How many unfinished stories do you have lying around?

[christo]

While doing some laptop cleaning I went through my file titled "In Progress" to see how many stories I started that have yet to see the light of day. It made me feel a little sick. I have 18 stories right now waiting for completion. Some are continuations of series I've already posted, some are totally new ideas that I've never finished.

I added them up, and it comes out to nearly 90,000 words I've written that are just hanging out there in limbo. Some are nearly finished, some would require 50 thousand words to get to the ending. I have like 2 years worth of work just staring at me...staring...

I think I'm gonna have a little cry now.

 

[BigTexan]

Christo, I thought I was bad about that, but you have me beat hands down.

I have three Novels that I'm working on and two short stories.

BigTexan

 

[Pookie]

I have eight stories in some state of completion. Three are over half finished. One is almost finished.

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

Whewww, I thought I was bad with 4 unfinished and collecting dust. You guys have helped me to feel a little better
Wicked

 

[wildsweetone]

hmm good question christo and i refuse to answer on the grounds that i can't count that high

actually, i have four main ones on the go. i add to whichever one takes my fancy at the time, and a myriad of other bits and pieces and odd paragraphs that may or may not turn into bigger things.

does it count that i feel like i have about 300 more stories to write? hmm life is too short eh...

 

[TheEarl]

I've got 6 stories up atm and I've got about 4 unfinished and hanging about in the computer. There're two which I'm working on atm, but one of them's my Christmas story, which is never going to get finished. So that'll probably end up as a work in progress.

Then of course I have the 8 or 9 brilliant ideas which are floating round, that I haven't actually been bothered to start yet. And of course there's my 'serious' work, which is a novel which has all of the details and a basic outline sorted, but which I keep prevaricating on.

'Prevarication is the enemy of the true warrior' as it'll say on that plaque I've been meaning to put up in my office.

I need some coffee and a lot of motivation.

The Earl

 

[karmadog]

One for this site, as for the others, they're all unfinished until they're published.

Maybe not even then.

Don't you ever look over or think about an old story and think, Damn, she should have said x, or there should have been a flowers on the table, or... or... or... millions of possibilities. I don't think they're ever done.

 

[Quasimodem]

I have about 150,000 words, which is 10 Chapters of a 20-chapter story. It was begun in 1998 and has moved forward a bit every year. It will be finished - at this rate - near the end of the decade.

There are two short stories that are completed, and waiting in limbo, until I forget enough to be able to edit with a fresh perspective.

One lengthier novella is in the plotting stage, as I break it down into chapters, and scenes. (There is still some question whether this will, or will not, include any erotic content.)

Two finished Sci-Fi Novels, I am rather aimlessly shopping around.

Also, there are about two dozen short stories, neither sci-fi nor erotica, which have no place to go.

And, there are a handful of poems. (Humourous, but poetry, not doggerel, like "Aunt Nick".)

Finally, there are the regular accounts, and special assignments from work. I always try to work ahead, as far as I can, on these.

I seldom get large chunks of time to concentrate on writing for Lit. And, a lot of what I do mange to accumulate, I fritter away on these boards.

 

[Chicklet]

oh good lord

don't even make me look.

I have three folders for writing; work in progress, abandoned ideas, and finished. there are a good 60 in finished, but I think i start one or two every day. That folder is practically bursting at the seams. Abandoned ideas has an equal ammount, because every once in a while I'll do some spring cleaning and realize that i'm just NOT interested in half the things I was writing.

Doesn't feel like a waste to me, though, because every idea springs forth others. When I start writing something, if I don't finish it, I'll probably start a new story based off the same things that WILL get completed!

Chicklet

 

[Justin_Thyme]

Incomplete stories

Wow, am I some kind of a procrastinator or what? Won't even hint at the number of stories I have that are in some sort of limbo. Some, I guess because they are so bad, there is now way to actually finish them. And there are some Lit wouldn't accept anyhow and they'll probably never see the light of day either. Naturally they are of kids discussing or experiencing some of the things I ran into while growing up. For sure, I was not yet eighteen when I began to wonder about the birds and bees so have some stories that explore some of this stuff at more realistic ages.

Anyhow, while writing, I tend to have thoughts for another story and set up another document to get my story line going so I'll not forget...then never get back and flesh it out. I think the word for that sort of situation is 'lazy.'

Ah well, perhaps when retired, one is permitted to be a little bit 'lazy' .



JT

 

[TheEarl]

Well I feel a lot better. I never realised that it wasn't just me who had this problem. Mind oyu I've got less of an excuse than you lot: I've got a lot more time than any of you.

The Earl

 

[johonnaN]

I have 4 finished, 3 in progress and one being rewritten and edited by me for the 50th time.

