so, i got this feedback........

[rae121452]

asking me if i was ever going to conclude some of my longer series. i only have a definite ending in mind for one of them, the rest i leave each chapter open ended so that when the characters start carrying on in my brain again i can add. should i be insulted?

 

[ElectricBlue]

asking me if i was ever going to conclude some of my longer series. i only have a definite ending in mind for one of them, the rest i leave each chapter open ended so that when the characters start carrying on in my brain again i can add. should i be insulted?

Sounds like the great Literotica tradition of the great unfinished series, to me.

I think, if you're going to write multiple stories using the same characters (and I do), each part should stand alone and be resolved, perhaps with a loose thread running through the multiple parts which is there for the true fans to see, but is not germane to the individual stories. Nothing worse than the great unfinished novel .

 

[nosebone]

asking me if i was ever going to conclude some of my longer series. i only have a definite ending in mind for one of them, the rest i leave each chapter open ended so that when the characters start carrying on in my brain again i can add. should i be insulted?

No, you shouldn't be. If they're complaining, they're interested in your work and eager for more of it. Plus they're looking for their own climax more than likely.

I write the same way. I usually have a couple chapters ahead in production before a chapter is submitted. It helps me maintain commonality. I do not subscribe to the "write it all and submit as chapters" formula. Ideally, that would be best, but I usually write long chapters as that's what I like to read. I would be disappointed waiting a month for 3,000 words, not so much for 15,000. Just my opinion.

 

[SamScribble]

I must admit that I have a bit of an inclination towards stories with ambiguous endings. Did she or didn't she? Will they or won't they? What did he mean by that?

Some readers seem to really enjoy these. However, others 'can't wait for the next chapter'. Oh, well ... it takes all sorts. And you won't make them all happy.

Good luck.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

I don't post a series unless I've finished it. It wasn't always that way. Before I came to Literotica, I would post works in progress to a blogger style site. Problem was, sometimes I'd get halfway through a story and I would lose interest. However, my readers didn't and I felt pressured to finish a story I didn't love.

 

[KeithD]

I don't post a series unless I've finished it. It wasn't always that way. Before I came to Literotica, I would post works in progress to a blogger style site. Problem was, sometimes I'd get halfway through a story and I would lose interest. However, my readers didn't and I felt pressured to finish a story I didn't love.

I don't either, and I include a slug at the beginning of chapter one, saying how many pages it will be, noting that it's completed, and estimating when it would complete posting. I wouldn't start reading a chaptered story without seeing this assurance that it was completed.

 

[KenNicottii]

I don't either, and I include a slug at the beginning of chapter one, saying how many pages it will be, noting that it's completed, and estimating when it would complete posting. I wouldn't start reading a chaptered story without seeing this assurance that it was completed.

Good tip, thanks. I've resisted doing chaptered stories because I don't like to read them myself, but I've got 2 stories in the pipeline that have structures that lend themselves to a 2-chapter split (for different reasons). I expect the readership fall-off for the 2nd chapter that fellow authors have seen, but it will be an experiment for me to see what happens when I split novella length stories (30-35K words) into 2 chapters.

I could easily have split Queen of Diamonds (27K words) into 2 chapters. In fact, I did this to better my chances of getting volunteer editors to take on the project, but ultimately I felt the story had more impact as a single work.

 

[SimonDoom]

I take it as a compliment that readers are eager to read the next chapter, and I feel a certain sense of responsibility when I've left a series unfinished. I had 2 unfinished series going for a while, and now I just have one, and when it's done I don't ever intend to do a series again unless I'm either done with the whole thing or somehow very confident I can publish chapters reasonably close together.

 

[Comentarista82]

asking me if i was ever going to conclude some of my longer series. i only have a definite ending in mind for one of them, the rest i leave each chapter open ended so that when the characters start carrying on in my brain again i can add. should i be insulted?

Feeling insulted would be called for if someone torched you for not doing so and proceeded to rant and spew vile curses or something to that effect. I'd take it that your readers enjoyed your stories to the point they'd like a conclusion if one can be made. If that's all the person said, I'd feel honored.