What is with all these dropped stories?

[LilRora]

I would rather ask them why they are publishing such stories. I myself have started well over ten stories in the ~1 year of writing, and didn't get more than 10-20k words in most of them. The first story I ever published has over 80k words and even more I haven't shared anywhere, and that was over half a year after starting writing seriously.

Starting stories and not finishing them is completely normal, because it's common to write some 10k words when you get a sudden inspiration, yet find yourself unable to continue the story because you find it boring, or you just don't think you'll be able to make it good.

The proper question we should be asking is why authors publish the beginnings of stories they don't intend to continue. If you have ~50k words, then there's no problem, but sharing the five chapters only to disappoint the people who start reading it is a pretty ass move if you ask me. Not to mention that no one would expect a proper long story from an author who has many such five-chapters on their account.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Same. It seems I can only write light-hearted stories, and people say they lack depth. But they are the product of my hobby, and I still share them.

Well, I believe that when read by the right audience, any story would be good. Just like how my works are appreciated more in HoneyFeed, Pixiv, WebNovel and Syosetsu than here in ScribbleHub and RoyalRoad.

 

[Temple]

or they got a criticism somewhere and decided it's not worth it for something they're not paid for anyway

 

[Daitengu]

Aspiring writers try it out and quickly learn that going from a concept to written word is just too tough for them. Not everyone is wired to do it well regardless of desire and practice.

I'm guessing the reasons for quitting are as numberous as reasons for starting.

 

[BluePheasant]

There should be another option added there. *Money

 

[RonTheBlackCat]

Well in my case, I'm a relatively new author (new as in not length of time but how much I have written, only like 200,000 words), and I have been testing the bounds of my capabilities. Turns out, I can't write two stories at once and be able to do weekly chapter releases for each cause I didn't have the time. When I tried to start my second story whilst in the middle of my first story, I also ran into a bunch of problems.
1. I couldn't figure out a good title and whether or not it was gonna be first or third person
2. Every time I wrote it out, I didn't like how it came out and have restarted it three times
3. I'm lazy as f
Thus, I decided to abandon my second story and return to it once I finish my first and figure everything out.

 

[yansusustories]

I personally never drop stories. At most, I'll put them on hiatus for a while (e.g., right now, I update irregularly with one story not having been updated since March). But that is out of personal conviction because I hate quitting things.

In general, others have mentioned a few good reasons why stories get dropped. I think there are two points people don't really take into consideration though: For one, "writing" is not the same as "publishing". People might continue to write for themselves but not update because they feel like nobody cares. Which brings me to the second point: Having x readers doesn't mean that there are actually x people reading the story. It simply means x people have thrown it onto a reading list, including lists for stories readers don't want to be shown on the main page any longer. Seeing that number of x but not seeing any related action can actually feel worse than not having that number in the first place.

Personal example: My original "main story" currently has 782 readers (according to the "user stats" on the detail page 756 who are actively reading, 22 who plan to read, 2 who have completed it, and 2 who dropped it) and 160.5k views. So why am I not updating it super regularly here on SH since it seems to be so popular? Because the last chapter (updated March, 20th of this year) has been seen exactly 10 times, the ones before that often even less, and in the past year (since August 2021), that story hasn't received a single comment. So even though the numbers are high, I don't feel that anyone is actually reading it and that's simply demotivating in regard to publishing.
This story happens to be the revision of an original version I am still writing and (more or less) actively publishing on other sites (namely my website and Wattpad, although I admit to having slowed those down as well for health-related reasons). I'd rather focus on that original one (since people are actually reading that one), instead of on a revised version people don't seem to be interested in. I will still continue to revise the story because I want to see it become the best version it can be but I will do so in my own time and in bits and pieces instead of doing it regularly with daily chapters as I started out.

 

[lambenttyto]

Well, I got burned out on Oni Rokura and just quit writing without plans to continue or discontinue. With 170 readers on Royal Road and 250 here, no one said a word. My readers don't seem to care, and neither do I. So whatever. I don't write for validation, but if I had some readers say, "Hey, I really like your story and I'm looking forward to some more chapters some time." I'd probably suck it up and pound my keyboard. Appreciation goes a long way, otherwise, I can just let the story sit indefinitely and get back to it at my own leisure whenever I feel the draw to write and finish--which I haven't felt since I stopped writing.

 

[JayDirex]

I think all of you PAINFULLY UNDERRATE how readers will not comment, not leave likes, drop your shit, say nothing unless it is to nit-pick about some character and then...at your lowest.

Someone will drop a two-star rating with no review.

 

[Yairy]

I was looking for something to read, when I noticed that stories with as many as 70 readers had just no more than five chapters, before being dropped. Why? Some of them looked promising, so why are they not completed? 70 readers are 70 people who were looking forward to the next update. Let us not count all the lurkers that didn't bookmark. I don't get it.

