#writing serials

My book Become an Unstoppable Storyteller: How to Craft Compelling Serials was based on the work I did creating this spreadsheet. It's free to copy and use for yourself, no need to buy the book! (But I'd love it if do buy the book!!!!)

Icarus noticed his mood, and sent him to the store cabinet for some medicines. Agnes went, sullenly aware he was being sent away like a child, and feeling guilty for nearly deserving it. Once he got to the store cabinet, however, he realized Icarus was actually giving him a moment to clear his head, to take some breaths away from that atmosphere. Not for the first time that day, Agnes felt an overwhelming wave of affection. Icarus was being incredibly brave, for doing what Agnes asked. They both knew Icarus would have made the better soldier, and he could have protected Agnes in the battle. But if they were separated... Agnes couldn’t bear the thought.

And so he ordered Icarus, ordered him like a dog to stay and wait for master. And Icarus would. And Icarus already was. Agnes was taking away his reason for living and ordering him to keep going anyway, and with a devotion so intense it took Agnes’s breath away, he did it. He even appeared to do it cheerfully, never mind that Agnes knew someone would probably die the night he was sent away.

As long as Icarus could keep him sane, Agnes could do the same for Icarus. It was a ticking time bomb, but he wasn’t going to waste the time he had left. He wanted, no, he needed to savor Icarus’s presence while he still had it. Already, Agnes found himself turning back to Icarus’s sun like a sunflower. Icarus had once told him that if Agnes were the sun, he would gladly burn up like his namesake... But Agnes felt as if he wore the wings of wax, flying into freedom just to die. So this was what the eve of war felt like.