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~~~~~~~~~Writing Serial & Series Fiction
~ Not just another Novel idea ~Please note; this is how the Professionals do it. Those of you who are Not professional are free to write (and post) as you please.
A Serial Story is Not a chopped-up Novel!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~I hear it time and time again: "If the story is too big, why don't you just cut it up into a Series or Serial?"
You can't just cut a novel-type Story in half to make a series, or use the chapters to serialize it. A true serial "episode" is its own Complete Story within a larger story. A Serial tale is NOT a chapter with book cover – and neither are Series books.
Individual Stories?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~The first thing any writer learns is: “A story must have a Beginning, a Middle and an End”. EACH Serial and Series chapters, or episodes, must have a Beginning, a Middle, and an End, too!
Why? To interest New Readers.
Professionally published Series books and Serial episodes, whether it's a TV program, a set of novels, or a comic book series are EACH written as whole stories because a whole story is more likely to catch and hold the attention of new readers or viewers than a random hunk of story from the middle of a longer work.
The difference between a Story and a Serial is:
Plot Structure
A Story has One main plotline.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~A typical novel-type story has ONE Plot (action-driven) Arc -- the chain of events that happen while the characters make other plans -- and One Character (emotion-driven) Arc -- what the characters' are feeling about what's happening to them -- for each of the main characters: the Proponent, (the main character) the Antagonist, (the villain) and the Ally (love-interest or buddy). The overall story usually focuses on one main character's view of events while hinting at the other main characters' stories.
A novel typically has either two plot/character arcs: one for the Proponent, (the main character,) and one for the Ally, (the buddy or love-interest,) or Three: One for the Proponent, one for the Ally, and one for the Antagonist. Traditionally, the main plotline focuses on the Proponent and uses strictly their viewpoint. I have, however, read some excellent books that focused on the viewpoint of the Ally or the Antagonist.
Some authors have more than three main characters, (Proponent, Ally, Antagonist) and strong subplots for secondary characters in addition to the main characters, but their stories are HUGE. (In the case of Fan-fiction, those stories rarely end because the writer loses interest or gets lost before they can get to the end.)
Stephen King typically has one over-all plotline and separate plot/character arcs for at least three characters in each of his books, which amounts to a whole story for each character. He simply alternates between characters at chapter breaks. This of course, increases the size of the story. Instead of one main story, Mr. King has three, or more, smaller stories all connected by the same events (plot arc) under one cover. By the way, Mr. King used to write Serials!
A Serialized Story has, at least, TWO whole plot-lines happening at any given time - Plus a Story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Comic book series, a TV series, and an Anime series are traditionally divided by progressive Seasons with 12 to 24 episodes per (seasonal) plotline. Each new issue or episode opens with an intro to all the main characters (usually done via the credits,) then focuses briefly on that episode's protagonist in the opening sequence right before the commercial.
The story then dives into the action, which is either a piece of one of the subplots (with hints at the over-all plot,) or a piece of the overall plot (with hints at one - or more - of the sub-plots). Ideally, each character in a serial including the villain, has their own subplot story going on during the main plot. Even so, each individual episode is an entire story all by itself that dovetails into every other episodic plot arc making a single cohesive whole.
Click Here to see an image of Plot vs. SubplotThe trick to doing lots of serial episodes is by switching the focus of an episode to another main character, so that each has a chance to tell their own story -- one whole episode focusing on that one character.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had PLENTY of characters to play with, and then some. Buffy had her Watcher, Angel, Willow and Xander, just to scratch the surface. Spike, the main villain, had Drusilla or some other support vampire.
In the old 1960's Batman TV series, Batman occasionally showed Robin's, Alfred's, Commissioner Gorden's and Batgirl's point of view. Batman’s weekly villain also got at least one whole episode too, (usually the episode that began an arc.) In addition, the Villain always had at least one close partner that eventually betrayed them.
The cast of Naruto is GIGANTIC. Typical of most manga series, that series is cut into even smaller pieces with one chapter spanning 3 to 48 episodes per Chapter plus 3 to 24 Chapters per Arc.
With 4 to 6 major point-of-view characters including the villain, plus the viewpoint of one or two of the support characters that are seen fairly regularly -- that's a LOT of Story.
Why Extra Characters?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The longer a series runs, the more ‘story’ is needed, so more characters are added.
A typical TV series starts out with 4 to 6 major good guys plus the main character, and 1 major bad guy with other minor good-guys and bad-guys wandering through the main plotline. The last episode in the season brings all the main characters together for one big, final climactic scene. A few characters are lost in the finale and the next season starts with those characters replaced by new characters.
