Tag: Writing

Serial Distraction

~ Meg ~ 28 Comments

The disadvantages of writing a piece of serial fiction never occur to me until after I’ve started writing and posting on my blog. I get these story ideas and find that they’re too long for one blog post and suddenly they take on a life of their own. Then I find myself facing the pressure of writing a new section each week whether the ideas are forthcoming or not! I should have learned my lesson last time.

Even with a well outlined plot, each segment of a serial piece is a little short story on its own and has to have a mini story arc in itself. To keep the readers’ interest from week to week, there needs to be action and intrigue, there is less time for character development and transition between scenes. Imagine the difference if the reader had the entire piece to read all at once. Both the writer and the reader would have time to explore a little history and character backstory, and the physical location or setting. The hook at the start and the cliff hanger at the end don’t need to come every 800-1000 words. It can be exhausting! Nevertheless, I treat these serial pieces as explorations and of course, they are truly at the rough draft stage, needing revision and expansion. So if each section of the current serial is less than perfect, I hope you will take those things into account.

I remind myself when I get frustrated, that the novel I’m working on began its life as a serial piece —you know, that WWI story I keep talking about? Yeah, I really need to get back to that!

So even though I’ve been distracted from my main work in progress, I still believe these serial pieces are valuable. They can be filed away for possible development and eventually I’ll have two more potential novels in progress.

When comments become collaboration…

~ Meg ~ 44 Comments

One of the main reasons I began my blog four years ago was to use it as a place to feature my written work and to establish an online presence. At the time, I hadn’t written anything but the first rough chapters for what would eventually become my first novel. An unintended consequence of blogging was finding a community of writers (and readers) who would become invaluable sources of feedback and support.

There are some things to consider when you post your writing on your blog. Most of the fiction I’ve shared over the years has been in the rough draft stage. This is when the work is most vulnerable to criticism. The readers are going to find all the flaws and inconsistencies in the story, all the things you haven’t worked out to complete satisfaction. (Especially if you are writing by the seat of your pants!) Hopefully, your readers will be kind and constructive with their feedback and hopefully you have the spine to use the critique to improve the work rather than be hurt or insulted.

Occasionally, something really special can happen though… In posting sections of serial fiction, the readers may envision the plot heading in a completely different direction from the one you intended. The same is true of a short story. A reader may see the ‘what happens next’ when you see the ending. It is fantastic when your followers are invested enough in the story to comment and speculate about the next chapter. Even if you don’t use the idea a reader presents, having another perspective can inspire future writing. Now this is not to say that you should be driven off track by the demands of the reader. Nor should the reader feel impelled to impose their will on the writer. After all, this is your creative work. But having that collaboration among writers and readers can make the story even better than you had imagined.

Inhuman (7)

~ Meg ~ 19 Comments

To read from the beginning: parts one, two, three, four, five, six.

Dr. Leo Knight gave Nathan a nearly imperceptible nod, then smiled warmly at Amanda. “I imagine you probably have more questions for me than I have for you, my dear. What have they told you so far?”

Amanda took a deep breath and summarized the story she’d been told upon arriving at the facility. “Honestly, I am having trouble believing all of this. If I hadn’t seen Brian with my own eyes…”

“Of course, dear. I am so sorry this happened to you.” He turned to Nathan. “Do I have permission to speak freely?”

“It’s no secret how you feel about your creations, Leo. You can tell Amanda anything you like as long as you listen to her story, too.”

“Hmm, yes. Maybe Amanda would like to go first then?”

“All right,” she said. “Where should I start?”

“At the beginning, dear. How did you and Brian meet?”

Amanda blushed. “At a bar, actually… I guess about three years ago. I was out with friends and Brian there with a couple of guys from work. I don’t remember how we started talking but by the end of the night, he’d asked for my phone number and we had our first date the next weekend.”

“Do you remember what you talked about?”

“He told me about work, that kind of thing. He’d moved to the East Coast for college and stayed for the job. We talked a little about music, I think. A few things we have in common.”

“Nothing unusual? Anything that made you at all uncomfortable?”

“No, not at all. I am usually a really good judge of character.”

Dr. Knight laughed softly. “You still are, Amanda. Brian is a man of good character. I’ve endowed him with the best of human attributes.” He gestured for her to continue. “You dated for a while and then he proposed? Tell me about that.”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, we —well, I guess I should say I— fell in love fast. After that first date, we were together all the time.” She paused to compose herself. “Brian was adventurous. He loved trying new things, going places we’d never been. It was so much fun being with him.”

Dr. Knight reached over and touched her hand. “And you never had any idea…? Nothing made you suspicious?”

She wiped her eyes. “I don’t know. I can’t think. Maybe there were clues I just didn’t pick up on. Really who would ever suspect their husband isn’t human?”

“Quite right, Amanda. Especially when he believed himself to be fully human.”

“Why?” she cried. “Why would you do that? Not just to him but to the people that would grow to care about him? To love him?”

“To make him human was to save him.” He stared at her hard. “The world is not ready for a new life form —and believe me Amanda, that is what these beings are. No, they are not human, but they are alive. If they had remained here, they would have been essentially destroyed. Remade into mindless killing machines. All my work, all of their progress would have been for nothing. To show mercy… Amanda do you see what that means? That quality has been reserved for the greatest of all earth’s creatures —humans. And from it’s source: the divine.

To be continued…