Has anyone written a ton of unfinished stories/short books?

[FRANS_PLAYER]

What the title says haha. I only have about a dozen! Below is an excerpt from one of them that I really enjoyed writing:
The creature reared its great head, and, finally, a scream tore out of my throat as I realized how much danger I had just put myself in.
"Hëina!" I shrieked, tearing across the pavement, heading for the unconscious body of my friend, at least I hoped it was unconsciousness that locked her in a sleeping stupor. If anything else...
She did not stir when I shouted her name, further reinforcing my fear. The neck of the beast moved fluidly as it turned to look at me, before looking back down at her. I picked up speed. The hideous thing was going to kill her!
As I dashed madly, I threw my hands out in front of me as I flew to the side of her body. Just a few more steps...!
Then the thing moved with such aggression I was taken completely off-guard. Its teeth thrusted out of its bloody mouth, suddenly, madly into my already-tattered shirt and it lobbed me with a horrid kind of ferocity into the air. The wind took me.
"No!" I screamed again, hoping Hëina would hear me and wake up from that dammed slumber that possessed her. Still, she did not so much as twitch. As the ground rushed up to take the residue of my miserable life, my hands found purchase over my head."
This is only one out of the 27

 

[Chris]

Yes! I decided twenty years ago that I wanted to be a published author. I've had numerous poems, short stories, articles, etc, published and several scripts acted live or used in film over the years. I've 15+ novel-length pieces written and many more started but incomplete. There are many projects that I've accepted will never be completed whether to losing interest, too complex, or realising they just aren't marketable. But that's okay! Two important skills in a writer are having a critical eye and being capable of self-reflection.

 

[FRANS_PLAYER]

Yes! I decided twenty years ago that I wanted to be a published author. I've had numerous poems, short stories, articles, etc, published and several scripts acted live or used in film over the years. I've 15+ novel-length pieces written and many more started but incomplete. There are many projects that I've accepted will never be completed whether to losing interest, too complex, or realising they just aren't marketable. But that's okay! Two important skills in a writer are having a critical eye and being capable of self-reflection.

That's honestly really cool. Lots of people keep encouraging me to be an author, but I only see it as a hobby and personally am not interested in it at all as a career haha

 

[Chris]

That's honestly really cool. Lots of people keep encouraging me to be an author, but I only see it as a hobby and personally am not interested in it at all as a career haha

Being an author is something that is very difficult to pull-off as a full-time career. For example, writing isn't my day job. I'm a scientist. I still push my writing forward and take every opportunity I can with it!

 

[LadyDestani]

Oh, goodness, yes! I love to write but I'm more of an emotional writer than a disciplined one. By that I mean that I work best when I'm writing something that conveys what I'm feeling at the moment. Then I lose steam when the emotion passes. So I can easily finish poems or short stories that can be done in a shorter time frame.

But whenever I try to write anything longer, like novel length, I always reach a point where my thoughts, emotions, and inspiration shifts. It's not that I lose interest in my original story, but I'll get a new idea that takes over my brain to the point where I can't focus on the old one. So I'll start writing the new story only to have the same thing happen again a few months down the road.

Because of this, I have tons of novels that are only a few chapters long. Some only made it through the initial planning stages. The furthest I've ever gotten was somewhere close to the halfway point. I'd love to return to that novel and finish it someday, but the last few years have been so hectic I haven't found an opportunity to write at all lately.

 

[Stella-Io]

I have, so many, random excerpts of novels I was planning on writing but I end up not knowing where to go with them, and then I have new ideas and themes that don't blend well with my current themes, so I start writing a whole new story.

With one story I managed to get about 14 or 16 chapters in before being like 'where is this going? Who is the main antagonist? What's gonna be the thing that changes and pushes the story further?' There have been a few antagonists that appeared in the story, but none of them were major. Eventually I stopped writing it all together and I'm stuck in a loop of writing down ideas and themes for stories but never actually write it out in story format.