Each successive season typically adds more characters plus changing the situations of some of the old ones.
Why? Because they need more story to keep the serial going.
Serial verses Series
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Serial and the Series share most of the same characteristics, with one major difference – PLOT CONCLUSION.
A Series completes ALL the subplots featured in that one book. A Serial does not. A Serial completes ONE major plotline, while hinting at others.
Typical Series Novel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAIN PLOT Question 1
MAIN PLOT Question 2
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 1
MAIN PLOT Question 3
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 3
SUBPLOT Question 1
MAIN PLOT Question 4
MAIN PLOT Question 5
SUBPLOT Question 2
MAIN PLOT Question 6
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 4
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 6
CLIMACTIC MAIN PLOT Question
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 2
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 5
CLIMACTIC ANSWERS (Resolving MAIN PLOT and ALL SUBPLOTS)
Typical Serial Episode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAIN PLOT Question 1
MAIN PLOT Question 2
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 1
MAIN PLOT Question 3
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 3
SUBPLOT Question 1
MAIN PLOT Question 4
MAIN PLOT Question 5
SUBPLOT Question 2
MAIN PLOT Question 6
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 4
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 6
CLIMACTIC MAIN PLOT Question
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 2
MAIN PLOT ANSWER 5
CLIMACTIC MAIN PLOT ANSWER
SUBPLOT ANSWER 1 or SUBPLOT Question 3 -- leading (cliff-hanging) into the next installment... (Remember - SUBPLOT Question 2 is STILL Unanswered!)
TV Series...or are they?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The “Babylon 5" series had one massive over-all plot arc divided into seasonal plot arcs, divided into individual but connecting episodes that all added up to One Whole Story. “Babylon 5" was a true Serial.
"FarScape" had a very thin master plot arc with strong seasonal plot arcs made up of episodes that added up to one Seasonal Story. "FarScape" was a series of serials.
The original "Star Trek" TV series did not have an over-all plot arc of any kind, merely episodes that could be viewed in any random order. "Star Trek" was a true series.
"Star Trek-Next Generation" had thin seasonal plot arcs with the occasional story that was more than one episode long. "ST-Next Gen" was a series with a few serialized episodes.
Each episode for ALL of these TV programs was a Complete Individual Story."No, you Can't just cut a Story into a Serial!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~In order to create a serialized novel, the story must be crafted to be a serial from the beginning.
~ Each episode should be an individual story with a beginning, a middle, and an end under a single overall plotline to hold it together.
~ Each episode can represent a separate adventure for your main character (like a comic book) or be a separate adventure that focuses on any one of your characters (like a TV or Anime series), but each installment must be an entire story all by themselves.
~ To tie the episodes together into a cohesive whole, each successive episode should either answer a Master Plot question - or answer an earlier Master Plot question. The key here is subtlety.
~ To wrap up a season or the entire series, the serial climax brings all the characters together then ends with a final episode where the main character deals with the main villain in a grand finale.
The Plot - Thins: (In Short)
~~~~~~~~~~A Novel-type Story
- One whole story with one cast of characters.
A Series
- A group of complete full-length stand-alone stories (novels) all in the same universe with one (related or unrelated) cast of characters per story.
A Serial
- Lots of stories all related to each other that create one big (ongoing) story. A serial normally has one main cast of characters, though the cast tends to grow as the serial continues from season to season. A long-running serial is often divided into "seasonal" plot arcs.
In Conclusion…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The plot arc for a single title novel just isn't complex enough to be cut into a serial without major work. An ordinary novel just doesn’t have what it takes, plot-wise, to live up to a serial’s standards.
Keep in mind this is how the Professionals do it. Those of you who are Not professional are free to write (and post) as you please.
Enjoy!
Category Story / Tutorials
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I wish your writing tutorials were a drug so I could intravenously inject them into my veins.
the novel i am writing is indeed, one book but I have found that writing non-canon stories and submitting them weekly has given me more confidence to write for the canon novel.
awesome tutorial Ookami!
the novel i am writing is indeed, one book but I have found that writing non-canon stories and submitting them weekly has given me more confidence to write for the canon novel.
awesome tutorial Ookami!
I'm glad you like my tutorials!
the novel i am writing is indeed, one book but I have found that writing non-canon stories and submitting them weekly has given me more confidence to write for the canon novel.
I swear by posting stories as a way to not only practice one's craft but gain the reader insight one needs to build confidence. Just don't let it go to your head. Publishing house standards can either be very High or very LOW. Be careful about who you pick to write for.
the novel i am writing is indeed, one book but I have found that writing non-canon stories and submitting them weekly has given me more confidence to write for the canon novel.
