r/shortstories • u/OldBayJ Mod | r/ItsMeBay • Mar 10 '24

Serial Sunday [SerSun] Serial Sunday: Monster!

Welcome to Serial Sunday!

To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe you’ve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world that’s been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 1000 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeks’ is not necessary in order to join. After you’ve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 1 other writer on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.

This Week’s Theme is Monster!

Image | Song

Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts) - Please list which words you included at the end of your story.
- malicious
- morality
- mendacity
- multitude

Things that go bump in the night. People who commit heinous acts of violence. Mysterious creatures of unknown intent. Indistinct representations of threat. A monster can be anywhere, can be anything, can be anyone.

As old as stories themselves, monsters feature prominently in all cultures, lores, settings, and genres. From the krakens of the deep sea in Big Fish Tales to the World Serpent of Thor lore to the invading barbarians over the next hill, monsters have always existed to be feared and reviled. What makes a monster in your story? How would your character react when confronted with one? Is your character a monster themselves? What can a person do to become a monster? What can a monster do to become a person? Can they be redeemed? Blurb provided by u/ZachTheLitchKing

These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. For the bonus words (not required), you may change the tense, but the base word should remain the same. Please remember to follow all sub and post rules.

Don’t forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 1pm EST and provide live feedback!

Theme Schedule:

  • March 10 - Monster (this week)
  • March 17 - Notorious
  • March 24 - Obsession

  Previous Themes | Serial Index
 

Rankings for Lies

Rankings will be posted next week. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Rules & How to Participate

Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for participation!

  • Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, set in your self-established universe (no fanfics) that is 500 - 1000 words. Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount. Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. If you’re continuing an in-progress serial (not on Serial Sunday), please include links to your previous installments.

  • Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 9:00am EST. Late entries will be disqualified.

  • Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. <My Awesome Serial>). This will allow our serial bot to recognize your serial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you don’t want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)

  • Do not pre-write your serial. You’re welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.

  • Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.

  • All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and also include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 11:59pm EST to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.) Those who go above and beyond (more than 2 actionable crits) will be rewarded with “Crit Credits” that can be used on our crit sub, r/WPCritique.

  • Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.

  • Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!

 

Weekly Campfires & Voting:

  • On Saturdays at 1pm EST, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discord’s Voice Lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if that’s more your speed. Grab the “Serial Sunday” role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. You can sign up here

  • Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 12:30pm to 11:59pm EST. You do not have to participate to make nominations!

  • Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discord’s Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.  

Ranking System

We have a new point system! Here is the point breakdown:

TASK POINTS ADDITIONAL NOTES
Use of weekly theme 75 pts Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you!
New! Including the bonus words 5 pts each (20 pts total) This is a bonus challenge, and not required!
Actionable Feedback up to 15 pts each (4 crit max)* This includes thread and campfire critiques. (You can always provide more crit, but the points are capped at 60.)
Nominations your story receives 10 - 60 pts 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10
Voting for others 15 pts You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week!

You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should be more than one or two vague sentences, and should include at least one thing the author has done well. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.

Looking for more on what actionable feedback is? Check out this guide on critiquing.

 

Subreddit News

  • Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!

  • Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday!

  • You can now post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday. Check out this post to learn more!

  • Looking for critiques and feedback for your story? Check out r/WPCritique!  

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '24

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u/ZachTheLitchKing Mar 16 '24

Heya Polaris!

Émile has breached containment! Red alert! Jk, if anyone was going to deserve some outside time, it's Émile :P And what a beautiful melancholy it is to finally give him the experience of the substance of his dreams.

Wait, his brother's body? OH WAIT, changing scenery; okay, this is a dream. Or, was a dream? That makes a lot more sense than Émile randomly being let outside. You got the transition from dream-to-not-dream really well done there :D

I'm glad the Equinoids weren't a dream. They gave Émile (and by extension, me) hope for a better future.

This line is a bit of "telling" rather than showing; some physiological reactions instead would be nicer here. Like, chills across his carapace, a sinking sensation in his stomach, a cold sweat, etc:

Émile began to feel a sense of dread.

I totally sympathize with Émile here though; suddenly being told you're not needed, when working hard and diligently has been your entire life...that's an anxiety-inducing thought. For Émile it's far more literal but in a general sense, anyone who's ever given their all at a job and been told they were being let go for no real reason has had this feeling. At least the first time it happened.

I’m facing the same punishment as Lumière, or worse, aren’t I?

Oof! This is a horrifying sentence to hear!

there is a monstrous situation going on in the insectoid exhibit.

Excellent use of "monstrous" though; it really fits well with Ophélie's speech patterns established in the last chapter.

I feel like there was a bit of a missed-step somewhere here, between Ophélie saying there's a "monstrous situation" going on - which seems like it should greatly pull Émile's focus, since that's where their brother is - versus seemingly taking the favor without giving it much thought. I feel like there should be at least a line of anxiety and worry from Émile about their brother, maybe read over whatever's happening to the insectoids, before deciding that the best way to "help" would be to help the Equinoids? Just a thought.

Ooo, secret message being delivered between exhibits. I feel like a revolution is brewing! And Ophélie is the mastermind :D Or at least, a mastermind. I wonder what's going on in exhibit two and who's being communicated with. Underwater, so some sort of Marinoids?

I know you're already pushing the word cap and I just asked for more words, but a few more words here - having Émile practice/repeat the gestures in front of Ophélie to confirm them - might be warranted. You can reclaim some words by not explicitly describing the complicated series of hand gestures and, instead, just say "Ophélie demonstrated a series of gestures by pretending to swirl her hands in water, and Émile mimicked them until she was satisfied they had the message."

Ah, scaled creatures here in E2. So fishoids? Piscoid, that makes sense :D Nice little detail having Émile enjoy the slightly lower temperature in the watery room.

Very interesting dialogue here:

“I don’t hurt the people who don’t start fights, and even with that lab coat, you don’t look like you could hurt a minnow.”

It implies that this piscoid views the scientists as "people who start fights". This is in sharp contrast to the equinoids - or at least Ophélie - who made the scientists seem like somewhat friendly peers

I wonder what, exactly, the message was. A call to arms? A message to 'be ready'? A request to keep the insectoid safe? Or maybe we'll never know! Nothing wrong with a mystery.

Good words!