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Here's the thing. I'm writing a very long novel about an assassin and have the first part edited and would like to post it. The second part is with my editor and I've started on part three. Here's my dilemma. I vowed not to post anything until the whole story is completed as with Runway. When I wrote Show Me The Money I posted it as it was written.It put a lot of pressure on me so you wouldn't have to wait too long for the story to continue. But, the first part of this story is like having a dollar in your pocket when you are drunk. It burns a hole and wants to be spent. If I post, I want you to know that there might be months between posts, however the posts will
be long, ten to twenty thousand words each, and maybe even longer. So what I'm asking is this, shall I post the story now as its written, or wait until the whole thing is done. I'm thinking that it will be around one hundred thousand words long,or longer, Arecee
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i would say post them as you
i would say post them as you get them ready, but include the notice you posted here.
those who don't want to read till it's finished will just wait till it is.
It Depends
Can you be sure you won't want to come back and change anything in your early chapters? I often come back and change things in my early chapters before I finish my stories. That's why I always wait until I finish before I start posting chapters.
- Terry
Some do take long time
Hello Arecee,
Ellen Hayes has not publised things for a long time, but I am still waiting for more of the Tuck Saga. SO, I will wait patiently for your wellwritten story.
Ginnie
GinnieG
wait
always wait.
i wrote a couple of stories, back in the day, which i never finished.
i got a lot of mail from people begging me to continue at least one of them ('the lab') but in truth, after 911 (and a bunch of personal stuff i won't go into) the story arc i had planned just wasn't satisfying any more, and i never finished them. even today i get people who know that story asking me to work on it. trust me, post 911 there wasn't anywhere i could stomach that i could go with that.
when i wrote "wild horses" (which took me about 3 years) i was tempted to post early chapters. i was quite pleased with some of the early parts. in retrospect i'm glad i didn't, because it allowed me to go back to the early chapters and remove some foreshadowing i had thought would be necessary later in the plot, but which turned out to not really be suitable for character arc.
likewise i've been working on a new long story (along with three or four shorter ones in tandem, as is my wont), and although i think the first nine chapters (30k words) are done, i went back and changed the opening the other day, to add some foreshadowing of the relationship issues later in the story.
of course, i may throw that out eventually, too, who knows? the point is to ensure you have some freedom. otherwise you may end up just throwing it away. which will peeve a lot more people.
i like your stories, and you might write differently than me (anyone writes faster than me), but if i were you i'd hold off until the thing was complete. why box yourself in?
not as think as i smart i am
Hello Arecee
For myself, I enjoy reading stories although they may be fairly long between chapters.
One thing which might be considered as you say you feel some pressure to produce when time begins to mount between those chapters; many here are authors and recognise you can't hurry genius (or a Muse -- who may become bemused at observing one's consternation at being unable for a time to continue writing). Most here understand this and will be patient.
A good thing about posting while still writing, I should think, would be that some commenters may inadvertantly note loopholes or missing information which you could address in a later chapter and thus add to your story content. This is usually found and suggestions made by a good editor but no one person can think of all the possible questions or directions of thought which hundreds or thousands of people may wonder (or wander) upon.
I suppose this would be a good reason for readers to take the time to comment, since carefully thought out comments which are not threatening are able to assist an author in making improvements not only to the story but to their calling as well.
For my money; post and let the chips fall where they may but glean from the comments those which will best help you become a better writer and let the chaff blow away in the wind.
Rénae
Hello Arecee!
I have several stories posted begging to be finished, but that hasn't stopped from writing other stories.
I have a few that are like stalled because I just don't feel the next chapter yet(writer's block for that particular story). I have a few that I have more chapters already to post. I'm holding off because I want them completed before I post them.
Several stories I have written developed because I posted them by chapter. It was directly because of the comments I received from the readers that helped me develop the story even better than I had envisioned it to be.
I guess to answer your question I would have to say it is really your choice to make Arecee. If you were to take a poll I bet it would be about a 50/50 split.
In either case those that hate to wait for the next part of a story should consider waiting until the final chapter is posted before reading it.
Huggkes Arecee
Angel
"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"
"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"
For What It's Worth
If each part can stand alone, post them. I'm with you, though. I won't post a novel until it is completed. The Cynthia Chronicles are a bit different, but I've already decided that I might reorganize them into a fantasy novel.
Love your stories and I will read them any way you post them.
Portia
Portia
Did you mean Post Cereal?
I kind of know the feeling, wanting to put the work that I have done on display, yet wanting to wait until the whole thing answers any and all questions.
There is another factor to consider, the unknown of life itself. Suggestion may I make?
Post it unpublished, so that the work is on site, this also gives you less work to post later along with allowing you to play with changes and other refinements.
Please add a recap
For those of us with ADD, please begin each update with a recap so we have a clue if this is a story we are already invoved with. So often I have to go reread the previous chapter just to get in sync and especially if there is more than a week between updates.
Thanks, love your stories!
I know the feeling...
I only know two things that have helped me in the past... 1) Write/post something else. 2) Share it with a FEW select friends (the only reason you do this, is to make sure it's good enough to post, of course...)
Getting early feedback really helps ME. I'm certainly not one that has anything to stand on where regular posting is concerned (Though, there IS a chapter @ the final editor, and with luck it'll be able to be posted in the near future.)...
Have you considered "modifying" the story so that each "segment" is able to stand on it's own, with it's own minor climax and conclusion? I suspect that this would imply a change to the story, but it might allow you to post "complete" stories, and not let let it "burn a hole in your pocket" urging you to post something incomplete. (I have one Short Short that I've done this with, Bedtime Story")... And nobody's pestered me for more of it recently!)
I suspect that now that you've "whetted" our appetite, you'll be pestered to post, ready or not. Your only chance, now, is to abandon the internet... Some fans will just keep after you. (Of course, once you do break down and post, the pestering will become more pointed and widespread, but I didn't tell you that.)
Best wishes,
Annette
P.S. If you're worried about being able to finish due to some outside event (the proverbial bus comes to mind) you could always find a "trusted friend" and provide them with enough "info" to be able to "finish" your story in the event that some outside force keeps this from happening. Perhaps a key to a locked vault, delivered as part of resolving your will... Let's get off this morbid line. You've demonstrated that you DO finish projects you start, even if they take longer than you might have wanted. Most of your fans will trust you to finish this one as well.
Okay, I'll do it.
I'll post part one if I can figure out how to do it. Each part is a stand alone part of the story and what happens during the time line effects what happens in the future, but nothing will happen that needs to be changed, if that makes any sense. Be warned though that there is quite a lot of violence in this story. It is real day war and might not suit some people. i hope you enjoy the ride, Arecee