I swear by posting stories as a way to not only practice one's craft but gain the reader insight one needs to build confidence. Just don't let it go to your head. Publishing house standards can either be very High or very LOW. Be careful about who you pick to write for.
a lot of excellent points brought up. a question though - it one was writing a story where the character was already developing of sorts, but starting it a bit into the character's development instead of the beginning, would it be ok to proceed from that standpoint? I mean, I guess it would be difficult to establish what teh character's do unless the perspective of the story was viewed from someone that was being introduced to the character for the first time, right?
sorry if it was rambling, but I have been trying to work on a story idea with a character, but not sure how it should proceed fully, but i would like it to be told from a point party way through his development.
sorry if it was rambling, but I have been trying to work on a story idea with a character, but not sure how it should proceed fully, but i would like it to be told from a point party way through his development.
The best way of starting a story (from my experience) is One page away from the first major confrontation. The reader Doesn't need an introduction to your character, (that's info-dumping.) They don't even need to know who your character is--beyond what they LOOK Like. Let the reader discover who they are along the way, through their characters actions, dialogue and internal commentary.
Seriously, the LESS the readers knows, the MORE they want to read.
Consider this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark, it was wet, and it was cold. The chilly breeze cut through her thin, peach silk nightgown like fine blades. The puddles under her bare feet were little more than barely melted ice. She had no idea why she was in that narrow brick-walled alley, or even how she'd gotten there. Even worse, none of it was recognizable. Not even the peeling theatre posters on the wall--though they were in English. At the end of the alley was light and the sound of passing cars drifted to her ears, though that wasn't quite right either.
She started walking. She had no idea what she was heading into--or out of, but what she did know, was that if she didn't do something, she was going to freeze to death.
~~~~~~~~~~
If this was the opening paragraph to a story, would YOU want to keep reading it? Now, think about WHY.
Seriously, the LESS the readers knows, the MORE they want to read.
Consider this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark, it was wet, and it was cold. The chilly breeze cut through her thin, peach silk nightgown like fine blades. The puddles under her bare feet were little more than barely melted ice. She had no idea why she was in that narrow brick-walled alley, or even how she'd gotten there. Even worse, none of it was recognizable. Not even the peeling theatre posters on the wall--though they were in English. At the end of the alley was light and the sound of passing cars drifted to her ears, though that wasn't quite right either.
She started walking. She had no idea what she was heading into--or out of, but what she did know, was that if she didn't do something, she was going to freeze to death.
~~~~~~~~~~
If this was the opening paragraph to a story, would YOU want to keep reading it? Now, think about WHY.
That will definitely give me something to work with.
Excellent!
Granted the char I am going to be writing for is not going to be barefoot in a damp alley...
Then put them somewhere else that's fairly scary like a fight or some other danger. By the way, Danger is the perfect opportunity to show off any special abilities your character has right away.
Excellent!
Granted the char I am going to be writing for is not going to be barefoot in a damp alley...
Then put them somewhere else that's fairly scary like a fight or some other danger. By the way, Danger is the perfect opportunity to show off any special abilities your character has right away.
Very useful and insightful informations, especially for those among us who might consider making a living of writing, and becoming professional writers.
I would like, as an avid roleplayer, to point out that roleplaying, when done in a good way by both the Game Master and the Players, is very much like a Serial Episode. Which is something all good GM should keep in mind when they plan their campaigns and plots. A good GM, while preparing the Main Plot, must also keep in mind the personal subplots of each and every Player Character, as well than those of the NPCs, be it allies, villains, or even neutral who might be drawn into an active role in the overall story.
I am currently playing in a Star Trek RPG. My own character has several personal subplots going, some of them have been going for several months now, ie through several main plots that we played. A few of those have been interrupted, due to events in one of the Main Plots, for the sake of cohesion of the story and plausibility, but have picked up again once the plot was over, and one has been integrated as full part of the new Main Plot.
About every PC on the RPG has a handful of personal Subplots and NPCs that they play, adding to the whole atmosphere of the universe, as well than adding depth to their characters and other characters, via the interaction between characters and with NPCs, allowing relationships to develop, past events to be told for the enjoyment of everyone, and so on, while keeping in mind the current Main Plot and making everyone, PCs and NPCs, react to the events.
It makes for a very good training to writing Serials, as it is a delicate balance between allowing freedom of expression to the players, thus letting them express their creativity, and keeping it coherent as a whole. I haven't dared to count, but, I think that we have probably about 20 or so subplots going on at any given time (except when the Main Plot requests everyone to group together, like a space battle or such), and everything goes mostly smoothly, which just makes everyone enjoy the RP and want to continue to play together.
