What to write next?

[SamBomb]

It's so difficult making these kind of decisions. I usually go with what I am motivated to write, but I have three ongoing series that aren't finished and I feel bad when I start a stand alone story or even think of a new series.

Abandoning a story also does not feel right, but maybe it takes a long time to come back to them.

How do you folks deal with determine what you are putting out and dealing with series in general?

 

[Rob_Royale]

This is supposed to be fun right? Unless you're being paid, write what you want to. If you're not feeling it, leave the story behind. Odds are you'll use pieces of it in other things. All ya gotta do is change what names they are moaning.

 

[Euphony]

You must be compelled to write or it shows.

Serious reflection over whether the new is simply appealing from a "grass in greener" lens should happen but stories can run their course, just like relationships.

Readers will always want more, even with stories that have been given a narrative faithful ending.

Authors and readers both sometimes need to move on. Such is life sometimes. Stories are a reflection of life.

 

[StillStunned]

I find it can help to leave a series for what it is and work on something new, something fresh that I'm excited to write. At the same time, I use that excitement to think about the series I've put on hold. That way, the fire fuels both stories, and by the time I'm done with the new project I'm eager to get back to the series.

But whatever you decide, do what you enjoy.

 

[Djmac1031]

I know about juggling stories. And series. And about leaving stories hanging.

I have no answers for it other than write what demands to be written.

I have several unfinished stories. I know they're good. But I also know in order for them to remain good, I can't force it.

I know I'm truly on to something when I can't stop writing it.

And there can be long periods between that feeling.

Again, no answer except roll with it.

 

[Gamblnluck]

Abandoning a story also does not feel right, but maybe it takes a long time to come back to them.

You are absolutely right. I have a half written continuation for my "Gotta Pay the Piper' series. I feel obligated to continue and get it to an acceptable conclusion. I hate leaving a work half done. Paid or not.

 

[Zootonius]

I find it can help to leave a series for what it is and work on something new, something fresh that I'm excited to write. At the same time, I use that excitement to think about the series I've put on hold. That way, the fire fuels both stories, and by the time I'm done with the new project I'm eager to get back to the series.

But whatever you decide, do what you enjoy.

This! I had a series that I felt was getting rote. So I put it aside to write something else (then another thing). Then the fog cleared and I could see how to bring the plot to a satisfying point with a few twists along the way. Time is good for creativity.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's so difficult making these kind of decisions. I usually go with what I am motivated to write, but I have three ongoing series that aren't finished and I feel bad when I start a stand alone story or even think of a new series.

Abandoning a story also does not feel right, but maybe it takes a long time to come back to them.

How do you folks deal with determine what you are putting out and dealing with series in general?

I agree with @Rob_Royale - I very occasionally put myself under pressure to finish a series, or a long stand-alone story, but it’s inimical to writing well.

Any longer story or series has been punctuated by my writing some joie de vivre piece in between, mostly as a release.

Making your self write when your heart is not in it will be very obvious to the reader.

Em

 

[SimonDoom]

Write what you feel motivated to write. Nobody's paying you to do this, and you're not under any contract, so write whatever you want to write. That's what I do.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

I do wonder how the professionals do it though.

Granted, I am not a professional and do not aspire to become one. The advice given above is what I follow myself.

But I can't help but wonder: how do they do it?

They have contracts to fulfill and deadlines to meet and rent to pay. They can't afford to wait for their muses to return.

Maybe partly it's a matter of margin? They're good enough that their half-hearted, hung-over, phoned-in pablum is still publishable, where ours is not?

Or maybe it's a matter of consistency? Not for the Ted Chiangs of the world, but for Steven King and K. A. Applegate and so on. They've trained themselves to churn out serviceable, workmanlike stuff under all conditions. When they're good, they're great, and when they're not, they're still okay.

 

[djrip]

I do wonder how the professionals do it though.

Granted, I am not a professional and do not aspire to become one. The advice given above is what I follow myself.

But I can't help but wonder: how do they do it?

They have contracts to fulfill and deadlines to meet and rent to pay. They can't afford to wait for their muses to return.

Maybe partly it's a matter of margin? They're good enough that their half-hearted, hung-over, phoned-in pablum is still publishable, where ours is not?

Or maybe it's a matter of consistency? Not for the Ted Chiangs of the world, but for Steven King and K. A. Applegate and so on. They've trained themselves to churn out serviceable, workmanlike stuff under all conditions. When they're good, they're great, and when they're not, they're still okay.

Ask Oneagainst and his million words...

 

[Duleigh]

How do you folks deal with determine what you are putting out and dealing with series in general?

I have a list of loves that I can always turn to - then again, look at the upcoming contest/event calendar and start getting ready for Valentines Day or the 750 word challenge

 

[ronde]

I do wonder how the professionals do it though.

Granted, I am not a professional and do not aspire to become one. The advice given above is what I follow myself.

But I can't help but wonder: how do they do it?

They have contracts to fulfill and deadlines to meet and rent to pay. They can't afford to wait for their muses to return.

Maybe partly it's a matter of margin? They're good enough that their half-hearted, hung-over, phoned-in pablum is still publishable, where ours is not?

Or maybe it's a matter of consistency? Not for the Ted Chiangs of the world, but for Steven King and K. A. Applegate and so on. They've trained themselves to churn out serviceable, workmanlike stuff under all conditions. When they're good, they're great, and when they're not, they're still okay.

I'm speaking from conjecture here, but I don't think professional writing is much different from other professional occupations. No architect gets any advance money for design without at least an artist's rendering of his proposed building. I seriously doubt any publisher gives an advance and a deadline to a professional writer without a fairly detailed outline of what the writer intends to write. It's just guarding against a bad investment. It probably gets easier once a writer has a couple good sellers under his belt, but no publisher is going to spend money betting the next novel is going to sell as well as the others without some idea that it probably will.

What that means is all professional authors go through the same pains we do when picking out what they're going to write except they have to consider the commercial side as well. The name authors seem to find their niche and stay in it, so that probably makes it a little easier for them, but it's still hard to do. They're just better at it than most amateurs.

 

[stonedinstilletos]

It's so difficult making these kind of decisions. I usually go with what I am motivated to write, but I have three ongoing series that aren't finished and I feel bad when I start a stand alone story or even think of a new series.

Abandoning a story also does not feel right, but maybe it takes a long time to come back to them.

How do you folks deal with determine what you are putting out and dealing with series in general?

As a reader, if I like the author, usually I’m just happy for anything new. But sometimes I do get annoyed when they leave a multipart story undone, but I realize that one way to break out of a bloc is to just write something and maybe that will get the other WIP going again.

Am I making sense? Probably not.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Every one of my stories in the last three years has been a side story while I've been writing something else. One of these days I'll go back and finish those three unfinished stories. It doesn't bother me at all, leaving them sitting there.

 

[nice90sguy]

I reread a couple of my old (20 year-old) incomplete stories yesterday, which I'd forgotten about. What's happened over the years is that I've incoorporated much of them into later stories (without actually being conscious that I did that). So that's what I'm doing over xmas: Starting a "new" story modelled on one of my old ones.

The stories as they stand suffer from anachronism right now -- it's amazing how fast times change. Back in 2003, the world was very different.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I do wonder how the professionals do it though.

Granted, I am not a professional and do not aspire to become one. The advice given above is what I follow myself.

But I can't help but wonder: how do they do it?

They have contracts to fulfill and deadlines to meet and rent to pay. They can't afford to wait for their muses to return.

Maybe partly it's a matter of margin? They're good enough that their half-hearted, hung-over, phoned-in pablum is still publishable, where ours is not?

Or maybe it's a matter of consistency? Not for the Ted Chiangs of the world, but for Steven King and K. A. Applegate and so on. They've trained themselves to churn out serviceable, workmanlike stuff under all conditions. When they're good, they're great, and when they're not, they're still okay.

It's like most other jobs: You need to give it all of your focus and attention. Deadlines and multi-tasking don't go together well for me.

With a hobby, which I assume writing stories for Lit is for most here, you can afford distractions and interruptions without penalty. When I have a deadline approaching, I will lock myself away from all distractions, including things such as this forum.

Even then, words and ideas will frequently get stalled between my brain and my fingers, so I use my mouth to dictate them and then sort them out later. Writers block is real and you have to find the best way to deal with it to meet your lifestyle and job expectations.

To the OP's original dilemma, we must once more distinguish between a "series" and a chaptered story. I see no issue with walking away from a series of stand-alone stories, or long periods between the next submission. I've done this with my "Before They Were Stars" series several times. However, a chaptered story never gets posted by me until it is complete. That's the expectation in the real publishing world and I see no benefit to altering my practices for Lit.

As I reader here, I've learned to never start a story that is obviously incomplete. I've been burned too many times by hobbyists who have gone on to other pursuits or been otherwise distracted.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I seriously doubt any publisher gives an advance and a deadline to a professional writer without a fairly detailed outline of what the writer intends to write. It's just guarding against a bad investment. It probably gets easier once a writer has a couple good sellers under his belt, but no publisher is going to spend money betting the next novel is going to sell as well as the others without some idea that it probably will.

This is true, particularly for a new or unknown author.

For non-fiction, agents and publishers would require a detailed proposal about the project and an author bio. The author needs to sell his or her idea for the book and their qualifications to write it.

For fiction, the agent or publisher will typically require a pitch letter, synopsis, or both before deciding whether or not to review the COMPLETED manuscript.

For an established author who's work is known, a "spec" contract might be offered by a publisher based upon a compelling synopsis alone. This is where tight deadlines and a lot of monitoring of the writing progress can be a challenge for a writer.

 

[StillStunned]

However, a chaptered story never gets posted by me until it is complete. That's the expectation in the real publishing world and I see no benefit to altering my practices for Lit.