The stories got the views and readers, yet were dropped. Mine don't have that many readers per story or that many views, but I do my best to complete them. For myself, and all those who read them. It makes me wonder for what do the writers of all of these dropped stories write for. The fame? That is a rather shallow reason to write.

Life and nobody is getting paid to write. So if something happens and they can't keep up their story, goodbye SH. I doubt it's all about being validated or wanting more readers. There are things that happen and that's just it.

 

[TASTYLEADPAINT]

I was looking for something to read, when I noticed that stories with as many as 70 readers had just no more than five chapters, before being dropped. Why? Some of them looked promising, so why are they not completed? 70 readers are 70 people who were looking forward to the next update. Let us not count all the lurkers that didn't bookmark. I don't get it.

The stories got the views and readers, yet were dropped. Mine don't have that many readers per story or that many views, but I do my best to complete them. For myself, and all those who read them. It makes me wonder for what do the writers of all of these dropped stories write for. The fame? That is a rather shallow reason to write.

Other commitments I wrote a story has 20 chapters 200 readers. But I stopped because of university. I want to continue and I will but ita just hard to come back

 

[RepresentingCaution]

It's a little bit of both, really. I want fame so I can make the world a better place, but I write for myself to feel better about my potential impact on the world. I know there aren't many people reading my work, so I keep the starfish story in mind.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

I was looking for something to read, when I noticed that stories with as many as 70 readers had just no more than five chapters, before being dropped. Why? Some of them looked promising, so why are they not completed? 70 readers are 70 people who were looking forward to the next update. Let us not count all the lurkers that didn't bookmark. I don't get it.

The stories got the views and readers, yet were dropped. Mine don't have that many readers per story or that many views, but I do my best to complete them. For myself, and all those who read them. It makes me wonder for what do the writers of all of these dropped stories write for. The fame? That is a rather shallow reason to write.

Every artist no matter what kind wants some recognition for the work they create. Be it a musician, artist, writer.

Fame? Self? Why not both?

Likely why many stories dropout:
1. Reality crap writers face.
2. Negative views of story effect writers.
3. Story sucks. Lets just ditch it.
4. Writer's block. Sometimes merges with #3.
5. I want make money. Not keep posting for free.

2. Can be just writing by self but brought down by views. Hoping to achieve some fame, or make story good something. End up taking hard fall when someone say story not good or trash. Ever see lot of those threads ranting of silent readefs, 1★ trolls strikes again?

 

[AliceShiki]

Most common reason is simply struggling to keep working on a hobby for a long period of time tbh.

Owotrucked already put it out well. Sticking to hobbies that are time-consuming and mentally straining is hard, yanno? Not everyone can do that reliably.

And like, sometimes the person does want to continue writing, but they just keep finding other stuff to do that keeps pushing the writing back... And then they leave the writing for another day, then for another week, then for another month, then for another year... And then when they realize it, it's been 5 years since they last touched the story that they wanted to write, and now they don't even remember where they were going with that story.

I dunno, maybe because of my ADHD messing up with everything I set myself to do for a long long time (nowadays I take medication, so it doesn't get in my way so much), but this is just something natural to me, I guess... All those things I promised myself I'd do and that I kept on not doing and not doing... Even though I wanted to do them so much, other stuff just kept getting in the way, and I kept not moving towards the dreams that I wanted to achieve.

Overall, someone wanting to write often requires not only good ideas and good skills, but also a good schedule and good capabilities of organizing one's daily routine... And it can be quite hard to have all those things together.

Then, pair that up with the fact that writing is mentally straining and you get something that is super easy to give up on after just a small while trying... Even if the person doesn't actually want to give up.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Ironically, fame, but not for the reasons you think.

I had two stories, but RL got in the way and something had to give. Not to mention the feed back from one wasn't good. I liked that story, but... it wasn't "selling".

I can finish that story any time, but other story (FTS) has more readers and people wanna see how it ends. I got a bunch of material for it, so I'll keep writing until I run out. But the other one? I shelved it for not. I need to spend my time more productively.

So, FAME, but in so much it is because people like the story that I keep writing. If the viewer ship dropped to a certain point, I would move to writing for myself.

 

[owotrucked]

Most common reason is simply struggling to keep working on a hobby for a long period of time tbh.

Owotrucked already put it out well. Sticking to hobbies that are time-consuming and mentally straining is hard, yanno? Not everyone can do that reliably.

And like, sometimes the person does want to continue writing, but they just keep finding other stuff to do that keeps pushing the writing back... And then they leave the writing for another day, then for another week, then for another month, then for another year... And then when they realize it, it's been 5 years since they last touched the story that they wanted to write, and now they don't even remember where they were going with that story.

I dunno, maybe because of my ADHD messing up with everything I set myself to do for a long long time (nowadays I take medication, so it doesn't get in my way so much), but this is just something natural to me, I guess... All those things I promised myself I'd do and that I kept on not doing and not doing... Even though I wanted to do them so much, other stuff just kept getting in the way, and I kept not moving towards the dreams that I wanted to achieve.

