Authors on Hiatus/Inactive Forever: Would You Ever Let Someone Else Finish Your Story?

[Leonotis]

Hey everyone,


We’ve all seen stories on SH that explode with potential, rack up hundreds of followers, then… go silent. Hiatus tags that never get lifted, years without updates, or authors who just vanish. Some of these fics are basically abandoned masterpieces at this point.


It got me thinking about the big real-world example: George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire. The man has basically said that if he dies before finishing The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, the series won’t be finished. No hand-off, no estate-approved continuation, just… unfinished forever. Fans keep begging him to let someone like Brandon Sanderson take over.


So, question for the SH authors here if your story became indefinitely stalled be it health issues, burnout, life, whatever would you be open to handing it off to another author to finish?


Or would you rather it stay unfinished forever, like GRRM?

 

[Corty]

Huh. Didn't know we were on RR.

 

[Envylope]

Huh. Didn't know we were on RR.

Yeah!

 

[Corty]

Yeah!

The horror!

 

[foxes]

It's very rare for popular stories to have no continuation. Rather, they switch to a paid basis, change the platform, or the method of distribution. But even if they don't publish, I'm sure they're still thinking about completing or writing it. On the other hand, I started writing because someone didn't finish their story. And these weren't popular stories. They really needed a sequel. But if someone started to continue mine. I would be happy and disappointed. Still no.

 

[melchi]

Please don't isekai us to royal road....

 

[Wamba2K]

Hey everyone,


We’ve all seen stories on SH that explode with potential, rack up hundreds of followers, then… go silent. Hiatus tags that never get lifted, years without updates, or authors who just vanish. Some of these fics are basically abandoned masterpieces at this point.


It got me thinking about the big real-world example: George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire. The man has basically said that if he dies before finishing The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, the series won’t be finished. No hand-off, no estate-approved continuation, just… unfinished forever. Fans keep begging him to let someone like Brandon Sanderson take over.


So, question for the RR authors here if your story became indefinitely stalled be it health issues, burnout, life, whatever would you be open to handing it off to another author to finish?


Or would you rather it stay unfinished forever, like GRRM?

It depends on my investment in the story. I'm writing three stories. Two of them (I won't name names) I really wouldn't mind, assuming they were popular enough for that to even be a demand, of course. But the third one feels like my story. The story has been moving through evolving iterations since I was in high school. Maybe it's arrogance but I feel like if anyone else wrote it, it wouldn't be the same. For better or worse.

Either way, I'm not a Royal Road author, so this question isn't for me.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

I have no issues with it.

If I died tomorrow, Id be more than happy if someone finished my stories.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

Nah, no thanks.
No one has my specific level of eccentricity.

But maybe I'd give permission to @Envylope cause we're on the same spectrum.
or @pangmida since I know she'd adopt my male characters.

 

[PancakesWitch]

I will write for life and I am addicted to writing, so I believe there will be a day I die and will leave whatever I was working on without finishing. I doubt anyone will give a single fuck about it though, and nobody will want to continue either. That's more of a thing for best selling authors or mangakas. You have to be a little realistic.

 

[Failnot]

If anyone wanted to, sure

I wouldn't even mind if they didn't end up giving it the ending I would've, I think seeing their own interpetation of things would be pretty interesting

 

[pangmida]

Nah, no thanks.
No one has my specific level of eccentricity.

But maybe I'd give permission to @Envylope cause we're on the same spectrum.
or @pangmida since I know she'd adopt my male characters.

Do not worry. I will take very good care of the boys ?️?️?

 

[foxes]

I have no issues with it.

If I died tomorrow, Id be more than happy if someone finished my stories.

It sounds like "only over my dead body" in a positive way.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

It sounds like "only over my dead body" in a positive way.

LMAO

Naw, but I dont see myself stopping writing until I die. Unlike a certain person named George, whom seems to have given up on writing and basks in the hate that is sent his way for not finishing his story.

 

[tiaf]

I’ve read works where the author died before completion. Back then I wished someone would continue it, but it wouldn’t be the same if not planned beforehand. Now I think it’s better to leave it unfinished. They are more memorable that way.

I have my story ending already planned though and I would love to have my summaries of the ending of my stories published.

 

[Zagaroth]

Part of me says no; too much is in my head, and I know better than to try writing an outline. Outlining kills my motivation to write, as my brain feels like it has already written this, why are we doing it again?

This is the same issue I have with editing, BTW.

So, no one knows what I intend well enough to finish the story I am writing. It would be a different story, as they would be making up their own stuff. There are multiple characters and story arcs that have only slightly been hinted at, and nothing that is enough to fully develop something notably similar to my intentions.

That said, I think I would be fine with, for lack of a better phrase, "Authorized Alternate Universe Continuations." Basically, acknowledged as fanfic, but authorized. This means they can be organized, linked to, even published, if done correctly. I have no idea if someone has ever done this before.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Only if they keep it or make it even more racist and culturally inappropriate. I don't care if it's the 35th century and it offends Meguk'doRibj or his species. This is a human supremacist book!

 

[John_Owl]

I'm not on indefinite hiatus. I'm actually planning a return. I just needed to step back. The story I had been working on got... Started hitting a bit too hard for me, so I had to step back, clear my head. The holidays, life stress, crap.

But yes, any stories I put on hiatus, I'm open to hearing thoughts on continuation. If I hear an offer I like and I see talent or skill I feel could do it justice, I'm happy to hand over creative rights to it.

 

[Eldoria]

So, question for the SH authors here if your story became indefinitely stalled be it health issues, burnout, life, whatever would you be open to handing it off to another author to finish?


Or would you rather it stay unfinished forever, like GRRM?

Handing over your fiction to someone else to finish is like giving your biological child up for adoption to a stranger. As a mother, I'd rather care for my child, even if I were miserable alone.

There's a reason they're called parents: raising your children and being responsible for them until the end is a parent's responsibility—at least in my opinion.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I would love to see a finished version of my story, and that would not prevent me from finishing it myself later. I love alternate endings.

Handing over your fiction to someone else to finish is like giving your biological child up for adoption to a stranger. As a mother, I'd rather care for my child, even if I were miserable alone.

There's a reason they're called parents: raising your children and being responsible for them until the end is a parent's responsibility—at least in my opinion.

I don’t see it that way. My child has only one life. My story can have many lives.