Do you Guys Ever do This?

[drksideofthemoon]

I have around 10 stories half finished, some others are finished but I'm not happy with them and others that are works in progress.

I'm finding that I'm not good at sequels. When I got my first story posted, that was supposed to be it but I had so many emails asking for a second part so I did one and I still don't think it was as good as the first story. I had a real problem getting back into the flow of the storyline.

I can also start to write a story, have a firm guideline and know my characters and after a few pages just delete the lot and start again.

You're the only one that knows if there is another story there. Don't be pressured by readers to write a sequel. Some of mine have them, and others don't.

I'd sooner leave the readers wanting more, than having them giving thanks the story is over...

 

[tickledkitty]

You're the only one that knows if there is another story there. Don't be pressured by readers to write a sequel. Some of mine have them, and others don't.

I'd sooner leave the readers wanting more, than having them giving thanks the story is over...

That's some good advice, oh wise Cowboy.

 

[EveAnna]

I actually try not to delete because quite a while back I wrote a few stories that were quite near the knuckle and I was worried about someone finding and reading them on my pc, I didn't know how to password protect, and so I deleted them - now I'm writing again and I would have loved to have put those stories up on here but the worse thing is I can't rewrite them.

So its usually better not to delete anything at all.

 

[tickledkitty]

I actually try not to delete because quite a while back I wrote a few stories that were quite near the knuckle and I was worried about someone finding and reading them on my pc, I didn't know how to password protect, and so I deleted them - now I'm writing again and I would have loved to have put those stories up on here but the worse thing is I can't rewrite them.

So its usually better not to delete anything at all.

Can you put them in a hidden file? This means the file will not come up on Windows Explorer or anywhere else unless you type in the name of the file. I think they can still be found if someone is really snooping, but they need to know where to look.

 

[oggbashan]

....wht "arsed" is.. ???

It is a slightly rude English (and apparently Australian) expression - "I can't be arsed to..." means "I can't be bothered to..." or "I have lost the impetus to..." complete...

It has connections to "I can't get off my arse (backside) to do..." and the more usual imperative "Get off your arse and do something about it!".

Og

 

[oggbashan]

Can you put them in a hidden file? This means the file will not come up on Windows Explorer or anywhere else unless you type in the name of the file. I think they can still be found if someone is really snooping, but they need to know where to look.

Or else they know how to change file characteristics to make hidden files visible...

Og

 

[BlackShanglan]

I found that I got many fewer of these once I started planning the endings of the stories (and the general arcs of the plots and characters). I know, I know - "That doesn't work for me" is the standard answer to this. I used to give it all of the time myself. Imagine my embarassment when I found that actually, it works a lot better for me.

The whole process is tighter when I know where things are going; every scene has a sense of purpose, and I know when I'm heading down a blind alley before I get completely lost in it. It's more work in planning, but lord, it does help.

 

[sr71plt]

"I found that I got many fewer of these once I started planning the endings of the stories"

I don't even start thinking I have a story unless I (think I) know what the "hook" is and the arc of the story will be. Sometimes those change as I write, but it's all just snippets of possibilities for me--not stories--until I have those elements figured out.

 

[BlackShanglan]

"I found that I got many fewer of these once I started planning the endings of the stories"

I don't even start thinking I have a story unless I (think I) know what the "hook" is and the arc of the story will be. Sometimes those change as I write, but it's all just snippets of possibilities for me--not stories--until I have those elements figured out.

*nods* I think that that is one of the best pieces of advice Adam Sexton gives - his definition of what makes a story a story and not a "character sketch" or a scrap of dialogue or what have you. The arc and the plan of where the action is going and what questions must be resolved is necessary to it being a story.

Of course, as Sexton points out, if you're very good at something else, you can sometimes get an audience to accept the fact that you're not telling them a story as such - but it's good to be aware of what you're giving up, not just for the audience but for yourself.

Personally, I do much better with a structured process. I know that in theory I could draft my way to the unplanned ending and call it a completed story when I get there, but I'm much happier with the endings I've planned from the start. Everything about the process gets tighter and fits together better.

 

[sr71plt]

I try to get it written before too much structure has settled in. The greatest enjoyment I get out of writing fiction is when the story takes off on its own and becomes something much better, with more clever twists, than I had originally envisioned for it. For me, if I actually do an outline first, that usually inhibits anything I'm writing in fiction. In nonfiction, though, I find the written outline necessary. (And usually the writing of the outline tells me what parts of the piece aren't really ready to write yet.)

 

[BlackShanglan]

Ironically, it's the delight in the story running itself that makes me enjoy the planning stages. I draft slowly, and honestly, I find drafting the least enjoyable part of writing. I like planning out the story in advance because it comes to life best, for me, when I'm not slogging through full paragraphs. It feels so much lighter and more darting and agile when it's just notes and outlines and brainstorming - so much more ready to turn and grow and change. I give it a good long time in that stage, I suppose because it's more fun, but also because that's where it tends to develop and change and take on some of its own character.

But then, I'm structure-obsessive. Thinking over abstract structural issues somehow stirs my mind nicely, and I get new ideas on all sorts of levels. I'm a structure geek.

 

[sr71plt]

If I wrote slowly, I'd lose the flow of the story. This probably comes from having worked for international news agencies on flash copy for a couple of decades. Deadlines there were a matter of minutes rather than hours or days. I'll buzz out about 2,000 words an hour and than change little more than grammar/punctuation/spelling in review. Once I sit down and begin writing, I'm pretty much lost to the rest of the world until it's finished. If I have to leave it and come back to it later, it will have lost something.

When I'm doing novels, I'll do a chapter at a setting. Beforehand I will have a rough outline on paper for maybe the first six chapters. Beyond that, it's writing itself and I'm just trying to keep up with the typing end. Of course, sometimes the work will go off on a tangent that makes a secondary thread more important than I thought it would be, or there's some new twist in plot or character that makes me go back and rework some of the earlier material. For that, the advent of the computer has been a blessing; it's a lot easier to keyword search than to shuffle paper--and then to rework the material in an electronic file.