Your experiences writing / reading a series

[dirk2024]

This first series is about a succubus, which is a new thing for me, never written about one of those before, so it's been enjoyable. I've written 8 chapters so far, with 4 released on literotica.

I've been enjoying it so far. Keep it up!

 

[Voboy]

For those of us (SEVERAL!) who write in an interconnected universe, in which everything links in some way to everything else, I think we owe it to our readers to make absolutely sure each story really can stand on its own. I don't think that's a problem any of us have, but it bears remembering in case any newbs are reading into this stuff.

Many of my stories allude to things that happen in many others, but never in a way that drives the main plot. My stories that don't have numbered chapters can all be read in total isolation, if desired.

 

[TaniaTulle]

I’ve written a few short series over time. Most of those came about simply because the story felt too long to post in one go, so I found a convenient place to split it rather than risk putting people off with a huge page count.

My Milking Parlour series is probably the first where the reaction from readers really encouraged me to continue and think about what might happen next. It was also my first step into the Taboo category. I’m currently working on a third part, and there might even be a fourth. That said, it’s probably more in the “stroker” category than a particularly deep evolving story with characters and plot twists.

The one proper long series I wrote was Belle Unbound, which ended up running to 15 parts (which felt like quite a milestone for me!). I’d actually written most of it before I even had a Lit account, and the early chapters definitely show it, plenty of mistakes in there (including changing one of the only two characters’ names in the first part!).

It started out as a slow seduction/corruption and transformation story, inspired by one of my favourite authors on here, Molly Tanager. But somewhere along the way it just evolved, and grew into more of a conspiracy and then a bit of a thriller. When I felt it was growing legs a few parts in, I paused and roughly plotted out where I wanted it to end up, mostly in my head rather than anything too structured.

In terms of views, most of the later chapters are actually among my least read pieces, by some distance. And when I brought in new twists to the plot I had a few comments saying 'Nah, don't like this. I'm out.' If I’d been writing it at the same time as publishing, I might well have given up on it. But as I had most of it already written out, I just kept publishing parts (and slightly improving my editing as well). I think working out the end for me, was a big help. I wanted to get there as much as the readers did.

The comments, particularly on the final part, are some of the kindest and most emotional I’ve received on any story. That alone made it all worthwhile. It's really satisfying about seeing readers connect with the characters and follow along on the journey. In fact, if I’m ever feeling a bit low, I’ll sometimes go back and reread those comments.

I’d definitely love to have another crack at a longer episodic story at some point. I just need to find the right tale to tell.

 

[Djmac1031]

For those of us (SEVERAL!) who write in an interconnected universe, in which everything links in some way to everything else, I think we owe it to our readers to make absolutely sure each story really can stand on its own

Most of my Angels And Demons stories are designed that way, to be read independently without having to have read others in the series.

The notable exception was Between Angels And Demons, which wound up interconnecting SIX other stories, three mine, three by @EmilyMiller

I knew going in that it would have a limited audience because only people who were truly keeping up with our shared universe of stories would read it. But those who did read it liked it, so worth the effort. Plus I still think its my personal best at storytelling to date.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

For those of us (SEVERAL!) who write in an interconnected universe, in which everything links in some way to everything else, I think we owe it to our readers to make absolutely sure each story really can stand on its own. I don't think that's a problem any of us have, but it bears remembering in case any newbs are reading into this stuff.

Many of my stories allude to things that happen in many others, but never in a way that drives the main plot. My stories that don't have numbered chapters can all be read in total isolation, if desired.

I like to drop a few teasers of stuff that I've done before but haven't published yet because everything that I'm doing happened to be what I was doing ten years ago, minus the sci-fi and fantasy elements... It's part of the worldbuilding, even if it doesn't make sense.

...though magical realism did creep out way too much in No Heroes in Love, but I like it to remain it that way.

 

[Publius68]

Thanks to @Britva415 for a really nice entry here about my Tiki Totem Hotel. They hit on a variety of things about series writing that I tend to think are important, though it also illustrates that some elements are important to author and reader for different reasons.
The main elements of this discussion so far seem to be: Why write in series format; How to keep a series going; When to end the thing; What makes for a good series; … and Who has a good idea for Who in this construction?
Dammit.
Help me out here.
Anyway, the first stuff I liked here as a reader was series stuff. A few of those stories just happened to catch my attention first, and series first kept me coming back to the site. I just sort of fell into it as a natural format for my storytelling style. It works for me, and many other series writers, because I naturally have an episodic style. And episodes work best in the audience’s minds when consumed over time. I think binge-watching hurts a TV series, for instance.
Ending a series is defintiely a problem with many authors here, something I took a while to realize, and it has left me with a great deal of frustration in others’ works. A fair number of series just never seem to end. When I see Chapter 74 in a series here, I think, ‘that’s not stroke fiction, that’s rubbing it fucking raw fiction!’ But there are about five or six series out there that I still keep bookmarked in desperate hope that the author will come back and fucking finish it.
I doubt I will have this problem, because I always complete a relatively finished draft for the whole thing before I publish chapter one. I did that with my first series, Ideal Suburbia, way back when. Then I published them all at once, and every entry was rejected en masse. It was a favor to me, as it made me a little more patient. And a little less likely to show my age by putting two spaces after every period...
Writing everything in advance is useful for two other reasons. You can maintain a steady schedule of releases, which really do make a reader comfortable. And if you have a brilliant idea for something that should have happened in Chapter Two, you can go back and add it to Chapter Two if you haven’t posted it already. And if you come up with something brilliant in Chapter Five, you can still go back to Chapter Two and foreshadow it, making it hit harder, and you look more brilliant as an author.
As just now from Britva, I do often get a lot of compliments on finishing my series at the right place. I wish I could claim some majestic genius here, but… I almost everything I write starts with a selection from my crowded Plot Bunny farm. If the Plot Bunny I grab is a climax, knowing when to end a series is obvious. If the Plot Bunny is an opening scene, then it is a matter of writing down the Bunny, feeding it a little, and seeing where it hops. Then I work pretty furiously to figure out where it is going, and then when it gets there, I’m done. You know you finished a story at the right point when 50% of your comments say, ‘Thanks’, and 50% are wailing and gnashing of teeth about why you didn't keep going to Scene X or Chapter Y.
I also write one-offs. One-offs are what happens when the Plot Bunny just hops around where I found it.
So, anybody got a good Who for this diatribe? I can’t stand broken constructions.

 

[CalBishForNow]

What's it like to write things that aren't series? I only set out to write a series once, but somehow I've done it five or six times.

That's an exaggeration, but not a fabrication. My first story here wasn't some deep-seated fantasy or personally significant story, it was just a clichéd plot with enough details added to make it worth writing to me as a personal challenge to write something for an audience. But while putting the finishing touches on it, it occurred to me, "hey, if I just add this and that detail, I could get these characters in the middle of an orgy! And then, sex with a complete stranger! After that, a gangbang would be so straightforward, I'd have to make up some new internal conflict to have anything at all interesting about it!" And that's a series. No matter how episodic I wanted it to be, at some point internal conflict and recurring characters results in ongoing plots, and then it's something between serialized and just one big story told in installments.

The series that started with my first story here turned it to be 11 parts before I completed it. (After I completed it, I had two standalone follow-ups so far.) My second story, an erotic horror with an even simpler plot, hasn't had any sequels here, but it turned into the basis for my NaNoWriMo novels. My Halloween 2025 story also seems promising for sequels, although I haven't got around to them yet. I have a WIP that will definitely be self-contained for the protagonist, but the antagonists, or maybe I should say the premise, seems too durable to waste on one story.

My current series is the only one I planned as a series before I first started writing. I regret how big a production it is. I just finished my first draft of Part 14. I have definite plans for parts 15 through 20. Plans now are very different from what they were six months ago (!) around part 9. I'm kind of losing interest in it but I don't want to leave it unfinished, especially not at this point in the story. I don't regret writing it in general, but I'll really try to do things differently in the future.

 

[jsmiam]

More power to series authors and readers. I may be here to bash them, but not ban them. This thread began with an open-ended question about experiences.

On a personal level, this is my experience. My opinion. just mine and I respect those with differing opinions.

