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This week: Serial or Standalone? Edited by: Jeff  
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"“Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written.”
-- George R.R. Martin
Trivia of the Week: An acronym is commonly understood to mean an abbreviation formed from the initial components of other words. For example, SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, and NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Some people however, make the distinction between a true acronym (forming an abbreviated word) and an initialism (forming a series of letters as an abbreviation). For example, SCUBA and NATO are true acronyms because their abbreviation is pronounced like a word (i.e. scoo-bah and nay-toh)... whereas FBI and OMG are initialisms since you do not pronounce their abbreviation as a word, but rather spell out the components (i.e. eff-bee-eye and oh-em-gee). File that one away under "random facts" for a future Trivial Pursuit game. 
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SERIAL OR STANDALONE?
One of the most difficult decisions we make as writers is when and where to end our stories. And while that sometimes is a function of the plot itself, it can just as often be an issue of character. Some characters have their stories told over the course of a single narrative, while others live on through adventure after adventure. So how do we know when to write a Nick Carraway or a Holden Caulfield, and when to write a James Bond or a Lisbeth Salander?
This is a problem I deal with a lot at my day job in the motion picture industry. There are two primary mediums - features (movies) and television - and when screenwriters attempt to tell their stories, they often face the difficult decision of deciding which medium is the best for the story they want to tell. The forms are very different; a feature is something you watch for a fixed amount of time, while a television show is a recurring story that you come back to week after week. What I've learned from working with these two types of stories is a very simple way to tell whether your story should be a serial (something that is told over the course of time, like a television show), or a standalone endeavor (something that is a one-off, started and ended in a short period of time):
Standalone stories are about the single, most important thing that's ever happened to your character.
Serialized stories are about the everyday life your character leads.
When you think about it, that's a really great way to tell whether you should be writing a TV show or a feature motion picture... a novel or a series of novels... a short story or a series of short stories. Simply think about the story you're trying to tell, and ask yourself if you're writing about a single important event in the life of your character, or if you're writing about the kinds of things they experience on a daily basis. The Great Gatsby is best a one-off novel because the single most important event in Nick Carraway's life was meeting Jay Gatsby and his experiences over the course of that summer. Similarly, Catcher in the Rye is best a single novel because the biggest moment of Holden Caulfield's life is his expulsion from prep school and eventual hospitalization. By contrast, James Bond and Lisbeth Salander are best served by serialized stories because that's what they do day-in and day-out. Even if his job is something glamorous like traversing the globe as a suave spy or using her skills as a computer hacker to help a journalist uncover corruption in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, their stories are defined not by singular, climactic events, but by the routine stories they find themselves in time after time.
Sometimes you get stories that seem like they're serials, but are really one-off adventures in disguise. The most popular stories that come to mind are the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series (they're even referred to as 'series' which makes it even more confusing!). But the reason they're not a true example of serialized storytelling is because they both ended. Not with a decision to take one last case, or go on one last wild adventure, but because there was always a single overriding event in their lives that, once achieved, effectively ended their character's journey. Once Harry destroyed Voldemort and once Bella finally became a vampire, got together with Edward, and fended off the threats to their existence as a family... their stories were over. Sure, the arc spread across four to seven very voluminous books... but the arcs were never intended to carry on forever, like the adventures of Stephanie Plum, or Hieronymous Bosch, or Dirk Pitt, or Kay Scarpetta, or Alex Cross, or Temperance Brennan. A true serialized story is one that, while it can end at any time, doesn't have any end in sight from one installment to the next.
As you brainstorm and outline and plan out your next story consider what kind of story you're trying to tell. If you try to force what's really a one-off idea into a serialized structure, or try to cram a serialized character arc into a single narrative, you're really doing your characters and audience a disservice by not allowing them to roam free in the medium that truly allows them to be who they are. So as you develop your stories and create your characters, ask yourself whether you're writing about the most important thing in their lives, or are telling a story about the routines they have in their daily lives. The answer to that will tell you what kind of a story you're trying to write... and once you know what kind of story to write, you can focus on the substance and style rather than the structure.
