A Cry for help, maybe?

[Jaime Austin]

No one has posted to this thread since 2008, so maybe this is like pissing into the wind, but here goes.

If you have been by chance following my posts under sex stories by members, you may have noticed that I am getting long winded. Well, it’s only going to get worse. I’m about two chapters ahead in my writing. Latest post was 4,165 words. The next will be 7,434. And the chapter I just finished is 10,145!

I think I’ve become obsessed with these characters and now I’m trying to find some way to find or force a conclusion. I really need to get them out of my head.

Can anyone here relate to this? I really need to find a way to let them go!

[Pornhubby]

No one has posted to this thread since 2008, so maybe this is like pissing into the wind, but here goes.

If you have been by chance following my posts under sex stories by members, you may have noticed that I am getting long winded. Well, it’s only going to get worse. I’m about two chapters ahead in my writing. Latest post was 4,165 words. The next will be 7,434. And the chapter I just finished is 10,145!

I think I’ve become obsessed with these characters and now I’m trying to find some way to find or force a conclusion. I really need to get them out of my head.

Can anyone here relate to this? I really need to find a way to let them go!

I started writing back in 2008. I was going through a difficult time in my life. I was sexually frustrated, having relationship conflicts with my SO, and writing became an outlet for my fantasies, frustrations, and anger management. And I wrote, off and on, for the next four or five years. And then, I moved, I got a new job, I found a new relationship, and I got laid a lot. And it was just the end of that phase of my life, and I just really didn’t have the time or inclination to continue writing, so it just more or less dribbled off to not much. Then nothing.

So I’m not suggesting you’re in a similar position, but writing is for the author, it is their outlet, and only they control the decision to write, what to write, what to do with it. So I encourage you to enjoy your creative control, and when the process becomes a bigger burden than a benefit, put down your pen and walk away. I guarantee you no one gives 1/10th a shit about your creative output as you do. So you don’t owe anyone anything, you certainly don’t owe anyone an explanation or apology. You just do what makes you happy. And if it stops making you happy, stop doing it.

[Writers Bloque]

No one has posted to this thread since 2008, so maybe this is like pissing into the wind, but here goes.

If you have been by chance following my posts under sex stories by members, you may have noticed that I am getting long winded. Well, it’s only going to get worse. I’m about two chapters ahead in my writing. Latest post was 4,165 words. The next will be 7,434. And the chapter I just finished is 10,145!

I think I’ve become obsessed with these characters and now I’m trying to find some way to find or force a conclusion. I really need to get them out of my head.

Can anyone here relate to this? I really need to find a way to let them go!

Hi.

I have the similar problem. I want to conclude the Dusty Old Book series, after at least a few more chapters. Not because I am tired of it, but because there has to be a logical conclusion. But my brain is stumped as to where it should go. Should he back away and let them grow up? Finish the quest given to him by the town's guardian spirit? or just leave? Too many routes and ends to even begin to think of a set course to the end. My advice is just write what feels right to you, well within the rules and everyone will enjoy it.

[Jaime Austin]

Thanks guys. Sage advice from you both. I guess I should be greatful that the words are flowing. It isn’t always like that! But at some point, these people need to let me go. I know in reality it is the other way around, but that’s how it feels.

[Vela Nanashi]

I also have a hard time letting go of stories at times, and often rather than end the story in some way I often just find a place of rest where I can leave it open, like characters just hitting bed or something and then a 'may be continued' added there, and I leave it hanging, I know that is bad of me for any readers, but it seems to be the only way I can leave a story, I may try to close any plot hooks that are open first though, if my story has those, but my stories are rarely structured like that.

I rather have a bunch of characters/muses who keep me writing than having that empty feeling of having nothing to write about though

[Hilda]

It can be very difficult to roll back a runaway story. Editing repetitions and redundancies will usually remove no more than a few hundred words.

A more drastic solution is to identify the weakest characters and get rid of them. That means going back to the beginning, reading everything you've written, and carefully removing all the links and pointers to the deleted characters. It hurts to do this, but it works.

A less effective solution is to walk away from the story for a few months or a few years. If you're lucky, you'll be able to see it from a different perspective, and slash-and-burn with less remorse.

What to do if your story comes to a fork, and you don't know in which direction to take it, is something I haven't figured out. I've tried plot-mapping software but it doesn't work for me. I wish I could help more.

[Jaime Austin]

The good news is, I found my ending. Came to me about a week ago and I’ve been working to catch up to it ever since. I think it will finaly put these characters to rest for me.

I considered editing down my large chapters, but I had such a great time writing them that I’ve gone ahead and posted them as written. One more large one to go & then a brief coda.

So far no one has blasted me for being longwinded and I’ve even picked up a few Woos along the way. In fact, the only Boo I’ve earned so far was due to my being a bit too mercenary when I first joined up. Not only was it deserved, but that post was the impetus for my starting this tale of life in Southern California.

Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated!