Finishing Stories

[Executionus]

100% is pretty impressive. You might wanna do something about that.

I was never in the running for this crown. I only have 2 that I cancelled (Playville, Private School Privates) and those were both many years ago. It used to be 4 but I eventually did go back and finish More and More and Flesh Eaters after long delays.

SDS and Lady Lucia have basically become memes for how often people ask them to continue their old unfinished stories at this point. They had a battle to decide who was the true #1, but the battle was never completed.

[dublinjohn]

...., but the battle was never completed.

I see what you did there

[SDS]

I done a giggle. :3

What is your take on folks 'adopting' any of your abandoned stories, SDS?

Because one of my fave stories of yours - Rebecca's misadventures - recently popped up in the Archive.

Not sure if I'm the person who could take the story much further, but I've always wanted to revisit her modelling experience and push it a little further...

Always happy for people to adapt, finish or spin off my work. If I like it enough I also make it Canon like my black mail and bare bottom spanking story haha.

[*Lady Lucia*]

I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed that I'm already being compared to SDS for unfinished stories. I've only been active on here for two years or so. XD

--LL

[edithdick]

I find it hard to bring a story to a satisfying conclusion because, while I am writing a story that I find interesting or enjoyable, I don’t want to end it… but at some point I get to a part that the story becomes work to advance, and then I stop wanting to write anymore.

[dublinjohn]

I find it hard to bring a story to a satisfying conclusion because, while I am writing a story that I find interesting or enjoyable, I don’t want to end it… but at some point I get to a part that the story becomes work to advance, and then I stop wanting to write anymore.

Pick a logical point to stop, then, start again so you can do a Part II, but Part I is boxed off and complete and keep part II for you until its finished (or stopped for part III) and then publish

[Blondie]

I know, isn't it annoying when you're following a decent story, and then it suddenly goes dormant? I would never do that.

Okay, okay, I'm guilty as charged when it comes to ongoing stories (I prefer "ongoing" to "unfinished."). I just looked at my list, and out of the 15 stories I've written over the years, nine have come to a conclusion.

There are several possible reasons why some stories are ongoing:

1) I enjoy writing it up so much that I'm in no hurry to bring it to a conclusion.

2) The dreaded "writer's block." When I'm at that point I could find a way to just finish it up, but it wouldn't be satisfying.

3) I may have written myself into a corner, or am at a crossroads where I'm not sure which direction I'm going to go, in which case I would focus on a different story until it comes to me.

4) Some stories, such as "The Subway Series" (not yet posted here) or "The Humidifiers" lend itself to so many possibilities that I may never finish them, and I don't see any reason to do that. In stories like that, each chapter takes on its own identity and essentially is a separate story in an of itself.

Unfortunately, the main reason why I'm not prolific (compared to several writers here) is time constraints. Job, family, life, blah, blah blah. I know I'm no different than most in that regard.

I've considered popping out short chapters for the sake of just getting something out there, but I guess that's just not my style. If anything, some of my chapters probably go on longer than they should.

And it's not just the writing that takes a back seat. There are some really good writers here and some wonderful stories that I dearly wish I had more time to indulge myself with. I'm so glad I discovered this site. I apologize to my fellow writers for my lack of comments and thanks. I need to get better at that and try to put aside time to read more of the excellent offerings here.

In the meantime, keep those stories coming, and if it remains ongoing, I have no right to complain.

[edithdick]

Pick a logical point to stop, then, start again so you can do a Part II, but Part I is boxed off and complete and keep part II for you until its finished (or stopped for part III) and then publish

This is the type of logical thinking I do when I am whiteboarding a story. Try to plan on how I want the story to conclude, what milestones I want to include along the way. For "Extreme Therapy", I actually had a plan written out to bring it to a conclusion... I just lost the thread of the story. I need to go back and rediscover my passion for what I had planned to do to Sophie/Annie...

...
And it's not just the writing that takes a back seat. There are some really good writers here and some wonderful stories that I dearly wish I had more time to indulge myself with. I'm so glad I discovered this site. I apologize to my fellow writers for my lack of comments and thanks. I need to get better at that and try to put aside time to read more of the excellent offerings here.

In the meantime, keep those stories coming, and if it remains ongoing, I have no right to complain.

It's funny, reading the stories is what brought me to this site in the first place. Lately, however, I have been more interested in the community of writers. I spend more time reading in the general forum now, commenting on other's questions. This is kinda like a therapy session to discuss writing with others on this board.

[TeenFan]

I'm more of a writer than a reader. I typically get five chapter updates done every week, which probably makes me Mr. Constant Writer.
I'm always working on something, and juggling multiple stories at the same time.
I could easily write down a short synopsis of ten stories I have in my mind, trying to work their way out of my brain.

I started a story several days ago, a rare ENF type for me, a re-write of Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory.
I just sat down and thought....what do I want to do that's different today. I thought of how almost all the kids are terribly embarrassed in
the Willy Wonka movie and suddenly got a story idea...and started it that moment.

As a writer I'm overly obsessed with the "Story not started", more than the story not finished. It's like if I don't start an idea than it might
never get started at all. If I focused on one story at a time I would never get far since several of my tales are like "The Never Ending Story".
Two stories at 60 plus chapers and another at 40 plus.

I can work on a single story for a while, maybe a week in all, but I have to switch over to working on a different story...sort of like one usually can't
watch Cowboy movies every day for two weeks, gotta switch over to watching a horror flick of a mystery thriller. I know it's weird, but whatever
gets me excited that day is what I'm going to work on. That's the only way I was able (a little while back) to write 34 story chapters in 30 days
time, which was just crazy, but that's how I keep up a prolific schedule.

As long as I keep cranking out new material on new stories as well as older ones I'm happy, and I guess most of my readers are too. Though
I do get a "Please get back to such n such story" every now and then, which is understandable. I always intend to finish everything...and then
something new just has to get started. A writer's version of ADD I gues, lol.

[edithdick]

Truth be told, I mostly write here because I want to learn to be a better writer. What I love about this board is that I get a lot of great feedback from the stories I post. With the end goal of being a better writer, I need to learn how to finish stories. Writing a lot of good chapters that don't have a satisfying conclusion works in this venue, because for most of us, the pleasure is in the journey, more than the destination.

However, for me, the goal of being a decent writer means learning to complete the story or at least bring it to some conclusion that works. I have a litany of other stories that I have started but refused to post until I can complete the two passion projects I currently have on the board (viewtopic.php?t=1955) and (viewtopic.php?t=1950)

Only when I have completed those two stories will I consider posting something new. This is not a criticism of anyone else. It's just a pressure I am putting on myself for growth in this particular area.