Time to Get Serial
by Bethany Maines
This week (12/9 – 12/13) one of my short stories, Oh, Holy Night, is being serialized on
Frolic – the site for all things romance.
Oh, Holy Night is a Christmas
romance involving bank robbery, coffee, and best friends. And while I’m always
ecstatic to sell and share one of my stories, I have to say that I’m a little
more over the moon about this story because of the significance of serialized
stories in the history of writing.
Frolic – the site for all things romance.
Oh, Holy Night is a Christmas
romance involving bank robbery, coffee, and best friends. And while I’m always
ecstatic to sell and share one of my stories, I have to say that I’m a little
more over the moon about this story because of the significance of serialized
stories in the history of writing.
Most people think of Charles Dickens when they think of
serialized stories. And although A Christmas Carol was not serialized,
his Pickwick Papers (1836) was
written and shared in nineteen installments, each costing a shilling. Partially, the success was due to the format
of bite-size, cliff-hanger segments sold in a time when people couldn’t dash
off and find entertainment on their phones.
But, let’s think about that for just a moment. Now that we can dash off and find entertainment
at any moment of the day, wouldn’t now be the perfect time for bite-size,
cliff-hanger segments of a story? The
old adventure movies captured this idea in the early days of film with short
movies that were meant to keep you coming back next Saturday or at the least for the next reel. Have you ever
wondered why some movies (ex: James Bond) will give you a 15 minute opening
adventure before cutting to the credits? Thank the early days of film when complete reels were 15 minutes long
and the projectionist needed to hustle to change reels. Current television has captured this format
with long story lines and cliff-hanger episodes and then broken the mold by
allowing everyone to binge watch all the episodes at once. The idea of writing
extended stories that leave the reader wanting more with each chapter is a
unique skill that is hard to master. One that I’m sure I haven’t mastered it
yet, but one that I’m excited to work on.
serialized stories. And although A Christmas Carol was not serialized,
his Pickwick Papers (1836) was
written and shared in nineteen installments, each costing a shilling. Partially, the success was due to the format
of bite-size, cliff-hanger segments sold in a time when people couldn’t dash
off and find entertainment on their phones.
But, let’s think about that for just a moment. Now that we can dash off and find entertainment
at any moment of the day, wouldn’t now be the perfect time for bite-size,
cliff-hanger segments of a story? The
old adventure movies captured this idea in the early days of film with short
movies that were meant to keep you coming back next Saturday or at the least for the next reel. Have you ever
wondered why some movies (ex: James Bond) will give you a 15 minute opening
adventure before cutting to the credits? Thank the early days of film when complete reels were 15 minutes long
and the projectionist needed to hustle to change reels. Current television has captured this format
with long story lines and cliff-hanger episodes and then broken the mold by
allowing everyone to binge watch all the episodes at once. The idea of writing
extended stories that leave the reader wanting more with each chapter is a
unique skill that is hard to master. One that I’m sure I haven’t mastered it
yet, but one that I’m excited to work on.
If you Pop over to Frolic to read Oh, Holy Night for free
and check out my effort at a serialized story!
and check out my effort at a serialized story!
**
Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her
daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up
with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her
daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up
with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.
What fun…. serialization!