I am why people don't read stories until they're complete · 3:11am Sep 6th, 2015
So, it's now been more than five months since I updated Hocus Pocus, which makes this the longest break between chapters the fic has ever had. I've got about... maybe 4000-5000 more words to write until it's finished, but I admit I've basically not touched it in a solid month now.
It doesn't help that miserable hours and disrespectful supervisors at my job have caused many of my coworkers to quit, leading me to work close to 50 hours in any given five day (supposedly 40 hour) work week since we are horribly, horribly understaffed. So that's one major reason I haven't been getting much writing done.
I don't know what to do, guys. Any suggestions? I want to finish this fic, it's been surprisingly well-received and I've gotten quite a few messages from people eager for the ending. I WANT to release it, really, but somehow, I just can't finish it. Help!
Thanks to anyone who's still patiently awaiting the ending, and to those who have helped me so much with getting some of this done. I refuse to let this story die when it's just about finished; you'll see chapter 20 sometime, I promise!
~PRB
Even if the only update is, Not Dead, Still Writing, I appreciate it. Nothing is worse than when an author just goes poof in the night. You go to check their last blog post and it is from 31 weeks ago, with the title 'Super Excited About Next Update!!!', and they haven't logged on since.
All I can say is, maybe put it back on hiatus while you work through this difficult phase. Write when you have the time, and it isn't a chore for you to do so. If you try to rush through, it will show.
Take your time. The result will be more than worth it, I am sure.
Hey, you're doing better than me >.>
You'll get there, and we will be there cheering when you do.
Life happens. No worries.
Thanks for the update!
My advice would be to take a break...not from work, unless you can afford to...but from worrying about the story. By your own words you haven't touched it for about a month now and you can't find the impetus to write the last few thousand words you need. It's clearly weighing on your mind, but you're not in a state to finish it. So the best thing to do is just...stop...for a little while. Relax. Read a good book if you'd like. Take whatever off time you have and just take it easy, don't worry about your story. Maybe write a different one if you have one pounding around in your skull (that happens to me a lot). Sure, we'll have to wait some more time for the next chapter to come out, but it would be a lot worse if you tried to force yourself to write something when you clearly can't.
Whatever you choose to do, just don't stress yourself out over a piece of fanfiction. You're not writing for an official publisher. This isn't a job that you're going to lose if you slack off for a little while (as opposed to what might happen if you slack off at your real job). This is something you do for fun. Even our, the readers', enjoyment is a secondary concern to your own. This writing is something you primarily do for you. If you're not up to it right now, you're not up to it. We'll keep.
Some fics go YEARS without an update
Long as you keep people in the know as to why there isn't one, I don't see a huge problem.
The annoying thing is when an author doesn't update for a year with no reason given
(side note, I made 3 chapters of a fic back in 2012. Left the site in mid 2013, came back last month and finished it pfft)
Easy. Just find someone whose update speed is slower than yours, and you won't feel so bad by comparison.
Then realize that you're lying to yourself, delete your 11,200 word draft, and start over again.
Oh good, now I know who to blame. :V
Like I keep telling you, folks like you. That means they're willing to wait for the good stuff:P
Hey, still faster than Gravekeeper.
Unfortunately, I don't have much advice. I can't even get a short fanfic reviewed.
I do understand where you are coming from though. Long work hours are NOT conducive to home projects. 
Alright, i gotchu son.
I am a heavily inspiring person. That's what you need.
I think i have a solution. Given from the summary of the story, though. I'd probably do better if i read the story. But I'll do that later.
Surpass. A wonderful thing people like to see is a character surpassing another. Use Tenacious D's song, pick of destiny as prime example and inspiration source, if you desire.
I'll try later after reading a bit
I'm still waiting patiently. Why? Because this is SO worth waiting for.
In three years I've written 20K words, and published half of that. You're fine
The only way to get the writing done is to write. That means you have to make the time. I know one author (totally forgot his name, sorry) got up at 5 every morning and wrote.
