The return of the serial
Filed under Blog Tours, Trends & Tropes on May 20, 2008
Tagged: Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour, fantasy fiction, serial fiction
When I think of serial fiction, the first thing that comes to mind are those old black-and-white serials that used to play in theaters before the main attraction. However, serial fiction has a longer tradition in the written word than the moving picture. Writers from as early as the 19th century made their livings by submitting stories broken into contiguous installments to magazines. Many of Charles Dickens novels were originally serials. Sherlock Holmes debuted in serial fiction.
In more recent times, Stephen King published The Green Mile as a six volume serial shortly before its release as a single book. He also experimented with another serial released in 2000. Elaine Cunningham recently announced a serial project for Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG. The webzine Mindflights, subject of this month’s Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour, also has a serial fiction feature.
With the popularity of television shows like Lost and Heroes, and the power of the Internet, serial fiction can be a great way for an author to introduce audiences to their work. If the work is received well and grows a following, the collected stories could be presented to a publisher, though a little new content might need to be added in order to offer first publication rights.
Serial fiction isn’t limited to short stories, however. Serial novels are a popular choice for fantasy fiction authors. Trilogies once ruled the genre, but many recent series have eschewed that model. The Temeraire and Drizzt books are a good example of a modern serial novel. Serial novels can have self-contained stories, but include plot threads that are woven throughout the series. Harry Potter falls within this category.
Writing serial fiction requires a little thinking ahead, but has benefits for both the publisher and author. Publishers might be hesitant to sign a new fantasy fiction author proposing a trilogy, but a series allows them to test the waters before offering a multi-book contract. The author benefits from being able to build a brand, rather than limiting themselves to retiring a popular concept after just three books.
I’ve considered the serial format for my Janner Kohl stories, and am steering away from the traditional trilogy format for my Chronicles of Jord novels. Do you prefer your fantasy fiction in trilogies or serials? Let me know in the comments.
Today is day 2 of the May 2008 CSFF blog tour. Be sure to check out the other participants:
- Brandon Barr
- Justin Boyer
- Jackie Castle
- CSFF Blog Tour
- Gene Curtis
- D. G. D. Davidson
- Jeff Draper
- April Erwin
- Karina Fabian
- Beth Goddard
- Andrea Graham
- Todd Michael Greene
- Katie Hart
- Michael Heald
- Christopher Hopper
- Joleen Howell
- Jason Joyner
- Kait
- Carol Keen
- Mike Lynch
- Terri Main
- Margaret
- Rebecca LuElla Miller
- Pamela Morrisson
- John W. Otte
- John Ottinger
- Rachelle
- Steve Rice
- Ashley Rutherford
- Mirtika or Mir’s Here
- Rachelle Sperling
- Stuart Stockton
- Steve Trower
- Speculative Faith
- Robert Treskillard
- Linda Wichman
- Laura Williams
- Timothy Wise
May 20th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Remember that what we now know as the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings was originally written as a serial, as well.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Well, sorta.
While Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings as six books (plus a prologue and appendices), he intended to publish it as a single volume. His publisher broke it into three for financial reasons. Later editions combined it into one.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:53 am
Your question is a tricky one. Personally, I find it depends on the story itself. Some just lend themselves to the trilogy format where others wouldn’t feel complete with just three installments. I’m happy if the author tells their story in a satisfying way, whether it is in one part or twenty, and stops before they hit the point where it all starts coming across as forced, contrived, and of steeply diminishing quality.
I think after a while some authors become tired of a world, but the publisher keeps pushing for more books. The same happens with some science fiction and fantasy series as well. When the authors can barely stand the world in which the story’s set anymore, you can’t expect great fiction.
A. B. England’s last blog post was Searching for a Method to the Madness
May 21st, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I’m definitely a fan of the serial model.
I like a running set of characters that I can live with from book to book, but serials can be tricky to write though because authors have a habit of wanting to solve their character’s issues. Once you’ve solved the main character’s personal problem in a serial, the series is pretty much over. The next book or story is bound to fall flat.
Interesting that you mentioned Harry Potter. While obviously classic fantasy material, I consider the Potter series more detective fiction in structure. Sara Paretsky (the mystery writer) has an excellent essay on this in Sue Grafton’s 1992 Writing Mysteries collection. I picked it up in the library just recently and thought the lessons learned there were very applicable to Harry and Co.
Jamie Grove – How Not To Write’s last blog post was 6 Things Not to Do When Your Story Is Rejected
January 5th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
My husband loves serial fiction so much, he stared his own pulp fiction magazine! We have three serials running in Laser & Sword currently, and would love to add a well-written Christian Fantasy Adventure (we’re focused on heroes!)
April 28th, 2009 at 6:06 am
[...] Serial and flash fiction are popular formats among online markets like Mindflights or Laser & Sword. The short length makes them an easy read on a web page, and in the case of serials, a natural hook to draw traffic back to the site time and again. [...]