Tell that to fans (or ex-fans) of George RR Martin, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss (and I still sometimes curse Sterling E. Lanier's name for giving us Hiero's Journey and The Unforesaken Hiero and never finishing the story).

 

[djrip]

As I reader here, I've learned to never start a story that is obviously incomplete. I've been burned too many times by hobbyists who have gone on to other pursuits or been otherwise distracted.

How do you tell if it's a series or chapter story without starting to read? Occasionally someone will put subtitles after the ch 1 ch 2, but that can happen with chapter stories too, and series stories can be just ch 1 ch 2.

My New RA at the Girls' Dorm series is a series of discreet events happening with the same group, but each chapter is its own episode that I feel stands alone; I'd liken it to Simpsons episodes rather than Game of Thrones episodes. They are ch 1, ch 2.

My earlier Sarah Opens Up series started as individual named stories before I put them together with the series tools. They are independent episodes too, but closer to Game of Thrones perhaps; well, Maid Service comes after Sarah Opens Up and really only the second chapter of that truly requires reading the earlier Sarah Opens Up stories to know who the characters are.

So, I'm not really sure myself if these would be considered series or chapter stories. But even if I knew, I don't know how a reader would know, without reading a few and seeing how they interrelate.

 

[AG31]

I very occasionally put myself under pressure to finish a series, or a long stand-alone story, but it’s inimical to writing well.

Making your self write when your heart is not in it will be very obvious to the reader.

Absolutely.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I know about juggling stories. And series. And about leaving stories hanging.

I have no answers for it other than write what demands to be written.

I have several unfinished stories. I know they're good. But I also know in order for them to remain good, I can't force it.

I know I'm truly on to something when I can't stop writing it.

And there can be long periods between that feeling.

Again, no answer except roll with it.

Completely agree. I am so ADHD when I write it is amazing sometimes that I ever published anything. I have dozens of stories in Work in Progress. Some just snippets of ideas, others thousands of words. Often when I'm writing, I'll get an idea for something that doesn't fit and take off to chase it.(squirrel...) It may be hours, days or weeks before I get back to the story I was working on when I got distracted.

As for what demands to be written, one of my first ventures into writing is a fifty thousand word romance novel that I wrote in about two weeks because I couldn't stop. The story wouldn't let me go. Now, thanks to my writers ADHD, I still haven't edited it, but other things have been calling my name, so.

Bottom line, chase your muse. If you only follow her, you'll never catch her.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

How do you tell if it's a series or chapter story without starting to read? Occasionally someone will put subtitles after the ch 1 ch 2, but that can happen with chapter stories too, and series stories can be just ch 1 ch 2.

My New RA at the Girls' Dorm series is a series of discreet events happening with the same group, but each chapter is it's own episode that I feel stands alone; I'd liken it to Simpsons episodes rather than Game of Thrones episodes. They are ch 1, ch 2.

My earlier Sarah Opens Up series started as individual named stories before I put them together with the series tools. They are independent episodes too, but closer to Game of Thrones perhaps; well, Maid Service comes after Sarah Opens Up and really only the second chapter of that truly requires reading the earlier Sarah Opens Up stories to know who the characters are.

So, I'm not really sure myself if these would be considered series or chapter stories. But even if I knew, I don't know how a reader would know, without reading a few and seeing how they interrelate.

Literotica treats them all the same when publishing.

The tell for me will typically be a title with a chapter number after it, followed by what the description implies. It's not foolproof, but if I can avoid reading even the first chapter of an incomplete story, less time gets wasted.

Episodic stories will typically follow literary norms, having a distinct beginning, middle, and end. The fact that they incorporate the same characters and sometimes plot elements doesn't detract from a person's ability to find fulfillment reading only one of them. The same is not true with individual chapters of a story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Tell that to fans (or ex-fans) of George RR Martin, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss (and I still sometimes curse Sterling E. Lanier's name for giving us Hiero's Journey and The Unforesaken Hiero and never finishing the story).

There is a difference between an incomplete series or anthology and an incomplete story.

For fans, the frustration of having to wait for the next segment of the series can be frustrating, but from what I understand, all of the authors you mentioned still show continuations of their series's forthcoming.

There are several authors who hooked me with their first tale and had me anxiously awaiting more from them. Tom Clancy, Lee Child, Nelson DeMille, and even J.K. Rowling are some names that come to mind.

I have a middle-grade chapter story that I intend to be the first in a series of related adventure tales. Publishers won't balk at it because while the potential for more related books exists, there is nothing committing that to happen in the first story. The contract will be for the first book with a "first right" option for any subsequent books.

In my "Brandt Family Adventure" stories here on Lit, each story is totally stand-alone with characters shared among most of them. As complete as each story is, I still get comments and e-mails from readers asking me to continue the adventures with more stories. I may or may not, but the existing stories won't suffer either way.