text: #Hello r/Shortstories! I’m back again to celebrate another writer completing their ! Let’s take a moment to give a big to u/stickfist! A lovely member of the WP and ShortStories community, both on the sub and on discord, Stick is an absolute delight to have around. And he recently earned his mod hat over on r/WritingPrompts! He has his own subreddit, r/StickFistWrites, where you can check out all his work. He has participated in Serial Sunday since it began. His serial, *By Any Other Name*, has 26 parts! And it’s a truly excellent read. Great job, Stick! I hope you’ve treated yourself to something wonderful. &nbsp; *** &nbsp; #By Any Other Name - Written by u/stickfist **A brief synopsis from Stick:** A forgotten space colony gains the attention of the Galactic Council when it’s discovered that the inhabitants haven’t aged in two hundred years. When a delegation lands to restore communications, they find that not all colonists want to be reintegrated. Some are willing to die for their ends. Others are willing to kill. If you haven’t had the chance to read this yet, sink in with some snacks and a yummy beverage! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | &nbsp; *** &nbsp; #A Chat with u/stickfist about Serial Writing The writing journey can be challenging, but full of wonderful and unique experiences. No two writers’ journeys are the same. So let’s take a moment to talk with Stick about his experiences with serial writing. ##**What have you learned throughout the serial writing process?** Early on, I would write long installments with multiple scenes, forgoing things like character development or pacing. Over time and with feedback from the readers, I learned how to slow down a scene, how one good scene is better than two or three rough ones. Pacing is not about pushing words in front of the reader’s eyes, but about giving them a reason to keep reading. ##**What did you enjoy most about writing this?** The campfires! It was gratifying to hear my words and how people responded to them. The feedback I received was priceless. ##**What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?** I didn’t initially think I’d have so many threads to tie up by the end of the story. One of the ways I kept things organized was to use software. I wrote this in bibisco, which allowed me to write narrative strands, character bios, and location notes, all of which could be explored while I wrote my chapters. Endings are still hard and I know there were places to expand or improve to make it more satisfactory and who knows? Maybe I’ll revisit this world again. ##**What advice would you give to writers who are thinking about writing a serial for the first time?** Don’t worry if the project deviates from your original vision. When you sit (or stand) to write an installment, think about where you want the characters and the readers to be by the end of the chapter. It’s okay if every installment doesn’t advance the plot, if instead you give a reader a reason to be invested in the characters. Don’t rush. But do start. &nbsp; *** ##**Thank you, Stick!** Stick, thank you so much for taking the time to talk and share with us. You’ve given us some great advice. Congrats again on finishing your 26 part serial! That’s such a huge accomplishment and you should be very proud. I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to have a front row seat to your writing and growth over the last several months. I wish you the best of luck on your future projects. And I do hope to see your writing around Serial Sunday again. Fellow writers and readers, please take a moment to leave u/stickfist some love in the comments below! You can even ask him questions! &nbsp; *** &nbsp; ###Subreddit News - Try your hand at serial writing with - Sharpen your micro-fic skills by participating in our brand new feature, - Have you ever wanted to write a story with another writer? Check out our brand new weekly feature on r/WritingPrompts - You can now post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday.