I know a lot of readers hate incomplete stories and this has been discussed many time on this forum but what be your favorite to be finished on SOL.
Mine would be Razer God Slayer End of Prophesy. What would yours be.
I know a lot of readers hate incomplete stories and this has been discussed many time on this forum but what be your favorite to be finished on SOL.
Mine would be Razer God Slayer End of Prophesy. What would yours be.
There is a new message from raven soule in his blog if your interested, I'm sure he would love to hear from his fans.
Pete, a Young Man's Story, by Magi.
I am pretty sure someone else will mention D-man 3. It would be pretty high on the list, too.
'Impact' by Doores
Cold Creek's latest Defenseman & his Stone family story
'Planet Mine' by Refusenik. I know, he hasn't started it or even said anything about it, but I think it would be a great story, don't you?
I must be boring with again mentioning "Bow Valley" from Barbe Blanche...
Sadly, that's not "abandoned", instead the author died midway through the story (after being rendered unable to work due to chemo-brain). Having worked together, I briefly considered trying to finish it for him (unauthorized), but I don't have the indepth knowledge of London and it's waterways, and could never do it justice. :(
Murder Isle, by Mac the Knife, has lain fallow for a decade now. Not much hope for a conclusion, but a guy can hope.
I agree with "Murder Isle" and "Rewind", but Magi always said that "Pete, a Young Man's Story" would continue until he stopped enjoying it. Maybe he should have given it a clean death instead of just abandoning it. btw, Magi posted a short story 5 months ago.
A few of my favorites, my top choice among them, were already mentioned, but here's two (three) more:
Al Steiner has one more story in the Greenies universe he had been working on when his life took him into another direction. Work + study made writing fiction impossible; it is sad, but understandable.
Spittfire and Messerschmitt was one of the first stories I read when I came to SOL and it has remained in the back of my mind ever since. Yeah, I know about the drama around it and I hope she doesn't read this, because apparently GMW can't stand to hear about this incomplete story of hers any more.
(Tentatively a third mention, which has since been removed from SOL, so I'm unsure if it qualifies to be mentioned or not. Side Bet Bluff by Hal C. Rex was a story that hit me out of left field, but was left inactive for a few years before the author decided to remove his account from the page.)
For me it's Curse Of The Bambino 2 by Don Lockwood. A fun story, to be sure, but not one whose abandonment would normally annoy someone over a decade later.
Except it was being written while the 2004 ALCS was going on, and I was a Red Sox fan. I hadn't been a fan for very long. I'd lived in Boston since '89 and worked near Fenway, and for most of that time I was just annoyed at the Sox and especially the fans for getting in my way. But my now wife moved to Boston in '01, and she quickly became a Sox fan and she dragged me into it, too.
Then in 2003 the Sox went up against the Yankees (ptui!) in the ALCS. And things were going great up to the end of game 7. It looked like the Sox were going to the World Series! Then Aaron Fucking Boone (his full legal name, as far as I'm concerned) hit his homer and it was over. Like most of the rest of Boston I stayed up late to watch the game, and I will never forget the collective wails of dismay I heard from every apartment in my building.
That was the backdrop for the plot of Curse of the Bambino 1, in which a Sox fan and a Yankees fan bet on the outcome of the series. The Yankees win, of course.
The next year it happened again! And there was another Bambino story! And the Sox came back from a 0-3 deficit to win the whole damn thing! And the story never got past game six! Goddammit!! It's not fair!
Since I don't read incomplete/unfinished stories, I cannot contribute to discussion. When I was a kid my mother used to watch Days of Our Lives and As the World Turns on TV. Kind of the same thing for me.
Since I don't read incomplete/unfinished stories, I cannot contribute to discussion. When I was a kid my mother used to watch Days of Our Lives and As the World Turns on TV. Kind of the same thing for me.
I don't mind incomplete stories, as long as I know they've got a destination in mind. Often, however, life intervenes and either the story runs aground midcourse, or something happens to the author (heaven forbid). In that case, we sometimes get some wonderful incomplete stories.
However, like many here, I don't like starting on newly posted stories. Since I like a decent read to size up a story, I'll often wait until there are at least ten full chapters in the till before investigating.
Summer Camp book 4
Not inactive - Nick Scipio has had real life intrude on his writing time. Slow, but not inactive.
Not inactive - Nick Scipio has had real life intrude on his writing time. Slow, but not inactive.
Despite whatever he's facing now, Nick's 'real-life concerns' are mainly his posting his 'picture of the day' to his website, which seems to take the majority of his time. After he finishes researching funny pictures on the internet, he never had enough time to finish writing anything. He's been trying to finish ANY story because of his fascination with his daily posts for a long, long time!
It's the great pitfall of many, many authors. They start a blog to attract more readers, and are soon investing ALL their time to posting new, worthless shit to their blog and never write anything (aside from random blog posts) again.
You either decide to be an author, or a blogger, but I don't know many who successfully manage both! So the next time you visit the newest 'how to write' blog posting, keep in mind that they probably haven't written anything new in the last decade. :(
Despite whatever he's facing now, Nick's 'real-life concerns' are mainly his posting his 'picture of the day' to his website,
Or it could be exactly as he's posted in the past- he no longer has all the spare time he had previously.
Attributing it to the time taken up by his web site is rather petty IMHO.
Attributing it to the time taken up by his web site is rather petty IMHO.
