.

[Aenigma]

.

 

[AchtungNight]

When it's happened to me in the past, I usually just go with it, finish the story, and then take a break. I'll read it over after the break, decide if I still find it acceptable, then edit as necessary before publishing. Some of my best stories have come from such out of control musings. Other times, it's just burned me out and left me despondent. Either way, it's something I have to deal with now and then.

How to stop it? Find a good way to end the story in question, then end it. Cliffhanger, happy uncertainty, whatever, just get it done. Pretty much all my stories end like this.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I'd suspect that we all have times that stories branch out in a direction we hadn't planned on or prepared for. I have about ten stories that I abondaned because I wrote myself into a corner.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Nope. I'm a planner. I don't go so far as creating an outline. But in my head, it's "This happens, and then this, and she does this, and he does this, and they have sex and live happily ever after. That's not to say that it's easy though.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

That's where I am with too many stories, they're waiting for me to find a way to finish them, after being derailed.

That's why I write a lot of cuckold stories, very straight forward plot. Boy meets girl, boy talks girl into marriage despite his obvious shortcomings. Woman suffers through years of boy's shortcomings, insecurities, premature ejaculation, his fascination with BBC porn, and all of his actual inadequacies. Woman meets black man, hubby worries. Woman and black man get along well, hubby fears and hopes for contrary things. Wife and bull fuck, hubby is in an insecure heaven, and all have a happy ending.

 

[alohadave]

That's where I am with too many stories, they're waiting for me to find a way to finish them, after being derailed.

You can always create a copy and delete the derailment and rewrite.

Since you know where it went off the rails you can push it in a different direction.

I know writers talk about characters driving the story, but you are god and change change reality as needed.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Only G-D is a god. We're demigods, pagan gods, godish with faults, goddesses and demons, and playing with our impercet universes trying to make sense of the words we have miss-created. How's that for philosophizing? Pretty crappy right?

You can always create a copy and delete the derailment and rewrite.

Since you know where it went off the rails you can push it in a different direction.

I know writers talk about characters driving the story, but you are god and change change reality as needed.

Crappie are kosher, they have scales, most folks pronounce them Croppie though.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You missed a comma in that last sentence.

Only G-D is a god. We're demigods, pagan gods, godish with faults, goddesses and demons, and playing with our impercet universes trying to make sense of the words we have miss-created. How's that for philosophizing? Pretty crappy right?

Crappie are kosher, they have scales, most folks pronounce them Croppie though.

 

[alohadave]

Only G-D is a god. We're demigods, pagan gods, godish with faults, goddesses and demons, and playing with our impercet universes trying to make sense of the words we have miss-created. How's that for philosophizing? Pretty crappy right?

Crappie are kosher, they have scales, most folks pronounce them Croppie though.

I don't care to bring religion into this, as I've never had much use for it and it's not really relevant to this. It was an analogy more than anything philosophical.

Perhaps a better way of looking at it would be like god-mode in software where you have control of all the features and variables. The writer is in total control of the story and all it's elements.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

It was a joke, sweetheart.

I don't care to bring religion into this, as I've never had much use for it and it's not really relevant to this. It was an analogy more than anything philosophical.

Perhaps a better way of looking at it would be like god-mode in software where you have control of all the features and variables. The writer is in total control of the story and all it's elements.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

I'm curious if anyone else experiences this repeating issue I have with my stories. To be clear, I start with a rough idea, and then just let my fingers go. The story almost writes itself when I'm in the right zone, but the problem I've seen regularly, is that a story will almost veer off into a different story. I realize, it's fiction but it's frustrating when I'll go back through a story, and realize 'what was I thinking? and then usually either remove those spiraling aspects, or otherwise edit them considerably.

Does this ever happen to you? How are you addressing it?

It never veers off course.

The characters just tell me where I want them to go, and I love them all for that.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm curious if anyone else experiences this repeating issue I have with my stories. To be clear, I start with a rough idea, and then just let my fingers go. The story almost writes itself when I'm in the right zone, but the problem I've seen regularly, is that a story will almost veer off into a different story. I realize, it's fiction but it's frustrating when I'll go back through a story, and realize 'what was I thinking? and then usually either remove those spiraling aspects, or otherwise edit them considerably.

Does this ever happen to you? How are you addressing

Maybe it's a good thing if it goes off in another direction. I don't think it's an absolute; it depends on whether you like the results you're getting or not. I'm sure it's happened to me, but I'd have to think about it a bit.

So you're just up the street from me? Like 223rd and Carpenter Avenue? Stop by sometime.

 

[gunhilltrain]

You missed a comma in that last sentence.

