likely once the author has finished it and had a chance to review and revise), the energy will still be there. Well, it may depend somewhat on posting in reasonable sized chunks at a reasonable pace, but most pieces can be divided into chapters or even smaller episodes that will work fine for that purpose, and pacing should be easy with a piece that's already written.

As for interactivity, I'm not sure what interactivity people are thinking of here. All that comes to mind for me is discussion with the author and other readers, and you get a lot more of that with a work being serialized than when you go to the bookstore to buy a novel. There's no longer an opportunity for the author to change the story based on audience feedback as they might with a work in progress, but in my experience, many authors posting works in progress don't change what they write much if at all based on audience feedback anyhow. I'm happy to make that tradeoff.

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

I think I linked this once before, but hey... http://tuesdayserial.com/?p=2032
one of the things I read suggesting said (and also written by the author of an ongoing no-end-in-sight serial). I've seen some of the same stuff echoed by other serial authors, although that could be that blogger's influence rather than independently arrived-at conclusions.

[laffingkat.livejournal.com]

Do you have reason to believe that these folks are more successful than other authors posting finished works online? It may be that you'll attract a different audience depending on how you post, and you should just post in whatever fashion works best for you. Then seek out mentors with a similar style for help in attracting a paying audience. :)

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

I've definitely got my own plans, set up before encountering that post and those lines of thought, and I've got far too much work invested to change them. But I mostly developed my project in a vaccuum, and that line of thought was the first discussion of the format I really encountered once I started looking. Believe me, I'm very pleased to find other kinds of thinking out there.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I think that depends wholly on the author.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Looking at long works online does rather emphasize the fact that just finishing something is An Accomplishment. Most people who get a big idea never write it down, and most who start don't finish. I've seen countless fanfics and originals peter out. It's disappointing -- and with an obvious arc left hanging, it can be downright maddening.

Re: Yes...

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

Yes...

My previous attempt on this front, nigh on 10 years ago, was a set of series short stories. I wrote 4 before petering out. I think part of my problem was that I was posting them as I wrote them and the lack of ringing acclaim depressed me. (I was young, what can I say.) And of course, distractions came up and energy fled.

That's why this time around I decided to write way, way ahead, managing both the energy issue AND lack of wild acclaim-- I could always convince myself that by the time readers got to whatever I'm working on TODAY, they'll love it.

The latter hasn't really been a problem so far, possibly because I've grown up some.

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

It helps to know what motivates you, so that you can work with that, or compensate for it if it's not immediately feasible.

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

Yes. I used to follow several webcomics of the "ongoing story" kind, rather than "collection of one-off gags", that died without going anywhere (and produced one myself...)

That leaves me more comfortable following a serial by, say, haikujaguar, since she has several completed already, than someone I don't know/who doesn't have a track record...

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

I like the "each story has some sort of ending." That's the way they used to write them in the old days -- I don't mind a plot hook unless the hook leaves you hanging (unpublished content) for longer than you expect.

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

It's true! I've been listening to The Three Musketeers and it's interesting how there are several clear story arcs in it, so that the ending of the book itself doesn't particularly stand out, and in fact left me wanting another story arc to start.

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Some stories lend themselves well to threading, others not so much. Torn World is almost all threads, it's a vast tapestry. The Origami Mage is a concise spiral plot. Monster House has progression but not really an ongoing plot.

But the Fiorenza poems thread: some of them are self-contained episodes, while others connect to ongoing storylines. There are relationships, like Fiorenza and the village priest or Fiorenza and the witch-son. There is the village itself as a setting which contains people, who have to get along somehow. So that influences the action and arcs.

[eseme]

I like endings. I like storylines being wrapped up.

I like the feeling that what I'm reading is working up to something.

It's definitely a personal preference, as I know others who like ongoing stories.

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Looking at the things I read and write, I think that I like both conclusions and continuities. In an ongoing series, I can be satisfied by moderate story arcs -- frex, the way each season of Buffy introduced a specific opponent who would show up, wreak havoc, get into several fights, and ultimately be defeated. Some serials have 'chapters,' 'books,' 'seasons,' etc. like that.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

I'm going to weigh in on the other side: I read serials and webcomics to have a bit of a world every week (or every month). I don't really want it to end.

Of course, I'm biased: I began Addergoole with the intention of continuing to write it as long as I felt like it, more or less. 2-1/2 years later, it's a sprawling megalith. But I like reading stories that keep going.

Okay...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Another haggis shortage averted! One awesome thing about crowdfunding is that, unlike the mainstream, it doesn't have to move en masse. It caters to niches; it caters to different tastes in format.

Let them eat cake! Or haggis! Whichever they prefer!

Re: Okay...

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Hee! Well put!!

[natf.livejournal.com]

/agree

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

\O/