Overall, someone wanting to write often requires not only good ideas and good skills, but also a good schedule and good capabilities of organizing one's daily routine... And it can be quite hard to have all those things together.

Then, pair that up with the fact that writing is mentally straining and you get something that is super easy to give up on after just a small while trying... Even if the person doesn't actually want to give up.

Sometimes the inability to control one's focus isn't a bug but a feature of personality. It would particularely perform better in the hunter-gatherer setting of human evolution than the modern farmer setting. It prolly only look buggy because of superstimuli in modern technology. And it saddens me when people beat themselves over it.

Having the instinct to gather new data prioritized over the instinct to take action comes with its own pros and cons, but it feels like a curse in today's world. You get to be hunted by addictive internet entertainments, and you're left with little dopamine (motivation) to actually concretize the vault of data you've gathered up.

Moreover exploratory strategies only pay off in later stage of the game while everyone else has already jumped on their plan and follow through. Modern world tried to build tracks to enable the latter types: study, get a job, get a house, get family etc.

So people who simply don't fit the rails because of inborn reasons they didn't even choose are left behind, envious and dreaming to be a productive person too. Their inner critic will beat them up like 'gee- if only you were like them'.

Stock piling a variety of data pays off when it'll grant you creativity, unique insights, tools and approaches that no one thought of and be able to concretize them into products of art or technology.

So I'd say keep exploring without guilt until you lose all sanity like Ben suggests and get rid of everything in your life that stands between you and sharing the fruits of your degeneracy with the rest of the world.

It's fine to be unable to find time and not wanting to give up. It's also fine to give up and taking another path. Gotta trust yourself because no one can know what the future hold for us. For instance, everyone is freaking out by dall-e 2 and text completion ai that could take over art, but ai have grown stronger in scientific areas and perform as well as college students in exams.

 

[Ai-chan]

I was looking for something to read, when I noticed that stories with as many as 70 readers had just no more than five chapters, before being dropped. Why? Some of them looked promising, so why are they not completed? 70 readers are 70 people who were looking forward to the next update. Let us not count all the lurkers that didn't bookmark. I don't get it.

The stories got the views and readers, yet were dropped. Mine don't have that many readers per story or that many views, but I do my best to complete them. For myself, and all those who read them. It makes me wonder for what do the writers of all of these dropped stories write for. The fame? That is a rather shallow reason to write.

In Ai-chan's case. Ai-chan is just so busy with work, part time work, family, and the baby. A lot of people get depressed with just two of those. Considering the situation, you should praise Ai-chan for occasionally getting something out.

BTW, if you guys want a particular story updated, do leave Ai-chan a note. It doesn't mean it will absolutely be updated, it just got pushed higher up the ladder. Right now, the story at the highest ladder is The Borderside Tavern, followed by The Hero Prince(ss). So if there will be an update, it will be The Borderside Tavern. But if you don't care enough to tell Ai-chan, well, Ai-chan also doesn't care enough to update the story you want updated. It's just going to be pirated anyway.

 

[JayDirex]

Sometimes the inability to control one's focus isn't a bug but a feature of personality. It would particularely perform better in the hunter-gatherer setting of human evolution than the modern farmer setting. It prolly only look buggy because of superstimuli in modern technology. And it saddens me when people beat themselves over it.

Having the instinct to gather new data prioritized over the instinct to take action comes with its own pros and cons, but it feels like a curse in today's world. You get to be hunted by addictive internet entertainments, and you're left with little dopamine (motivation) to actually concretize the vault of data you've gathered up.

Moreover exploratory strategies only pay off in later stage of the game while everyone else has already jumped on their plan and follow through. Modern world tried to build tracks to enable the latter types: study, get a job, get a house, get family etc.

So people who simply don't fit the rails because of inborn reasons they didn't even choose are left behind, envious and dreaming to be a productive person too. Their inner critic will beat them up like 'gee- if only you were like them'.

Stock piling a variety of data pays off when it'll grant you creativity, unique insights, tools and approaches that no one thought of and be able to concretize them into products of art or technology.

So I'd say keep exploring without guilt until you lose all sanity like Ben suggests and get rid of everything in your life that stands between you and sharing the fruits of your degeneracy with the rest of the world.

It's fine to be unable to find time and not wanting to give up. It's also fine to give up and taking another path. Gotta trust yourself because no one can know what the future hold for us. For instance, everyone is freaking out by dall-e 2 and text completion ai that could take over art, but ai have grown stronger in scientific areas and perform as well as college students in exams.

Sir, this an Arby's.

 

[owotrucked]

Sir, this an Arby's.

I'll take 2 kid menus

 

[DonutLuver]

I wrote a litrpg on RR that had 280ish followers within three months. I didn't plan the story well and was hit by the expectation of my readers and the stress of not knowing how to figure out the glaring plot hole.

Sometimes "just write" isn't a good enough advice. So I dropped it. I will maybe one day revisit that story and plot it out properly.