Gotcha beat. It's been about six months since I've written anything at all. I finally officially closed off the one fic and started its sequel.
But if life is teaching me anything, it's that it's all personal. We move to our own rhythms and if things get in the way of what we want, we have to overcome them. Sometimes that's damn hard to do.
My point I guess is that you write so much more, and better, than I do - a hiatus is more than acceptable. Regardless of the excuse.
BTW - also got you beat on the hours - 50 to 55 regularly as a support dispatcher/support technician with a 24/7 on-call period once a quarter. It's not fun and it needs to change. This is true for a lot of people in the world right now.
I'm sorry to hear about disrespectful supervisors and long hours!
If it helps, I think most of us if not all are still patiently awaiting, so take your time, no pressure! I think maybe less stress = better writing?
Good luck, looking forward to the ending of Hocus Pocus!
3372325 Your stories a the few I read before they are complete, because you and others like Crystal Wishes keep a regular update schedule. I've been following some stories like Hocus Pocus, What I've Done and the Hive series by Law Abiding Pony because they are sequels, and their prequels ended up in my read later list because they were complete. That can be the frustrating bit because you are so eager for more, only to find out the next story is unfinished.
I agree, I'd rather wait for an author to take care of themselves instead of trying to force out a story. So long as we know the author hasn't fallen off the face of the earth, I'm fine with waiting. I know the finale to Savage Skies will show up one day, I know you are working on it, if I have to wait another month or another year it wouldn't matter. Better than getting burned out and abandoning it.
That said, I do appreciate when authors make a blog post every so often. I wonder if stories like Paradise or Mort takes a Holiday will ever be finished.
At least you are telling your readers what is going on. The writers that don't do that are the ones I never read stories from. I also give up on most stories that haven't updated in a year, but exceptions happen if I've fallen in love with the story. Love is a fickle thing though...
Keep working at it! Another month on two of waiting doesn't make that much of a difference. It'll be worth it in the end!
No, Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin are the reason people don't read things until they're done.
Really though, no matter how regular the update schedule, even the shorter novel-length stories tend to take months. That's a lot of time to forget the details of what happened 30 chapters ago. At some point you just have to start all over again at the beginning. Then do it again a month later. And again... and again.
If you follow along with a story as it is written, the final amount of time you spend reading it increases in proportion to the square of the time it takes to be written. Very roughly, of course.
If a story is Just That Good, that may be fine. Plus you get the bonus of being able to comment as the story is coming together. But you can only do that with so many stories, and it cuts down on the number of other stories you can read.
Worse by far than the additional time required is building up all that mental momentum, then slamming full speed into the brick wall of, "There is no more."
Imagine, if you will, a roller-coaster ride. Pretty standard thing, lots of swoops, loops, and turns-- the sort of thing that makes the faint of heart go a little green at the gills just looking at it. You get on and strap yourself in, listen to a little spiel from a bored worker, and the ride starts. You click-click-click up the track at the start, slowly rising higher and higher, the pit in your gut growing deeper and deeper. You near the top, and the whole ride is spread out before you. Every loop, every turn, every drop-- but you only really notice the one drop that will send you plummeting toward the ground.
You reach the top. You pause. The clicking stops, and for a moment the only sound is the frantic pounding of your heart. Your stomach is in knots.
You drop.
The air rushes past. Your blood roars. All you can think about is falling, falling, falling! Maybe you scream, but you can't hear it over your panic. You jerk to one side! Then upwards! Down again! You flinch as you pass close to a rail. You're moving too fast to get your bearings. Your panic starts to turn to exhilaration. You feel yourself crushed into your seat as you start through a loop.
Then you jerk to a halt with a squeal of brakes, hanging upside down.
That is why people don't read stories until they're complete.
Ey mate, no worries. You find the time and you do what you can, when you can. Trust me, it's a good enough tale that I'm willin' to wait. For free fiction of this quality, there's no amount of time I'll begrudge an author. Stay excellent boss-man.