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Discussion unfinished or not at all?

Discussion in 'Fluff and Stories' started by Aginor, Mar 3, 2020.

  1. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    Hey y'all!

    I am writing a Seraphon story, and to be honest I am kinda stuck.

    So here is the question:
    Would y'all prefer reading an unfinished story that might or might not get finished some day?
    That would include the possibility of having existing chapters rewritten in case I mess up with the story.

    Or would you prefer to wait for the whole thing (which might never come)?


    From my own point of view it looks this way:
    I once wrote some 40 pages of story for a game mod (I was the only modder) and nobody ever read it because I ran out of Steam and never finished the last chapter. It was a story in the Wing Commander universe, and it was ten years ago. To this day I am sad that it happened that way and I'd like to not repeat that experience.

    On the other hand: Had I posted it unfinished or episodic I would probably have created even more pressure (can of course be good or bad) on myself. And when writing the end I might have realized that I screwed up and might have edited changes in, making the whole thing confusing for people who have been reading along all the time during the episodic phase.

    But then... who am I even to think about things like that? There is probably only a dozen it so people who would even read the story...
    Should I post a story to feel better, to just "let it out"? Isn't that a dick move toward y'all readers?

    Meanwhile I chickened out and wrote D&D adventures. At least my three players will experience them and they are short so it is likely I finish them...


    Opinions please!
     
  2. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    Oh dear... in fact it is even worse the more I think about it.

    Our friend @Scalenex proofread the already existing chapters. I am being a male genital for wasting his time if I don't post the story I guess...
     
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  3. Paul1748
    Saurus

    Paul1748 Well-Known Member

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    Could you post the prologue of your story ? It's hard to decide without some contexts.
    BTW, Isn't there a new seraphon book coming soon ? Maybe this isn't the best time to develop seraphon story.
     
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  4. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    I've started the story almost a year ago. I really don't care about whether GW changes the lore in the book. If it is compatible to my story I'll take it, if not I will ignore it.

    I guess I could post the first chapter....
    ...but then, it isn't exactly a good example for the direction the story will go.

    Edit: but I tend to post it and see if people are interested in the story.
     
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  5. Paradoxical Pacifism
    Skink Chief

    Paradoxical Pacifism Well-Known Member

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    Posting WIP stories usually result in more views due to updates bumping up the story in question. Also, reviews and critiques and readership may inspire you to write more.

    not at all. I think letting it 'out' is a good thing for writing :)

    I wouldn't recommend rewriting already written material unless it's fixing grammatical errors or making the text more flowery without fundamentally changing the plot.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2020
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  6. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    Yeah, probably rather going to accept plot holes than make one retcon after the other.
    At least I am not some guy writing for a living so if someone notices them I can just shrug and say "well, I am not a professional after all". :D
     
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  7. Paradoxical Pacifism
    Skink Chief

    Paradoxical Pacifism Well-Known Member

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    yea, i was about to say that since you're writing fanfiction for yourself and not for money, going through the trouble of trying to make your work 100% perfect is only going to wear you down. Maybe concentrating on improving one aspect of your writing such as dialogue or plotting could be fun.
     
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  8. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    Ok I decided to post a few parts of the story soon. No fixed schedule but it will happen.
    I realized my story doesn't have a title yet. Working on it.

    Thanks for the input, guys!
     
  9. Lizerd
    Skink Priest

    Lizerd Well-Known Member

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    A big story you’ve been writing for a year? I’m interested and it would be awesome to see a preview
     
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  10. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    That's the spirit! Really curious to see it :)
     
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  11. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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    It isn't _that_ big yet.
    There are four and a half chapters already finished, which is roughly a third of the planned storyline.
    Around 18000 words.

    The story itself is completely planned, including the end, and I have already written short paragraphs from all chapters and have some scenes in mind.
    I have outlines for the motivations of the main characters that help me judge how they would react to the situations, which I hope will help to make some of the plot holes a bit smaller, and I even drew a map for myself so the travel times and distances make at least a bit of sense.

    What I currently struggle with is the intro of chapter 5 which is supposed to set the scene for the following chapters but feels a bit hollow to me. Not a natural way events would unfold IMO so I am tweaking it here and there.
    But I haven't given up yet. :)
     
  12. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    Your story is too good to never post. It's okay if it comes out slowly. You wouldn't be the first writer on L-O to put out updates slowly. I myself have posted about the first third of "The Golden Mountain" then kind of got writer's block and then got distracted by shiny objects.

    Perhaps I should kick myself in the tail and start working on this.

    My magnum opus, "The Chronicles of Witch Hunter Verrick," I will not release until it's done. It's very much like running a 26.2 mile marathon. The first half of the marathon is 20 miles, the second half of the marathon is 6.2 miles.
     
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  13. Aginor
    Slann

    Aginor Fifth Spawning Staff Member

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