It’s been a month since I wrote my first post for the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop, on the need for educating oneself to be a good writer. Since then I’ve published one short story on my blog and a few lifestyle articles, but haven’t written as much as I would have liked to.
I’ve been wondering how I can contribute meaningfully to this blog hop, where participants share varied forms of writing advice. Unfortunately, I’m not as far along on my writing journey as others in the hop, which makes it difficult to write on new and relevant subjects every month. However, I’ll do the best I can for as long as possible.
Today I’ll highlight the benefits of writing a recurring fictional series on my blog, centred around the Sahni’s, a family based in New Delhi. So far, I’ve written three pieces with each focusing on a separate family member. The stories are set in current times, and address a turbulent event seen through the eyes of different characters.
A retired army officer, Brigadier Baljit Singh Sahni, is ideally placed to comment on the divisive and highly controversial citizenship bill that the Indian Government tried to enforce in January 2020. His homely yet independent-minded wife, Rosie Sahni, proves her mettle by providing shelter to her chauffeur’s family, when he faces religious persecution and violence during the Delhi riots of February 2020. Their free-spirited yet pampered daughter, Kimmy Sahni, shows the new normal we have had to accept after the coronavirus and ensuing lockdowns entered our lives.
I had never intended for the Sahni’s to become recurring characters, especially in a blog-exclusive series. However, they have been easy for me to sketch out and use as mouthpieces for spreading my personal beliefs, and have become permanent fixtures. Perhaps someday they will be the protagonists of my books.
If, like me, you’re just dabbling in creative writing at this point, a recurring fictional series on your blog is a good place to begin. Here’s why:
- It allows you to flesh out the characters through multiple story lines
- Your blog offers an existing readership that appreciates your work and helps you improve through constructive feedback
- When your work strikes a chord with a reader, they come back for more, and buy your books when you’re ready to write them
- There are no deadlines to run after, which cuts the anxiety and stress of traditional publication methods
- You can play around by writing multiple perspectives of the same story, and pick the one that works best if you choose to write a book later
Do you write recurring fictional series on your blogs? Do you think there’s merit in doing that? Or is it a waste of time? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
If you’re interested, do check out the three stories on my blog:
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Visit the other #AuthorToolboxBlogHop participants here
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If you need more convincing on why social media and blogging is great for you, read this post by my friend Swarnali.
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*This is not a sponsored post.
**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.
I’ve written a lot of flash fiction stories on my blog but I haven’t played around a lot with recurring charcters. Now that I’ve realised all the benefits, I’m thinking about creating a few such characters. I’ve got to check out your story series! I’m heading over to that page now.
I enjoy your flash fiction a lot Shweta and highly encourage you to try short stories too! Looking forward 😃
Thanks a lot, dear. Yes. I have written short stories. My latest project is Twisted Fairy Tales, in which I give a twist to classic fairy tales. I’ve done one on Hansel and Gretel. Pitch Black and the Seven Dwarves will be up shortly. 😉
Awesome! Will definitely check them out 😃
Well written!
Thank you 😊
There is no such thing as a waste of time if you learn something from it. I love the idea of writing out these characters in a blog and playing around a bit to see how they fall on your readers! Great idea.
Thank you Carmen! Glad you liked the post!
If I were an American literary agent who liked to shop around for blogs to turn into books, yours would catch my interest. I think you’ve chosen subject matter that is extremely important and very timely and will continue to remain so for the next several years. I would hope that the publishing industry in India would also be interested, but I’m just speaking to what I know about the publishing industry closer to where I live (Canada), in case you find that information useful. Great example of how to do a fictional blog series. Thanks. I hope you continue the series to flesh out for yourself whether you think you’ll have enough material for a book of interconnected short stories at some point.
Thank you Raimey! Your comment made my day. I’m definitely continuing the series on my blog, and simultaneously I will begin fleshing out the story for a book based on these characters lives. Let’s see where it goes!
I really like the idea of keeping a running short fiction series on the blog. It’s a neat idea to get readers coming in and to have the incentive to keep writing regularly on the series. So far I haven’t posted my fiction on my blog, because I want to still be able to send it out for publication in magazines. But perhaps it’s something I should consider. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you like the idea… Would love to read your fiction pieces on the blog if you do write them!
Thank you for the list of reasons to publish a recurring series on the blog. I have never thought of doing such a project. I belong to a short story blog hop that posts quarterly–speculative fiction. That’s the only fiction I have posted that I can remember. Loved reading all the stories from the very creative and talented writers. This spring I put together a collection of some of those short stories into an eBook, Time Out While Staying In, and gave it away as a gift, hoping to lift spirits of those who were so sad during the COVID crisis. I have heard if you publish a story on your blog, a traditional publisher will not consider publishing it. Keep writing!
Thank you! Yes I wouldn’t publish the same story in a book, but the characters would definitely stay 😊
I think all authors need to blog! Not only does it raise the profile of their books, but it gives them an opportunity to exercise their writing muscles, and write about any topic that grabs their imagination. I write nonfiction, and I maintain multiple blogs … my life would be a lot less fulfilling without the ability to write blog posts on any topic I wanted.
I completely agree with you 😊
I’ll have to consider doing this once I recover some of my energy to write! Great post 🙂
Thank you 😊
I’ll have to try this out once I recover enough energy to write again! Great post 🙂
Thank you!
Hey Noor..I have written short stories but honestly I am still on the fence regarding writing fiction on blog. I find blogs on food, lifestyle, fitness and beauty have far more takers than blogs on fiction.
Your post encourages me to look at it again!
Yes I have tried writing stories with recurring characters and I find it very fulfilling.
You definitely should Arti! Even I was reluctant to write fiction at first, but honestly if it’s good, the audience will want to read it 😊
I love this idea! I’ve posted several of my short stories on my blog, but I’ve never considered writing a blog series book. I would love more information about making this possible!
That’s great! I don’t really have a mission to make the series into a book, but just enjoying where it currently is!
Sounds great! I have a few ideas already 🙂
😊
I did a lot of this when I just started blogging in 2015. I’ve since removed those posts from my old blog, but I did share those stories on Wattpad and created another following there (people on Wattpad are already there in search of stories) and made sure that there was a CTA (call to action) in bold beneath each story linking back to my blog. One of these short story series has been under the top stories in fantasy on Wattpad which has encouraged me to turn it into a book series (which I’m currently working on). Writing like this is a great way to practice the craft, hone your voice and figure out what you really want to write about and how to do it in your unique way. Good luck!
Ronel catching up for July Author Toolbox day Three Roles to Avoid When Creating Characters