Web Serial Fiction discussion
Is a cliff-hanger essential?
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On my AbyssFantastical online young adult horror fantasy web serial I did here on goodreads back in February I did a cliff-hanger towards the end of every chapter and they were ecstatic and couldn't wait for more and I did a chapter a week until I finished.
Thanks for responding, Amber. I took a look to see how you ended your episodes -- interesting. I've been reading some other serials lately, and trying to decide how the format might work for my series. When I was a kid, I used to enjoy watching old black and white movie serials. They always ended with a car going over a cliff or something, then you had to wait until the next episode to find out how the characters got out of that fix!My story is fairly long. It does have a lot of action, so publishing it in episodes could possibly work. I'm kind of wondering whether it could work if the episodes are longer and the "cliffhangers" end at suspenseful points, but not necessarily life-threatening. (I mean suspense in a broad sense, but not necessarily a car going off a cliff.)
ARK
I find that you don't HAVE to end every single chapter with a cliffhanger, though you certainly need to end a few more chapters that way than you might if just publishing something straight forward as a book. In my experience, adding a few more cliffhangers, or ending a few more chapters on a cliffhanger, make the final book (if you compile and publish after the fact) that much better too. I publish all of my work serialized first, but sometimes the cliffhanger just doesn't work, or would feel forced. Focus more on making sure each chapter stands on its own and is engaging rather than having to have it end with tension.
Amanda,Thanks for those insights. I also took a look at Big World Network -- I like the model.
Here's another question: What do you think is an optimum length or word-count range for a serial?
ARK
Well, with BWN, we suggest between 4-10 pages (that being Times, Double spaced, 1 inch margins in Word). For us no more than 10 pages is ideal, because then the audio versions are no more than 20 minutes long, great for morning commutes. Now, sometimes it'll push to maybe 15 pages, but any more than that and I think you risk losing a serial reader's attention. Personally, I like right around 8-10.
If you're all still researching options for cliffhangers, take a look at the guest blog I posted at TuesdaySerial.com on using cliffhangers in serial fiction. Hope there are some ideas there that can help you out!http://tuesdayserial.com/?p=4675
That's a great post, Bradford -- thanks for pointing to that. Looks as if your thinking is that episodes can end with different levels of intensity -- you could leave the protagonist in a life-or-death confrontation, or just waiting for the answer to an important question -- or anything in between. Is that about right?ARK
I think the story dictates the intensity of an installment's ending. Certainly any ending where a character is on the brink of a massive discovery/crisis/decision is a tense, suspenseful ending that (if you've done your job right) the reader will want to come back and learn the resolution. I've read plenty of serial works where chapters just naturally end, like taking a breath before moving on to the next scene, and that's fine too. If you create characters readers care about and put them into situations that are interesting (i.e. your story), you won't always have to end an installment with a life-or-death cliffhanger. Let the story decide if the ending is a "hold or take a breath" moment for the reader. Try both and see which one fits best. :) Glad you liked the post and hoped it helped spark some ideas for your own stories!
Thanks, Bradford, for pointing out that it really depends on the story. My sweet romance is the sort of thing that doesn't have cliffhangers as such and forcing it into that kind of tension would simply ruin it.
What's been your experience?
ARK