how do you know when your story is done?

[DarlingNikki]

I there a chorus of angels and a nice "done" feeling? Do you just do a readthrough without finding any problems and call it a day? Is it when you get tired of working on the piece? Or are you "done" five minutes before the deadline?

 

[wishfulthinking]

I sleep on it!

And if I don't want to change anything the next day, then off to the submission page with it!

 

[Dirt Man]

I there a chorus of angels and a nice "done" feeling? Do you just do a readthrough without finding any problems and call it a day? Is it when you get tired of working on the piece? Or are you "done" five minutes before the deadline?

Hopefully, you are talking about after the editing process here. Because if you aren't the question is meaningless. I only say this because every new author feels that their work is finished without even having gone back to read it all the way through themselves. If they did that much they'd find, and edit out a great many faults in their work before sending it off to Hopefully be published. If however you are including the editing process, then my answer is 30 seconds before the deadline that it has to be mailed out. I always finish my creative aspect way before the deadline, but I constantly edit, and reedit right up until I have to send it out. For me the creative part is the easiest, as it is always done long before the real editing begins. And I will never send anything off without extensive editing done first.

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[Couture]

I there a chorus of angels and a nice "done" feeling? Do you just do a readthrough without finding any problems and call it a day? Is it when you get tired of working on the piece? Or are you "done" five minutes before the deadline?

All of the above.

I always make sure to sleep on it and proof it again another day. I find that there are stories that I read over and I say to myself, "Damn that's fucking good."

However, there are other times I say, "Damn I hate this fucking story. If I proof it one more goddamn time, my head will explode."

And so I post the damned thing vowing never to look at it again.

 

[lewdandlicentious]

Hmmmmm

I can see Dirt Man's point, as there are a lot of stories here that could do with at least one more edit.

I disagree however that, "every new author feels that their work is finished without even having gone back to read it all the way through themselves."

That's being a little too general isn't it??

I'm a new author, as far as Lit is concerned, but I'm forever finding fault with my written work, and amending it, not just for correct punctuation, but simply to suit my mood that day.

ie, "What if he/she said it like this?"

You just have to come to a point and say, "No more," and leave it alone.



And all because....................

 

[snooper]

The key to completion

The key is boredom, IMHO.

When you never want to see the d****d piece again, it is done.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

It's done for me when the characters stop talking to me. When they decide they have reched the end of the tale, it's time to add a Finis and start editing.

-Colly

 

[Svenskaflicka]

When they have come, and are laying there panting, I think it's best to leave them alone.

Hush, hush!

Let them fall asleep in each others' arms now.

 

[Icingsugar]

Re: Re: how do you know when your story is done?

Hopefully, you are talking about after the editing process here. Because if you aren't the question is meaningless. I only say this because every new author feels that their work is finished without even having gone back to read it all the way through themselves. If they did that much they'd find, and edit out a great many faults in their work before sending it off to Hopefully be published. If however you are including the editing process, then my answer is 30 seconds before the deadline that it has to be mailed out.

There's a certain thuth in this. Fortunately, when I write my fiction here, there is no horrible deadline looming. I post da fing when I'm dun wit da fing. Which of course is not only good, it leaves room for procratination from hell, and stories that donät get written.

For me, a story without deadline pressure, like the Lit stories I write, are finished at two different periods. First, when the story is told, when I have the whole thing down on paper, the characters have nothing else to say, and the plot have unfolded to it's fullest.

That's when the story is written. A story that is written will eventually be published, and emotionally, I have done my part in it. Then I go back and read it a couple of times, proofread language, formatting and grammar, and try on the story. Sometimes, minor adjustments to plot of characters have to be made, and almost always lots of micro-editing to tidy up the language. But that's just sweeping up the dust. The story is already told.

 

[lewdandlicentious]

Yep

Yep,

That's pretty much how it is for me. Only a dozen attempts at editing, then leave it!

Until you look at it again in six months time, then it's "No, she'd say it like that."

LEAVE IT!!!!!

 

[DarlingNikki]

Of course I mean after editing. That's the most important part of the writing. I guess I should have asked "how do you know when you're done editing your story"

My lit stuff was worked over a few times, but I sent it in knowing it's not fully done, just when I didn't want to think about it anymore or was getting too embarrassed. (Sorry.) Now I'm working on something I want to submit somewhere else and I get just the one chance, so I want to get it right. I'm not getting a finished feeling so I'm still working on it, but I was wondering if I would ever get that feeling at all.

 

[Icingsugar]

Of course I mean after editing.

Hockay.

That's the most important part of the writing.

More important that getting the story down at all? I disagree. I have a shitload of trouble getting stories out of my head and into text. When I have everything that I need to tell hammered into a file on my 'puter, the rest is just technicalities. And I do technicalities for a living.

I guess I should have asked "how do you know when you're done editing your story"

That's when I read it through from start to finish without a single frown.

/Ice

 

[poohlive]

I think the whole point of making a story is that you tell your reader about this grand adventure. You want them to come out with a certain feeling or hope.
So, i believe the story is done editing when you give it to someone else, and they come back with the feeling or emotion that you want them too. If they do, call it quit's, if not, take it to a few more people.
Just one person is not good feedback. Try a dozen or so, and not close friends, unless they don't have a problem being brutally honest. I know friends like to say.... Yeah, this is great, but it doesn't help much as far as editing.
IF these people all come to you with the same feeling, or similar, then you've doen your job. If they mostly feel this wasn't good, or that, then think about changing it.

