In the 1800's it became popular for weekly newspapers and magazines to publish fiction one chapter at a time. Classic authors such as Dickens, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Conan Doyle, and Henry James published works of fiction in this way. Just like with television shows today, readers couldn't wait for the next "episode" to come out the following week. This form of writing is making a comeback on the Internet.
There are many benefits (and a drawback or two) to this form of presentation. The major benefits to the readers are that each chapter will be something that can be read in fifteen minutes or less and that you can receive notification of each new chapter through your email address by registering just to the right of this post. It is completely free to you. The benefit to me as the author is that it helps me build an audience for my fiction and it forces me to write (the magic of deadlines and expectations!). The two major disadvantages, which are only disadvantages to me as the author, are that once people read this online I'll probably never be able to publish it in print, and I will not have time to workshop (receive feedback) this piece before "publishing" it on this site. Each chapter will be a fairly early draft because I will be writing feverishly to keep up. I will do my best to offer a quality "product" but it will not have the benefit of months or even years of editing and rewriting.
The piece I will be presenting is called Somewhere West of Rocky Ford. I began writing this piece about three years ago but only finished four chapters. I had not thought about this piece in a long time until I came across it on my laptop (which had been out of commission for over a year) and thought, "I really like that. I should keep working on it... when I get time." This is a way to force myself to make time, to keep writing this story, to keep working on my craft. More than anything, I really like the main character, a ranch hand named Lyle Felton, who has made a mess of his life but is trying desperately to change course. At the beginning of the story, Lyle is in his pick up truck sliding off the highway in the middle of a blizzard. The truth is, I want to see what happens to Lyle just as much as the reader does. Set in the wide openness of southeastern Colorado, this story has a contemporary Western feel. I kind of see this story as having the potential to be a country song in novel form.
I hope you are interested in reading Somewhere West of Rocky Ford; I know I'm excited to write it, one chapter at a time. Please take just a moment to register your email address to subscribe to Somewhere West of Rocky Ford. Again, it is 100% free and you will not receive any solicitations or advertisements. You will just receive a notification email each time a new chapter is posted, and this will help me to know that someone is actually reading it. When you register it will be called "Out West of Rocky Ford." That was the original working title, but I switched it to its present title after I had already set up the subscription service. I'll try to fix this if I can. Although the name is slightly different it will bring you to this site to read Somewhere West of Rocky Ford. Please take a moment to share this blog on your Facebook and Twitter accounts. The next few days or so will be used to build up an audience of email subscribers and then...
on Monday, October 7 I will post the first chapter of Somewhere West of Rocky Ford.
Thank you for your interest and I can't wait to take this adventure with you, and with our new friend Lyle.
Sincerely,
Everett Miller
