No fate but what we make.

I've discovered something interesting about having a serial piece published.

See, it's kinda hard to get good feedback about a story. If you show it to your friends and family, they will ALWAYS say the same three words, without variation (do I even need to say what they are?).

The stories might get reviewed, but reviewers (for the most part) are pushing an agenda: This story rocks/sucks because it's new wierd/flash fiction/humour/australian/insert flavour of bigotry here.

Critique groups are the best for useful feedback, but they take up a lot of time and it's hard to find one that a)has writers experienced enough to tell you something helpful, b)Has the courage to tell you what sucks and not just stroke your ego, and c)has the courage to tell you what really works well, and not just feel good about themselves because they can criticise others.

You want to know so many things. Are the characters believable? Did the setting serve the story or was it distracting? Was the pacing just right? And the holy of holies:

Was tension maintained?

Eloquent prose and slick science and funny gags are ALL subservient to keeping the reader moving along and wondering ANOTHER three words.

Which brings me back to serials, because I've received those sweet three words over and over with Pardon Me, Coming Through: What happens next?

When that happens it's great, but the responsibility then rests on the writer to deliver a payoff/ending that justifies that tension. Even more so in this case, because you the reader are waiting a month for every installment. Pearson, mate, your fate had better be worth it. Both our necks are on the line here.