There's a Point to Waiting
The ritual of serial fiction
We humans define our existence by routine. In an essay last month, I wrote about how the repetition of things we do every day, every week, every year are like stitches that hold the fabric of our lives together. Routine is temporal— there must be a cadence. In a society choking on instant gratification and constantly binging, cadence disappears and something vital is lost.
The silence in between.
It’s in that silence that our brains finally have room to work— to sort, filter, and decide what we want to keep. Even the most profound, beautiful, and life-changing ideas can be shredded into mulch in the wood-chipper of our daily media consumption.
But we didn’t always consume stories the way we do now. For most of human history, stories arrived slowly, carried by traveling tellers, who told them in fragments. Between those fragments, people lived their lives. They hunted, gathered, farmed, raised children. Time passed. And in that passing, the story emerged, the pieces shaped and sorted through the rhythm of living. The story wasn’t a commodity owned by the storyteller, but a living, breathing collaboration with everyone who gathered to listen.
Next Monday morning, January 12th, I will start telling a new story in this time-honored tradition. Daedalia, like the three novels I’ve released previously, will unfold as a weekly serial.
As I’ve done with all my serial novels, I’ll be including audio narration complete with original music I scored specifically for this book. If you’re curious about this at all, I did a little behind the scenes post last week that you can check out. Many readers have told me the narration is their favorite part. Listening to the latest episode becomes a mini ritual they practice while making dinner for the family or commuting to work. The characters begin to occupy the space between episodes.
Another thing you should know: the story’s not finished yet. I’ve not written the ending, so when I say “we’re in this together,” I truly mean it. This is something I first experimented with on Harmony House and continued with Departures. I’ve found that this leap of faith raises the stakes and keeps me sharp. It forces an attentiveness and alertness I don’t get any other way.
By releasing my novels in this way, my hope is that the medium will diminish the barrier between you and me— that it allows for an immediacy and connection that’s not possible with the traditional way we read novels. The themes, ideas, and questions raised in Daedalia can’t help but vibrate with the vitality of a thing that’s newly formed and still discovering its relationship with the world.
But make no mistake, it’s an extremely vulnerable, and some authors would argue, foolish way to publish. It’s sacrificing control for connection, and perfection for immediacy. The gatekeeper is gone and the story can flow between us. I like this. It’s the fundamental philosophy behind my publication, Catch & Release.
Thank you for being here and for participating in this ongoing collaboration with me. The new story begins next week. You can join us anytime you like.
Other Serial Fiction You Might Enjoy
In the past couple of years on Substack, a burgeoning wave of authors has taken up the art of serializing fiction and there is truly exceptional storytelling happening. Below is just a partial list of writers you can check out who represent a wildly diverse range of styles and genres.
This serialized slow-game is all about acknowledging the interactive, relational nature of creativity. A true act of will holding hands with surrender. You release, we catch. We release, you catch.
Can’t wait!
It really is such a wonderful, exhilarating process to publish a serial as you go. It’s terrifying, but I can’t get enough. Thank you so much for the mention, Ben!