one-piece trilogies?

[Hypoxia]

I have a notion: three tales in one! Without going into details, I'll say that I'm writing a Hallowe'en Contest entry containing three less-than-a-page vignettes, and I'm thinking of another such one-piece trilogy for a non-contest submission. The stories only share a general theme or setting and are otherwise unrelated.

My question is: Does stuffing multiple vignettes into one submission WORK? Has anyone here tried that? (Not counting Ogg's collections of 50-word pieces.) If so, how do reader reactions go?

 

[sr71plt]

I'm sure I've done it. "3 for Poe" and "Iced Flip Side" are two I can think of off the top of my head. I've done it more to the marketplace and split them up for Literotica. Most recently in the "Caribbean Cruise" set. Back before the "no chapters" rule, I put a progression of four related stories in a winter holidays contest--but published them together as chapters in a marketplace book.

 

[oggbashan]

As I developed my 15 x 50 word stories, I have found it more effective to have them linked even if only by theme, instead of being distinct entities.

If the three stories can be linked by title, by theme, or are variations on a theme, I think they would work better than three unrelated stories.

 

[Hypoxia]

As I developed my 15 x 50 word stories, I have found it more effective to have them linked even if only by theme, instead of being distinct entities.

If the three stories can be linked by title, by theme, or are variations on a theme, I think they would work better than three unrelated stories.

They're not chapters nor episodes of a story, but they're not totally unrelated either. Each trio shares the same category and has at least a basic theme linkage. The Hallowe'en contest entries are all Hallowe'eny and incestuous. Other trios are set in a common community, category, and conceit (snarky short strokers) but without overlapping characters nor continuity.

So, it's not like I'm anthologizing totally disparate pieces. I like to think I know better than that. I'm not stuffing together BIG BANANA (which should be SciFi) and UNDER HIS EYES (LW) and THAT'S MY GIRL (Incest). It's more like each trio could be a set of entries for the same contest and share themes at that level, but have no continuity between them other than category.

I guess my question is, how have mini-anthologies been received here? I'll find out soon enough; I'm just scouting ahead now.

 

[Serafina1210]

A one-piece trilogy is almost as cool an idea as Douglas Adams's trilogy in four books.

 

[lovecraft68]

A one-piece trilogy is almost as cool an idea as Douglas Adams's trilogy in four books.

They have monstrous size books now that contain double novels. I've seen them for VC Andrews Flowers series and I can't think of the other author I've seen it done with.

I generally write long stories. When I first started here I used to bust my ass to keep things to two pages then I think around the time I hit SWB 10 I decided fuck it and let it fly.

My limit would usually be 8-10.

But the one I'm writing now could end up 13/14 lit pages, but because its a contest I have to leave it standalone. Too bad because the story itself has some nice scene breaks that would easily end a chapter.

It took me awhile to realize that's why there are a lot of long contest entries, it has to be self contained. I think the one Ellie just placed with was 10 pages.

 

[Hypoxia]

Maybe I should not have said 'trilogies'. Such assumes continuity. I'll do better to call these collected vignettes 'trios'. But 'trilogies' caught your eyes in the thread title, eh?

I suppose my goal is to post long-enough pieces, without having to pad-out vignettes to bring them up to length. I can foresee some collections of 800-1200-word pieces. Each would be just barely long enough for posting individually, but... well, among other things, writing three that fit together without being linked chapters is an interesting challenge. And I'd rather fill a full LIT page than just 1/3 or 1/2 of one. So there.

 

[Serafina1210]

Maybe I should not have said 'trilogies'. Such assumes continuity. I'll do better to call these collected vignettes 'trios'. But 'trilogies' caught your eyes in the thread title, eh?

I suppose my goal is to post long-enough pieces, without having to pad-out vignettes to bring them up to length. I can foresee some collections of 800-1200-word pieces. Each would be just barely long enough for posting individually, but... well, among other things, writing three that fit together without being linked chapters is an interesting challenge. And I'd rather fill a full LIT page than just 1/3 or 1/2 of one. So there.

Interesing, Hypoxia and LC, how we puzzle about length around here. I once posted in some thread or other that I never went over two Lit pages. Now I'm up to three. I don't think I'll ever be writing single pieces of 8, 10, or 14 pages, because, like Moses, I'm "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

In a chapter of three pages, I'm not writing one scene, but a sort of paneled narrative. A chapter that will appear next week is set at a play party. The POV gets passed around among various characters who witness or participate in the scenes at the party. It's sort of a trilogy, or quadrilogy, or maybe quintilogy (I haven't counted, actually). I've done this kind of thing before, and readers have liked it pretty well.

As to a trio of little stories, would I like it? Yeah, if they were unified by being part of one narrative, or variations on a theme, or, better yet, connected in some quirky and unexpected way, and well written and all the usual wells--I'd certainly enjoy them.

 

[lovecraft68]

Interesing, Hypoxia and LC, how we puzzle about length around here. I once posted in some thread or other that I never went over two Lit pages. Now I'm up to three. I don't think I'll ever be writing single pieces of 8, 10, or 14 pages, because, like Moses, I'm "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

In a chapter of three pages, I'm not writing one scene, but a sort of paneled narrative. A chapter that will appear next week is set at a play party. The POV gets passed around among various characters who witness or participate in the scenes at the party. It's sort of a trilogy, or quadrilogy, or maybe quintilogy (I haven't counted, actually). I've done this kind of thing before, and readers have liked it pretty well.

As to a trio of little stories, would I like it? Yeah, if they were unified by being part of one narrative, or variations on a theme, or, better yet, connected in some quirky and unexpected way, and well written and all the usual wells--I'd certainly enjoy them.

I'm hyper all the way around, have a full tilt full time motor so when it comes to writing I guess I am quick of speech and quick with my tongue....

Slow tongues, quick tongues.....I...wait, what the hell are we talking about?

 

[Handley_Page]

A one-piece trilogy is almost as cool an idea as Douglas Adams's trilogy in four books.

Like HH Kirst ?

 

[Serafina1210]

Like HH Kirst ?

Had to look that one up, but yes--in his case, apparently, a trilogy in five books.

 

[Hypoxia]

As to a trio of little stories, would I like it? Yeah, if they were unified by being part of one narrative, or variations on a theme, or, better yet, connected in some quirky and unexpected way, and well written and all the usual wells--I'd certainly enjoy them.

I've taken something like that approach since I started LIT writing, with the RON'S JOURNAL series especially. Each LIT chapter may contain 2 or 3 story chapters, which themselves may be built of a sequence of episodes linked only by the narrator's presence. Ron goes somewhere, meets people, gets fucked; then he hitchhikes elsewhere for other encounters. No plotted story continuity, just string-of-pearls storytelling.

What I'm proposing is just a bit more explicit and tenuous, with linkages less direct, but still with some connectivity. Each trio has a shared meta-theme (like Hallowe'en) or a shared universe (like a common neighborhood) or other conceit. Trio stories can't be *too* disparate. I suspect readers wouldn't like that much.

Yeah, quirky conections... I like quirky.