 

[daringred_]

oh don't even get me started. (she says as she gets started.)

i've been writing stories since i could hold a pen and i started publishing a lot of my work on wattpad as early as age 12 -- some of it fan fiction, some of it original, all of it an absolute embarrassment in hindsight. but if it weren't for all those cringe-tastic pieces i never would have improved and gotten to where i am today. i like to think i'm at least a competent writer now; maybe even above average judging by the feedback i get but i don't want to sound arrogant.

i have three and a half giant notebooks, 100+ memos and 2500+ screenshots worth of unfinished content: scenes, stories, ideas, aus, strings of dialogue. (all wlw content lmao.) it's endless and i could never finish it all.

mostly i write fic but the characters are so niche and i've turned them (+ their "world") into my own so much over the last year that it doesn't feel like it. the longest story i managed to complete using them was over 5k (quite recently actually) and i'm still low-key proud of it since that's quite the accomplishment for my depressed ass.

i do have original content though. i started a book and made it to eight chapters (with four more planned in detail and an outline for the rest) before my mental health kicked my ass and i couldn't find a shred of motivation to write much at all, let anything that required such length + time. but, hey, the 20k+ i churned out isn't anything to sneeze at and it's not a complete lost cause. i love the characters dearly and they have a whole world of their own + a bunch of other stories (it would honestly make for the perfect crime-drama show ngl) so i'd love to finish it one day and maybe even get it published.

anyway that was long, oof. sorry for rambling-

 

[FRANS_PLAYER]

oh don't even get me started. (she says as she gets started.)

i've been writing stories since i could hold a pen and i started publishing a lot of my work on wattpad as early as age 12 -- some of it fan fiction, some of it original, all of it an absolute embarrassment in hindsight. but if it weren't for all those cringe-tastic pieces i never would have improved and gotten to where i am today. i like to think i'm at least a competent writer now; maybe even above average judging by the feedback i get but i don't want to sound arrogant.

i have three and a half giant notebooks, 100+ memos and 2500+ screenshots worth of unfinished content: scenes, stories, ideas, aus, strings of dialogue. (all wlw content lmao.) it's endless and i could never finish it all.

mostly i write fic but the characters are so niche and i've turned them (+ their "world") into my own so much over the last year that it doesn't feel like it. the longest story i managed to complete using them was over 5k (quite recently actually) and i'm still low-key proud of it since that's quite the accomplishment for my depressed ass.

i do have original content though. i started a book and made it to eight chapters (with four more planned in detail and an outline for the rest) before my mental health kicked my ass and i couldn't find a shred of motivation to write much at all, let anything that required such length + time. but, hey, the 20k+ i churned out isn't anything to sneeze at and it's not a complete lost cause. i love the characters dearly and they have a whole world of their own + a bunch of other stories (it would honestly make for the perfect crime-drama show ngl) so i'd love to finish it one day and maybe even get it published.

anyway that was long, oof. sorry for rambling-

I'm writing Wattpad fanfics now (there's one I've been meaning to publish a chapter to but it's been two weeks and my readers are getting restless.) My first three fanfics were messy, but my fourth was VERY well thought out - mainly because I made a TikTok account promoting it. It was a Tom Nook x Redd fanfic and it is both one of my best pieces and my greatest regret. Most of my EXTREMELY well thought out stories are all in my head. I'm linking the disgrace below if you want to check it out（◞‿◟）
My Wattpad claim to fame
I also have a ton of sloppy, unfinished stories in crappy notebooks from when I was a kid. Most of the stories I wrote as a child are in my old gmail account in Google Docs.
I am guilty of using several niche quotes myself, the most cringeworthy one in a Zuko oneshot someone wanted me to write on AO3 that I will not be linking: "Their tongues battled for dominance." That's even worse than the ReddNook one.
Overall, all the fanfiction I've pumped out is both a blessing and a curse

 

[daringred_]

imagine having readers, can't relate- i kid, good for you!
but that's because 98% of my writing revolves around such a niche couple and the fact that they're middle-aged wlw (who are """"straight""" in canon) does not help that problem so who can i blame other than myself for being a hopeless lesbian

course there was that one absolutely mental harry potter next gen. fanfic that hit 3k and a harry potter/hunger games crossover fanfic that somehow reached 7.5k. (it had a straight love triangle. go figure.)

