Author’s delayed orgasm: I can’t finish!

[masustacy]

I got burned when I started reading Literotica by reading several 100K+ stories that were abandoned and will never likely be finished. Consequently, I vowed I would never release a work that wasn’t finished.

I have been writing like crazy, however, I’m now sitting on four years of unfinished writing. I now have ten incomplete serial stories of greater than 100K words. I seem to have a sickness where I simply can’t finish. Delayed writer’s orgasm syndrome.

The problem for me seems to be indecision about how to progress from one major plot point to the next one.

I have a three questions I would appreciate feedback on.

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?


Thanks,

-masustacy

 

[StillStunned]

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

Visualise the end. Play it out in your mind, start writing it in your head. Once you have that, start writing the rest of the story to reach that point.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I will offer my frequently opposed opinion, which is to never submit any part of a story until it is complete.

My major reasoning behind this opinion is that it takes control of the story away from you. Let's say that you suddenly do come up with the ending for one of your stories, but making it work requires you do make changes to earlier sections of the work. If you have already published, the changes are difficult to incorporate.

I have several stories here in excess of 100K words, all in single submissions rather than parts. These likely turn off some readers due to the length, but I receive far more comments from readers thanking me for letting them read the story in its entirety. The category your post in can make a big difference in reader acceptability for longer stories.

My final suggestion is on how to stimulate a finish...

Approach the stories from a different perspective, such as listening to what you have already written rather than reading it again. Not only will this help you with the editing process, it can stimulate your thoughts about the story and where you want it to go.

Good luck.

 

[RejectReality]

I got burned when I started reading Literotica by reading several 100K+ stories that were abandoned and will never likely be finished. Consequently, I vowed I would never release a work that wasn’t finished.

I have been writing like crazy, however, I’m now sitting on four years of unfinished writing. I now have ten incomplete serial stories of greater than 100K words. I seem to have a sickness where I simply can’t finish. Delayed writer’s orgasm syndrome.

The problem for me seems to be indecision about how to progress from one major plot point to the next one.

I have a three questions I would appreciate feedback on.

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?


Thanks,

-masustacy

1) Take however long it takes and don't release anything until it's finished. The one that's almost through editing in my Darkniciad name I started in 2019. I've got a single-shot sitting in my WIP folder that I first started in 2011 and haven't quite found the something it's missing. I fiddle with it every year around this time for the Valentine's contest. I may eventually put it out.

2) If you don't finish it, you're going to hate yourself. Don't do it. Life happens.

3) Right from the get-go, make sure they know that you're NOT on a timetable. However long they need with each chapter. Taking a day or three off is not a problem. Whenever they have the time and energy.

4) No luck there I'm afraid. I'm in the final stages of editing one that long myself, and I've got another big one that's gelled a lot I'm eager to jump back into.

 

[ElectricBlue]

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

Plug on, keep writing. Or take another break.

Or: If you can't finish, do you in fact have a story, or just a long bunch of whatever?

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

Yes, because you clearly don't have an end in sight, nor in mind, and it sounds like your energy is running out.

If you know you're going to end up with another Great Unfinished Story on Lit, don't start publishing. You'll be kidding yourself and conning your audience.

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

Edit yourself better.

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?

To be brutal, why would anyone bother? Seems to me you need to be brutal with yourself too - do you in fact have a story? It sounds to me like you're going on and on, because you don't.

Here's a thought - there must be something in a 100k words that can stand by itself. Can you find it, and publish it as a stand-alone?

 

[samhasstories]

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

1. As with anything writing, my advice is to just write it. Write a version of an ending that probably won't work or that you haven't outlined or anything. Just get one on paper - or screen or whatever - and then figure out why it doesn't work. Write a bunch of them if you need to, maybe the process will lodge something loose, or maybe you'll surprise yourself by uncovering the right ending.

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

No. George RR Martin isn't a horrible person either, but he's disappointed a lot of people. If you end up with a rabid fanbase there might be screeds on the internet about how you need to get your shit together and write their ending, but rabid fanbases will find something to screed about regardless. Just look at the Mary Sue - aka Let's Argue About Star Wars - thread.

Write what you want to write, how you want to write it. If releasing it serially works best for you, then do it. It worked okay for Dickens.

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

I'm not sure about your editing team, I've never had one of those.

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?

Oh shoot, looks like I'm busy that day.

 

[Djmac1031]

. Any advice on finishing a long story?

