Abandoning Stories

I usually keep mine around for a few months if I cannot complete within a week, and then delete it.

CS

I always save the multiple versions of my works in progress, works completed and works abandoned. Sometimes you never know when you may be able to resuscitate an old idea and give it new life. Point in case: I had written about half of a story a few months ago and had nowhere to take it. The latest story challenge was announced and VOILA! A few needed plot changes to incorporate secrets and lies, and a directionless story suddenly had a direction.

I'll keep a copy of almost everything I write - and will come back to half finished later to finish them.

That said there are a few stories I can't see ever returning to finish. Or even read. Failed experiments that I keep around as reminders never to do that sort of work again.

Goodgulf

That damned near happened with my "Overlord" series. I had to seriously fight with myself to keep it going, and its still not finished. Sad face.

And yes, there are stories that I never actually began to post on here. Stories I've completely abandoned, either because I lost interest or because of writer's block. Though with the latter there's always the chance I might come back to them someday.

My computer is full of stories that for whatever reason I became dissatisfied with them. Some are no more than a paragraph or two and others are almost completely finished (one in particular IS finished, but it just never went the way I wanted it to.) Some of them I still think about, but others just sit there cluttering up my computer. Writing this has given me the urge to review a couple of them. Thanks.

Beside outline and framework for some ideas for stories I not really have started writing, I do have a particular story I started four years ago. The start is finished and fine-tuned; I even made some small corrections a year ago. But I never really continued my story. I still hope to do it in the future. Meanwhile I have written other stories.

The reason I never continued with the mentioned story is that while I'm very satisfied with what I've written so far I'm afraid not to be able keeping up the same quality for the rest of the story. Planning the outline was easy, but filling in all the details and dialog seem to be quite hard in this case.

I must make a new effort to continue soon.

Quite often a start a story and then shelve it, either because I don't have enough time (which could be busy non-SL life, or a holiday, or the demands of an SL challenge deadline), or because I'm losing interest or running into difficulties.

Some of these I return to and complete. Others never see the light of day. If I'm going to revive it, it'll nearly always be before three or four months have gone by.

I may, though, dismember it and use some of the better bits in another story.

I always finish short stories, mainly because I start by the end so it's ready even if I don't find a proper beginning for it.

That saying, I never, ever finished a serial. And I have a few that I would really like to finish because the basic idea is quite sound and the first chapters look good.

One of the possible idea is publish it as a "World" and invite other writers to write within that "World" scenarios and rules... So, even if I don't carry the story further on, I could see my brain child grow and prosper. Just an idea.

I have a few like that sometimes I will go back after months and the idea will flow again.
I have a few subjects that keep reoccurring and I will find I write a sort of byline without realising I have done so only for it to develop into a story at a latter date

I have several unfinished stories that are 10+ years old. Sometimes i do come back to one occasionally a long deferred one is finished and posted.