 

[oggbashan]

I never know because I am never wholly satisfied.

I want to go back and edit or re-tell my earlier stories with the knowledge I now have compared with that I had when I wrote the story.

I post when I think I have done enough - for a while.

My story is done when... I'm dead.

Og

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I throw it against the wall, and if it sticks, it's done.

Alternately, I poke it in the thickest part with a sharp knife. If the juices run clear, and if there's no resistance when you move the leg, it's probably done.

Sticking in a toothpick to see if it comes out clean never works for me.

---dr.M.

 

[Guest]

Mab., you're a pip.

Nikki, I know I'm overdoing the editing when I start putting back commas I deleted and reinserted more than once or twice.

Seriously, it's when I'm down to tiny bits of editing that I force myself to stop.

Perdita

 

[raphy]

I'm with Ice. I'm done with the editing when I can read it through without grimacing.

 

[Black Tulip]

I'm with Ice. I'm done with the editing when I can read it through without grimacing.

Slight variation here: I'm done when I can read it without the urge to search for still better words to express what was in my head.

 

[damppanties]

I edit constantly as I am writing the story. When I reach the end, it's already SO edited. I read through the whole story once or twice, tweaking things here and there. By that time, I'm sick of the whole thing and want to get it off. I do. *shrugs*

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

There are two kinds of "done" for a story.
When have the characters got to a stopping place?
When are you done polishing the story?
The second one is a matter of choice. I often go back to a
story, read through it, and tweak a detail. That's
after writing it, rewriting it, sending it to an editor,
and posting it. (I've changed something on Lit when I
made an egregious blunder -- posted the editors comments
on the story rather than the final version -- but on ASSM
and ASSTR, I revise all the time.)
The first one depends on the story. Some stories are
clearly about one thing; more of my stories are about
slices of the characters' lives. When do you cut it off?
GOOD question.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I never know because I am never wholly satisfied.

I want to go back and edit or re-tell my earlier stories with the knowledge I now have compared with that I had when I wrote the story.

I post when I think I have done enough - for a while.

My story is done when... I'm dead.

Og

I’m with Og. Nothing’s ever done; nothing’s ever as good as it can possibly be.

I’m also with DampP, in that I’m always editing while I write, so when the writing part itself is done, I’ve already done a lot of editing. Then I go through the story 2-3 times, editing as I go, then do a final spell-check and grammar check, looking for double periods and gross errors like that (I rarely take my grammar’s checker advice on the grammar per se.)

By this time I’m just about at the point of diminishing returns as far as editing goes, and what I haven’t fixed by now I’m unlikely to fix this editing session. I have to put the story away for a couple of weeks to see it afresh, but I don’t have the patience for that, so I submit it.

Weeks later I come back to it and see all these flaws and clumsy writing, but by then I’m usually on to something else…

---dr.M.

 

[CharleyH]

I'm done when I can actually say, similar to Couture, "Damn, that's fucking hot," then pass it on to five friends who say, "Damn, that's fucking hot," then pass it on to at least two editors just to make sure it's damn fucking hot.

 

[SeaCat]

How do I know when it's done?

My stories are never done. I write what I think is right, then go back about a week later and look it over. After I've looked it over a couple of times, and had my wife look it over then I submit it. If I kept on looking it over I would keep changing it and by the time I was done it wouldn't be what I had started out writing about. I'm one of these Anal Assholes who just cant keep from tweaking. (It drives my wife nuts. I have several versions of the same story on my computer right now.) So how do I know when a story is done? It's never really done.

Cat

 

[sweetnpetite]

I’m with Og. Nothing’s ever done; nothing’s ever as good as it can possibly be.

I’m also with DampP, in that I’m always editing while I write, so when the writing part itself is done, I’ve already done a lot of editing. Then I go through the story 2-3 times, editing as I go, then do a final spell-check and grammar check, looking for double periods and gross errors like that (I rarely take my grammar’s checker advice on the grammar per se.)

By this time I’m just about at the point of diminishing returns as far as editing goes, and what I haven’t fixed by now I’m unlikely to fix this editing session. I have to put the story away for a couple of weeks to see it afresh, but I don’t have the patience for that, so I submit it.

Weeks later I come back to it and see all these flaws and clumsy writing, but by then I’m usually on to something else…

---dr.M.

I have to agree here.

If you take a look at just about any writing that's been in print for a long time, they often come out with new editions or tweek certain points (perhaps a kind reader pointed out an inconsistancy)

We are imperfect beings so if done means perfect, we'll never be done. Just as in life, it's important to know when it's good enough so we don't get stuck in the same place forever and ever.

As we grow as writers, we will always find a way to improve our old stuff- but it's important to move on. A mountain climber who improves his skills won't spend his life climbing the same mountain- he'll move on to new challenges.

So to answer the question- it's good when it's 'good enough' weather that means good enough to share with your fellow pervs or good enough for an editor to publish it. I don't think you ever really get that special feeling that it's really done. IN fact, even after it's published, you'll probably cringe at one particular word or phrase, every time you read it. Like I said, you just have to move on

 

[Gary Chambers]

_ how do you know when your story is done?

They remove the proposcidean from your womb, toss you on a gurney and wheel you back to the maternity ward to begin breast feeding. This process is especially tough on males, but we manage.