What of half-completed stories?

[flawed_ethics]

I am not much of an author. Last summer found me under the spell of the writing bug though, and got my imagination spinning. I have written one piece I completed and submitted here to Lit, the link to which should be found from my webpage button. It was inspired, hence why I lavished over it and felt confident in submitting it.

Other stories were well under way to completion when the bug left me (or writer's block - take your pick). As a result, I have on my hard-drive at least two stories that could be completed if I found the drive to. Yet they remain growing stale, half-written. They were outlined to completion, I just never got them to the end.

As a lit member, I feel I should contribute (in spite my absense) to the scene, and these projects feel somewhat like a force preventing me from starting fresh. Should I force myself to complete them, thus getting them off my shoulders? Or are they incomplete because they are uninspired, and thus aren't good reads (I wouldn't want to submit anything that I am not happy about)?

Being a virgin, I am hardly one to write erotica. I don't think they're bad stories, just not with enough drive for a good finish. I don't have the luxury of falling back on previous experiences to conjure up quality endings. (Hey, its erotica, right? Why go limp for the climax?)

For the brief record, one story is Incest/stepmother/son, hetero, oral, (anal?), with heavy themes on Christianity and impregnation. The second is Non-concent, rape, interracial, beastiality (which would be removed for the submission, lest I am mistaken that it isn't allowed here), hetero, f/f, swapping. (sounds like a mouthful, I know, but to me kinda looks like 'something happened on the way to the farm'). If memory serves me right, they're both in the 15-18 page range in MS word.

I'm sure I'm not the only person to encounter this problem. Any suggestions, comments?

 

[Weird Harold]

As a lit member, I feel I should contribute (in spite my absense) to the scene, and these projects feel somewhat like a force preventing me from starting fresh. Should I force myself to complete them, thus getting them off my shoulders? Or are they incomplete because they are uninspired, and thus aren't good reads (I wouldn't want to submit anything that I am not happy about)?

I currently have at least four stories that are stalled -- I don't worry about it a lot; The inspiration will return when it returns and I don't feel any real pressure to post anything new.

Try editing what you've got written already -- see if you cna figure out where and how the story strayed from the outlined plot. Decide whther the story is trying to tell you how it should go or whether your plot outline is the proper course for the story.

I don't think you can force a story to a conclusion and still be comfortable with the result.

 

[poohlive]

Well, if anything you have experience. One thing I know from half written stories ( I have more of those than actually completed ones) is that you gain experience.
If you don't think that the stories have enough drive for a finish, then they don't. You can't run out of gas and then just press down on the pedal, hoping the car will still run. If you're out of gas you're out of gas.
I'd say if anything, come up with a new idea, and encorporate some of your old ones into it. Like a hybrid story of old and new ideas, something with the drive, and lots of details and imagery to help all of the little story readers here at lit.
Or whever you decided to send it.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Chyoo is absolutely wonderful for half completed projects that you think you will have no use for. That is you won't finish them, have no real interest in their outcome, and you don't think they're worth cannibalizing.

Stick in the first part of the story, define a few parameters, and see where others take it. It's actually kind of cool.

 

[Whispersecret]

I, too, have several unfinished stories lurking in my hard drive. Occasionally I'll go back and fiddle with them, but so far, they remain as they are.

Like WH said, don't force it. If you're like me, sooner or later the muse will start flailing at you with her switch and you'll find yourself glued to the keyboard again working on something fresh and exciting.

 

[Reshbod]

I feel the same way, I have several stories in various stages of completion on several disks, but cannot seem to finish them. I would like to post some, but each time I go over one, I end up making changes or re-writing parts of it. One of these days I will have the guts to submit one, but right now I am just trying to complete one that I feel satisfied with.

 

[christo]

I probably have 150,000 words of unfinished stories gathering cobwebs on my hard drive. They depress me, but from time to time I get back to them, writing a bit here, editing there. I have 2 stories nearly finished, and once I get them done, and finish the series I'm working on, I figure I might get 6 or 7 things done quickly. That's the only way I can keep from getting too down, and that's knowing that with just a little more sustained effort, I'll get 'em done. Just let them lie, and keep working.

 

[flawed_ethics]

I guess I'll muse on them for the time being then...
Thanks to everyone who responded!

 

[hogjack]

I'm sure this doesn't help...

Sorry to interupt.

...but for men who are regularly prematurely ejaculating having access to a half-finished story works out just fine.

Consider those partial erotica worthy of that demographic, at least.

 

[flawed_ethics]

LMAO! Hogjack, I'll have to admit you're right! I suppose in that sense I can feel that my stories are far enough along that plenty has happened for the jack-off reader to be satisfied with. Alas, those other readers (including myself) would be disappointed in half-written (and therefore not properly proof-read) stories.

I've toyed with the idea of posting up the halves as parts, getting feedback as to where they should go from those who would read them, and humoring them with the written other halves. My only hang-up is that I don't like "The Erotic Adventures of Hercules, Ch. 1" postings. I could plead and beg Laurel to amend my story when finished, but she's kind enough to host this site that I shouldn'd badger her to humor me.

I ramble too much.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

I have two stories stalled...one is stalled because I forced a previous chapter to conclusion I didn't really like as much as other chapters and now I have to dig myself out of something. The other is something I just haven't had time to look at.

My advice...don't be concerned about being a virgin...in many ways, your writing erotica is a means of exploring sexuality without compromising your virginity.

Otherwise, keep writing, when the time is right you'll finish one story and go back and finish the others. I think it's always a good idea to work on a few things at once anyways...that way when one stumps you you can go work on something else.

 

[Callia]

I have a somewhat similar problem. I have about four different ideas for stories, but they're all in my head! Not even collecting dust on my hard drive. In my head I have whole paragraphs written out, I know how the story ends, it all sounds great, but I can't seem to discipline myself enough to actually sit down and write them out.

I tell myself that if I was really inspired I would write them. I have written other stories. Maybe it's that I'm scared that the outcome won't be as good as it sounds in my head. Or maybe I feel guilty about spending time on something other than the stacks of work I have to do. I need some serious literotica psychoanalysis!


Callia

An aside: (Weird Harold, could you whisper me your other handle so I can read your stories? I won't tell anyone! )

 

[gauchecritic]

on writing half a story

Like Callia, my stories are all in my head. I don't write outlines, I don't develop characters outside the story (who am I? Checkov?) and as it happens when I finish my work I leave it as finished, except for proof reading, again!

If I ever try editing 'finished' work I end up adding whole scenes and extra characters, so for me what's done is done.

Obversely, once I sit down to write a story, it flows by itself, perhaps because I haven't 'deadened' it by pre-writing, perhaps because it often takes weeks if not months before I even decide to write anything at all.

Occasionally a story will take on a will of it's own and go places I wouldn't have consciously thought of, then you have the happy problem of having to set down your original story later on.

Different strokes for bdsm lovers.