Still, in all that time, he's never been so overwhelmed he doesn't post at least one picture every single day. Thus, while it may not take that much of his time, I suspect he's simply gotten bored with writing and finds more enjoyment hosting his website, a fate many one-time authors find themselves in. Most of the 'writing' blogs are now written by people who haven't actually written anything (other than their own blogs) in some time.
As the old saying goes: "Those that can't do, blog about it."
As far as his fourth book is concerned, from what I read of it, he seemed lost (the story lacked any kind of focus, simply gambling about awash in detail but no clue where he was going with it). As such, even if he was able, I doubt he'd ever be able to wrap it up. The earlier books in the series were much more focused and direct, providing more engaging reads.
It is sad that dak hasn't been able to finish his stories. I thought they were very imaginative and quite well constructed. I do hope that Random Writings' "The Private" gets finished.
The Collar Around the Heart by Old Softy.
Well, its a finished story, but the universe is really an interesting one. Really wish the continuation though. Seem like hes dead.
The Collar Around the Heart by Old Softy.
Well, its a finished story, but the universe is really an interesting one. Really wish the continuation though.
I agree. An excellent story, and so much potential for another story or 2 to see where things went.
I could see him on his death bed, age 118, having never purchased the bike he was lusting after in the first story. The money always being used for something more important at the time.
:-)
The Collar Around the Heart by Old Softy.
Well, its a finished story, but the universe is really an interesting one. Really wish the continuation though. Seem like hes dead.
Loved the story, and would love to see the continuation, but almost glad there isn't one. That way I can imagine the future in my own ways.
There is a particular challenge that many authors stumble upon -- Nick's Summer Camp may be an instance. I call it "and now what"? If your first novel centers about a major change in the protagonist's life (e.g. coming of age, or gaining a harem of lovely and loving paramours), what is the sequel going to be about?
You can't discover sex (or first love, or first heartache, or drive your first car) over and over. Having sex with more and more women gets ... boring. Relationship problems? Challenges of adult life? Meh.
There are certainly ways to overcome this, to find new and fresh challenges; but most long series get repetitive. Some are intended to be -- like detective novels where personal change is glacial or non-existent; the mystery du jour is the core of the plot. Others become like comfort food -- you read an episode once a week, and enjoy it without expecting any intense peaks -- I must admit there are several serials on SOL that fulfill that role for me.
Still, for most authors, I suspect the best way is to leave the story alone once the big change happens in the protagonist's life. Start a different story, in a different world.
Loved the story, and would love to see the continuation, but almost glad there isn't one. That way I can imagine the future in my own ways.
To me one of the best examples of a story that has an ending which screams out for a sequel, but is probably best left to the reader's imagination, is "Island Mine" by Refusenik. Excellent writer he may be, but could he improve on the finish which reaches a conclusion, but leaves the mind wondering 'What next?'.
PS: Question for all the grammar freaks (Not the pedants or troll)... should there be a question mark both inside and outside the final speech marks?
PS: Question for all the grammar freaks (Not the pedants or troll)... should there be a question mark both inside and outside the final speech marks?
It's debatable, but I would, since the phrase 'could he improve' is the question. The rest of the sentence is modifiers.
PS: You will notice the correct usage of 'it's' rather than 'its', another one of those little things that make me stop and reread before continuing on.
Question for all the grammar freaks ... should there be a question mark both inside and outside the final speech marks?
Nope. Just one, but there is an ongoing conflict over whether the question mark should be inside or outside the question marks.
ongoing conflict
I thought that had been resolved. If the question mark is part of the quoted material, it goes inside the double quote. If not, it goes outside the double quote.
I thought that had been resolved. If the question mark is part of the quoted material, it goes inside the double quote. If not, it goes outside the double quote.
There's a decided British vs. American contingent in the ever-broiling author wars. Most simply put all punctuation outside the quotes. I myself use the British system you reference, basing the decision on the original quotation, rather than on the context of the entire question.
That said, I don't think it's one of the more important literary questions. I seriously doubt there's anyone lying awake at night, asking themselves "Did I punctuate that quotation correctly?".
That said, I don't think it's one of the more important literary questions. I seriously doubt there's anyone lying awake at night, asking themselves "Did I punctuate that quotation correctly?".
Oh, you never can tell. Some of us more pedantic readers get wild hairs over some really trivial things sometimes. I personally don't lose sleep over it, but depending on how deep I am into the story, it sometimes puts ripples in my reading flow.
To me one of the best examples of a story that has an ending which screams out for a sequel, but is probably best left to the reader's imagination, is "Island Mine" by Refusenik. Excellent writer he may be, but could he improve on the finish which reaches a conclusion, but leaves the mind wondering 'What next?'.
Waylon's message to earth stated "People of Earth,
The Free Vallis is ours and we will protect it at all costs.
If you make it this far, you will have to earn our trust.
- Freehold Mars" (emphasis mine)
It is apparent from the language that Waylon is not alone on Mars. Of course, there are his alien companions, but Arman & Ravi were on Tahiti and survived the attack. Are they on Mars now? Did he bring along anyone else? Maybe Marylee's parents? If only Refusenik would feel compelled to write a sequel. *sigh*
Any and/or all of CMsix's stories. While I know this won't happen due to his predicament, one can but wish.
I know its not a story here but Amy's smile on lit. Might be the best unfinished story I've ever come across. Someone even gave it an unauthorized ending but it's never the same.