Please make it END!

[kanshu]

Maybe you have run into this type of story, too... where it drags on endlessly, and you can tell that the author is out of ideas, but keeps on writing because every reviewer tells them "it's just too good too end"?

Well, I'm guilty of those myself.

How can you avoid this problem?

Plan out the story in advance and write down the plot line. Sounds superflously, since you know the plot anyway? Well, if you can handle all the strands of a plot, that is good. But most of the time, authors get lost on one tangent of another and forget where they wanted to go originally.

/me Example: Sesshoumaru is stuck with Kagome in her time (Reason?). He finds out he has fleas. He's embarrassed about it. Kagome takes pitty in him and buys an Anti-Flea-dog-collar (how does it look like?), flea powder and other stuff for him at the pet shop. Sesshoumaru is not pleased. Kagome....

The advantage of this is that you can get your idea written down and still make notes about open questions, that you may need to think about or address somehow in the story.

The procedure also a good way to check out if your idea has any substance to it - or if it is bound to die due to "author's block/no ideas" after the first two chapters you enthusiastically post.

Decide on what length of story you want to write before you write the first word. How does this work, you may ask? Simple. Look at your idea. Look at the plot you have outlined. Try to think about how many scenes you will probably need. For example, a scene in my stories usually has between 300 to 500 words. Of course, that length differs, but I can make a rough esteem. My chapters usually have around 2000-3000 words, so I would have between four and ten scenes in a chapter. From that you can tell how many chapters you'll most likely need to tell your story.

/me Example: Introduction scene Sesshoumaru in Kagome's time. Scene: Sesshoumaru discovers he has fleas. Scene: Sesshoumarou goes out of his way to hide his ailments. Scene: Kagome finds out about it anyway. Scene:....

Scenes are usually a good way to keep the POV (point of view) problem in check, too. Designate who is "in control" of a scene.

With the legwork done and the writing going on, you will probably get reviews for your work, if you start posting before you're finished. A lot of people will tell you to continue, even if you have already reached the end of the plot you wrote down. What comes now requires a lot of self confidence from the author. If your story has reached the end of your plot, end it.

If you still have new ideas, it's better to write a sequel most of the time.
Don't get intimidated by your reviewers. This is your story. Be confident about it.

I hope this made any sense to you.

[Me-Nuriko]

Thanks. This was helpful. I will use your way of making notes in the future.

I've only posted two stories in chapters. Both of them were finished before I posted them. That's because I want to be sure I really do finish them, and that way I won't be tempted to change the storyline as reviewers suggest other ways to go.

I take some notes but so far not as detailed as yours. What I do is lie down, close my eyes and think through what is going to happen in the scene I'm working on. Sometimes it works fine by doing that while sitting at the computer, but not always.

[KarotsaMused]

One, I giggled like an idiot at your thread title. ^^

Two, sheeeeesh y'all are so organized. I think I may actually -try- this. I have brimming .txt files cluttering my file folders and, while I attempt to make some sense out of my original idea, I normally lose it in the midst of bad flea-collar tangents.
Thanks for the step-by-step ^^ People like me need this sort of thing.

[Terra Fire]

That's what I was told to write; first plot every thing out then write it. It's easier to write down on paper a basic out line in the present tense with no dialogue whatsoever. Figure out where you want everything to go, then with the computer, put everything into place with characters and dialogue.

However, I find myself, more times than once, doubting my own plot and half way through, I change everything around. It really screws me over. The end result's the same, and things just keep dragging out until it makes close to no sense at all.

;}

[Salmastryon]

The old saying, "No battle plan serves the first encounter," applies to writing too. I can't think of anything I've written that followed my original outline exactly. Characters are sneak creatures and like to do their own thing.

The important thing is that when you decide new scene needs to be added or an old scene needs to be changed is to change your outline. Then take a look at it and make sure the outline still makes sense. You might have to go back and rewrite something in order to make everything work.

As for things dragging out, Ask yourself if the new sections you are adding are really important to the current story. Would they perhaps be more appropriate in a sequel or side story?

Primarily though don't beat yourself up if this starts happening. After all this happens to published authors too. The biggest example I can think of is Robert Jordon, whose trilogy has turned into this massive run away freight train. ^^

Since, you're part of the board now, if you start having doubts feel free to bounce them off of us. After all that is part of what the board is for.

[Me-Nuriko]

Well I'm not complaining since I love Muerte Carcel, but why do you start doubting your plot? Very often I have found that what I first thought actually was the best. Also, sometimes when I abandon something I wrote earlier, I find when I look upon it that it wasn't so bad. Maybe you find that, too, if you just go on with your first plot. Then perhaps you wouldn't feel so frustrated.
But of course there are moments when one comes up with something entirely new, and finds it really adds something special to the story.

I wanted to welcome you to this site, too. I tried to do it on your board, but for some reason I can't see any reply button under your post. So I say it here.
Welcome, I had had in mind to point you to this site, but you found it without my help. (Big surprise. ) There are a lot of funny and/or interesting threads going on here, and also a lot of teasing. But I think we also help each other in many different ways. I hope you're going to enjoy this site.

[KarotsaMused]

Si, si, bienvenidos a VG Terra - soy perezosa y no visiti su seccion hoy ^^;; (Hm, how does one stick accents into words on the MB again?) As for Muerte Carcel, it's something along the lines of dead parade, roi? It's been a while since I had Spanish ^^;;

Anywho, I totally agree with Sal in that I've totally given up outlining too extensively because every-every-EVERYTHING changes as a story is being written.

As for extra little scenes that don't seem to fit but I still want to write, they become related one-shots ^^ Always the easiest way to sneak stuff in.

