Tribute

[StillStunned]

This thread is intended for all those stories that remain unfinished, and that we know deep down will never be finished. Whether because we've lost interest, or we've realised we don't know enough about the subject matter to do the material justice, or it turns out that the idea isn't as interesting as we thought at first, or any other reason.

It's a place for us to say, "Sorry, fledging story, I'm afraid you'll never reach fruition."

A small selection of stories I don't think I'll ever finish:

Flower Fairies: Originally intended as an April Fool's entry, playing on the dirty-sounding names of some flowers. I managed fewer than 200 words before moving on to something else. It doesn't hold my interest enough for me to return to. Sorry, ungerminated tale.

News Girl Nance: This one is about an innocent reporter who visits a swingers' club. I think it has great potential, but my entire knowledge of such clubs comes from some German amateur porn. Sorry, Nance, you could have had a whole career ahead of you, but you'll never make it beyond 850 words.

Zed's Summertime Tale: Last year, when I was still very new here, I thought about writing an entry for the Summer Loving event. An employee suffers a nervous breakdown and is sent to a company villa on a remote island to recuperate. Starved for sexual company, he starts having dreams of the genius loci. After fewer than 800 words I gave up, and I haven't even thought of it until just now. Sorry Zed.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yeah, I've got an optimistic Chapter One from April 2017 which might never get to Scotland. Despite that, it's one of my highest scored stories. It's self contained, I guess, and finishes with a promise.

English Summer Tales (Pt. 01)

 

[lovecraft68]

I wrote and published the first three novels of a projected 5 novel erotic horror series.

Book three published in...2018.

Part one of book four was complete in 2019 and a few random chapters in 2020/21

Nothing in the last three years. I created too many characters and story lines, have no idea how to tie them all up. Have even considered a rewrite of book three to get rid of a couple of problems-but then for those who read it, they'd be wondering WTF in book four.

Also just can't get the mindset back in general, and with a promotion at work that has me more involved and stressed and my wife's health issues, I have resigned myself to the fact it will never happen.

Sorry, Abigail, Seth, Lydia, Medusa, I did the best I could for as long as I could.

 

[Bazzle]

I thought you were talking ales...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, this encompasses practically everything I wrote so far as none of my stories is truly finished and it is very uncertain if they ever will be. The reason for that is my unhappiness with Literotica and the general lack of good alternatives. Time will tell.

 

[lovecraft68]

I thought you were talking ales...
View attachment 2341649

Alcohol never goes unfinished.

 

[nice90sguy]

I actually thought you were a findomme, and demanding a tribute. I'd already reached for my banking app

 

[StillStunned]

I actually thought you were a findomme, and demanding a tribute. I'd already reached for my banking app

I won't stop you.

 

[nice90sguy]

Nah, you've got to work a little harder than that now

 

[intim8]

I've got too many to mention, and if I singled one out as the most regretful, that would be the one most likely to get picked up again in the future.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm an eternal optimist. I'll never admit that a story I've started will never be finished.

 

[nice90sguy]

This morning I "unfinished" yet another story. It was a first-person narrated story about a ruthless woman who breaks up a happy marriage for a bet. I found it too hard to identify with her, or make her sympathetic enough to engage readers.

I started a very ambitious story a few months ago, and got 45,000 (!) words into it, before realising it was too complex and interwoven for me to cope with -- until I have a lot more free time. The timespan of the story is over twenty-five years, the teen stuff is NSFL, so I wouldn't have posted it here.

For the last three years I've had been redrafting and continuing a complete story which I posted here a while back under my old lit name, with a science fiction theme. It's illustrated, and the illustrations really slow it down. After 30,000 words and multiple drafts, I've shelved it. To research it, I re-read a lot of my favourite SF and watched a ton of SF films. They've sort of distracted me away from the story, and I want to start it all over again based on the fresh stimulus to my imagination all that reading and watching have provided.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

My story 'Kyra and the Swordstress,' with 7 parts already published on here, had not been finished as originally planned. I began to roll it out confident that I would have it all buttoned up very quickly but then an idea for a new ending completely derailed my plans. 125k words written so far and I have no idea where I want to go with it.

A couple weeks ago I received this comment on it: Thought this would be completed by now or I’d never have started it.

 

[lovecraft68]

My story 'Kyra and the Swordstress,' with 7 parts already published on here, had not been finished as originally planned. I began to roll it out confident that I would have it all buttoned up very quickly but then an idea for a new ending completely derailed my plans. 125k words written so far and I have no idea where I want to go with it.

A couple weeks ago I received this comment on it: Thought this would be completed by now or I’d never have started it.

Your reply should be, "This is a free site, want something finished go pay for some novels."

 

[intim8]

Your reply should be, "This is a free site, want something finished go pay for some novels."

