Different types of serial storytelling

Nobody presses the big reset button anymore

Let’s talk about modes of serial storytelling. I mean, to be fair, I’m always banging on about serial storytelling, but today I’m going to attempt to deconstruct different approaches across various mediums.

I have definitely forgotten and overlooked some great stuff. See you down in the comments, where we can all have a collective nerd session.

There’s a lot to learn from how serials have been tackled over the years. The key thing for me is that writing and publishing in a serial form is not the same as just taking a novel and posting each chapter one after another. Serial storytelling works best when the writer structures the narrative purposefully.

Old style serial fiction in the papers

This has been brought up a lot when people write about the ‘resurgence’ of serial fiction. I’m guilty of it. As such, I’m not going to spend too much time on this one, and I’ll try to resist naming the big D. Well, other than in this image:

The short version is that serial fiction used to be very normal and popular, published in newspapers and magazines in the 19th century. You can imagine it being the talk of the town, readers eagerly awaiting the next instalment. The writers could adjust the story over time based on responses from readers, and the finished stories could be adapted into novels.

Key thing is that these were long-form stories, which needed to bring people back each issue.

Next, we’ll fast forward into the 20th century and the emergence of the TV and radio serial. This has evolved and taken on various shapes.

Small screen serials

Serial literature gave way to The Novel. This always strikes me as being a bit of a shame: aside from anything else, serial fiction would have provided a way for a fiction writer to earn a regular income during publication, rather than gambling on the release of a book.

Serial storytelling was still around, of course, and had been embraced by newer forms. Television in particular has explored many variations over the decades.