Why you should never throw away an unfinished story

[Djmac1031]

So awhile ago, I started writing this story about a wife who confesses to her husband she's in love with another woman; her old college roommate and still best friend.

After a brief intro setting up the scenario, it then flashed back to the ladies first meeting and carrying on from there slowly building their relationship.

I got about 2.5K words into it when it stalled. Mainly because I didn't have an ending.


And so it sat unfinished.

Instead, I turned my attention to another unfinished tale: the origin story for my She-Demon character Cozbi, from one I'd published awhile ago, The Devil And Angel Em.

I'd been wanting to write her tale ever since the first, but only had snippets of an idea for it really.

As I took to it again, pieces started coming to me. It would not just be Cozbi's origin, but also the story of how she first met Emily, only briefly mentioned in TDAAE.

And as I continued, it suddenly hit me:

The dormant college story I'd started, with only minor tweaks and of course character name changes, would fit perfectly into the Cozbi/Emily tale.

Two young women meet their first day as new roomies; one shy and confused about her sexuality, the other strong and outgoing and very open about herself.

I barely had to change a thing.

The moral of the story:

Even an unfinished work may find a purpose somewhere down the road.

 

[Euphony]

The moral of the story:

Even an unfinished work may find a purpose somewhere down the road.

That's awesome.

My problems are two fold.

Either delete key frustration for temporary gain, long term loss or organizational issues for "fragmented" ideas.

I figured professional authors might have systems or something but seems many of them have an "ideas.doc" which hasn't been enough for me.

 

[KeithD]

Thus far, every story I've started, I've completed and taken to published somewhere. There are a few stories that I've limited publishing them, though, as I wasn't completely happy with them.

 

[Djmac1031]

Either delete key frustration for temporary gain, long term loss or organizational issues for "fragmented" ideas.

I find even "fragmented" ideas useful.

Certainly in this case.

I'd only written fragments of the Cozbi story; short scenes, snippets of what I'd hope would become a longer tale, but incomplete by themselves.

They sat unfinished for months as well.

It wasn't til I returned my attention to them that I found the connections and the path, and that let me to incorporating the other unfinished piece into it.

Lucky? Yes. Not something that would usually work out, but in this case it did and saved me 2.5K words worth of work.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

*looks at writing folder*

I mean, I'm sure there are some solid reasons to throw away unfinished stories. I just haven't found one yet. *closes folder with over 10k files in it*

Gods damn.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm brutal with my false starts. If it's not working in five-hundred words, it's never going to work, and I'll delete the file. I've never once thought, later, "Gee, I wish I hadn't done that."

If the idea was that good, I'd have finished the story in the first place.

 

[AchtungNight]

There’s also the fact that you may not want to finish a story. Tastes and muses evolve, after all. And sometimes a story should not come out in its intended form. Then again, as the OP said, sometimes it just needs a few small changes to be awesome.

 

[AlinaX]

Some stories develop in ways I feel so uncomfortable with I throw them out immediately. Some I keep for weeks/months/years before deleting.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I quite agree.

 

[Altissimus]

I don't delete either. I have a few I've started that I am sure I'll never finish - for example, I've tried to write an incest story on a couple of occasions, even getting a few thousand words in. Just... can't bring myself to get it done.

That said, some of it is definitely reusable. Plus, I've had other stuff I've written and forgotten about, come back to it later and read over it, and suddenly new ideas are provoked, new directions to explore. Ended up being published.

For those (<waves> Hi @Erozetta!!) with the odd doc here and there that they might've not actually read in a long while, it may be worth taking a look back at one or two at random, either for inspiration for current works or with a view to actually... finishing... the damn thing.

An unpublished story is a tragedy. An unfinished story is

 

[Mastered_again]

If only. I lost WIP Sci-fi piece. Not intentionally, but a computer crash. I still remember the plot line and general sequence of events, but I doubt that I can recover the inspiration for rewriting it. You know, that surge you get when the whole thing is flowing and your fingers can't type fast enough

 

[Djmac1031]

Just to clarify, BTW, this wasn't an overnight, linear progression, although my initial post may have made it seem that way.

Timeline:
The Devil And Angel Em published May 8.

I created a document titled "Cozbi" on May 10th with the initial sketch of a single scene for a possible prequel.

Created the doc with the husband / wife / BFF story on June 10.

Wrote and published three other stories between June and August and started a 4th still unfinished but with definite plans to get back to.

Restarted the Cozbi origin a few weeks ago, and only came to the conclusion to add the stuff I'd written for the college scenes in the other story just a few days ago.

 

[Lifestyle66]

The moral of the story:

Even an unfinished work may find a purpose somewhere down the road.

I held an unfinished story for over a year about a swinger husband surprising his wife during a phone call with a printed "Hot Wife Hall Pass" card hidden in her wallet (he put it there before she left for a business trip.) I didn't finish the story, because I couldn't think of a good way to end it. What's next other than she uses the pass, returns home, and they live happily ever after?

