Is it OK to write a new story while finishing another?

[BlueZen]

I'm not asking for permission, obviously. I'm just asking if ethically, do you feel a responsibility to wrap up a novel before working on anything else? Am I being cruel to the readers who I have hooked into this story? Do I have a moral duty to release them from their suffering as quickly as possible?

Ethically? Yeah, it's ethical. Do whatever floats your boat.

Do you have a moral duty to your readers? No. You owe them the courtesy of finishing the story, but there is no ethical responsibility to put them out of their misery for not knowing the ending of your story.

Not finishing a story fast enough cuts into the people who will finish your work, so if anything, you owe it to yourself to finish in a timely manner.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Spaceballs was released in 1987

Spaceballs 2 is scheduled for release in 2027

Authors here are concerned about a gap of a few weeks?

 

[lovecraft68]

There are no rules in how you write, do whatever you feel called to do.

 

[SimonDoom]

Is it OK? Yes. Write what you want to write, on your own schedule, however it best tickles your fancy.

 

[alohadave]

He may found the barrel of tar and a bag of feathers by the road, but no one forced him to try and apply those to the OP.

No. I found something concerning, and warned OP. He stated his case, and as far as I was concerned, he addressed the issue.

Then the attitude came. As far as I'm concerned, OP blew it up because he doesn't know how the forum works here and now he's sore about the whole thing. I now have him on ignore because I don't care to ever see their posts again.

 

[Belegon]

I rarely have ONLY one thing I'm working on... and sometimes i awtich to something brand new and it flows so quick that its actually finished before I jump back. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened.

 

[xannatharr]

I have a question. For the past six months or so, I have been working on a huge story, called The Botched Marriage. I published Book 1 over July/August, Book 2 over September/November. I've been putting out chapters of Book 3 over the past month. Each book is 11 chapters long.

I admit I have fallen in love with my characters, and my OCD has gotten worse and worse with each chapter. These last few chapters have important conversations that resolve long standing plot lines, and sex scenes that are real turning points for these characters lives. I'm having a hard time letting go of any imperfections and just hitting that publish button. I just keep tweaking things.

I want to be clear: I am enjoying the bejesus out of all this. It is so incredibly soothing to come back to each paragraph and find just the perfect thing for one of my characters to say - something that ties back to a snippet from 15 chapters ago. Something that adds just a little bit more depth to them. I also just want to take my time, I guess, because as I approach the end of the book, I know I'm going to mourn the loss of these imaginary friends. It's not something I expected, but it's real.

So, my question. I have a ton of stories waiting in the wings. Over a dozen. Is it ok to take a one week break from the novel and finish one short story during that time? I am certain my readers will absolutely hate it. Even though the vast majority of my readers hate me and the story, they certainly are not ambiguous about wanting me to get more stuff out, faster. They complain endlessly in the comments and by email about wanting the next chapter.

I'm not asking for permission, obviously. I'm just asking if ethically, do you feel a responsibility to wrap up a novel before working on anything else? Am I being cruel to the readers who I have hooked into this story? Do I have a moral duty to release them from their suffering as quickly as possible?

I think that it is perfectly fine!

 

[metropolinational]

Since this thread started, I learned to stop worrying and love working on multiple stories.

Or, rather, I got caught in the AI trap here and have been forced to wait for chapter 5 of book 3 to make it through the system. In the meantime, I have submitted two flash stories, and none of my readers have shown me much outrage.

So, I will keep working on botched and try to get it published here. If not, I am slowly catching up on Inkitt and may eventually just move botched there. But I will keep submitting stories here while all that happens.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve had two or more going at once.