How do you/have you save(d) a story?

[driphoney]

I'll try to not go on and on here (hard for me), but I wrote a story to see if I could and to get it out of my head. I finished it, got it edited, bucked up my nerve and started posting the little, trite, and not exactly Lit-type thing a chapter every two weeks. I wasn't pleased with it, but as a first attempt from a non-writer, I felt it was okay. I got to the next-to-the-last chapter and a couple fans gave me great feedback and begged me to not make it easy for my male lead.

That's when I got stupid. (Never again.) I tore the end off, did a 180 and now

I

am

stuck.

Thanks to hanging out here, plus learning a tad more about literature, I finally figured out why I'm stumped. There's a reason plots go through the pattern they do and stories have pretty much been done the same way forever. I now think of it as story physics. What I did was built through to the climax/conflict, come down the mountain and start the resolution, then I completely disrupted it.

I posted that. And now I've written about 10 Word pages of nice little scenes, some of which I'm very happy with, but I can't tie it up. I don't have the time or inclination (or maybe it's just plain smarts) to do the only thing I can think of that will save the empathy for the female and that's add about 4 chapters of plot twists. I really, really want to end it, but in some reasonable way.

My only other recourse in order to give some sort of resolution to my 3.8 fans is to pull the last posted/screwed up chapter and post the original closing. But what will my readers think to have a switch pulled on them? Is it reader abuse to do that?

Have you ever been in a similar predicament? What did you do?

 

[TE999]

I'll try to not go on and on here (hard for me), but I wrote a story to see if I could and to get it out of my head. I finished it, got it edited, bucked up my nerve and started posting the little, trite, and not exactly Lit-type thing a chapter every two weeks. I wasn't pleased with it, but as a first attempt from a non-writer, I felt it was okay. I got to the next-to-the-last chapter and a couple fans gave me great feedback and begged me to not make it easy for my male lead.

That's when I got stupid. (Never again.) I tore the end off, did a 180 and now

I

am

stuck.

Thanks to hanging out here, plus learning a tad more about literature, I finally figured out why I'm stumped. There's a reason plots go through the pattern they do and stories have pretty much been done the same way forever. I now think of it as story physics. What I did was built through to the climax/conflict, come down the mountain and start the resolution, then I completely disrupted it.

I posted that. And now I've written about 10 Word pages of nice little scenes, some of which I'm very happy with, but I can't tie it up. I don't have the time or inclination (or maybe it's just plain smarts) to do the only thing I can think of that will save the empathy for the female and that's add about 4 chapters of plot twists. I really, really want to end it, but in some reasonable way.

My only other recourse in order to give some sort of resolution to my 3.8 fans is to pull the last posted/screwed up chapter and post the original closing. But what will my readers think to have a switch pulled on them? Is it reader abuse to do that?

Have you ever been in a similar predicament? What did you do?

No I haven't. But IMO I'd pull the offending chapter, post the original ending, explain what you've done in a preamble, the readers are happy, you're off the hook.

 

[Darkniciad]

I can't remember which chapter it was offhand, but I made a major mistake at the end of one chapter of Blackhawk Hall when I was writing it. I pointed Arilee in a direction that she informed me was absolutely out of character, as soon as I read it up on the site.

It had to be fixed. I rewrote the last few paragraphs, uploaded the new version with an author's note appended to note the change, then continued in the right direction.

When I put out the next chapter, I posted a note at the beginning of the chapter to tell readers to go back to the previous chapter and check out the corrected paragraphs, with an apology to both the readers and Arilee *laugh*

Nobody remarked about the out-of-character stuff when it first came out, but I had several people praise the correction once I put it out.

 

[sr71plt]

I think your best recourse was to write the complete story before posting any part of it and letting it be then, whatever the comment say, unless you yourself think it can be elegantly reopened and improved. If you don't but you still see you want to write about these characters/this theme/this situation, just do it in another story (which I then would complete before posting any of it).

 

[driphoney]

I think your best recourse was to write the complete story before posting any part of it and letting it be then, whatever the comment say, unless you yourself think it can be elegantly reopened and improved. If you don't but you still see you want to write about these characters/this theme/this situation, just do it in another story (which I then would complete before posting any of it).

Like I said, lesson learned. I did have the whole thing done with no intention of changing it, but let myself be lead astray. Basically, I've always agreed with your 'complete it first' premise. I should have just stuck to my original, edited, finished piece.

However, I didn't, so the question now is how to best deal with it.

 

[driphoney]

No I haven't. But IMO I'd pull the offending chapter, post the original ending, explain what you've done in a preamble, the readers are happy, you're off the hook.

Fear of really making some readers angry has kept me from this. Guess I should have asked my question here sooner. Tex gave me some advice that readers make bad editors, and believe me, I heard him loud and clear. Never again will I do that. If hadn't have felt it was so mediocre, I probably wouldn't have listened to a couple of sweet readers.

Thanks.

 

[Darkniciad]

Some of us need the feedback to keep motivated to write *laugh*

That being said, I have moved toward completing stories before posting any part as well, even when I know how the whole thing is going to go from start to finish.

My real life is simply too... I guess "off" is the best I can say without going into details... to keep up with a regular posting schedule, even when I have a complete story in my head. Just getting it from there to the screen can take forever and a day any more, as my quiet time, mental stability, and motivation allow.

Fear of really making some readers angry has kept me from this. Guess I should have asked my question here sooner. Tex gave me some advice that readers make bad editors, and believe me, I heard him loud and clear. Never again will I do that. If hadn't have felt it was so mediocre, I probably wouldn't have listened to a couple of sweet readers.