1. If a story clearly makes it known that it’s a series, I’m grateful. The author helped me NOT click on it. Yes, I’m annoyed that a series has cluttered up search results or a toplist, but disclosure helps me NOT click on it. Again my disclaimer. Lots of people like series. I respect your right to read and write them. It’s fine. Even if I hate them.
2. If it’s a sneaky series where I pop into a story and the notes or preface make it clear it was a continuation, part of a series, or not officially a series but nonetheless reall is a series, I use either an actual or non standard swear word and hit the back key.
3. It’s it’s a sneaky loophole series for the 750 word contest, I am more annoyed. But I swore to only rant about it once a year in the actual 750 word thread. But some 750 word series people use loopholes to cheat the spirit of 750 words. So I feel I can make this thread a loophole and rant about it here.
4. As far as writing series: No. Never. I hate them. I won’t be part of cluttering up any lists.

Ah, that felt nice. I’m done.

Carry on. ;-)

 

[Statius]

I do regret turning one story into a series. My 2nd most popular story revolves around a pool game, super fun to write and the response has been fantastic for a stroker. I had left the ending open for the possibility of sequels, which I wrote two. They are very different than the first as I do not like to repeat myself so I wrote them differently; still 1st person but each from a different character, challenging and fun changing voices like that, but the audience didn't follow and the 4th and final part never happened. I hate leaving story lines unfinished, it bothers me all the time, but I just cannot come up with anything that's not a rehash of the first, so there it sits, languishing away for going on 2 yrs, maybe 3 from the publication of the original.

 

[dirk2024]

On a slightly different note,

How would you handle a series of somewhat stand alone stories that use the same characters/situations? I have one I'm possibly thinking about putting into a series. It would be in Group Sex. The group has various get-togethers, but they aren't meant to be chained together in a tight chronological fashion. It would be best for readers to start at the first to get context on the characters, but might not be required.

 

[CalBishForNow]

On a slightly different note,

How would you handle a series of somewhat stand alone stories that use the same characters/situations? I have one I'm possibly thinking about putting into a series. It would be in Group Sex. The group has various get-togethers, but they aren't meant to be chained together in a tight chronological fashion. It would be best for readers to start at the first to get context on the characters, but might not be required.

• Make it a manually created series.
• Keep the story titles different. (This is why it's manually created.) Maybe you can have a theme or common thread, but don't use "chapter" or "part" or anything.
• Put a Foreword/Author's Note at the start of each part, basically saying what you've said here and anything else new readers might need to know.
• Step one, despite the fact that it's fourth here, is decide up front about that "aren't meant to be chained together in a tight chronological fashion" thing and stick with it. Unintended ongoing plots screw things up.

 

[tommyt125]

I’ve written a few short series over time. Most of those came about simply because the story felt too long to post in one go, so I found a convenient place to split it rather than risk putting people off with a huge page count.

My Milking Parlour series is probably the first where the reaction from readers really encouraged me to continue and think about what might happen next. It was also my first step into the Taboo category. I’m currently working on a third part, and there might even be a fourth. That said, it’s probably more in the “stroker” category than a particularly deep evolving story with characters and plot twists.

The one proper long series I wrote was Belle Unbound, which ended up running to 15 parts (which felt like quite a milestone for me!). I’d actually written most of it before I even had a Lit account, and the early chapters definitely show it, plenty of mistakes in there (including changing one of the only two characters’ names in the first part!).

It started out as a slow seduction/corruption and transformation story, inspired by one of my favourite authors on here, Molly Tanager. But somewhere along the way it just evolved, and grew into more of a conspiracy and then a bit of a thriller. When I felt it was growing legs a few parts in, I paused and roughly plotted out where I wanted it to end up, mostly in my head rather than anything too structured.

In terms of views, most of the later chapters are actually among my least read pieces, by some distance. And when I brought in new twists to the plot I had a few comments saying 'Nah, don't like this. I'm out.' If I’d been writing it at the same time as publishing, I might well have given up on it. But as I had most of it already written out, I just kept publishing parts (and slightly improving my editing as well). I think working out the end for me, was a big help. I wanted to get there as much as the readers did.

The comments, particularly on the final part, are some of the kindest and most emotional I’ve received on any story. That alone made it all worthwhile. It's really satisfying about seeing readers connect with the characters and follow along on the journey. In fact, if I’m ever feeling a bit low, I’ll sometimes go back and reread those comments.

I’d definitely love to have another crack at a longer episodic story at some point. I just need to find the right tale to tell.

I ran across song of a Gypsy woman and then read milking table and your writing is awesome! Enjoyed them very much!

