A Continuation Conundrum

I am well aware of my limits as a writer. Whether it be my poor prose, my shallow characterization, or my overly syncopated, yet verbose language.

But my biggest flaw, in my opinion, is finishing stories. To all of your credit, I haven’t had a single one of you complain that I have yet to finish or even add to a story you’ve enjoyed. Even though it is likely you subscribed to this blog because a particular serialized story sparked your interest, and you wanted to see how it ended.

Fans of Sissy School, New World Order, Sorority Boys, Go Ask Alex and more are probably eagerly awaiting the next Chapter, only to be disappointed when something else drops.

But I’ve found that my worst writing culminates when I feel obligated to release a new Chapter that I don’t have ideas for, but have to squeeze one out anyway.

A good writer would probably have a beginning, middle and end in mind with an outline in between before they even start writing. I do outline some of my stories, but others I just like to see where the wind takes me. Sometimes I outline and then as I begin writing I realize that outline was stupid and I go a completely different way. It kind of just depends on the story.

If I was doing this professionally, or if I had more time, I would write the entire 15 or so chapters before even releasing a single one. That way I could go back and make edits without having to retcon, and make sure I have a cohesive product that flows well and has a solid ending. Unfortunately, because this Patreon requires a steady stream of content to stay afloat, it’s not feasible to wait for me to finish an entire story and have you guys waiting in the wings–unless I finally finish my time-stopping machine.

So the question becomes: what do I do?

I have a pretty solid idea for The White Rabbit where I could probably get at least 8-10 chapters before hitting a progression wall. Joy Ride also has a few chapters of ideas ready to go. So do I write those out while the iron is hot? Or do I try to force out a chapter for one of the many other threads I've started unraveling?

I don’t want people who don’t enjoy White Rabbit to be ‘stuck’ reading it for the next 8 weeks. I don’t want the people who are hanging on for another chapter of their favorite story to feel left out. But I also don’t want to disappoint them by squeezing out hot dog shit either.

One solution is that the stories simply have no ending, and I just continue to write a chapter in that world when the ideas/mood strikes.  For instance, I don’t have a clear ending in mind for Sissy School. I have no idea if I'll do multiple ‘years’ within the story, or just end it after Larry is done being a first-year baby. Should I even try? Should I just write a chapter that I think fits in that world when a fresh idea comes along? What if I end it and end up thinking of something that would have been good to include in it later?

There are others out there who like to have a final conclusion to a story. A cohesive product with a bow and all the loose ends tied up. But what does that do for those that wanted to see it continue and/or didn’t like the shitty ending I came up with?

I realize I’m rambling, but these are all things I worry about on the daily. So this is when I dump all my thoughts into a post and see what you guys think:

Do you want me to force out stories in the worlds you already like? 

Do you want me to just write what is hot and exciting for me at the time? 

Do you want me to continue to do one-off stories that are a single chapter because I actually somewhat know how to finish those? 

Do you want me to finish stories completely, or just add chapters when I deem appropriate until the end of time? 

Or some sort of wacky combination of the above?

Let me know in the comments. It’s always nice to get feedback as it helps me be a better writer and helps me know what ya’ll are thinking behind the scenes. As always, I appreciate your input and continued support!