I would like, as an avid roleplayer, to point out that roleplaying, when done in a good way by both the Game Master and the Players, is very much like a Serial Episode. Which is something all good GM should keep in mind when they plan their campaigns and plots. A good GM, while preparing the Main Plot, must also keep in mind the personal subplots of each and every Player Character, as well than those of the NPCs, be it allies, villains, or even neutral who might be drawn into an active role in the overall story.
I am currently playing in a Star Trek RPG. My own character has several personal subplots going, some of them have been going for several months now, ie through several main plots that we played. A few of those have been interrupted, due to events in one of the Main Plots, for the sake of cohesion of the story and plausibility, but have picked up again once the plot was over, and one has been integrated as full part of the new Main Plot.
About every PC on the RPG has a handful of personal Subplots and NPCs that they play, adding to the whole atmosphere of the universe, as well than adding depth to their characters and other characters, via the interaction between characters and with NPCs, allowing relationships to develop, past events to be told for the enjoyment of everyone, and so on, while keeping in mind the current Main Plot and making everyone, PCs and NPCs, react to the events.
It makes for a very good training to writing Serials, as it is a delicate balance between allowing freedom of expression to the players, thus letting them express their creativity, and keeping it coherent as a whole. I haven't dared to count, but, I think that we have probably about 20 or so subplots going on at any given time (except when the Main Plot requests everyone to group together, like a space battle or such), and everything goes mostly smoothly, which just makes everyone enjoy the RP and want to continue to play together.
Kidding! Seriously, however, this is amazingly helpful to me. Having read this, I'm almost embarrassed at some of the things that I've written and put out. I'll definitely be using this a bit more than I was now that I understand the technical side of things more. Thank you very much for having something so clear and poignant where us lower mortals can access and understand it!
I'm a lower mortal too. I did NOT go to college. I barely passed high school. I learned the bulk of this the hard way--through observation and experimentation. The rest was hammered into me by my editors. I just happen to like sharing what I've learned.
I'm glad you found it helpful.
I'm glad you found it helpful.
best/worst example i can see of this is the Eragon series 3rd book Brisingr...truly just the filler "pull every last string into a little knot to let the final book be about the last main plot arc to begin with" which annoyed the hell out of me, none of it was really plot material just side stuff but this brings on my question.
for a series/serial is filler needed? *coughs*BLEACH in its entirety almost*coughs harder*
for a series/serial is filler needed? *coughs*BLEACH in its entirety almost*coughs harder*
for a series/serial is filler needed? *coughs*BLEACH in its entirety almost*coughs harder*
NO. They only pull that crap when the publisher gets greedy for money and the author has run out of ideas. 9 times out of 10, that filler isn't even written by the actual Author.
BLEACH pissed me off too. There's No Plot, just one fight scene after the next, and the world-building utterly sucks! The logic is completely inconsistent. Case in point, you have to be DEAD to become a Shinigami yet they Bleed??? They live in houses? They Eat? They AGE??? They Die? WTF??? How can you Die if you're already Dead?
NO. They only pull that crap when the publisher gets greedy for money and the author has run out of ideas. 9 times out of 10, that filler isn't even written by the actual Author.
BLEACH pissed me off too. There's No Plot, just one fight scene after the next, and the world-building utterly sucks! The logic is completely inconsistent. Case in point, you have to be DEAD to become a Shinigami yet they Bleed??? They live in houses? They Eat? They AGE??? They Die? WTF??? How can you Die if you're already Dead?
for a series/serial is filler needed? *coughs*BLEACH in its entirety almost*coughs harder*
NO. They only pull that crap when the publisher gets greedy for money and the author has run out of ideas. 9 times out of 10, that filler isn't even written by the actual Author.
BLEACH pissed me off too. There's No Plot, just one fight scene after the next, and the world-building utterly sucks! The logic is completely inconsistent. Case in point, you have to be DEAD to become a Shinigami yet they Bleed??? They live in houses? They Eat? They Die? WTF??? How can you Die if you're already Dead?
NO. They only pull that crap when the publisher gets greedy for money and the author has run out of ideas. 9 times out of 10, that filler isn't even written by the actual Author.
BLEACH pissed me off too. There's No Plot, just one fight scene after the next, and the world-building utterly sucks! The logic is completely inconsistent. Case in point, you have to be DEAD to become a Shinigami yet they Bleed??? They live in houses? They Eat? They Die? WTF??? How can you Die if you're already Dead?
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