Cancelled Stories · 2:56am Nov 25th, 2016
Over a year ago, I read a story by Softy8088 called Winter's Child.
And while it currently (as of this writing) remains in 'incomplete' status, it hasn't been updated since July 2014.
I've even offered to collaborate, or even ghost write for him. As egotistical as I am, I would honestly want to just see the story finished, even if I didn't get credit. I really love that story. I really want to see it finished. But it may never be. And as a reader that really hurts. Believe me, I know.
Which is why I did not come to the decision lightly, to cancel Chestnut Mare.
I tried to write an ending for it. But in a creative medium like writing, if your heart isn't into it, it shows. All the effort and talent won't matter if there isn't the passion driving it. To quote Sellars, "Writing is like farting. If you force it, it usually comes out as shit."
I was called out on the original ending being an indication of not caring about the story anymore. Which was true. And it was described as "a middle finger to the readers". Which was not my intention. As it is now, this could be considered complete. It has what could be considered an ending. But the cancelled status is more truthful than complete. And it should have been what I did 15 months ago, rather than try to force myself to finish something that my heart just wasn't into.
I'm sorry. 
But if someone wants to write an ending for it, I'll happily upload it and give full credits.
What about you guys? Are there other stories that you were following that have been canceled?
Or are there stories that you've had to cancel yourselves?
If so, why?
Come on, you know it is. And you know he ain't coming back...
I to would love to see a conclusion to winter's child. ^^
I think the biggest ones I'm waiting on are "I Can't Help" by ScatMan2001, "This Platinum Crown," and the "An Affliction of the Heart" series.
The worst one was "Fireflies," which I got into well after the author stopped updating it but didnt realize at the time. Just like a certain sci-fi show that shares its name, it was too good but wasnt completed.
the first thing i remember: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/192359/headless-not-brainless
actually it's second. the first is: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/129038/travelers-exile
and some I still tracking:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/285374/the-dancer-and-the-diplomat
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/182092/night-mares
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/227209/preservation-of-innocence
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/70348/six-brides-for-two-sisters
Well you gave it a good shot, and that's very important.
Winter's Child will probably never be finished, but you never know.
Archonix's And The Stars Shine Forth, and of course No Room For Regret are excellent stories, so I'm hopeful that he'll feel the muse's inspiration to complete them.
Cold in Gardez's Land of the Blind has an amazing start, but it doesn't look like he'll finish that, either.
Varanus's Composure is still one of my most favorite stories here, but it will never be finished. There's been no update to the story in the last three years, the writer has been offline here for almost two years - and they've been active on Tumblr in the mean time.
This all makes me a little sad as a reader, but while it would be excellent if these stories were completed, I can honestly understand that any number of things can conspire against the author to continue on, yourself included.
The Demesne of the Reluctant Twilight Sparkle
Fun Fact: I'm only 21. Which means I started writing that story when I was 18.
Which means I have to look over my 18 year old self's shoulder and look at what he was doing to continue writing that, and while I appreciate everything he did and gave me, I'm not that person anymore. While I still love a lot of the jokes and humour of the story, I learned a lot about how to structure and plan from writing it and I can't apply those lessons retroactively, before I made those mistakes.
I might be the only person to see it, to feel like, it's throwing good money after bad to continue writing it, but really the problem is I'm the only one who has to feel that way for it to be a problem.
It's weird. It's a weird bad feeling.
I'll certainly agree that there are times when canceling a story is okay, or at the very least understandable. There have been a few stories that I've canceled in the middle of them (not uploaded here, of course), and there are also stories that I canceled during the beginnings of them. If you truly don't feel as if you can continue—or in your case, end—your stories, then I completely understand canceling them. Not all stories survive the writing process. Hell, most don't even survive the planning process. So while there have been times when I find myself utterly disappointed because a story that I was really enjoying gets canceled, I for the most part don't fault the writer for it.
Mis-shapes by Grimm.
Possibly my favorite story on this site to date, it hasn't been updated in well over a year. I heard the author is still around, I even saw his name as a proofreader recently, and I am so very happy he is still in buisness. However, I like to keep my hopes low. I respect and encourage his will of not adding pointless smut to that masterpiece and to not go back to it until -or if ever- he'll feel like it.
There're 2 bad endings that could happen to a good story:
1. They started off unique and interesting and keep getting better as every chapters with new, creative ideas and characters that leave readers wondering what'd come next. Suddenly, for some unknown reasons the author decided to take away that bright future and set everything dark and cold. Sometimes I can't believe that new chapters I'm reading is written by the same author. It's like watching your beloved little daughter slowly addicted to drug, why would you do something you know it's painful.
The Pony Who Lived Upstairs by Ringcaat (Oh, it's finished now, not sure if I should know the ending...)
2. The story that has unlimited potential if well-developed enough, the comment section is full of discussion, small details found and linked together, the possibilities, expectation... (Love it when this happens)
So much to look up to...