but oof that "battled for dominance" quote gave me war flashbacks. when i did a bit of research on how to write kisses (i'm still not great at them but better than i was), that phrase and others like it would come up a lot which is weird because it's not even a good line imo ??

i also don't think i've used clichè quotes (at least not in recent years) but i've definitely got my own one. i must include some variation of "she'd been able to read her like a book from the very moment they'd met" in 90% of my fics oops-

 

[Mikaiah]

the only thing I'm capable of writing is unfinished works T_T

it's why i only do short stories now LOL, no patience or drive to finish a whole novel anymoreee

 

[helloxcutiee]

I love writing so much but there are a few stories that I never got around to finishing because I just lost motivation to continue and was stuck.

 

[Xara]

i have omg - i haven’t attempted to write an actual book in years since i never complete the darn things lmao. i have no problem executing ideas but when it comes to trying to bring them to fruition, i really suck at that and so i just stick to writing short stories and poetry, since those are easier for me aha

 

[followthepath]

I remember I used to write a lot when I used to be younger and go to school, especially when I was around 10 (when I really got interested in books). I also used to put a lamp near my bed in case I would be inspired, so I could immediately write down something.
Now I don't do that anymore, too busy...

 

[winter notes]

/

 

[MarzipanDragyn]

Yep. They never feel good enough; and due to me being a perfectionist, I always feel like it's not worth the effort if it's even slightly subpar. It's a nasty habit...and at this rate, I highly doubt I'll ever be able to publish.

 

[Imbri]

Oh, heaven yes!

I have a series that I have been working on for about 10 years that can't get past "first draft, absolute rubbish". I wrote the first book, cleaned it up, and got it ready. Now I have 5 more in the series that need to go, but I have stumbled on each of them.

Then there are stand-alones that live in various states of "send help" in my files. There's one that I'd really love to finish about plot bunnies. Ironically, it has been taken over by plot bunnies and gone off the rails. I should tear it down and start over, sticking to my original idea of "ninja bunny mystery/romance".

 

[Corrie]

Oh gee, what fics have I actually finished?
I barely finish anything I start. No matter how much I plan out my story too. I usually end up writing short stories or oneshots for this very reason.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

Yes. Every year from junior high (grades 7-8), to high-school (grades 9-12) I'd write a Marvel fanfic but I'd never finish by the end of the school year. Which was when it was time to start another one. So, I've got 6 UNFINISHED Marvel fanfictions I attempted to complete but never got done.

I also have a few drabbles somewhere in my 'need-to-finish' binder of stories with my Marvel OC and her significant other (Bucky), soo ;; I know the feeling. I think I've only finished ONE story and it was because it was for my senior-year project, which I needed to complete in order to graduate. I was really proud I got it done though! It's a really good read, in my opinion, anyways.​

 

[FRANS_PLAYER]

Yes. Every year from junior high (grades 7-8), to high-school (grades 9-12) I'd write a Marvel fanfic but I'd never finish by the end of the school year. Which was when it was time to start another one. So, I've got 6 UNFINISHED Marvel fanfictions I attempted to complete but never got done.

I also have a few drabbles somewhere in my 'need-to-finish' binder of stories with my Marvel OC and her significant other (Bucky), soo ;; I know the feeling. I think I've only finished ONE story and it was because it was for my senior-year project, which I needed to complete in order to graduate. I was really proud I got it done though! It's a really good read, in my opinion, anyways.​

I used to have "Sebastian Stan is my celebrity crush" in my Wattpad bio until he got "canceled"

 

[frogslime]

Yeah, I've made quite a few original stories but the lot of them I imagine to be comics/graphic novels and they're all in early stages. Do I expect them to be good? No. Are they fun? Heck yeah.
And of course, I've written fanfiction as a teenage girl it's practically my job.