About the Author
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. Her next novel for Tor, Dead Spots, will be published in 2014. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
The
Creative Aspect and Business of Writing a Serial
Interview
with Rhiannon Frater
Q: Why did you choose
to release a book in this format?
A: I love episodic television when done right. Dexter,
Breaking Bad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, LOST, and Spartacus are just a few of
the shows that have enthralled me with their story arcs, character development,
and season long plots. I have always wanted to write in a similar format, but
for the television in my reader’s mind.
I also love the old penny dreadful, or serial format from
long ago. Fiction used to released in installments that could be weekly,
bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Readers anxiously looked forward to the next
part of the story and the serials continued until they lost steam or ended. Varney the Vampire is a very famous
serial that lasted for a very long time.
I absolutely love discussing my favorite shows with other
people and getting into long discussions about episodes and anticipating the
next one. I hope to inspire that same sort of fervor in my fans for this
serial.
Q: Are you writing as we go along?
A: I have a very rough draft of In Darkness We Must Abide. It’s
my first full-length original work. I wrote it years ago when I had no real
idea about word count limitations, story structure, or had the life experience
to address some of the deeper, more adult themes. When I found it buried in the
depths of my hard drive and started to read it, I was struck at how episodic it
felt. It reminded me a lot of Dark Shadows in that regard. I also realized how
immense it was, how much it needed to be revised, and how I had fallen short on
several points of characterization and plot. I saw an article about taking a
full length manuscript and making it into a serial. That was my a-ha! moment. All the missteps of my
youth made it immensely plausible to do a serial.
The story that is being revealed in the serial already
exists, but is bare bones. But it’s a very, very rough draft. Therefore, every
episode is completely revised.
The beauty of doing the serial is that I can revise the old
stuff into a much more dynamic work. Since I don’t have to worry about a word
count, I can delve deep into characters and plot lines. It’s incredibly
liberating.
To give you an idea of how large this story is, the first
complete season is 98,000 words long. Most novels come in between 70,000 and
90,000.
This is one big baby!
Q: Do you keep feedback from your readers into mind while
you’re writing?
A: Absolutely! I’ve been listening to everything people have
said about the serial. It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience. Just as
I hoped, people are talking about the serial and sharing their thoughts with
me.
The fandom for Armando has definitely inspired me to expand
upon his character and he has many more scenes than he did in the original. He
still plays the same role, but the serial has enabled me to explore his
character with a bit more depth.
Of course, sometimes one fan will say they hate something
(for example: the inclusion of sexual content), while other fans will tell me
how much they love it. One fan’s favorite episode may be another fan’s least.
It’s just how it goes.
What I try very hard not to do is make filler episodes. Each
episode is layering on top of the previous one to build to the major events
later on.
Q: How do you feel about this type of format?
A: As a writer I find it to be a challenge, yet liberating.
It creates a unique set of problems (such as the cost of publishing it), but it
also allows me to give my fans something to read EVERY month. I love that. They
don’t have to wait for six months or a year to read something new from me.
Q: Have you ever read a book in “installments”?
A: I have and I do! I love serials that are done well. I can
always tell when someone just chopped up a book. It reads just like a book that
was chopped up. There isn’t an episodic feel to it at all and usually it just
ends abruptly with no sense of suspense. I drop out of those quickly. Other
serials read like a favorite TV show and I eat those up.
Also, I read trilogies and series, which are often just one
larger story distributed along multiple books. I find those a bit aggravating
because I have to wait so long read the next installment, yet, I know a writer
can only write so fast.
I have the wrist and finger pain to prove that.
Q: Has the overall response been positive?
A: Overwhelmingly, so. It’s been so encouraging. I wrote As The World Dies as an online serial
years and years ago and really missed the interaction with the fans. I love
that constant feedback. I notice I’m much happier as a writer right now.
Q: Do you enjoy the process more than writing a traditional
novel?
A: They are totally different beasts and serve totally
different purposes in my creative mind. I can’t pick one over the other.
Q: Are there people who have issue with the cost?
A: I have only had it
mentioned twice.
Some readers may think of the 20+ episodes that will make up
the entirety of the In Darkness We Must
Abide serial as one complete book, instead of realizing its actual length
is the equivalent of 3 (possibly 4) complete novels. In
Darkness We Must Abide‘s shortest episode, the pilot, is over 10,000 words
long. That’s about the size of 3 to 5 chapters in a regular Rhiannon Frater
book. The complete first season is 98,000 words long, which is much longer than
most full length novels. If someone buys all the episodes of the first season
(.99 per episode plus the free first episode), it’s about the same price as the
compilation of the season (3.99).
Because In Darkness We Must Abide is written in episodes that make up complete seasons, and not
in a novel format, it doesn’t have actual chapters. In fact, when we compiled
the first season for the paperback edition, we didn’t even attempt to chop it up into chapters. The flow
of the story doesn’t work in the regular chapter format. Therefore, we kept the
episodes intact within the paperback.
The serial demands the same behind the scenes work as a
full-length novel. It needs a cover, editing, copyediting, and formatting. Just
because the episodes are 15,000+ words long, doesn’t make it that much cheaper
to produce. A serial is actually a quite expensive endeavor.
I’m writing the serial because 1) it’s fun 2) the fans love
it.
I want to hear what do you think!
Let me know in the comments
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