STORY VERSUS SERIES

I am wondering about the appeal of a story against a series and I welcome everyone's thoughts on the subject.
I have noticed that a single story often seems to attract more views and more comments than a series.
I personally invest more time, effort and thought in a series as it progresses from one part to another, allowing character and plot development. When I read a series and it engages my interest, I eagerly await the next part and the anticipation thrills me.
A single story I write, always comes as a few thoughts that I am compelled to explore and record, but it is brief and complete. I am not belittling a single story, just noting the difference, in my opinion and experience.
What are your thoughts on the subject?

As an author, I enjoy writing a series. It gives me the space and time to really develop both plot and characters. I am in the middle of a long one that doesn't get much attention -- partly probably because it is a long series, but also because it is in the fantasy sub-genre which is not most people's cup of tea. But I write it primarily for myself -- I have had this story rattling around in my brain for some time and need to get it down "on paper" (so to speak).

However, as a reader, I often come in here with just a few minutes to spare, and want to read something quick. So in those cases I will often pick a stand-alone story. And to be honest, I'm not always looking for a deep story. Sometimes I just want to be titillated.

I also find that the library doesn't make it easy to follow series (by, for example, allowing you to "subscribe" to a series and be notified when new installments are ready, or having the new installments automatically placed on your reading list). I usually will put the last installment I read on my reading list, to remind me to get back to the series. And sometimes, I get interested in a series, but by the time I get a chance to continue reading, I forget what i'd read earlier. So then I need to go back and read prior installments, which slows me down even more.

I find after 3 parts to any series reads fall off to the extent one wonders if it is worth the effort. Yes I know we write for ourselves, but when one sees a part 5 of a hard written series getting around a 100 reads and barely a comment, what is one to think?

I make it a point if I start to series to try and follow through on it with comments, but there are few who do this. Even authors who comment on a regular basis seem to give up on commenting in many cases on longer series. Can the Library make it easier to follow series? Perhaps but most readers will rarely use it so the extra work for the admins is hardly worth it in my opinion.

I personally prefer single stories and series with 3 or less parts. I do find that any series story has to be able to stand on its on especially in a long series as few readers will seek back stories and simply give up reading the story if it makes no sense by itself.

It's surely more of a challenge to write a 40,000 word serial than it is to write a 4,000 word story (hey - some folk struggle to write anything over 2,000 words) and the end result is much more of an achievement as it demonstrates skill, technique, imagination, originality, plot devices, characterisation etc. Most importantly, something of more substance can show an author has the capability to sustain a work and maintain their readers interest.

Having said that, I'm sure some people just want a quick fix, and to that intent they may achieve that by reading some of the short story gems in our collection ... or they might get completely hooked and read an entire serial from an author they enjoy.

Personally I think there's way too much emphasis on the number of views and comments. Write something, take a pride in it, and get it out there is my stance. If others enjoy what you've written and tell you so, that's a nice bonus, and it's good to have the feedback/interaction ... but avoiding writing a series just because you think it won't get many comments is a retrograde step.

Another issue emerges from this, and that relates to uncompleted serials. It can be very frustrating to read multi-parts, only to find the work has petered out, leaving the reader unsatisfied and wanting more! Maybe the author has lost interest, written themselves into a hole unable to find the way out, or succumbed to the pressures of life and work and simply haven't got around to finishing it (and I'm guilty of that. One day I WILL finish Linnet and the Raven!). So my advice would be to write your serial and FINISH IT, then submit it.

I have to agree with Flopsy... Write a series, finish it and then submit it. For me, I love love love a good series. Not just here, but everywhere. I tend to gravitate to series when I'm reading non-spanking stories as well. You should see my kindle! I like the way they grow and you get to know the characters and their friends, family, habits, etc. I don't like to wait though. I want it now! If I have to wait say a month or so between books, ok... That seems to make sense. It's a lot of work to write, edit and publish a book. If I have to wait months for a spanking series I'm done. I'll eventually go back but it won't be anytime soon. Just my 2 cents... Although I'm also guilty of having an unfinished series. I have more parts written but have decided to save them for when I have enough to finish the series or just to keep readers entertained for awhile.

Speaking as a reader rather than site builder I much prefer to read serials rather than single stories for all the reasons flopsy outlined in her post.

Perhaps the subject of a separate thread, but I have to say I'm more than a little dismayed in regards to the obsession with comments and views. Perhaps the way I have put together the site software is partly to blame in that it makes it very easy to focus on such things, and if so, I regret it.