 

[Not2Pervy]

I wrote a story that I originally intended for last year’s Nude Day contest. When it finished at around 35k words I decided to ditch the contest and publish it as a 5-part series instead, mostly because I was curious how a series would work for me, since I’ve seen so many others doing it, and the advice I’ve seen here on the AH generally recommends finishing a series first and then publishing at regular intervals not too far apart.

I was disappointed in the results. Maybe my story just wasn’t that good but the views for each chapter were well below my norm. Ratings were decent, with one chapter at 4.78. I’ve also noticed some tendency for longer works to earn higher scores, possibly just because the people engaged enough to follow until the end are those who liked it most. I will always believe my particular story would have “done better” if I’d published it as one single, longish work.

I was curious enough that I had to try it, but I don’t plan to do that again. I have one active series I may return to, but if I do, it will be just because I want to return to that particular character, whenever inspiration and inclination strike.

 

[Voboy]

Maybe my story just wasn’t that good but the views for each chapter were well below my norm. Ratings were decent, with one chapter at 4.78. I’ve also noticed some tendency for longer works to earn higher scores, possibly just because the people engaged enough to follow until the end are those who liked it most. I will always believe my particular story would have “done better” if I’d published it as one single, longish work.

Yes, you encountered Readers Like Me.

I'm not a bit daunted by a 35k-word story, and will happily read it. The same story broken into little bits and given a chapter number is very unlikely to get my eyeballs.

Which shouldn't necessarily stop you! There are payoffs to series just as there are payoffs to non-series. But it's useful to know the potential drawbacks too, and that's what gives threads like this such value.

 

[ElectricBlue]

On a slightly different note,

How would you handle a series of somewhat stand alone stories that use the same characters/situations? I have one I'm possibly thinking about putting into a series. It would be in Group Sex. The group has various get-togethers, but they aren't meant to be chained together in a tight chronological fashion. It would be best for readers to start at the first to get context on the characters, but might not be required.

I do that all the time, with characters crossing over from their "world" into another story stream.

The key is to make sure each story stands on its own, but might be that little bit richer for faithful followers. Don't make the stories rely on each other, just refer to each other in an Easter egg kind of a way.

For example:

My Adam character in the Floating World meets Amanda. He's then in another story with Madelyn, who looks out the window of her office building and sees him down below in a key scene from the Amanda story, thus establishing two parallel time sequences.

The woman who inspired Madelyn stuck in my head, and there's another story where she's Madeline, reads the Madelyn story on Literotica, and gets in touch with the author, who is Adam, a writer.

Meanwhile, in another time-line entirely, Adam meets Ruby in one of his cafés, and there are three stories in that sequence, one of which gives a side character, Lizzie, a story of her own. Ruby then features in a Mickey Spillane tribute story, as herself, but in 1947.

Meanwhile, a real life friend said, "I'd love to get with Amanda," so I wrote the first of my Emma and Bobbie stories, where the friend becomes Bobbie, and Amanda merges into Emma. In that story, the male lead is David, who also turns up in a breast feeding fetish story with Rebecca. Totally separate world.

There are a few more Emma and Bobbie stories, then Bobbie meets Adam on a plane, thus joining up with the Floating World. Adam is then on assignment somewhere else, and meets a transgender version of Bobbie, which runs for four chapters.

And so it goes.

It's as easy as writing another story.

 

[Voboy]

I do that all the time, with characters crossing over from their "world" into another story stream.

The key is to make sure each story stands on its own, but might be that little bit richer for faithful followers. Don't make the stories rely on each other, just refer to each other in an Easter egg kind of a way.

For example:

My Adam character in the Floating World meets Amanda. He's then in another story with Madelyn, who looks out the window of her office building and sees him down below in a key scene from the Amanda story, thus establishing two parallel time sequences.

The woman who inspired Madelyn stuck in my head, and there's another story where she's Madeline, reads the Madelyn story on Literotica, and gets in touch with the author, who is Adam, a writer.

Meanwhile, in another time-line entirely, Adam meets Ruby in one of his cafés, and there are three stories in that sequence, one of which gives a side character, Lizzie, a story of her own. Ruby then features in a Mickey Spillane tribute story, as herself, but in 1947.

Meanwhile, a real life friend said, "I'd love to get with Amanda," so I wrote the first of my Emma and Bobbie stories, where the friend becomes Bobbie, and Amanda merges into Emma. In that story, the male lead is David, who also turns up in a breast feeding fetish story with Rebecca. Totally separate world.

