Editor's Note: Appended.

Over the next week, I will present the secrets of serial narratives, including their benefits to newspapers and Web sites. Throughout the six chapters of this serial starter kit, I will go over the elements of serial narratives. It will help you learn more about the genre and test whether a story of yours might lend itself to the form.

Since 1995 I have written four serial narratives for newspapers, and am now working on another:

• "Three Little Words" appeared in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times for 29 consecutive days in 1996. It told the story of a woman, Jane Morse, whose husband died of AIDS. It was reprinted in 1999 in the Cape Argus newspaper in Cape Town, South Africa. It exists in old reprints and on the Poynter Web site. More than ten years after it appeared in print, I continue to hear from readers from around the world.

• In 1996 and 1997, "Sadie's Ring" was published in five newspapers: The Charlotte Observer, TheMiami Herald, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and The PhiladelphiaInquirer. This series, written in 11 parts, was my personal story of growing up Catholic with a Protestant father and Jewish grandmother, learning the full value of religious and ethnic tolerance in America.

• A serialized novel, "Ain't Done Yet," appeared as a millennium special in 25 newspapers. This newspaper novel ran for 29 consecutive days. It was commissioned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and then distributed by the New York Times Syndicate.

• A two-part story. "Her Picture in My Wallet," concerned a World War II veteran reunited with his first love after years of separation and regret. The story is rendered in the voice of the main character, 77-year-old Tommy Carden.

Since 1996, I've hosted a conference on the serial narrative, been the subject of several articles and interviews, spoken at numerous workshops, read and collected as many as 200 other newspaper serials, and offered free advice to dozens of reporters and editors interested in the form.

CREATING THE SERIAL NARRATIVE: A STARTER KIT
Chapter One: The Power of the Parts	Chapter Two: A 12-Step Program for Writers	Chapter Three: A Story Form with Benefits	Chapter Four: Kick-Start Your Story	Chapter Five: How Could You Ask Such a Thing?	Chapter Six: Say the Secret Word

Editor's Note: We have revised the title of this series to "Serial Narrative" so as not to infringe on the trademark of a publisher of serialized literature.