In my opinion the site is already over-engineered and if readers are following an ongoing series then surely they can simply click on the latest part when it appears on the latest loaded list. Or, if they're part way through a long, completed serial then they can simply use their Last Read item to continue from when they come back to the site.

At the risk of further complicating this discussion, I think that there is a difference between serial and series. I would suggest that a serial is one story with a unified main plot, with subplots perhaps, which unfolds over a number of episodes concluding with a denouement in the final episode. There can be sequels but again these take the form of a unified main plot. The adaptation of novels for TV are examples of this.

The series, takes a group of characters or a setting, and takes these through a series of events. These can be in the form of on-going interlinked plots which last and unfold through the duration of the series, or discrete self-contained plots which are resolved in one episode leaving the characters to move on to another adventure in the next episode. Soap opera is an example of the former and police/crime procedurals, say Kojak or Dexter, are examples of the latter.

This is an important distinction when considering how and when stories are written and submitted. I regard TFS's wonderful Southern Exposure as a series. This has lasted 70 episodes so far and no-one could expect this to have been written in advance.

We should also consider the 'life' of the story itself. We all must have experienced a story taking control of its own destiny while being written. I have submitted two separate multipart stories. I was working on 'The Tale of Jay, The Hawk and a Dove' which was intended as a finite serial. This was moving slowly and I wanted to commit myself to submitting a story to the Library before I lost my nerve (again), so I thought I would rattle off a single story. This was 'Emily Rachel and I' which was intended to tell the tale of a single night. But the characters seemed to take hold of me and I wanted to know what happened next so I had to provide them with a history and a wider setting and other characters to play off. and now there are 11 episodes and nearly 70,000 words.

Another factor to consider is the effect of comments. I have been lucky enough to receive many encouraging comments: some wanting to know what happens next, some providing an interpretation of the characters' motivation, some offering constructive criticism: all of which lead me to develop the story further and now there are 11 episodes and nearly 70,000.

On the other hand, Princess Mimi and the Orange Peel was originally intended to be part one of a series but at the end it seemed the right thing to let the characters continue with their futures unobserved and unrecorded.

As a reader, I do not have a preference for either form. When in The Library I indulge myself in reading what I like, and I can be quite blinkered in my selection - so I have not yet read, for instance, much in the fantasy sub-genre, sorry RosieRad! But I do acknowledge that what I like isn't necessarily 'good' or that what I don't like is 'bad'- one of the stories in the library that I have liked the least, I actually hated it, is also one of the best written. In fact had it not been for the superb characterisation and descriptive qualities I couldn't have disliked it so much.

I think for the purposes of clarity we need to carefully differentiate between the following in terms of how we refer to them on the LSF:

stories: a single or 2-part item.

serial: a continuous narrative consisting of 3 or more parts much in the way of chapters in a book.

series: standalone stories with a common set of characters or theme. Intended to be read in a particular order (ordered series) or in any order (unordered series).

I'm assuming Elorac is actually interested in a comparison between stories and serials.

"Write your serial, finish it, then submit it!" Yes indeed: I got stuck after part 6 on one serial and took me two months before I knew how to carry on. Most unsettling. Single stories don't come easily to me. Serials give the chance for proper character development, time to investigate people with all their foibles and quirky ways which is what makes writing so fascinating. Also, you have the privilege of changing direction of a plot in a serial if you so want it: amazing what can happen as an idea develops. I don't think numbers of views or comments should be forefront in your mind whilst writing, welcome as comments always are.

I have only written a single series - The Chronicles of Bamber - but I have several stories that have been posted as series. The rest were written as stand alone stories then broken into serials because the format used here. Not that I'm complaining about the format, but many people have said that they would rather have a longer story broken into parts than having to wade through 20K+ words at one go.

The pop up window that displays the story is one of the big differences between the library and the average forum. As long as I have my browser set to reopen tabs I cab get up from the computer in the middle of a forum post, have a meal, and maybe even reboot with the knowledge that the browser will keep track of where I was. Here I'd have to scroll down to the point where I stopped reading.

Breaking large stories up makes them easier to read in multiple sittings. For example, each "part" of Arizona Vacation is maybe a chapter length of one story, but it was broken up to make it easier to read on this site. To read it the way it was written (as a single story) you would have to buy the story as an eBook.