There are a few more Emma and Bobbie stories, then Bobbie meets Adam on a plane, thus joining up with the Floating World. Adam is then on assignment somewhere else, and meets a transgender version of Bobbie, which runs for four chapters.

And so it goes.

It's as easy as writing another story.

Well put.

My model for this sort of thing is Irvine Welsh. If you read his stories, you get wonderfully subtle references to his other stories. These references both deepen his world and help establish chronology, for those interested in keeping track... though I've found chronology is not really necessary.

The way he's done it best is shown by a highly disagreeable, antiheroic cop he wrote a novel about. One of the cop's many quirky catchphrases is to call people "my sweet, sweet friend" as he mocks them. He ends up badly in that novel.

Another, completely unrelated novel involves another of Welsh's characters, the beloved Renton, getting into some legal trouble. He's interrogated by a cop described only as odd, with a bad haircut and a strange look in his eye. The reader registers that, but focuses on Renton's troubles... until, midway through the interrogation, the cop calls Renton "my sweet, sweet friend."

Instantly, the Easter egg hatches.

Nothing more is said by Welsh. Nothing more needs to be said; a casual reader can enjoy the storyline without understanding its depth. But for those who know Welsh's works well? They nod knowingly and experience a twinge of pleasure. I aim for that.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I've only got the one series, still in progress. I made sure to keep it from spiraling out of control with a semi-contrived goal of 10 different anthros, partly as a carrot/stick for myself to keep working on it, partly as a cap to prevent it from turning into a thirty book epic. Though how guy fucking different species of anthros turns into that big a work is beyond me, unless it's literally just me picking a new species of the week, which, actually...

No, NO! Bad Anthy!

Probably going to stick with standalones for a bit. I've run into writers block partway through the series, and I need to get unstuck. It was my greatest fear when writing serialized work that I'd bump into a block and be unable to publish the next chapter and feel guilty to people who were reading and (hopefully) enjoying it. Now that it's materialized, might be shy about trying anything more than 3 chapters for a bit.

Though the MC probably doesn't mind I left him halfway through a threeway with a skink and a gecko, so I don't have to feel guilty about him.

 

[Ianus4]

As a reader: series are great, but please keep the following in mind:
1. If possible, publish series that are already complete. It is very frustrating when a promising series is suddenly interrupted. I understand that life sometimes throws curveballs, but it is still easier to ensure publication for a series that is already complete. It's even worse when a series is interrupted even though the writer is still active, but after nine episodes, they have refused to publish a new episode of their from friends to lovers series for three years, leaving readers hanging in the middle of their first date.
2. Don't let too much time pass between episodes. It's tiring and frustrating to have to reread what happened a month ago in the previous episode.
3. Know when to end the story. When their story is over, let them go. Not every story idea has to be realized by the same characters.
4. Respect and know your characters. One of the most infuriating things that can happen in a series is when characters outlined in the first episodes turn out to be inconsistent with themselves and start doing things that are incompatible with the personalities created by the writer. This is nothing less than a slap in the face to readers who have invested energy in immersing themselves in the world and the characters you created. This question is related to point three. For example, if you have two monogamous main characters, don't force them into an ENM. Write your ENM idea with other characters that you can create specifically for this purpose. This way, instead of one fucked-up story, you'll get two good ones. If necessary, let your characters shape their own stories, don't force them in a direction that doesn't suit them.
5. Listen to your readers, but don't subordinate yourself to them. If they point out something inconsistent, think it through and don't be afraid to correct it. At the same time, don't turn it into a request show, don't subordinate yourself to requests like "I think it would be great if X fucked Y, and A divorced B, oh, and you should add a little spanking too," unless that was your original intention. Think through your characters and the vibe of the story, and don't ruin it for the sake of hoped-for popularity.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

For me, as both a reader and a writer, it boils down to, "Is it a complete story or only a piece of a whole story?"

A series of inter-dependent chapters can eventually form a whole story. A series of stand-alone episodes (even with multiple chapters) can tell individual stories around a common set of characters, events, locales, or themes. There is a difference that has been detailed many times.

One isn't better than the other from a literary standpoint, but from a reader perspective, the experience can be vastly different.

I don't publish pieces, and I don't read them. It's all or nothing. When I used to publish chapters, I wrote them all and submitted them all at once.

It's a personal choice that works for me and my readers. Please choose your own path.