Guest Post ~ Writer Carrie Fancett Pagels ~ Why do a serial?

Why would authors write an anthology together?

1. Fellowship in writing. It can be a great process to share ideas, brainstorm, and discuss possibilities--because typically most writers are working solo.
   
   
2. Practice. Some serials are like a writing challenge almost. There is a serial I was involved with two years ago, that will just be coming out in a blog hop in 2013, in which you had to write the next section to CONTINUE the story. Now this is a stretch, let me tell you. Because if the previous writer left you with a conundrum you had to solve that, plus you had to go over all the earlier information with a fine-tooth comb to be sure that your section was CONSISTENT with the characterization and storyline. Honestly, part of the fun, though is that VOICE will be different for each author and so such a project does showcase each author’s voice.
   
   
3. A gift to readers. The reason I asked the Colonial Quills authors if there were some willing to do a Forted Frontier Christmas anthology with me was because I wanted to have something as a present for our faithful readers. So each week from November through mid-January, we have short sections of a story. This type of format is very different from the other serial I referenced, and is easier in many respects because each author could add characters and storylines to the serial because this was not a writing challenge nor a single story per se—rather all of these characters by all of these authors were enroute to a destination near where our original characters were forted.
   
   
4. A chance for unpublished authors to demonstrate a sample of their writing skills in fiction. Within our group there are a number of us who are not yet published in fiction, including myself. Within our anthology, even other members got their first chance to read some of their colleague’s writing! And hopefully readers will discover some writers whose books they have not yet read but whose sample, in the anthology, intrigued them.
   
   
5. Practice in writing shorts. Doing a complete clean section takes focus, especially if you are mindful of what came before and what is coming after your section.

Come on by and visit us at Colonial Quills to read our serial anthology and see how this all works. http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_4.html

Thanks for having me Anne!

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Bio – Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D

Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Fancett-Pagels/317053071710640?fref=ts

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Carrie Fancett Pagels (www.carriefancettpagels.com) writes “romantic” historical fiction. She is represented by Joyce Hart. ACFW MidAtlantic Zone Director. Blogs at “Colonial Quills” (http://colonialquills.blogspot.com) and “Overcoming With God.”