There's three kinds of writers here: Hobbyists, doing it just for fun or to indulge their fantasies; those who aspire to being paid some day and see this as a sort of unpaid internship or apprenticeship; and those who are getting paid elsewhere and using this site as a loss-leader.

The latter two need to be concerned with user feedback like that, and to treat this like a business, even if it is unpaid. As crass as it is to be so demanding of a free product, it is valuable feedback. And even the hobbyists may have goals about following, ratings, etc., that serve as acheivement levels to work toward.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Your reply should be, "This is a free site, want something finished go pay for some novels."

I agree and that's what I tell myself, but I still can't help but feel bad that I hadn't finished what I started.

 

[KeithD]

I've finished every erotica work I've started. Have a few in the mainstream that can look finished but I intended more--a twelfth book of a lesbian detective series and a third "this is now" book in a trilogy of life in a square in a southern city visited every ten years. I may yet finish them off.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

I agree and that's what I tell myself, but I still can't help but feel bad that I hadn't finished what I started.

I empathize, but don't be hard on yourself. You'll finish it when it's ready to be finished. You said you had an idea for a completely new ending that derailed things. That's great! Follow your story. Your readers will follow you.

 

[lovecraft68]

There's three kinds of writers here: Hobbyists, doing it just for fun or to indulge their fantasies; those who aspire to being paid some day and see this as a sort of unpaid internship or apprenticeship; and those who are getting paid elsewhere and using this site as a loss-leader.

The latter two need to be concerned with user feedback like that, and to treat this like a business, even if it is unpaid. As crass as it is to be so demanding of a free product, it is valuable feedback. And even the hobbyists may have goals about following, ratings, etc., that serve as acheivement levels to work toward.

I've always felt the way I feel. Like you said there's people writing for different reasons here, but the platform itself is free, the readers expect free and take it for granted. Is bitching at someone for not finishing a series constructive feedback? No, not in anyway. Maybe its not finished for health reasons, family situations, or like we see in this thread, sometimes inspiration runs dry. But there is zero obligation to the reader here. They give us nothing, we owe them nothing.

Best example of this is when I started here I wrote a 44 chapter series, then did a five chapter "what happens next". Few months later one chapter of the final segment was banned for BS reasons. I refused to change anything so I pulled the other four chapters and eventually the entire thing went for sale in 8 e-books, book 8 being the final five chapters. Several times over the years people have asked where they can find it and I told them the link is in my bio, they then claimed I should give it to them for free.

I explained it was free until the site got stupid with it, then added that they got 44 chapters (800k words total) for free and if they enjoyed it so much, they could pay $2.99 to read the rest. Response was to call me names. I'm sure many have bought it from here, but each person who reached out had that same attitude which to me proves my point. Don't complain about something you're not paying for.

 

[Bramblethorn]

This thread is intended for all those stories that remain unfinished, and that we know deep down will never be finished.

Hey now. Some of us are still in denial.

 

[goodpen86]

I started what was intended to be a series for this site last year called Vacation with a Tryst. Which is about a woman who has an affair while on a vacation without her husband. I know very original. Anyway, I published the first part last August while working on the second part. About a month later I found out my wife was having an affair while on a business trip. I'm in the middle of a divorce now. Part two of Vacation with a Tryst is sitting in my draft folder, unfinished. I don't see myself touching it again anytime soon, if ever.

 

[mildlyaroused]

Your reply should be, "This is a free site, want something finished go pay for some novels."

They give us nothing, we owe them nothing.

Authors certainly owe readers nothing, but I don't think it's true that readers give authors nothing.

Fundamentally, they give authors an audience. They give an instant, free, and all things considered pretty accommodating readership to authors who might otherwise not have anyone read their work. Writers need readers as much as readers need writers.

Does this justify entitled behaviour? Not if it's nasty, like the behaviour you described. But I think readers are allowed to have expectations for their authors regardless of the content being free, especially if the author has made promises.

 

[lustychimera]

About a month later I found out my wife was having an affair while on a business trip. I'm in the middle of a divorce now. Part two of Vacation with a Tryst is sitting in my draft folder, unfinished. I don't see myself touching it again anytime soon, if ever.

Jesus dude. I'm sorry to hear that. That's brutal.

I hope you can carve out a life that you're content with, whatever form that takes.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

I started what was intended to be a series for this site last year called Vacation with a Tryst. Which is about a woman who has an affair while on a vacation without her husband. I know very original. Anyway, I published the first part last August while working on the second part. About a month later I found out my wife was having an affair while on a business trip. I'm in the middle of a divorce now. Part two of Vacation with a Tryst is sitting in my draft folder, unfinished. I don't see myself touching it again anytime soon, if ever.

I am so sorry.

 

[KeithD]

Authors certainly owe readers nothing, but I don't think it's true that readers give authors nothing.

I feel I owe any reader taking the time/effort to read my stories coherence and a best effort at grammar/spelling polish. For Literotica, I don't really expect readers to give me anything in return for the read for me to continue posting here.