Serial Stories: why we publish our stories in serial format and other not so important things in life!
Why we publish our stories in serial format:
We publish our stories in serial format, in part, because it is the way we write them. We pick a topic for everyone to write about. (It's the reason we have six Carol Jean stories all with six different Carol Jeans. I know, very confusing but the topic was Carol Jean's funeral.) The first week, we start a story and then pass the story on to the next author. Then, for the next five weeks we each get a new story, write on it during the week and then pass it on to the next author. The last week, we get our own story back and conclude the story. It takes us seven weeks to write the story and only seven days for you to read it! For us, the authors, it's amazing to see the journeys our stories take. We write them with ideas on where our stories could go so it's fun to see what really happens to them!
What else has been published serially:
The Pickwick Papers, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Anna Karenina (took four years to publish entire story) and some of Sherlock Holmes plus many, many more!
How did you get started writing serial stories:
I (Frances) did this with my students when I used to teach years ago. They always had such a good time doing it. There wasn't the pressure of finishing the entire story or knowing where you were taking these events so it could be just fun. I thought we should try it with our writing group, mostly to get us writing on a regular basis. It worked and we enjoyed doing it so we kept it up and now we're sharing these stories with the world (or at least those who amazing enough to come to our website!).
What does your writing group do (mostly asked by our husbands):
We get together once a month and discuss what we've written (as well as talk, laugh and have Thelma's yummy treats!). Half the group is responsible for having something to share for us to critique and help with. Most of us are working on novels or short stories we want to publish. It's amazing what these ladies come up with! If you know JoLyn, ask her about her short story Extinguished. It was eye opening!
***Be sure to check out our new forum below. We have a new topic under the News heading. We'd like to know any ideas you have for topics for upcoming serial stories! Share and in the future you just might be reading a story that started from a suggestion you made.
