Lost SF stories

[old bob]

Some SF stories are like a nuclear submarine which can stay under sea with no limit of time and which comes once at the surface just to say hello from time to time .

The reader has a few chapters to read, to be amazed and to wish more and then

[pietro]

Quite right, it is a form of torture, made much worse when CERTAIN authors keep telling us 'the next chapter is almost here'.

 

Of course, life does interrupt when the author is amateur, and sometimes the thread of a story just vanishes from the author's mind, especially if the course of the story has not been planned. However, it is extremely frustrating for the reader, particularly if you keep having to re-read previous chapters.

 

Would it be better for the author to wait until the story is complete, or nearly so, before publishing? Personally I think so.

 

P

[Graeme]

Would it be better for the author to wait until the story is complete, or nearly so, before publishing? Personally I think so.

While this would be an ideal, and some authors DO operate this way, for many others it doesn't fit the way they work. They need the feedback as part of the incentive and encouragement to keep writing -- to write an entire novel without knowing if anyone would like it is difficult. For others, they feel they should put something out for readers to read, even though it's not finished. I'm in that category -- I'll have a break when my latest novel is concluded, but I'll almost certainly be starting to post my next novel before I've finished it.

 

As for inspiration drying up, that happens all too often. I've had a few short stories that I've started, but the idea I had in my mind didn't translate into words on the screen, or I suddenly lost where I was taking the story. Because they're short stories, no one has seen them, but I can equally see how it can happen with a novel.

 

Real-life can have a dramatic influence on things, too. Hopefully he won't be offended, but I'll use Myr as an example. GA is a major website with a very large member base. As such, you can guarantee that there is always some crisis or concern happening behind the scenes. Myr has a very capable team in place to assist him, but the ultimate responsibility falls back on Myr. This takes a lot of his time and effort. I'm not really surprised that he hasn't been doing a lot of writing lately. Frankly, I'm amazed he's been able to do any! Stress is not conducive to being able to write and from experiences with some friends of mine who run websites as hobbies, there is often nothing more stressful.

 

Yes, it can be frustrating on the readers to see stories started and not finished, but I can assure you that the authors can be just as frustrated. Having people tell them that they're anxiously waiting for more (even if it's done extremely politely) often doesn't help. All we can do, as readers, is to tell the author how much we've enjoyed what they've written, and leave it at that.

 

Just my opinion....

[C James]

I'll weigh in here too;

 

Even published authors have "dry spells" where the muse fails them. This happens to online authors as well, but with an online author

it is much more noticeable when they are posting serials.

 

I'll comment about Myr here too; What Graeme says is true. As an admin I see firsthand just how busy this place keeps him. The technical stuff is well beyond my understanding, but it is very time-intensive, especially when dealing with any of the continuing improvements. Myr and Joe do an incredible amount of work, and also have lives, so I can fully understand why writing time is in very short supply.

 

The good news is that it's that if a reader prefers to read a serial all at once, all they have to do is wait until it's finished before reading it.

 

For my own writing, I try and keep a chapter or two ahead and post once a week. I'm not always successful (real life and uncooperative muses get in the way) but so far I think my worst delay has been less than a week (less than two weeks between chapters).

 

I do post serially, because feedback is essential to me in trying to improve, and also it is my reward for writing. Knowing that there are people waiting often keeps me writing when I'm not in the mood.

[old bob]

It

[pietro]

..................

 

What I would suggest, as

[old bob]

I really do enjoy reading and it is truely sad that so many excellent stories just die. There are many stories out there that I am even tempted to finish myself, purely for my own satisfaction.

Yes, yes... do it ! But send it first as a PM to the author and give him the copyright

At least it will be his choice to put it on GA site