What to do next after throwing the kitchen sink at a story?

[Jackie.Hikaru]

You are a very bad person!

Em

Saw the Jaws gif. First thing that came to mind

 

[ElectricBlue]

So I put a lot into Coleoidphilia, the sex bits, the non-sex bits. It worked out pretty well I think. But now I’m a bit about what on Earth to do next. I have 11 draft stories, mostly shorter or episodic, I’ve even posted the beginning of a new story. But I am a bit, “where do I go from here?”

Is this common?

Em

Careful there Em. Sounds to me that you're about to go down the dreaded procrastination track. If you go too much further you'll find Simon wandering in a daze, and you'll be lost forever with fifteen outlines, twelve starts, and twenty-five ideas, and a very detailed spreadsheet. How are your Excel skills?

Seriously though, be ruthless with your stalled starts. If they're not continuing now are they ever going to? What's going to change in future?

I delete stalled starts often - if it's not going somewhere in the first five-hundred words, it's not going to run to the end, so why keep it?

Try writing the first thing that comes into your head, then keep going, free form, running on from that first, simple idea. In other words, try pantsing for a change.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Careful there Em. Sounds to me that you're about to go down the dreaded procrastination track. If you go too much further you'll find Simon wandering in a daze, and you'll be lost forever with fifteen outlines, twelve starts, and twenty-five ideas, and a very detailed spreadsheet. How are your Excel skills?

I’m a dab hand at Pivot Tables and Array Functions. Used to be a scientist (sort of).

Seriously though, be ruthless with your stalled starts. If they're not continuing now are they ever going to? What's going to change in future?

I do cull periodically.

I delete stalled starts often - if it's not going somewhere in the first five-hundred words, it's not going to run to the end, so why keep it?

A lot do them are more placeholders.

Try writing the first thing that comes into your head, then keep going, free form, running on from that first, simple idea. In other words, try pantsing for a change.

Might give that a go. Though be careful with phrases like “comes into your head” with me

Em

 

[Duleigh]

So I put a lot into Coleoidphilia, the sex bits, the non-sex bits. It worked out pretty well I think. But now I’m a bit about what on Earth to do next. I have 11 draft stories, mostly shorter or episodic, I’ve even posted the beginning of a new story. But I am a bit, “where do I go from here?”

Is this common?

Em

I try not to start a story without an end in sight, but that's just me, I've found myself in your same situation a few years ago when I was writing on a different site and am trying to avoid it this time around. Everybody like a happy ending, try throwing that at your story and move on.

 

[Djmac1031]

Contests have nothing to do with how good you are. They are aimed at making you write to a theme and to get your name out there for a longer period of time and in different places. Having a good story does help to promote your name and impress the readers.

Get your feet wet but remember what is in the water.

I can attest to this.

I always see a random influx of new readers to old stories after I post a contest entry.

 

[gunhilltrain]

TBH the idea of writing about anything but sex terrifies me.

And TBH means what again? Anyway, it's not that difficult. Write about something in your "memoirs," except the sexual ones. Everybody has had something happen to them that is more interesting than it first appears. Write about the first time you saw a movie in a theater, like I did. I also compared my kid's impression of the film with what I saw as an adult. (Fortunately, the film was on YouTube.) No, it wasn't as far back as the photo.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6025

 

[SimonDoom]

I have a hard time relating to the question, because my problem is having TOO MANY things I want to write. I have about 40 uncompleted stories, and the list grows longer. I'm a lazy, undisciplined writer, but I think the more disciplined writers are basically correct: just sit down and pick a damn story and finish it. There's no magical solution any more than there is a magical diet. Whatever gets you consuming fewer calories than you burn is the right diet. The best diet is the one you actually follow. Same with writing strategies. Just write.

 

[Duleigh]

I’ve never gone in for any contests. Didn’t think I could hack it. Not fishing for compliments, just sayin’.

Em

I kind of like contests, like Tx says, they're an exercise to get you out of your shell and work a theme that you may not have considered before. That part is fun. I kinda don't like contests because I don't like getting hit by trolls with "uno-bombs." quite often I put so much effort and so much of myself into a character and a story line that getting hit with a one bomb hurts.

