Outside: Serial Overview

~ beetleypete

My recent fiction serial ‘Outside’ concluded last Saturday, and as usual I am presenting an overview of how it was received, and the writing process, for anyone who might be interested in such things.

It was about Sudden Onset Agoraphobia, featuring a young woman named Gillian who dealt with the grief of losing her mother by refusing to go outside, and becoming a recluse.

She started a blog, but soon became disllusioned with the lack of engagement. However, one of her blog followers attracted her as a friend, another woman in a similar situation that she could relate to. Unfortunately for her, this turned out to be a man, using deception to gain information about Gillian for nefarious purposes.

This serial was well-received from the start, with negligible drop-off of readers. As the story became much darker, a couple of you told me that you would not be continuing to read it. Naturally, I completely understand that.

Unlike some other serials, there was a remarkable consistency of views for each episode. Allowing a week for some bloggers to catch up or batch-read, stats showed 121 views of each epsiode right up until part thirty, when it dropped to 119. Based on that, I think the total views for all thirty-five parts will be close to 4,225.

Comment engagement was very encouraging. Many readers expressed concern for Gillian, and others tried to guess what might happen in future episodes. As the writer, this aspect of posting a daily serial is the most satifying for me, and more rewarding than any number of overall views.

I returned to my usual formula when writing this series. The ending was noted down before I started part one. Then I began to work the story back from that ending, taking down notes of names of characters and significant events in my notebook. With one exception when I was too busy, I wrote the following day’s episode the evening before, and had it rady to post.

There will be another serial soon. This will be based on a ‘First Line’ suggestion from a fellow blogger. I will also compile all 35 parts of ‘Outside’ into one complete story, sometime this week.

Thanks are due to everyone who read it, all of those who commented, and anyone who shared any part of it on social media.

22 thoughts on “Outside: Serial Overview”

  1. Maybe the third/fourth serial of yours that I’ve read. I enjoyed it very much. Enjoyed all your different themes/storylines so far.Have you attended a writing course or are you ‘self taught’?

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    1. Thanks very much, Hayley, I appreciate your kind words. I have never attended a course of any kind. I used to write a lot of stories when I was at school, but then not for 40 years, until I retired. My method, if you can call it that, is to ‘see’ the stories in my head, like watching a film. Then I transfer that to words on a page. 🙂
      I also tend to ignore the supposedly golden rule of ‘show, not tell’, and I tell my stories without much dialogue between the characters.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks very much, Geoff. You have to take some notes, and keep your wits about you, that’s for sure. My main problem is transposing the character’s names. Even after all this time, I still do it occasionally!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  9. Bravo to you for writing these. I understand that Dostoyevsky wrote the Brothers Karamazov as a serial. All 96 chapters! I admire the tenacity it must take to write a serial. I know I couldn’t do it.

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