Thanks.

Readers can have great ideas that can drastically improve stories -- but most of the time those don't have anything to do with the central plot. Little snippets that add flavor to the characters, the setting, etc., but plot based suggestions usually end up getting you in trouble.

 

[slyc_willie]

Fear of really making some readers angry has kept me from this. Guess I should have asked my question here sooner. Tex gave me some advice that readers make bad editors, and believe me, I heard him loud and clear. Never again will I do that. If hadn't have felt it was so mediocre, I probably wouldn't have listened to a couple of sweet readers.

Thanks.

Regardless of what you do, you'll anger some readers. But then, there will always be those who read a story and find that it's not going the way it "should" have, at least according to them. I get feedback from readers who tell me what should have happened in a story and how I ruined it by ending it the way I did.

You can't please everyone, so at the least, please yourself.

Some of us need the feedback to keep motivated to write *laugh*

That being said, I have moved toward completing stories before posting any part as well, even when I know how the whole thing is going to go from start to finish.

My real life is simply too... I guess "off" is the best I can say without going into details... to keep up with a regular posting schedule, even when I have a complete story in my head. Just getting it from there to the screen can take forever and a day any more, as my quiet time, mental stability, and motivation allow.



Readers can have great ideas that can drastically improve stories -- but most of the time those don't have anything to do with the central plot. Little snippets that add flavor to the characters, the setting, etc., but plot based suggestions usually end up getting you in trouble.

I've written an entire series, finished it, reworked it, then chopped it up and posted it in chapters that came out about a week apart. I've also had series that I posted as I finished each installment. I'm in the middle of one such story right now, with five chapters up and about five more yet to be written. I don't think either way is more advantageous than the other.

 

[sr71plt]

Like I said, lesson learned. I did have the whole thing done with no intention of changing it, but let myself be lead astray. Basically, I've always agreed with your 'complete it first' premise. I should have just stuck to my original, edited, finished piece.

However, I didn't, so the question now is how to best deal with it.

Just walk away from it(?)

 

[sr71plt]

But then, there will always be those who read a story and find that it's not going the way it "should" have, at least according to them. I get feedback from readers who tell me what should have happened in a story and how I ruined it by ending it the way I did.

I usually do my damnedest to end stories some way other than the way most readers thought they should/would end. I listen for the "Oh, yeah, that was neat" comments to gauge how good the story turned out (not that I always get that response).

 

[slyc_willie]

I usually do my damnedest to end stories some way other than the way most readers thought they should/would end. I listen for the "Oh, yeah, that was neat" comments to gauge how good the story turned out (not that I always get that response).

I get a sick pleasure when someone posts a comment like, "Ohmigod! I can't believe you did that!"



Worth more than a favorable review as far as I'm concerned.

 

[driphoney]

Just walk away from it(?)

Something about not completing it bothers me, so one way or other ... I'd just like it to be sooner rather than later, I've procrastinated for months.

Tonight I'm leaning towards the pulling and reposting.

 

[sr71plt]

Tonight I'm leaning towards the pulling and reposting.

That would work too, I think.

 

[driphoney]

I get a sick pleasure when someone posts a comment like, "Ohmigod! I can't believe you did that!"



Worth more than a favorable review as far as I'm concerned.

Well, if this is the gauge, then I should just end the story right where it is. I do believe that was one of my responses! I never intended it to end there, and some of my readers are very worried thinking I have.

(Nah! I just re-read my feedback, I can't do that to them. )

 

[slyc_willie]

Well, if this is the gauge, then I should just end the story right where it is. I do believe that was one of my responses! I never intended it to end there, and some of my readers are very worried thinking I have.

(Nah! I just re-read my feedback, I can't do that to them. )

Do what you feel is best needed for the story, not the readers.

 

[amicus]

I would second Slyc's advice but it does not come lightly. Take it from one who has been stalled, mainly by continuing health problems and surgeries, partly from the prescription medication that interferes, (so a new Primary Care Physician noted)

Unfortunately I am 33 chapters into the second volume of a five volume effort and stuck with tying off the events on-going with 37 different characters, all of whom must be somewhat resolved before the next volume or I am stuck with a 600 page untamed monster.

I mention the size of my dilemma to perhaps illustrate that whatever the difficulty...the only solution is to solve it.

good luck!

amicus

 

[slyc_willie]

Amicus, my friend, I do believe you have created a monster.

 

[amicus]

Gee, thanks; I needed that. (Ouch!)



ami

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

Usually I don't put much stock in the comments I receive about the direction a story should go. That said...

One of my stories was really only meant to be a two part short throw away story - my Blackmail Tale series. It's probably pretty obvious, since the stories didn't have the 'chapter xx' that my longer stories do.

Since I haven't written much about blackmail/non-consent, and it's not something I have much experience with, I decided to let my readers drive the direction of the story. Now I have 14 chapters and I don't know where to take it. I should have stuck to my guns.

I think I finally have a way to tie it off, and hope to finish it with about 4 more chapters. I'll be glad to put that one away.

 

[driphoney]

I promise ... I'm not going to drag up every thread I ever created or responded to. I just fell off the planet for a couple of weeks and wanted to thank you for the advice.

I have a week break and feel like playing and trying to be creative after reading 20+/- scientific articles regarding the Galilean Moons! So, I'm going to see if I can stretch and shape the chapter I have started then see how it goes. Out of the blue, I happened to get a sweet private feedback asking if I had given up on my story. The she gushed and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

That might have more to do with my inspiration than buried oceans!