Helping break my writer's block and lack of motivation to write

Oh, I'm not unhappy with the style at all. It's just not the same style I have now.

Loads of good advice here. On the Pamela and Richard serial, I have two quite different suggestions. One is to have a go. It may seem awkward and forced at first, but maybe you'll slip into the mood. If that doesn't work, it may be you've moved on in the rest of your life and all you can do is bring the serial to an earlier ending than you planned. Some readers hate loose endings, but they're common in good fiction, leaving the reader to imagine what happens next. Or it may be that the problem is a turning the story took some way back. Try re-reading the story from the start and trying to work out where it stops getting you enthusiastic. Then rewrite from that point. I often have the experience of promising spanking stories seeping into the sand and more often than not it's through over-complication or committing myself to detailed, factual description which just doesn't excite. Have pirates capture four beautiful young women and have fun with them, and after the second one has been tied to the mast and thrashed, describing the punishment of the third and fourth can drag.

I disagree that they "have to" be standalone, and my serials are not that way. Mine pick up where the previous chapter left off, but I do try to tie the chapters together. I really hate it when the first part of a chapter is just a recap of what I just read in the previous one. But, like you say, it is the author's choice. We don't all have to do things the same way or like the same things.

Another cure for writer's block is switch to Track B. I've been working on a Western romance novel, but got bogged down in indecision about certain characters. So I switched to something completely different--a collection of femdom spanking stories. That got published and in the intervening time I got a fresh perspective on the Western. The key is--don't stop writing.

If we want to get nitpicky :
Serials: works consisting of 3 or more parts that represent a continuous narrative much like the chapters in a book.

Ordered series: individual stories which can be read standalone but which typically feature a recurring theme or characters and are intended to be read in a particular order.

Unordered series: individual stories which can be read standalone but which typically feature a recurring theme or characters but are not intended to be read in any particular order.
***
Some may submit serial sections separately, but all my serials were written as single stories that ran a bit long and were broken into sections/chapters for convenience.

I want to post again to this thread to let y'all know that I went ahead and submitted the first two chapters of "Pamela & Richard", and they're now available amongst the latest submissions

I recently took a somewhat dramatic and ... risky step toward shaking off my writer's block.

I have a cousin ... to what degree of "cousin" I can't say, but she's around my mother's age (and I'm related to her through my mother). And ... she is a noted author of children's books. Obviously, I'm not going to name her (I would not want some innocent fan to Google her name and find themself here, as that might negatively impact her). The important thing is that she is a successful, published, well-regarded author. And we are connected via Facebook.

So I took a risk, told her I was a writer myself, and told her what kind of stories I write. And then asked her to please not mention this conversation to my mom, and described to her the events that transpired when my mom found my stories when I was 16 (Mom basically attempted to perform an exorcism on me). My cousin assured me, "Mum's the word!" (Does that mean the same thing in UK English as it does in US English? Given that "mum" seems to be the British version of "mom" ...)

Anyway, I took the step of sending my cousin a copy of my story, "The House in the Woods", warning her beforehand that the story had a sexual component (and she reassured me, "sex doesn't offend me"). She read it, and responded with much praise. My favorite comment from her:

"At any rate, your writing is clear and very readable and you have a good imagination. If it gives you pleasure to write, write--whether there's a market or not! To me, that's the key: do what makes you happy."

She also provided some criticism, and I was somewhat relieved when her criticisms lined right up with the same problems/self-criticism I already had with the story.

But anyway, chapters 1 and 2 of "Pamela & Richard" are up, and I hope everybody who has spoken up in this thread will read it and comment

Well, I do remember a scene like that (the author was a fictional character, Benjamin Cady) in the novel QB VII, by Leon Uris.

I'm not particularly pleased with the way that Isaac Asimov ended up concluding his Foundation series of novels--perhaps he should've pre-planned Foundation and Earth before writing it.

Finishing up a partially-completed story, that can frequently be challenging--but sometimes it just has to be allowed to occur, if it ever does, in a natural, unforced manner.

That's my thinking on the subject, anyway... --C.K.

'Mum' meaning 'silent' has been around in UK English since before the discovery of America. In the Elizabethan era it was used in words such as mumchance = dumb, silent, and mummers = mimers (actors in the Commedia del' Arte tradition, who were not allowed to speak). During WW2 it was popularised again by a poster that read 'Be like dad - keep Mum!' an admonishment against gossiping about information that might be picked up by enemy spies.

It must be great to have the help and approval of a published author to help you over your writer's block. I hope you manage to complete 'Pamela & Richard' - sometimes when I get stuck on a story all I can do is leave it until I'm inspired to work on it again, or cannibalise it for use in other stories...

I understand the problem so well. Sometimes I think that the answer is to go away from the whole subject for a while and re-charge the batteries as it were. However, I am a complete amateur at this and would happily bow to the views of those with greater experience.

I for one really like the idea of the older brother taking on the duty of spanking the younger sister. I also like the context that it is done in such his pure love and admiration for his younger sister. He is providing pure discipline with love. I'll admit, I'm not an reader of multi chapter stories and or serials. I much rather read a short story with nice description of the spanking.

Someone above suggested that you write for yourself and there are some others who will enjoy what you write. Obviously, those who enjoy your story have similar taste. I have found many stories on here that I have enjoyed. I like short stories perhaps because that is what I was first exposed to. I also write in that format because all my stories are written for me and I enjoy sharing so I post them here. Each of my stories, because they are so short (in letter format) take about 1/2 hour to write. I don't spend a lot of time. I get an idea, write it and send it. I have had several that I have started and dumped part way through because I started out then lost the mood.

Because of the short length and simplicity of writing a letter, I don't suffer from many of the set backs authors of more complicated material run into. I also do all my writing from work. I don't have internet at home, so again, something comes to mind, I write it down and send it off. I think the main thing is that I write what I like and hope that some others will enjoy it as well. I have received nothing but very nice comments from authors on here that are far far more talented at this than I.

So to sum up Rik, hopefully you will find the inspiration here to finish your story. I think the idea is a great one.