I need a little advice

[CrownJoolz]

I've had a 4-year bout of writer's block. Not in every area, only in my erotic writing. I have half-finished stories that I want to complete, but I am such a different person and a different writer than I was 4 years ago, that my styles don't seem to mesh anymore.

Do I try to finish the stories? Do I strip them down and start from scratch with the same ideas. Do I scrap them completely and try to come up with something new? I've grown fond of some of my characters and their situations and I hate to just abandon them, but if I'm going to tell their stories I want to tell them well.

Thoughts, anyone?

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

I'd say read them over and decide if you can do them justice by continuing from where you stopped. Otherwise, I'd advise starting over the with the same idea. Afterall, you've already got in your head what kind of characters belong in the story.

If you decide to continue them from where you stopped, you can always go back later and rewrite the beginning if you wish.

BTW, Lit no longer supports html in siggies, so if you want stuff to show up correctly, you'll have to change it to the forum code.

 

[kendo1]

I'd say start again. < Little advice.

 

[Guest]

I've had a 4-year bout of writer's block. Not in every area, only in my erotic writing. I have half-finished stories that I want to complete, but I am such a different person and a different writer than I was 4 years ago, that my styles don't seem to mesh anymore.

Do I try to finish the stories? Do I strip them down and start from scratch with the same ideas. Do I scrap them completely and try to come up with something new? I've grown fond of some of my characters and their situations and I hate to just abandon them, but if I'm going to tell their stories I want to tell them well.

Thoughts, anyone?

Forget the stories and start fresh.

I didn't write for nearly a year due to a death in the family. Once I finally got started again I couldn't seem to put two coherent paragraphs together and the stories have come few and far between since then.

I have more than two dozen half-completed stories from that time. I've looked, tried to write on a few, but it is hopeless. As you said, you're a different person now. And so am I.

I write differently, think differently, and the stories just don't work for me anymore.

So finally I printed hard copies, put them in a folder and just filed them away.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I agree with Crim about reading them over. Do any of them still appeal to you? If they do, then go ahead; finish them and edit them into something that works for you now. If they don't appeal to you, have a little fire and put them to rest.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I'd say reread them. Don't throw them away. If you like the characters, then rewrite them as you are now or just forget the whole thing.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

In The End...

I've had a 4-year bout of writer's block. Not in every area, only in my erotic writing. I have half-finished stories that I want to complete, but I am such a different person and a different writer than I was 4 years ago, that my styles don't seem to mesh anymore.

Do I try to finish the stories? Do I strip them down and start from scratch with the same ideas. Do I scrap them completely and try to come up with something new? I've grown fond of some of my characters and their situations and I hate to just abandon them, but if I'm going to tell their stories I want to tell them well.

Thoughts, anyone?

It's your call, but you're asking for advice. I have so many stories I started and haven't finished, so I can relate. Is there ANYONE out there that has never abandoned a story?

And there are stories I wrote 2 years ago and never ended, which I am adding to, and my writing style is different now since I've advanced as a writer. Most readers are just hungry for a sequel and won't care that much.

I say hang onto the hardcopies, unless it's preventing you from backing the Mercedes into the garage. Regret is a heavy load to carry around.

Just my opinion.