And who know's maybe one of these days i well even work up the courage to post one...I doubt in though. I can't even get myself to offer it for editing to one of the volunteers here!

JN

 

[PaulX35]

Hmmm..I seem a plan-addict

I really haven't got that much unfinished...maybe an idea or two, and a few vague concepts. I'm working on a novel, with a sort of planning, and write some shorter things in between.

I'm odd, I'm abnormal, this is not good eh?

Paul

 

[PaulX35]

Hmmm..I seem a plan-addict

I really haven't got that much unfinished...maybe an idea or two, and a few vague concepts. I'm working on a novel, with a sort of planning, and write some shorter things in between.

I'm odd, I'm abnormal, this is not good eh?

Paul

 

[Natural Born Eros]

Paul, be not afraid, for I art with thou...

Apart from my magnum opus, a novel I have been writing since I was seven (which I make twelve years now, on and off), everything I write is less than 5,000 words. So I treat all my stories like essays - I put a lot of work into the thinking/planning stage (which with erotica is the best bit) and then just write it all in a single shot. I'll go back and fiddle with the technical aspects once, and then hand it in. I probably have about four ideas that are almost ready to become stories, as well as a seemingly infinite capacity to generate fantasies

As a seperate, but related question, how long does it take people to write a story? I'm guessing that from starting to type to posting probably takes me about 2 hours. Is this about typical?

Cheers,

Eros

 

[PaulX35]

How long

As a seperate, but related question, how long does it take people to write a story? I'm guessing that from starting to type to posting probably takes me about 2 hours. Is this about typical?

Hmm, that differs a lot. Some stuff simply spurts out of the keyboard, other stuff takes me days and countless retries until I think it's anywhere near what I had in mind. I'm often cautious with stuff I wrote very fast. I never publish it immediately, even when I think it feels good. Sometimes, after a few days, that good feeling about it can be gone totally. But maybe that's just me.

Paul

 

[Svenskaflicka]

*opening the Lit-folder*

OK, I have 6 stories left of my "12 Hearts"-novel-series.

I have 12 more categories to fill in the Survivor Contest (time to get busy), and then a few stray ones... I jot down my idea a little here and a little there, leaving them around, finding note books with ideas months later.

I call that "putting ideas in simmering mode".

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

Originally posted by Natural Born Eros

As a seperate, but related question, how long does it take people to write a story? I'm guessing that from starting to type to posting probably takes me about 2 hours. Is this about typical?

Most of the time it takes me at least a week. I like to be alone when I write and with kids it's hard to get that alone time and be in the mood. I have one that has been in a holding pattern since last year. I want to finish it but for some reason it just doesn't strike my fancy anymore. I leave what I have done of it avaliable for reading on my site as a kind of motivation to get it done but to no avail so far. Oh well, maybe someday I'll get back to it.

Wicked

 

[deliciously_naughty]

About 5 in progress, and several ideas that have no written work attached to them other than a paragraph or so of what I'm thinking. Oddly enough, what I've gotten written lately has had nothing to do with what I was planning to write. Weird,

 

[jfinn]

Oh my, are we talking strictly erotica or do you mean everything I'm slacking off on? The erotic stuff isn't too bad, I have one ongoing series and another I've decided to not post anymore on the net. Then there are about eight other short stories that I work on once in a while when I'm sick to death of my longer work, but I'm not really sure if they count since they're more or less exercises designed to motivate me more than any real effort on my part to create post-worthy stories.

However if we're talking about all the unfinished work I've got hanging around here than I have to admit there are probably too many titles to list here since this MB only allows 250,000 word posts.

Jayne

 

[The_old_man]

1 in final edit/proof that was started when Weird Harrold bled all over a story I submited for edit Another about two thirds done.

Four already submited and acceped. that are being re-edited to clean up; homonims, punctuation, etc.

One truely finished and accepted. This story realy should have a second chapter.

 

[Un-registered]

As a seperate, but related question, how long does it take people to write a story? I'm guessing that from starting to type to posting probably takes me about 2 hours. Is this about typical?

It is typical of many of the postings on Lit, judging by the fact that many have not been spell checked, have appaling grammar, have little or wrong punctuation.

I just regret the time I waste opening rubbish like that, hoping to find the real gems which are posted here. The temptation to give an anonymous (with feedback) 1 vote to anything I open which has not been through a spell checker is enormous, and it is only pity for the incompetent (or lazy) authors which stops me doing it.

 

[TheEarl]

NBE: Soemtimes a story just rattles off my fingers and onto the keyboard and it can be done in an hour. At the moment, I'm going through something of a slow patch and so the one that I'm workign on now I started 4 weeks ago.

The Earl