Blovels Anyone?

[Bob1965]

A blovel is a novel written on the fly in short daily posts on a blog. Each post is 500 words max, and each post ends with suspense so the reader will want to read the next post. A typical blovel ends up being around 60-100,000 words in length and is usually finished in less than a year. The story becomes addictive to the readers and thus it builds an audience for the author.

I write blovels, and as far as I know, I’m the only one doing so according to the description given above. I believe blovels are a new art form for fiction. I believe they are the future of fiction, and I would appreciate anyone who could tell me where I might find others doing blovels. Or, if you’re thinking of starting one, I would sincerely enjoy dialoging with you.

http://gordons-ghosts.com

[Alitriona]

Sounds similar to a trend in fanfiction about a year ago.

Folk called them drabble fics but obiviously they were a lot longer than 100 words. It was roughly 100 words per update but some were longer. Readers went crazy for them for a while because they were quick to read and constantly updated. Like all trends, it faded.

Interesting idea for a blog. Good luck with it.

[onesecondglance]

Could you come up with a less horrible name? "Blovel" sounds like onomaopoeia for vomiting.

[shaldna]

Originally Posted by Bob1965

A blovel is a novel written on the fly in short daily posts on a blog. Each post is 500 words max, and each post ends with suspense so the reader will want to read the next post. A typical blovel ends up being around 60-100,000 words in length and is usually finished in less than a year. The story becomes addictive to the readers and thus it builds an audience for the author.

I get the concept - the problem is, it only really works if you are reading one post a week, or a day. If you read more than that, the constant resolution-action-cliffhanger sequence becomes very irritating.

I write blovels, and as far as I know, I’m the only one doing so according to the description given above.

You're not. Trust me. I've seen many of them over the years - in blogs, fan-fic, magazines, I've even seen writers write their book on twitter 140 characters at a time. I've seen a couple of folks do the same thing on facebook, and a couple of years ago there were a couple of big novels that were written and posted from text messages.

It's been done.

Not only that, but it's been done for decades. Think back to the pulp magazines of the 50's - they were short serialisation that did the same thing - a couple of hundred, maybe thousand words, ending on a dramatic cliffhanger - 'read on next week to see how Captain Armavagus escapes from the floating snake pit of Death' sort of thing.

I believe blovels are a new art form for fiction.

They're not. This sort of serialisation in small parts has been the norm for most of the last 150 years at least, maybe longer.

I believe they are the future of fiction, and I would appreciate anyone who could tell me where I might find others doing blovels. Or, if you’re thinking of starting one, I would sincerely enjoy dialoging with you.

A quick google search, or half an hour spent on FF.net will show you a lot of people doing the same thing. in fact, FF.net is a perfect example - it's very common for folks to post a chapter at a time, with days, weeks or even months in between. The only difference is that FF.net host the story, rather than your own blog.

[Samsonet]

I think it's interesting. Except for the constant cliffhanger part, but that's my problem.

Blovels probably won't become that big, for the reasons outlined above, but they could be rather popular if one managed to get publishing contract. I have a question, though. About original fiction that you put on the web, how likely is it that a publisher will take it? Doesn't putting it on a public blog count as self-publishing?

[seun]

Have fun with it but it's not new or the future of fiction.

[colealpaugh]

If the future of fiction is a mostly unedited first draft, then I'm totally in.

[Susan Littlefield]

Bob!

Ugh, Blovel is a strange word. As other said, this concept is not new.

Why not just write your novel and submit to agents and or publishers? You post it on your blog and its considered published.

I must say, however, that you blog looks supernaturally fun!

[veinglory]

A suspenseful ending every 500 words doesn't sound, to me, like the makings of a good novel?

[Bloo]

I thought a Blovel was some kind of zombie killing weapon with a shovel and an ax attached to it

[Shadow_Ferret]

Wasn't Blovel one of James Bonds' villains?

[LJD]

So...serial fiction (certainly not a new idea) in very small chunks?

I listened to a podcast on serialization in romance (DBSA podcast, #32) recently...You might check it out.

[Buffysquirrel]

Reminds me of an email correspondence I had with a friend some years ago, where we were each writing part of a novel in turn. It descended into each of us getting the protag into as difficult a situation as possible and leaving the other author to get them out. Hilarious, but not publishable. Probably not even of interest to anyone but the players.

[defyalllogic]

Most people call it "serial fiction" It's not particular new or exclusive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_(literature)
http://webfictionguide.com/
http://serialteller.com/
http://suite101.com/article/writing-...iction-a218748

[victoriastrauss]

Me, I'd vote for "novog." Yes, it's somewhat Lovecraftian, but better than than making your readers think about explosive vomiting.

- Victoria

[Bob1965]

Originally Posted by Alitriona

Sounds similar to a trend in fanfiction about a year ago.

Originally Posted by Alitriona

Folk called them drabble fics but obiviously they were a lot longer than 100 words. It was roughly 100 words per update but some were longer. Readers went crazy for them for a while because they were quick to read and constantly updated. Like all trends, it faded.
Interesting idea for a blog. Good luck with it.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by onesecondglance

Could you come up with a less horrible name? "Blovel" sounds like onomaopoeia for vomiting.