Pick an ending, stick with it, and realize no matter which ending you pick you won't be 100% satisfied with it but you need to choose one anyway

 

[StillStunned]

About editors: a professional editor works at a rate of about 1000 words an hour. Do the maths and figure out what you're asking someone to do for you.

 

[Euphony]

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

Is it good money after bad? So you fret you have wasted your readers' time without a proper ending but, if you essentially force yourself without genuine motivation, you're asking them to reengage with something likely not crafted enough to be worth further time/revisiting their prior ghosting/heartache.

Sometimes your ex is best left your ex even if it might salve some of the old wounds.

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

Can't say without the story in front of me but 100k+ on the regular that you also aren't seeing all the way through feels like a self-reflection moment.

Are you using an excess of words to fill in gaps in your abilities/storytelling understanding?

Some editors are overly kind and will let you (unintentionally) over rely on that kindness. Writing is revision and rewriting. Be a writer. Editing is more about polish.

Maybe switch up to a different type project. A short with a tight opening, middle, and end. Something that jazzes you but doesn't need ultra commitment.

Really focus on your economy of words. Trying something outside your norm is how you show yourself you're wrong or right (and get better.)

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?

I'd reframe/explain my ask better than this. It reads "I have a pile o' stuff and b/c I can't fix it, I'll hand it off to you."

 

[Euphony]

About editors: a professional editor works at a rate of about 1000 words an hour. Do the maths and figure out what you're asking someone to do for you.

Look, you got THREE WHOLE DAYS without sleep before your mind and body go utterly dysfunctional.

So... where am I sending you my google docs link?

 

[Britva415]

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

Do you know how it's supposed to finish and just haven't written it yet?

Or do you not yet know how it's supposed to end?

Big difference.

 

[Bramblethorn]

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

If you haven't already tried this, you might consider writing shorter stories first.

There's a saying: "no story is ever completed, only released". A little perfectionism is a good thing, but carried too far it results in the kind of situation you're in now. Every writer needs to learn when to say "fuck it, let's get this finished even if it's not perfect", and shorter stories might get you more practice with that faster.

But for long stories specifically: plan them out first. Doesn't need to be a detailed plan, just some sort of "this is how it begins, this is how it ends, this is what I want to do along the way"; from there, you can break it into smaller chunks and plan out the chunks, repeating until you have bite-sized pieces, and write the pieces.

It's fine to change plans along the way, but you should be changing from plan to plan, not just "I'm going to keep writing the next page and the next one until somehow this all resolves itself". It won't.

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

...I mean, it's worked for me. If I tried to write a story that length in isolation, I'd probably fall into that perfectionism trap and never finish. For me, posting as I go gives me the motivation I need to keep going and finish the thing. But whether that would work for you, or whether you're more likely to lose interest halfway through posting, that's something you'd have to identify for yourself.

That said...

An unfinished story isn't the worst thing in the world. Even pros sometimes end up having to abandon a series for one reason or another; it happens all the time in TV land. It's disappointing and frustrating to both authors and audiences, and authors shouldn't post a story they don't intend to finish. But often it's still better than no story at all.

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

You start them out with something much smaller, and make sure they know your style before agreeing to such a project. Then you make sure to allow plenty of time to edit it.

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?

And this is the other reason to start out with shorter stories: it gives prospective editors a sample of what they'd be letting themselves in for.

 

[SimonDoom]

Write a short story. Put all these endless unfinished stories to the side and just write a 10,000 word story and publish the damn thing.

I cannot imagine someone volunteering to read one of your unfinished 100,000 word stories for free. I would never volunteer for such a task. On the other hand, as an author I've never asked anyone to do something like that. I've had one beta reader, who read a story of around 16,000 words.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

An unfinished story isn't the worst thing in the world. Even pros sometimes end up having to abandon a series for one reason or another; it happens all the time in TV land. It's disappointing and frustrating to both authors and audiences, and authors shouldn't post a story they don't intend to finish. But often it's still better than no story at all.

Once again, the distinction between a stand-alone story and an episodic series rears its ugly head in this forum.

There is a VAST difference in the acceptability of, and tolerance for, an incomplete series versus an incomplete story. At least everywhere else in the world besides Lit.

A chapter within a story can end without a resolution, and some short stories or series episodes purposely end without resolving the plot's main conflict, but doing so with a 100k stand-alone story is rare.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I got burned when I started reading Literotica by reading several 100K+ stories that were abandoned and will never likely be finished. Consequently, I vowed I would never release a work that wasn’t finished.

