text: #Hello r/Shortstories! Guess who we’re celebrating today? u/GammaGames, congrats on your completed serial!!!! His serial, *That Unholy Ghost*, came to a conclusion with 13 chapters. It’s a wonderful read. Gamma has been part of the r/WritingPrompts family (including here at SS) for about a year and a half. I have enjoyed his energy and presence in the community, writing for all the features, always encouraging new writers and then zipping off to write more words. He’s such a delight to have around. If you haven’t read any of his work, you are missing out! It’s . You can read it all on . He’s even begun a brand new serial already. Such a champ. &nbsp; *** &nbsp; #That Unholy Ghost - Written by u/GammaGames **A brief synopsis from Gamma:** The story of Reverend Gregory Canmore after he is unwillingly relocated to a small town in the midwest. There, he discovers a purpose, and a corrupting being with no regard to the people of Faircreek. - - - - - - - - - - - - - &nbsp; *** &nbsp; #A Chat with u/Gamma about Serial Writing Let’s take a moment and hear what Gamma’s serial experience was like. ##**What have you learned throughout the serial writing process?** This was my longest story I’ve ever written, and I learned that I actually kinda like outlines! Not too detailed though. A few hundred words of major beats, some character descriptions and motivations, and (*checks outline file*) at least a thousand words of random scribblings for dialogue and plot ideas that I have while trying to fall asleep help a lot with keeping ideas going. Writing serials has also boosted my word count. Before, I was doing a SEUS every week and coming up with a different idea for each story took a lot of time. Having one story that I don’t have to create from scratch every week has been great for keeping motivated. ##**What did you enjoy most about writing this?** Since I knew where it was going, trying to tell the story nonlinearly was a lot of fun. Some of the earlier chapters could’ve been lengthened a little to allow more breathing room, but overall I enjoyed trying to plan it out. Also, the themes fit the outlined notes very often! That was mostly luck, but it did make it so I had to work harder to not skip a week when time was tighter. ##**What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?** Trying to find time to write it! I tried to get a draft and edit done by Thursday so I could try to get some feedback before posting, but half the time I ended up sprinting at 2am on Friday night to get a draft finished that could be edited Saturday morning. I haven’t overcome it! I continue to be a late-night writer, but I’m trying to be better so I can write more in the mornings instead. ##**What advice would you give to writers who are thinking about writing a serial for the first time?** Do it! I think a vague outline helps with thinking of ideas for the upcoming themes, but don’t sweat it if the story starts to diverge from your notes. Being able to write a story in little chunks at a time is a nice leisurely way to write, so give it a try! &nbsp; *** &nbsp; Thank you so much, Gamma, for sharing some of your thoughts with us! I love reading your words around the subreddits. And I’m already so intrigued by your new project! Writers like you make doing this such a pleasure. Be sure to leave Gamma some love in the comments below. Feel free to throw a congrats his way or ask him great writing 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.