Magazine Serials - just wondering how they work???

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amother

cornflower

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 12:08 pm

When a magazine publishes a "serial" novel week after week, is the author writing the novel as the weeks go on, or is the whole novel completed before the serial starts being published? I was always wondering about this.

gp2.0

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 1:01 pm

Not sure, but at a guess I'd say the entire thing is written beforehand. At the very least a rough draft that the author can tweak a little as time goes by, but with established characters and a clear plot and ending.

Probably with authors that the magazine has worked with before and trusts their work, they would accept a story as a rougher draft while with a new author they'd want a more polished and completed story.

But I'm just guessing.

sushi galore

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 1:08 pm

amother wrote:

I believe the novel is written upfront inorder to be approved for publishing. (As was once stated in ff mag)

Writergirl

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 1:34 pm

I'm a serial writer and I write as I go along. I start at about 5 chapters ahead and do my best to keep to that. A story plan is submitted and discussed beforehand but wow does that change as the characters develop and take over!

Scotty

Thu, Nov 03 2016, 8:59 pm

Can't speak for anyone else, but when I write a serial I spend a couple of months writing a excruciatingly detailed outline pages and pages and pages long, then plan out each chapter for 1-4 hours as I go along before writing it (6-20 hours per chapter, each chapter written hopefully 6 weeks before print.) The outline still has plenty of wiggle room for growth, pacing, and unexpected surprises as the characters start "talking" as Writergirl says (and oh, yes, are there surprises!) but the main bones of plot, theme, subthemes, etc etc - all the really important stuff, the things I like to think of as the "mechanics" of the story - are there first, blueprint and scaffolding and steel skeleton to be filled with weekly words of bricks.

the world's best mom

Thu, Nov 03 2016, 9:09 pm

I would have to write the whole thing before it starts being printed. I need to be able to go back and change details that happened already to fit the things I want to happen later on.

Mama Bear

Thu, Nov 03 2016, 11:13 pm

SCOTTY!!! HALLO!!!
I'm enjoying your current serial, as I enjoyed all your others.
I might never view a chasuneh the same again, just knowing all the DRAMAAAA going on behind the scenes Very Happy

queenert

Sat, Nov 05 2016, 5:48 pm

Scotty is a treasure.
It's not standard...many writers just come up with an idea and write it as they go along. To submit a serial you just need a basic idea and a few chapters.

workaholicmama

Sat, Nov 05 2016, 10:36 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

SCOTTY!!! HALLO!!!
I'm enjoying your current serial, as I enjoyed all your others.
I might never view a chasuneh the same again, just knowing all the DRAMAAAA going on behind the scenes Very Happy

Wow. Your so right mama bear. EGS is my favorite writer, and a chasuna will definitely be viewed differently by all readers.

Bundy

Sun, Nov 06 2016, 8:44 am

queenert wrote:

Scotty is a treasure.
It's not standard...many writers just come up with an idea and write it as they go along. To submit a serial you just need a basic idea and a few chapters.

Wow. It sound so easy. It's not quite that simple, though.

First- the writer submits her (detailed) synopsis of the novel which needs to be approved by the editorial staff. The writer needs to present her plot and characters before she starts. There can be a lot of back and forth until both writer and editors agree on it.

The idea is not basic but has to be well thought out beforehand. The writer needs to KNOW her characters as well as she knows the people she lives with (hopefully LOL

) Yes, the plot can meander along the way but cannot veer too far from the path she originally chose.

I am nowhere near as thought out as Scotty and in act, do write my serial while it's running. I like to be at least 10 chapters ahead. My characters definitely have a tendency to surprise me with their wanderings and it has happened that a new character suddenly pops onto my screen without my intending it (as in the case of Selma in False Fronts). However, I always know my beginning and ending- how I get from one to another is the fun part.

Serial writing is a very specific genre. It's not like writing a short story or a novel upfront. The writer needs to know how to keep the readers on edge, coming back or more, week after week. It's so much fun!!!!!

animeme

Sun, Nov 06 2016, 9:11 am

I loved False Fronts. There was so much realness in the interactions and human failings.

Since we're got some wonderful serial writers here, I'm curious about what's happened to some serials, when the plot has to change midway because of reader outcry and subsequent rabbinic guidance. I'm thinking specifically of a story that was originally about a husband going off the derech (or at least his family's derech) and had to be switched to depression and the relationship between the wife and her mother in law. Other stories are controversial, but stay as is.

So how often have you been forced to change something in the middle? Or is that very rare?

amother

Green

Sun, Nov 06 2016, 10:00 am

I love the serials!

Something I've always wondered... do serial writers take courses? Or is it really an inborn natural talent?

Bundy

Mon, Nov 07 2016, 3:31 pm

Baruch Hashem, I have never had a serial stopped in the middle but there have been times when I've had to make changes to a few chapters due to negative letters from readers. Sad

What can I say? It's challenging to write for the public. Can't please everyone. Confused

I love the negative letters though- means people are reading what I write. LOL

But Scotty, what I really want to know is, HOW did you get away with writing historical ROMANCE (The Gray Lines) where single girl writes romantic letters to single man (The Baverion)???? Tongue Out

I can't even have a male and female protaganist (a married couple no less), hand each other a cup of coffee!! At wits end

amother

Ecru

Mon, Nov 07 2016, 8:47 pm

Scotty and Bundy. I love your serials.

lovingmother

Mon, Nov 07 2016, 9:06 pm

I absolutely hate serials. How can you all read one chapter a week? I wait until I can get 25 magazines and read them at once.

amother

Green

Mon, Nov 07 2016, 10:25 pm

lovingmother wrote:

I absolutely hate serials. How can you all read one chapter a week? I wait until I can get 25 magazines and read them at once.

No way.

I have no time or attention span to sit down and read a novel. The serials are perfect!

amother

Blonde

Tue, Nov 08 2016, 12:14 pm

Not to mention that they challenge my mind. I have to keep track of the story line of close to 10 stories! Keeps my brain agile.

Bundy

Tue, Nov 08 2016, 12:54 pm

amother wrote:

Scotty and Bundy. I love your serials.

Thanks for the thumbs up. Applause

And While I'm at it, just letting everyone know that iy"H, I'll be in NY from Dec 5th- 20th, available for speaking engagements and writing workshops. See ya Wave

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