What are peoples thoughts on authors allowing their readers to finish a story for them?

[Representing_Tromba]

If an author no longer wishes to finish a story, be it due to irl issues or due to a lack in interest, what do you think about the author telling their readers that if they wish to write the rest of the story, they can. Obviously the caviate is that the story becomes public domain but I guess that doesn't matter if the author doesn't care about it anymore. What are your thoughts? Is it wrong or better to give it to the public? How will it effect the story as a whole?

 

[melchi]

I guess it can be done but the results might be questionable.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I don't think it's wrong if you allow it. The problem becomes when the vision strays so much to become very different from the author's intent. But the author should expect that if they are making it public domain.

 

[Kalliel]

If the author wishes so, then I guess it's fine. But at the end of the day, it'll never be the same for the readers. Experienced it first-hand with a magical girl story on SH.

 

[LilRora]

The basic issue with this is that most readers have no idea about the author's intentions when writing a story, and even if they did they would most likely have far different ideas how to continue it. This wouldn't be an issue in itself, but those things come with huge changes in style, tone, and pacing of the story, with a completely different person writing it.

If someone was really good at writing, they could emulate the author's writing style and connect the ongoing plot points, but otherwise the shift is going to be noticeable in best cases, jarring in most.

Overall could be an interesting experiment, but I don't think many of them would turn out any better than amateurish fanfiction.

 

[GlassRose]

If the author wishes so, then I guess it's fine. But at the end of the day, it'll never be the same for the readers. Experienced it first-hand with a magical girl story on SH.

The bdsm one? That might not narrow it down enough, Magical Girls are the Best Toys (or smth)?

 

[Kalliel]

The bdsm one? That might not narrow it down enough, Magical Girls are the Best Toys (or smth)?

That one, yes. It was such a long time ago.

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

Had the same thoughts with a fanfic I wrote called Sakura Is Reincarnated. Didn’t own the source material and it fiction created by fans in the first place. If I don’t care how others write it, then there shouldn’t be any problem with it.

For an OG work? Know that how attached you are to it in reality matters.

 

[DeepWater]

I would never allow a reader to finish my story. That sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Rhaps]

KILL!MAIM!BURN!
ehem, sorry, got a little too Khornite.

With filter: I don't agree with letting reader finishing the story, it don't feel right at all.

without filter: whoever does it might as well abandon the story, weakass mf who can't even think of something and need other people's help to write the ending don't understand their own story, how the fuck can anyone else understand?

 

[MatchaChocolate69]

Nope. Sounds like a very bad idea.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

As long as I am alive, I PLAN to finish my stories. Now, if someone were to approach me with an idea for collaborating on something I have not finished, I might be open to that, but I would still want to have a hand in it as long as I have a hand to put into it. I would probably view it kind of like the relationship between Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson for the last few books of Wheel of Time - would probably need to "audition" the replacement and work with them as much as possible to guarantee some level of continuity, but then turn it over.

Now, if someone wanted to do fan fiction taking a story from a certain point and writing how it might have gone differently, THAT I would be more open to.

But regardless, I would not want to open something up to the public in general UNLESS I started it with that intention (kind of an open-ended "round robin" story that I could jump in and redirect at need but otherwise let run wild), but that would probably ultimately require more work than a standard collaboration.

 

[PancakesWitch]

This happens a lot with Manga, most of the time because the Mangaka update their manga very slowly over decades and they end up dying being unable to finish their work, like with the Author of Berserk, or maybe even with Dragon Ball Super. Usually because these franchises are already owned by big companies, they decide to continue them or finish them due to their popularity, usually with artists or writers that were close to the original mangaka and knew about of their vision or the ending. I think this has happened with novels as well, but it's usually much rarer. Mostly because in the publishing world you have to give out a finished product to be sold.

 

[John_Owl]

there are a few that I wish the authors had done that with... an OC RWBY Fanfic over on Wattpad for one. Then there's a VN that I liked but likely won't be finished because the creator went to prison (unrelated charges, from what I've heard). that one sucks because it had an amazing storyline and premise. I really like the existential horror VNs.

 

[Tyranomaster]

I think the author can give permission, but all the readers will basically know it's not the original vision. What's happening to star wars is an example of that.

 

[Lysander_Works]

An interesting thought experiment. I have so many side-characters with their own infinite stories and possibilities, and heck, entire new stories and characters being made in the Leray-magic system would be interesting for me to see. Naturally I'd want the world's rules to apply in any setting, but there's a lot of potential there. I doubt I'd tap it all in my own lifetime.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

My thoughts are:
Never happen.

Look, twice I've had people approach me with this very concept and I said, sure. Send me what you got, I'll look it over, fix anything you got wrong, then post it.

Never happened.

They vanished.

Had someone offer to help with editing. I said, okay. You send me what you want to correct, I'll get it reviewed and posy it asap.

Vanished.

People talk about helping. But if you say, sure. They quit and vanish.

So my thoughts are, dream on.

 

[LoneQuack]

Even if I never finish my story (something I will never consider doing in the first place) my answer would still be a big no no. There is only one retard that can write this shit and it ain't anybody other than me.

 

[foxes]

The author's right to do anything with his story. The problem is the qualifications of those who will try to continue it. Either it will be a community where everything will be solved by joint efforts, or it will turn into the basis of fanfics. Whether that would be better is unclear. Unfortunately the need for the literature I take my example from is small. I at one time wanted to continue a lot of abandoned stories with little demand. It would have been better if the authors themselves had done it. But now I'm slowly writing my own for myself in that vein or genre.

 

[georgelee5786]

If the author wishes to do so, he may, however I don't think it will end well. The readers will likely not have a complete grasp on what the author wanted when he wrote this story, so the end may not be as good as it may have been.