I might have put a semi-colon in after the word "scales." Is that the place?

 

[MillieDynamite]

I might have put a semi-colon in after the word "scales." Is that the place?

There should be a common after Croppie and before, though.

 

[gunhilltrain]

There should be a common after Croppie and before, though.

Thank you. I'm not a comma expert, by any means. If Grammarly catches it, so much the better.

 

[MillieDynamite]

It would, I'm sure. Grammarly wants too many ';' for my taste. I let the editor worry about most of the mistakes. I do run through with Garmmarly after I'm happy with it. Fix glaring errors, not always they it says. Then let the editor fix the other stuff however he or she sees fit. I never know which of them is doing any single edit. Mary and my publishers edit all our stories now, even the ones that go here. That's a new development, and we aren't re-editing anything that's already up here unless it goes up for sale someplace. I haven't actually changed any here to the more professional editing yet.

Thank you. I'm not a comma expert, by any means. If Grammarly catches it, so much the better.

 

[Jmanchu]

I'm curious if anyone else experiences this repeating issue I have with my stories. To be clear, I start with a rough idea, and then just let my fingers go. The story almost writes itself when I'm in the right zone, but the problem I've seen regularly, is that a story will almost veer off into a different story. I realize, it's fiction but it's frustrating when I'll go back through a story, and realize 'what was I thinking? and then usually either remove those spiraling aspects, or otherwise edit them considerably.

Does this ever happen to you? How are you addressing it?

Every single one of my stories are like that. I have a rough idea, a general plan for the plot and scenes, but when I let my fingers go, it never ends up in the same direction I planned on. I never know how my stories will turn out. If a scene comes out a way I don't like, I usually have to get in the right mindset, then rewrite it from scratch.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It definitely has been a good thing occasionally, but most of the time I end up cutting, and pasting the part that got away from me into a temp file that I may find use for elsewhere.

I'm just on the other side of Carpenter Ave.

Well, Carpenter runs parallel to my street, so that means you're on one of the numbered cross-streets? This might help. The late Herman Melville is almost one of your neighbors.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8885242,-73.8657742,16z?authuser=0&entry=ttu

If you don't mind me asking, are you Black or Latino? Because probably 95% of the people in those blocks are.

 

[RoperTrace]

I call this the serial killer effect. Two out of five of my stories seems to end up with a serial killer in it before the end. Sometimes I edit it out and start that part over, sometimes I go with it.

Are you serious about a serial killer in your stories? I can't tell from here.

 

[Voboy]

That happens to me all the time, OP. I look at it as a feature, not a bug. It's a sign that my characters are alive, and have their own ideas.

I don't think there's anything more amazing than when my mind creates stuff on its own and my fingers only serve as conduits for that. I think I'm lucky that it happens as often as it does.

 

[RoperTrace]

I like how you think about that.

I'm quite happy with most of what I write, there are just times where I'm reading something back, and realizing that things sort of came unhinged. I suppose I'd just like to realize as much before writing too much that ends up in the trash.

Sometimes my characters leading me in directions I didn't expect, irritate the crap out of me. But I've come to realize that it is just another unconscious form of creativity, like throwing paint upon a canvas without adding brush strokes. Then you use a brush to make something out of it, or just throw the whole damn thing in the trash. It's always your choice in the end.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I've never been to New York in my life

You don't know what you're missing!

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/14...=J3ctD-LcM7aBEqLON3NsBDrA9hoGlutg_EhuAKROuRQ=

 

[Seadog777]

Yes!!!

My story....."My Sneaky Wife Jennifer Part 2", I just can not seem to fucking get it right.

A dozen times or more; I've completely erased every single word and started over.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Probably true. I've heard forever how the pizza is supposed to be the best there.

I has obviously kidding you about "just up the street" from me. However, my location about Anne Bancroft's (originally Anne Italiano) hometown is accurate. There is even an Anne Bancroft Way here.

Best pizza? Maybe, on average, although I've had some mediocre or terrible stuff here too.

Anne Bancroft revisiting Belmont in 1960.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9c/a7/46/9ca746b0f05d2706b4e5e6995b90bdfc.jpg

 

[gunhilltrain]

I was gonna roll with the up the street stuff

I have no idea who Anne Bancroft is, but that photo looks kind of depressing.

Well, The Bronx can be kind of depressing. I mean, poor people have to live somewhere. And Anne Bancroft - you've got too hands, tap your keyboard and look her up. But then, you've never seen The Graduate, I suppose? Just because it was released in 1967 doesn't mean you are relieved of your obligation to know about it.