Jay Sherer is the author of the illustrated time travel series, Timeslingers: Season 1. (Now available in print!) His short stories have appeared in various small-market online magazines and two science fiction anthologies (Infinite Space, Infinite God I and II). He’s currently working on Timeslingers: Season 2 while also penning a Depression Era superhero comic book series called The Standard (with ridiculously cool art by partner-in-crime, Nathan Scheck).

5 Essentials of Sci-Fi Serials

The classic newspaper serial story is dead. I saw it take two in the chest before toppling off the top of the Empire State Building. On its way down it shouted something that haunts me to this day… I’ll tell you about it in next week’s episode.

Newspaper serials may be MIA, but serial stories are alive and thriving in many other mediums (e.g. television and comic books!). As a sci-fi serial story writer, I’ve learned a lot about how to make the format work, and conversely, how to fall on my face. Here are my top five principles of serial storytelling:
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