When I saw the Amorous Goods author challenge last year, I wrote my story "Amorous Goods: The Anklet Pair" around that hall pass story. I added the husband buying her an enchanted hot wife anklet to go along with the card, which turned her into an insatiable sex maniac. So, they had to go back to the store to break the spell. And that turned into one of my best stories.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've never deleted any story, which is why I have numerous folders full of unfinished stories. I still think one day I'll come back to them and finish them. If radical life extension technology emerges before long I think my prospects are good.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The only time I’ve done something like this is actually very recently. I have a story, which I have no intention of publish, it was written for therapeutic reasons only. I didn’t lift text word for word from it, but I included some of the milder concepts in one scene in my current work on progress.

I have deleted ideas several times, but only ideas. Once I start writing, I tend to finish. Though it may take some time.

Em

 

[WyreBendr0417]

I don't know how many times I've looked at the ideas and partial stories I've accumulated, thinking I should clear a few out, but wasn't been able to. Some consisting of only a meager title and a line or two giving the basic premise, lest I forget.

I've reached for the delete button many times over, but couldn't help thinking that just because I started a story or an idea doesn't mean the time to take it to fruition had arrived yet.

I have yet to delete anything.

WB

 

[LetsMisBehave]

I agree with the sentiment. My best score so far came for a story that wasn't quite working for me, which I left alone for three months. I returned to it and worked out why it didn't work for me. I decided to dump half of the backstory and angst, streamline the rest and add some humour. I also decided that it was better to leave to the imagination the detail of what happened next with a throwaway line rather than break the mood of the rest of the story.

 

[MillieDynamite]

At some point, I normally go back and finish them. So, I don't usually delete something because I hit a wall. I put a bandage on my forehead and write something different until I'm inspired to go back to the story.

 

[Djmac1031]

At some point, I normally go back and finish them. So, I don't usually delete something because I hit a wall. I put a bandage on my forehead and write something different until I'm inspired to go back to the story.

Same. Although some have sat unfinished for a lot longer lol.

My only real dilemma was: by scrapping the one story and instead incorporating the bulk of it into another, it basically killed the other story.

I suppose I could still write it; hell, still use the same set ups and scenes. How many readers would actually notice?

And who knows, I might still write it some day.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yes, I have many I started that ended up tweaking and using in another story. I even incorporated one I hadn't finished into a ghostwork that it fit into perfectly. The downside, I can't use it now for my own work.

Same. Although some have sat unfinished for a lot longer lol.

My only real dilemma was: by scrapping the one story and instead incorporating the bulk of it into another, it basically killed the other story.

I suppose I could still write it; hell, still use the same set ups and scenes. How many readers would actually notice?

And who knows, I might still write it some day.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

A few of my highest rated stories are ones that I put aside and let simmer. Just Roomies, and Mating Season that were both for contests, I let sit for a year. I would go back and work on them whenever I had time. I think letting them sit rather racing to get them done, paid off. Though I had considered giving up on both of them. Sometimes I guess it pays to be stubborn and persevere.

 

[Djmac1031]

Yes, I have many I started that ended up tweaking and using in another story. I even incorporated one I hadn't finished into a ghostwork that it fit into perfectly. The downside, I can't use it now for my own work.

By "ghost write" do you mean published under an alias? Or written then given to someone else?

I suppose either way you could get called out for plagiarism.

Part of me wonders if I went ahead and finished that wife / friend story, leaving the original scenes intact, if anyone would even notice.

Or care.

It was basically three scenes setting the stage for their relationship. But by no means complete.

The rest of that story would go in a completely different direction than the one I'm currently writing.

Might be an interesting experiment if I ever get around to it.

 

[AchtungNight]

Ghost writing is not plagiarism, I don’t think. It’s a valid form of writing. Typical deal is some big shot celebrity wants to put out their own autobiography but they lack writing skills so they hire a pro to write the book and then split the proceeds. The pro’s name may be on the book as co-author or the pro lets the celebrity take credit long as they get paid. Not something I ever want to do myself, but I’ve heard of it being done.

 

[Djmac1031]

Ghost writing is not plagiarism,

To clarify my thought:

If @MillieDynamite "ghost wrote" a story, or part of a story, that was published here under another name, then used that same story / piece of story verbatim and published under her name, readers might accuse her of plagiarism because they'd obviously not know she wrote the first one under the different name.

 

[AchtungNight]

To clarify my thought:

If @MillieDynamite "ghost wrote" a story, or part of a story, that was published here under another name, then used that same story / piece of story verbatim and published under her name, readers might accuse her of plagiarism because they'd obviously not know she wrote the first one under the different name.

Ah. I get it. Hopefully she could set the record straight if so accused. Stephen King once wrote as Richard Bachman, and other authors have used pseudonyms too, including me, so it should be easy to explain.