6 Tips for Writing Web Serials by Angie Capozello
When Johanna asked me to write a guest article, my first impulse was, as always, to talk about web serials. I’ve been writing Nox and Grimm for 2 years now and I’m still enjoying it immensely. But as fun as it’s been, there are a lot of little things I wish I had known when I started. Here is a short list of things I would go back and tell my younger self, if only I had a tardis handy. You can enjoy it without a time machine (although it never hurts to have one.)1: Write ahead
I can’t stress this enough. It doesn’t matter if you are on your first, or 100th episode, you need to have at least a month’s worth of episodes in the bag. Sounds like a lot of work, but it actually takes away all the pressure of keeping up a regular posting schedule. And let’s face it - if you’re like me, you’ve probably got a WIP or two, guest blogs, writing challenges, etc. on your to-do list. If you have a backlog of stories that only need a little bit of editing, you can run your serial and still have fun with the rest of it.
2: Set the Tone
A serial may start out with only one or two main characters, but over time they tend to multiply faster than plot bunnies. So how do you help your readers to keep them all straight? One way I’ve found is to pick an MC as the focus of each episode, and give their stories a distinct tone. Using my own series as an example, episodes with Grimm tend to be bittersweet, with a light touch of humor. Nox’s are fast paced and cerebral, and sometimes a little bit innocent. The tone does more than set the mood for the episode though, it gives each character a distinct 'voice' that your readers will remember.
3: World Building
You don’t have to build a whole world before you start. I’m serious. Half the fun is in exploring new corners of your world with each new story arc. I’m not saying you shouldn’t world build at all, since it does help make your stories feel more lived in, but don’t let that hold you back from diving into writing. I’ve seen too many writers get overwhelmed and spend all their time on fiddly little bits of trivia instead of developing their characters. Let me emphasize this - Characters are the heart of your story. No matter what genre you write, the world starts with them and builds outwards around them. No one cares about the annual rainfall total in the southern continent. They only care about the rain if it reminds your character of their childhood, in a damp, ramshackle tenement… See the difference? Build the characters first.
4: Keep Everything
Keep a list of all your loose plot threads. Keep all the stories you wrote, and then decided not to use. Heck, keep the early drafts of ones you did use. It doesn’t matter how crazy an idea was or how bad of a corner you wrote yourself into, you can always mine these gems-in-the-rough for later episodes. I’ve been kicking myself for two years, after carelessly tossing a whole folder of notes with early versions of my story arcs. Learn from my mistakes, padawans.
5: No Double-Stuff Oreos
Okay, go ahead and eat the cookies. They rock. But don’t over-stuff your episodes. If you try to do too much in an episode your readers will get lost, and the pace will suffer. Pick a problem and focus on it. Set a word limit for episodes and get used to ruthlessly cutting out anything that doesn’t move the story along. That means no descriptions unless it affects the characters, no dialogue unless it moves the plot along, no action unless it has a point. (but don’t forget #4 – save everything that hits the cutting room floor for later!) Keep your stories lean and mean, the pace steady and the action focused. Remember, the web is Short Attention Span Theater. If the pace drags, you lose ‘em.
And finally…
6: Always leave them wanting more.
It’s a serial - it’s supposed to keep going. You can wrap up the immediate problem, but always have a few things hanging in the background as fodder for future story lines. One way I do this is to have a strict 'no throw-away character' policy. Anyone they pass on the street can become a major player 30 episodes down the road. This way you never run out of plot ideas, and your readers stay on their toes, looking for clues of what's to come.
I could keep expanding this list, but I think I’ll take my own advice and end the article here. :) I hope you find these bits of advice helpful, and if you happen to have a spare tardis, let me know. I’d like to go back to 2009 and find that folder I tossed…
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New episodes of Nox and Grimm are posted every Friday at http://techtigger.wordpress.com and feel free to stop by and talk shop with Angie on twitter @techtigger or GooglePlus +Angie Capozello.