I have been writing like crazy, however, I’m now sitting on four years of unfinished writing. I now have ten incomplete serial stories of greater than 100K words. I seem to have a sickness where I simply can’t finish. Delayed writer’s orgasm syndrome.

The problem for me seems to be indecision about how to progress from one major plot point to the next one.

I have a three questions I would appreciate feedback on.

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?


Thanks,

-masustacy

Ha! Karmas a bitch!

But seriously, I think many writers have ended up like this. Posting it ain't gonna speed things along. Best to sit on it and look at it, or reread it, then once its done, then you can post it. I the pot have decreed to the kettle. Good thing is it's not a race, you'll be on that new story page and top of whatever catagory whenever you do.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Can we call this the pantser's curse, it at least happens to me more with my not planned out stories, than the ones I have at least to a degree outlined out.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Can we call this the pantser's curse, it at least happens to me more with my not planned out stories, than the ones I have at least to a degree outlined out.

I don't know if a "pantser" approach to writing is the sole cause for situations like this.

I storyboard out all of my stories with a focus on reaching the resolution that I envision at the beginning. Research, character development, or other dynamics within the story as it unfolds often has my original idea for the ending differing from what it becomes.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I got burned when I started reading Literotica by reading several 100K+ stories that were abandoned and will never likely be finished. Consequently, I vowed I would never release a work that wasn’t finished.

I have been writing like crazy, however, I’m now sitting on four years of unfinished writing. I now have ten incomplete serial stories of greater than 100K words. I seem to have a sickness where I simply can’t finish. Delayed writer’s orgasm syndrome.

The problem for me seems to be indecision about how to progress from one major plot point to the next one.

I have a three questions I would appreciate feedback on.

1. Any advice on finishing a long story?

2. Am I a horrible person if I started releasing chapters of a story that I have “in the can” in the hopes that eventually I will find the energy to push through to the ending in the future

3. How do you avoid killing your editing team on a work that is 100K+ words?

4. Anyone want to beta read 100k words with no finish?


Thanks,

-masustacy

I see that you had one series that consisted entirely of 750-word chapters. And you've had three shorter stand-alone stories. Most of that was done in 2022.

100K word series are an ambitious goal, especially when you are starting out. Big series in general can be challenging. I think the longest series I completed had about 44K words and it was only nine chapters. So, yes, you didn't realize it at first, but you are overreaching with attempting ten very large series. Some of the advice on here is that you should "right-size" your ambitions a bit until you get the hang of it. I don't mean any disrespect to you, just trying to figure out what you've done up to now.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Write a short story. Put all these endless unfinished stories to the side and just write a 10,000 word story and publish the damn thing.

I cannot imagine someone volunteering to read one of your unfinished 100,000 word stories for free. I would never volunteer for such a task. On the other hand, as an author I've never asked anyone to do something like that. I've had one beta reader, who read a story of around 16,000 words.

You can write a pretty good short story with only 6,000 to 8,00K words. It has to be compact, not too many characters or settings. The events of a single week or even day can be described.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Well, firstly, you've published 2 stories of around 10k words and 1 of 50k words (and a H in Loving Wives which aint easy). So you clearly can finish stuff.

Secondly, if I've learnt anything from writing it's that a 20k story doesn't take twice as long as a 10k word story - it takes four times as long. By the time you're hitting 100k words, you have to struggle with editing at a chapter level - i.e. deciding fairly frequently that this 5k chapter just isn't necessary, or that a new 5k chapter is needed between existing chapters 3 and 4.

I've ended up with four unfinished novel's length works (no, bad Red, their not unfinished, they're in progress - just not at the minute.) I find that digging them out to work on them is far more difficult that even editing a 20k word story because if it's been a while you need to read through the whole thing and you're probably going to need to have at least a free week to make any meaningful progress on them. And invariably there's just that one section where you don't quite know how it goes.

But if you're regularly hitting 100k words and you don't want to be, you probably want to see if you can cut back in the planning stage (assuming you're a planner not a pantser).

If you're a pantser maybe try to remember that every character you introduce who has any kind of arc is going to naturally add thousands of words to the story. Maybe decide on a clear stopping point for the story (first time sleeping together, marriage etc) for your main characters and stick to it.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I don't know if a "pantser" approach to writing is the sole cause for situations like this.

I storyboard out all of my stories with a focus on reaching the resolution that I envision at the beginning. Research, character development, or other dynamics within the story as it unfolds often has my original idea for the ending differing from what it becomes.

Well, I was mostly joking. As somebody who does both, the outlined stories tend to be easier to write and finish, than the ones I treat like life.