r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • 14d ago
[Serial Sunday] Wave(r) to The Writers!
Welcome to Serial Sunday!
To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe you’ve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world that’s been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 1000 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeks’ is not necessary in order to join. After you’ve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 1 other writer on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.
This Week’s Theme is Waver! This is a REQUIREMENT for participation. See rules about missing this requirement.**
[Image]()
Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts) - You must list which words you included at the end of your story (or write ‘none’).
- Wake
- Wiggle
- War
- Somebody has a restless night.. - (Worth 10 points)
To waver: to wobble, to falter, to sway. What makes your characters hesitate? What do they do when their beliefs are challenged, and they suddenly realize what they thought was solid ground maybe isn't so solid anymore? Do they double down, even as they rock like an anchorless boat in the swelling sea, perhaps doing something they later regret in their moment of fervent pretense? Do their faltering views force them to inaction as what kept them going crumbles beneath them? What new beliefs form in the wake of a quake of the soul?
Good luck and Good Words!
These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. For the bonus words (not required), you may change the tense, but the base word should remain the same. Please remember that STORIES MUST FOLLOW ALL SUBREDDIT CONTENT RULES. Interested in writing the theme blurb for the coming week? DM me on Reddit or Discord!
Don’t forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 5pm BSTand provide live feedback!
Theme Schedule:
This is the theme schedule for the next month! These are provided so that you can plan ahead, but you may not begin writing for a given theme until that week’s post goes live.
October 4 - Waver
October 11 - Zeal
October 18 - Angst
October 25 - Burn
November 1 - Cacophany
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Venom
First - by u/ZLErikson
Second - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Third - by u/Morose_Prose
Fourth - u/AGuyLikeThat
Fifth - by u/AmeliaLP
Rules & How to Participate
Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for amparticipation!
Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, written by you and set in your self-established universe that is 500 - 1000 words. No fanfics and no content created or altered by AI. (Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount.) Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. Please include a link to your chapter index or your last chapter at the end.
Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 2:00pm BST. Late entries will be disqualified. All submissions should be given (at least) a basic editing pass before being posted!
Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. <My Awesome Serial>). When our bot is back up and running, this will allow it to recognize your pmserial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you don’t want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)
Do not pre-write your serial. You’re welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.
Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.
All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and also include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 04:59am BST to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.)
Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.
Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!
Weekly Campfires & Voting:
On Saturdays at 5pm BST, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discord’s Voice Lounge (every other week is now hosted by u/FyeNite). Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if that’s more your speed. Grab the “Serial Sunday” role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. After you’ve submitted your chapter, you can sign up here - this guarantees your reading slot! You can still join if you haven’t signed up, but your reading slot isn’t guaranteed.
Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 5:30pm to 04:59am BST. You do not have to participate to make nominations!
Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discord’s Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.
Ranking System
Rankings are determined by the following point structure.
| TASK | POINTS | ADDITIONAL NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Use of weekly theme | 75 pts | Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you! |
| Including the bonus words | 5 pts each (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and estnot required! |
| Including the bonus constraint | 15 (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
| Actionable Feedback | 5 - 15 pts each (60 pt. max)* | This includes thread and campfire critiques. (15 pt crits are those that go above & beyond.) |
| Nominations your story receives | 10 - 60 pts | 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10 |
| Voting for others | 15 pts | You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week! |
You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should include at least one specific thing the author has done well and one that could be improved. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.
Subreddit News
- Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!
- Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday!
- Did you know you can post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday? Check out this post to learn more!
- Interested in being a part of our team? Apply to be a mod!
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u/katpoker666 9d ago edited 8d ago
<‘Wild Eats’>
Chapter 12: A Fishy Proposition
Annie took a long, slow sip of sake. “You know, sometimes I think about giving up, Tom…”
He looked up, his eyes darting left to right. “What do you mean?”
“Give up chasing this crazy dream of mine.”
Exhaling, he put a comforting hand on hers. “The show’s been everything to you for years. You’ll find a way to make it work.”
“Will I? I have no backing. I’m terrible at business. I think even Carol is losing faith. Even you don’t really believe in me.” She downed another cup of sake in a single shot.
“Slow down, Muffin. And I do. I just don’t want to risk everything we have on it. White Plains is expensive—“
“So you’ve said,” she said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“We’ll find a way to get funding somehow, though, together… For now, though, let’s enjoy this wonderful meal, okay? Been a while since we’ve had a date night, right?” He squeezed her hand tighter.
She sighed. “Yeah, okay… I wonder what all we’re having?” Her finger traced down the menu as she counted. “Twenty-two courses is kinda insane when you think about it, isn’t it?” she said, biting into the fishy-tasting, dense baby Spanish mackerel of the second course. “In fine European cuisine, seven courses is the limit usually—“
“Everyone says we Asians are better with numbers,” Chef Nakazawa laughed, as he served the next course.
She chuckled. “I didn’t know that extended to food. But seriously, how do you manage so many different flavor profiles in one meal?”
“It takes time. Experience. In Nippon, we apprentice for ten years to become an itamae or master chef.”
Her eyes widened. “I knew it was a long time, but… wow. I guess you learn a lot about fish in a decade though!”
“Ah, no. The hardest thing is getting the rice right. We don’t touch a fish for years! First, an initiate watches and cleans. Then; shari. The art of rice preparation. You’d be surprised how complicated such a seemingly simple task can be!”
“Is it? It’s just rice and water in a pot, right?” Tom interjected.
“If I’m not mistaken, there are a lot more ingredients to sushi rice than what we think of it as, Chef?”
He nodded in surprise. “Know what else?”
“Let me think… a special short-grain kind of rice which you have to rinse and soak. Kombu, or another kind of kelp. Rice vinegar. What am I missing here?”
“Very good! A little sugar and salt, plus the water, of course.”
“Ah, right! You use a little extra water vs. the normal one-to-one ratio?”
“Indeed, yes! You must be a chef, too?”
She blushed. “I am, sorta.”
Chef Nakazawa cocked his head and smiled.
“Well, I love cooking and used to do a show where I traveled around the country visiting various restaurants with interesting local cuisine and made the dishes on camera with the chefs. It was… a lot of fun!”
“Sounds like it! Why’d you stop if you don’t mind me asking?”
Tom glanced at her and shook his head. “You don’t have to burden him—“
She waved him away and continued. “Too many restless nights, really. I get cooking and what folks want to see, but business? Not so much. The ratings war is real, and to make things work, you always need something bigger and more exciting than the next person. There’s not much financial wiggle room there on a budget.”
“Would you want to go back?”
“Every waking moment. I miss it so much.”
“Then I might have an idea.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling.
WC: 603
Includes: wake, wiggle, war, and someone had a restless night (Annie with the show)
Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated
Chapter 11
Chapter Index
Chapter 1