Beginning next week, I will begin reposting Nekophobia from
part one for the benefit of those whose memory needs refreshing
at the rate of one part per day.

   Yes!  Folks, this is kind of a pet peeve of mine.  I know that it can 
be important, after a long hiatus, to refresh your readers.  It's also 
important to help attract new list members who might be reluctant to 
read Chapter 17 of Book III of the fourth story arc in your continuity.
   However, I can't count the number of times I've encountered 8+ 
chapter reposts that were obviously fired off in rapid succession.  
There have been times when the story looked interesting, but the 
prospect of plowing through hundreds of K of one story, on top of 
dealing with normal list traffic, has just been overwhelming.
   Well-written stories usually have their own pacing.  Even if the size 
of the chpaters was dictated by technical requirements (ie, no messages 
over 40K, or whatever), the author usually winds up adapting the story 
to fit the format, making sure that enough happens to build plot 
structure while not overwhelming the reader with too many different 
occurences.  Posting all the chapters at once can throw that balance 
right out the window.  (The use of the word "can" was deliberate, as 
there are noteworthy exceptions.)
   Furthermore, most chapter-stories written on the list are actually 
serials, meaning there is a significant break between installments.  
Serial fiction has a long history, dating back to Arthur Conan Doyle's 
"Sherlock Holmes" stories and C. S. Lewis' _Screwtape Letters_, both of 
which appeared in serial format in weekly newspapers.
   This time-gap means that the installments have a much stronger 
ability to stand on their own than the chapters of an average novel.  
For an example of how big a difference this can make, go buy the boxed 
set of Steven King's _The Green Mile_ sextuplet.  Read one book a month 
for half a year (roughly the rate they were published).  Then go back 
and read them again, all in one week, and preferably starting a book on 
the same day you finish the previous one.
   What I'm saying is that, frankly, cornering a reader into going 
through a whole slew of serial installments is like forcing them to eat 
all three meals of the day at one sitting--and is likely to have similar 
results.
   Kudos also go to Gary Kleppe for publishing his HaM Prelude 
reruns/revisions one week at a time.
   Thank you for not flaming.

--Freemage, who, BTW, was _extremely_ intrigued by the Nekophobia 
teaser....


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