I know how out-of-control stories get, though. Especially when you decide partway through that you want a different sort of meaning or connotation to come through. One of my poor original characters has been through about four different plotlines and I still haven't found anything that suits him quite well enough ^^;;

[Terra Fire]

I am in total agreement. In one of my original stories, I changed the main character's personality more times than I can count. When writing, and with my very bad memory, I forget the changes and have to start over again. Which is one of the key reasons for change in plots. I change the character, I change the plot. Becaues the plot is changed, again, I have to also change the character. I swear, it's one of the most frustrating things, but I can never seem happy with my characters. So in a last attempt, I created my character's own bio's, if not for my benefit than anything else. I know it may seem pointless, but it seems to work somewhat for me.

And for Muerte Carcel; Muerte does mean death or dead, something like that, anyway. I'm pretty sure that Carcel means prison. Though, I know the structure is grammatically incorrect. It think it's supposed to be 'Carcel de Muerte', which is something a kind to 'prison of death'. It's also been a while since I took Spanish. I just thought that 'Muerte Carcel' looked better than 'Carcel de Muerte' for a title. Though, I thought, that if titled it in English, it would lose some of it's meaning, but that's only me. Anyway, that was a bit off topic.

;}

[kanshu]

I know the "fanfic wants to go other ways" problem.
It's currently biting me in the butt for 'Simply Love'

I've rewritten the basic plot for my original novel, like, four times by now.

I think that this has a lot to do with... well, not having thought through the entire idea. Just like open plot points make you stop writing and go back to the 'construction' phase. Also, story ideas are like cheese - they need to ripe a bit before you can consume them.

What VG Terra suggested - keeping a character outline, id a very helpful idea, but only if you don't change it around every five minutes. Characters influence the plot, just like the plot influences the characters.

You know, the thing about creating the plotand birning it to life is that you start out with a more or less concrete idea and *think*.

: Goku is weak, and it crystalyses that he won't be able to fight for some time - Hakkai even thinks that his state is permanent. Gojyo, Hakkai and Sanzo talk about what to do, and the question comes up if they should leave Goku behind. There's no answer to that, but Goku has overheard their talk (pretending to sleep), and starts to do some thinking himself.
Meanwhile, Osore Taisho sets stage two of his mission into motion and attacks the inn, injuring but not killing our four heroes, says 'you are too weak', and leaves them again with the inn in shambles and our guys confused. However, Goku realizes that the others had to protect him during the fight to a degree where they took deliberate risks to fight off attacks aimed at him - and all the time, Goku was too weak to do anything. With the inn destroyed, they have to leave for the next town, after staying with the doctor overnight for treatment, but Goku says that he wants to take up Sheng's offer and stay behind with the doctor until he's doing better. He doesn't want to slow them down, and like he is now he is of no use. Gojyo protests, saying that no one gets left behind, and Hakkai is quick in adding that all is not lost, and they have to stay together, only Sanzo is strangly quiet. Goku says it's his wish, and that he'll try to get well as soon as possible

This is how part of my notes for 'Simply Love' look. As you may notice (those who follow the story), a major plot point detail was changed (the inn wasn't destroyed, and now they are in a monastery wth fighting monks rather than the Doctor's place). However, the emotions are intact (not character cleaned up, of course).
Due to the change, the next part of the plot will dramatically change - however, the 'big cover story' remains intact.
Rewriting a plotline for a story doesn't take long, but allows you to think through the consequences of your idea. The new plotline covers the details that changed because of the changed setting.
What I had to scrap where a couple of scenes - I had planned out scenes as far as chapter nine, but they went completely out of the window (except a certain hungry-'twitch' scene), but again, that isn't really a bad thing. Unused scenes go into the the "Recycle File" - you never know when you'll need just that type of scene.

*shuts up her trap now*
I think I'll contribute again once I'm awake. It's too darned early to think in a straight line...

[kitsuneoni]

I don't tend to suffer much of the never-ending story because most of the time my ideas come backwards... meaning I have a great idea for a powerful ending, then get the idea of how to begin it, what'll happen next, etc and start writing away...

I do, however, freewrite on the story before writing so that I have a rough idea of everything that's going to happen.

My only problem is that sometimes, though I have it all planned out, it keeps coming out wrong and I can't continue writing! Gah... I hate it when that happens!

[Me-Nuriko]

All right. I confess. I change my plots too sometimes. But it's in the initial states, not when I have already written half the story. But, scenes can change. They usually change a lot until I get them in a way I like. (And then I might have to change them again, if my beta points out some flaws in it.)

[kitsuneoni]

That's true.

However much I plan out something, when I'm writing a scene it can end up changing so much because it doesn't sound right the way I originally planned it.

[JeiC]

I have the hardest time with everything in the middle. I can write my beginning and I can write my end, but I have a hard time getting from one to the other. I've tried the whole outlining the plot things, but I seem to never pay attention to my notes...or finish my notes for that matter. This is one of the reasons why I tend to only write one-shots.

Well, okay, I'll admit, I'm guilty of changing the plot in the middle and therefore the ending I had before is void and it just wants to keep going.

[Me-Nuriko]

I sometimes find it difficult to move from one scene to another. I've been better at doing it, but in the beginning I was stuck quite a few times, without knowing how to come from scene A to scene B.

[KarotsaMused]

JeiC: On beginnings and Endings... I was a very bad girl when I started writing around six years ago. Six? Yeah, six. Anyway, I'd write the beginning of a story, outline it, and then write the interesting parts. The rest would sit and decay. I'd have a beginning, a climax, and an end, and walk away because I was bored. Very bad Karot.

So now I don't even touch the ending until I get there. It's definitely a lot better for my sanity, if nothing else