Until next time,
-- Jeff
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I am alone here. I find no comfort in the cold and unending dark. Feeling myself being swept away by the unforgiving current, I cannot fight it. Not anymore. For far too long now, have I felt nothing but the melancholy, the longing for days gone by. Days when I was certain that things would turn out for the best. Days when I wanted nothing more than to feel the soft rays of the warm sun, the gentle embrace of a friend and the idea that someday I would be okay. Those days have long come and gone. I open my eyes, to find myself lost in a place where not even I can escape. The denials have finally caught up with me. For it seems that the place I once cherished as an escape from the harsh realities of life has become my prison. The worlds that I've created have taken a life of their own. No longer can I control them. I am alone here. Lost in my mind, the bar-less prison. Trapped beneath a wall of apathy, bitterness and rage. Trapped beneath the Ice Lake.
It happened a year ago today, on Johnny's birthday. I can't imagine how many times I've replayed the events in my mind since then. My life would be different now had I trusted my intuition. Through the year, my feelings of guilt and remorse have intensified. I hope telling this story will help, without making the warning come true.
The scream shook the very foundation of the house.
Down in the main room, the party people ceased their incessant chatter about matters prosaic. Their heads pivoted toward the stairs. A myriad of feelings from concern to irritation, amusement to irascibility, painted their countenances.
The second scream motivated the concerned and curious to movement. The former rushing forward, uncaring of whatever danger may await. While the latter held back; no need to put oneself into harms way.
Driving down a dark, deserted highway in Texas late one night, Erin Frankel’s car blew out a tire. She screamed as her sedan spun off the pavement and down an embankment, coming to a stop at a thicket of bushes and tall grass. A cloud of dust rose up around the windows before dissipating into the night.
It was a fierce spring morning when Ella pulled her car onto the shoulder of the river road. The color and intensity of the wildflowers in bloom had taken her by surprise, as though a fog had lifted suddenly revealing their beauty and allure. She hadn’t set out for a walk in the woods, but she was wearing comfortable shoes, a light jacket, and didn’t have anywhere else she needed to be, just yet. Why not take some time for her self? She waited for it, that customary feeling of guilt that normally had stalled her life just when she had a moment to live it, but it didn’t come.
“I try to be a better person, but the harshness of reality keeps getting in the way,” Sadie sobbed, dabbing at her smeared eye makeup. “Please, don’t call the police. I promise; it will never happen again.”
Muriel continued to stare out of the living room window, her long, brown hair hiding half of her face. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am! I never meant to hurt anybody, I swear.”
Muriel turned her cold, brown eyes to Sadie. “I don’t believe that.”
Sadie shook her head, her messy blonde hair bobbing around her shoulders. “I know that’s not how it looks.”
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Feedback on my last newsletter about suspension of disbelief:
Oldwarrior  writes, "This is a superb article. Thanks for sharing it!"
 Thank you!
Quick-Quill  writes, "WOW! What an incredible newsletter. We all know the process but you opened the door and led us through the details. This is truly the art of of writing. protagonist has been shot ten times, run over by a car, beat up by countless henchman, and keeps on coming... yes this is unreal but add they were "Zombies" and everyone is devouring the story. Its all in the presentation of detail. Drag the reader in kicking or screaming and they will stay to the end. Fantastic job!"
Thank you so much... I'm glad you enjoyed the newsletter!
Tornado Dodger  writes, "What a terrific newsletter editorial. I really enjoyed this and agreed with every point. It has to be consistent.  Great job Jeff. "
 Thanks, Brooke!
noheart writes, "Thanks for sharing this!"
You're very welcome!
Ryan Jentzsch  writes, "When I have spent money or made an initial investment of my time in either reading a book, watching a movie or attending a play my expectation is that I will be entertained and receive value for my "investment" of time and perhaps money.
I believe the burden of providing a powerful emotional experience is more on the creator and not so much on the consumer.
There have been far too many times that I have walked out of a movie, put down a book or left a play before it is finished. This is not because I was unwilling to suspend my disbelief, but the movie, play or book did not provide any or enough entertainment value. This was more to do with poor craft or presentation, than for me as a consumer not keeping up my end of the “contract” in suspending my disbelief.
What I find interesting is that in your examples of “human experience” all came from movies and not from any written works. What in your opinion would be some books that are examples of true human experience?"
Recent books about the human experience that I really enjoyed were The Fault In Our Stars by John Greene, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I highly recommend all of them (particularly the first two), as they're both entertaining and do an excellent job of presenting a point of view about the world.
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For Authors: April 17, 2013 Issue [#5625]
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