Why Break Up A Story?

In the modern publishing world we don't often think of longer pieces of writing being broken up into sections, but not so long ago it used to be fairly common place. Writers would publish novels as serials, including some of the greats like Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and others. So why return to this format?

Writing in serials serves to leave great stopping points for suspense. When you write in chapters, it certainly makes for some interesting breaks, but the reader is always able to just continue reading and let the suspense dissipate. However, when the writer controls when you see the next action, you as a reader are forced to wait. It's similar to how a TV series with an overarching plot can force you to wait when the series finale occurs. Even if the show goes for six seasons and tells one story, you get these miniature story arcs that resolve naturally and lend themselves to a bigger story.

I chose to experiment with this format as an internet project because I had not seen it done before. I wanted to see how it affected my own writing, having a commitment each week to continue a story, and to work out some of the problems and advantages of such a format. The biggest problem I'm facing now is keeping readers rooted in the details, who is who, what they look like, and where they are. As I continue on, this is something I will have to work on. But one of the advantages I'm having is that even I am not positive where I'll go from one week to the other.

So how it will work, we'll see, but I'm still having fun and so I'm still writing on.

How do you write another persons character?

The introduction of Xylia today marks a challenge in writing. Using another persons character in a story. I'm sure the same issues arise when doing tributes to a character like Sherlock Holmes or other well known and often used characters, but it's particularly challenging when you're taking a D&D persona of a friend.

So how do you do it? First, since the characters I'm taking from the campaign I ran were experienced from my perspective as a DM, so as far as how the character acts in a party, it's a bit easier to understand how the character acts. But in writing the character, I also have to be able to channel the personality which is a bit more tricky, because that means I have to assume I know how my friend was thinking when she played and made the character.

That's where my belief that a writer cannot write themselves out of a story comes in. Or in this case, a person cannot distance themselves from their character. Xylia has a lot of traits that are evident in my friend, especially in her appearance which I took great liberties with. Personality wise though, the character is also drawing upon parts of my friends personality.

So the hard part really is fitting them into the story, which works well as a true chaotic neutral entity in what is developing as a lawful good, lawful neutral, and neutral party. The little bit of chaos will do everyone good.