Is it whiny and immature to feel that way?

Yeah, it is. So sue me.

 

[lovecraft68]

You know what I don't think I've ever seen here?

A Mind Control story where the woman controls the guys mind.

I'm sure those stories might exist, but I've never read one.

Could be a fun twist?

Probably get reported by all the LW incels

 

[silkstockingslover]

Take a break. Just write something else. Come back to it in a week or month or even year.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I’ve never gone in for any contests. Didn’t think I could hack it. Not fishing for compliments, just sayin’.

Em

Some of them are not contests, but "events." Everybody gets a prize for just participating. That should take some of the pressure off.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Some of them are not contests, but "events." Everybody gets a prize for just participating. That should take some of the pressure off.

Yeah. I think i misunderstood.

Em

 

[alohadave]

And TBH means what again?

To Be Honest

 

[EmilyMiller]

Is it whiny and immature to feel that way?

I feel that way too. Then we put ourselves out there. A lot easier to criticize than create.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

To Be Honest

Totally badass harlot, surely?

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

Totally badass harlot, surely?

Em

These abbreviations are getting out of control.

https://eslforums.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TBH-Meaning-1-768x832.jpg.webp

Also, did these guys make it a trademark? (It's vegan too!)

https://www.snacktbh.com/

 

[EmilyMiller]

Writing in the celebrities and fan fiction category could prove to be interesting. Potentially.

I had some ideas about that. Then my celebrities were pornstars and I quickly realized that the ones known to a twenty something girl and to the average Lit member were rather distinct. Plus copyright infringement…

Also, my fan-fic idea is problematic as Laurel doesn’t like 14 yos in stories, even if they have superpowers (Miraculous: Les Ans a L’École Normale Supérieure, peut-être).

Em

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah. I think i misunderstood.

Em

I've been in real contests on two different sites, and I've never won anything. (I think it's usually first-second-third place, gold-silver-bronze.) I didn't expect to win anything, but I accepted it. Maybe I didn't want that much attention anyway.

 

[TxRad]

As someone who has somewhere between 6 and 9 blue W's I can tell you that there is more than one kind of attention.

One is where you piss off the powers that be. Two is when you piss off the biggest names in trolls on the site. And three, the attention of a bunch of readers. Be careful of the first two but enjoy the last one.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I had some ideas about that. Then my celebrities were pornstars and I quickly realized that the ones known to a twenty something girl and to the average Lit member were rather distinct. Plus copyright infringement…

Also, my fan-fic idea is problematic as Laurel doesn’t like 14 yos in stories, even if they have superpowers (Miraculous: Les Ans a L’École Normale Supérieure, peut-être).

Em

Laurel does not merely dislike such stories, she cannot abide them at all. Superpowers won't help you. There is a site that will take them (no, its not Asstr.org), but the software is very outdated and the method for posting stories is a bit weird. However, they will have a submission up in a few hours at most.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Laurel does not merely dislike such stories, she cannot abide them at all. Superpowers won't help you. There is a site that will take them (no, its not Asstr.org), but the software is very outdated and the method for posting stories is a bit weird. However, they will have a submission up in a few hours at most.

I think maybe I wasn’t clear enough about the tone of my post…

The French (kinda) translates as Miraculous Ladybug : The College Years.

Em

 

[Duleigh]

Also, did these guys make it a trademark? (It's vegan too!)

https://www.snacktbh.com/

The website that rotates the bottle as you scroll down is different but the unearned air of moral superiority over Palm Oil isn't. I get enough of that from a vegan wife.

 

[spankableBelle]

Contests have nothing to do with how good you are. They are aimed at making you write to a theme and to get your name out there for a longer period of time and in different places. Having a good story does help to promote your name and impress the readers.

Get your feet wet but remember what is in the water.

I really like this point of view on contests.

 

[blozo]

I play golf. It clears the mind, lets you come back to the keyboard fresh. Either that or I take two years off.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I play golf. It clears the mind, lets you come back to the keyboard fresh. Either that or I take two years off.

Not sure golf would be top of my list.

Em