I didn’t invent the word, actually. I just thought that’s what they were called.

Originally Posted by shaldna

I get the concept - the problem is, it only really works if you are reading one post a week, or a day. If you read more than that, the constant resolution-action-cliffhanger sequence becomes very irritating.

In my opinion, each post doesn’t have to end as a cliffhanger, per se, only with a suspenseful element. That could be a question, perhaps, or an ongoing sequence of events. “…with that being done, they walked into the room…” Something like that.

You're not. Trust me. I've seen many of them over the years - in blogs, fan-fic, magazines, I've even seen writers write their book on twitter 140 characters at a time. I've seen a couple of folks do the same thing on facebook, and a couple of years ago there were a couple of big novels that were written and posted from text messages.

It's been done.

I sure would like to find others who are doing the same thing. If you have any leads. Please let me know.

Not only that, but it's been done for decades. Think back to the pulp magazines of the 50's - they were short serialisation that did the same thing - a couple of hundred, maybe thousand words, ending on a dramatic cliffhanger - 'read on next week to see how Captain Armavagus escapes from the floating snake pit of Death' sort of thing.

I know there’s been serialization since the Victorian age, but I’m specifically referring to blovels as I described in the OP.

Originally Posted by Samsonet

I think it's interesting. Except for the constant cliffhanger part, but that's my problem.

Originally Posted by Samsonet

Blovels probably won't become that big, for the reasons outlined above, but they could be rather popular if one managed to get publishing contract. I have a question, though. About original fiction that you put on the web, how likely is it that a publisher will take it? Doesn't putting it on a public blog count as self-publishing?

I always thought it kind of went along with self-publishing. Once a blovel is finished, it is taken down from the blog and the author can then make a paperback novel of it, put it up for sale, and start a new blovel. I suppose one could get a deal with a publisher to handle the “blooks” if they had a good audience for their blovels. Or even prove that they can write a good story, that people read their work, and end up with a contract for other original novels.

Originally Posted by Susan Littlefield

Bob!

Originally Posted by Susan Littlefield

Ugh, Blovel is a strange word. As other said, this concept is not new.
Why not just write your novel and submit to agents and or publishers? You post it on your blog and its considered published.
I must say, however, that you blog looks supernaturally fun!

Thanks, Susan. I like to write in blogs. I can do a post a day and I don’t feel overwhelmed by the grind of writing a novel for a year with no reader participation. I have a short attention span; I think a lot of readers do to.

Originally Posted by LJD

So...serial fiction (certainly not a new idea) in very small chunks?

Originally Posted by LJD

I listened to a podcast on serialization in romance (DBSA podcast, #32) recently...You might check it out.

Thanks, LJD.

[Old Hack]

Originally Posted by Bob1965

A blovel is

... a horrible word.

I write blovels, and as far as I know, I’m the only one doing so

No you're not. I've seen loads of them. Very few are good.

if you’re thinking of starting one, I would sincerely enjoy dialoging with you.

Do you mean "talking with you"? If so, why not just write that? Or do you mean "writing dialogue with you"? Again, if so, why not just write that? It would be clearer, and more elegant, and would avoid another "eugh" moment from your readers.

###

I wonder if this thread would fit better in our Self Promotion room than in here.

[BenPanced]

Originally Posted by victoriastrauss

Me, I'd vote for "novog." Yes, it's somewhat Lovecraftian, but better than than making your readers think about explosive vomiting.

- Victoria

I think the cardiologist sent me home with prescriptions for novog and blovel yesterday.

[MJNL]

Sounds fun! But I clicked on the thread thinking it was about novels that were blah.

[NeuroFizz]

I think I had too much novog at the Christmas party last year. I bloveled all the way home.


Although, I'm thinking more along the lines of alien sex...

His blovel twitched, gained volume, and reached toward her. She spun her tentacles and her high-pitched squeal stung my ears. In a quick bound, she lept at him, encapsulating the blovel with her novog. Her scream ramped in tone and volume, and the windows shattered, showering me with shards...

[defyalllogic]

I agree with all of James' post.
I want to read polished stories. My attention span is only shortened by poor editing and its similars. Also, I usually only want to start a serial if I know it has an end. What could be worse than getting caught up in a story only to find it just drops off because THE AUTHOR LOST INTEREST (it happens all the time with serial fiction online)?

[amrose]

Any takers on "blook?"

[Samsonet]

... I'm in. I can do it. Expect a link sometime this weekend.

P.S "Blook" does sound better than "blovel", in my opinion.

[Filigree]

Look here for one of the trends: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone_novel

[Drachen Jager]

I'm writing something similar, though my posts tend to the 1500-2500 word range. I've read a lot of online novels posted in installments like this, and I don't think the format works at all for it.

Online serials on the other hand seem to work a lot better. I normally have 3-5 posts per serial installment, and each installment can read as a separate story. So far I've been getting pretty good reads. I even have an offer from a decent sized e-magazine to publish with them (unfortunately it's an unpaying market, but what can I expect when the material is previously published on my blog).

I also don't publish first drafts. Normally I write 2-4 weeks ahead, and give it a pretty good polish before it goes up.