... Then the [On Hiatus] / [Cancel] tag happened.
The author either nice enough to write a blog to explain why the story didn't make it or leave a short version of "how things should go and how it'd end", or nothing at all, he won't answer the fans, he just killed off the story, that's it. It feels like you're enjoying the a serene evening on the couch when the policeman knocked on your door told you your daughter just died in an accident...
...
"This is a joke, right? I've been there since the first chapter years ago, we're having fun, this can't be happening now!"
Ben And The Bats by Sir Hat (Fun, sometimes feels, should read)
Fleeting Flames by Duelist96 (The author deleted the "how it should have ended" blog but I till have a copy of it, it's so painful that no matter how he said he'd try to fix it later, the story's fate is sealed in many fan's hearts)
Mirror's Image by Evilpresident (Sorry I can't remember much what happened in this but it's in my "all time favorite [on going]" folder so it must be something, I should read it again soon)
Changing Views by lllWarHawklll (Unique but die young, you'll love it anyways.)
The Misadventures of DJ by Solid Poison
And
DJ's Guests by Solid Poison (They're fun while they lasted, try'em)
Since when am I Faust!? by Kitaru Arashi (*wishful sigh* Again, a wasted potential...)
Like first love, the unfinished stories is the ones that leave mix feelings you never forget, by changes you found and re-read a some of them and feel the passion is still as strong as the first time, beautiful!
You bronies never stopped surprising me, love this site, love the memories, love the fandom.
4316588 Oh my god I forgot about that one!
Thanks for reopening an old wound.
You know, it's funny, that story has been, and continues to be, one of the biggest creative roadblocks for me to write an in-depth Twi-Night story myself. That was why I fumbled the 2016 father's day reveal. Not because Mis-shapes is incomplete, but because it exists and is so good that it is just daunting. Its incompleteness only adds to the tragedy of it.
4316631 For Chestnut Mare, I toyed around with a few endings. But Arthur Stetson getting turned into Applejack's hat was always the plan, (in case his name wasn't evident of that from day one). Applejack needed to go back to Equestria. But I didn't just want to go the My Little Dashie route. I wanted my story to have an actual romance, yet still have a teen rating. Otherwise it was just Underneath the Mistletoe with another character.
There were really only two possibilities. Either she went back, or she didn't. Either feels unfulfilling. And if she does go back, does he come with? Again, if not, it smacks of Dashie. If he does, then the story can't really end there. Either it turns into a HiE story, or he turns into a pony. In either case, there is a lot left for the story to explore. And It was always my plan to end it when Applejack went back, one way or another. At the time when I started writing it, I didn't recognize the trap that I was writing myself into.
4316833 This story also impacted me greatly, t was the main (or, at the time, only) reason I opened this account: to track it. I've even got to seen the last two chapters pop up as they were wrote. During that time I had also been reading Growth sprouts by CancinoGeneticist, a story that I considered canceled in multiple occasions, but the author has always proven me wrong.
Another unfinished story comes to mind, Beyond the looking glass. This one is to me a prime example of a proper and andmirable way to let a story go. The original author, TwiDashForever, peacefully left fimfiction and the whole fandom, and in doing so he passed on the story to his co-writers, ScratchnTavi. They updated it for a while, then realized it didn't fit their writing style and moved on to their own projects.
During the entire life cycle of this fic I honestly appreciated the authors' ability to see their own limits and to not force themselves to write a rushed and hollow piece of text just due to popular request. As I wrote before, this is the approach that I endorse the most, to have quality prevail over mere existence, and to be able to let go when time is due.
In conclusion, I'd like to encourage you on your Twi-Night project: you have written some of the best Sparkle incest on this site, both clop-wise and story-wise, and if I were to choose someobe to write the next big thing in their family you would me by choice. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that you start a competition with Grimm, nor with anybody for that matter. You are a great writer with your own style and have well proven to be able to stand out with tour own ideas, that I am so very eager to read.
Have a nice day
-Eight
4317123
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What hath joined together By Bad Seed 72. It hurt my heart when I saw cancelled on the story page. Never got a warning or anything. It still hurts me to this day.
The Discipline of Princess Twilight Sparkle by Mistress Darkhoof - Stopped right before the grand confrontation.
Though Hell Should Bar the Way by O - Didn't actually read the story, too grimdark for my tastes, but I liked following the comments,
Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World by Keeper of Jericho - The first and only "epic" fic I've read. With MLP fics I'm drawn to slice of life, romance, and comedy, but I figured I'd give it a shot.
I don't read incomplete stories anymore. Submissions that are meant to be stand alone and episodic are fine, but I have far too many stories in my "read later" list to justify investing myself in something that may never be completed. Bit of a shame since there are some stories I would like to read were they to ever finish.
I understand losing one's drive to do something, and when the passion runs out then that's it. It's perfectly normal and better than slogging on, but it still tears me up to see it happen.
Winter's Child
, time to read it again 
.
Right in the feels...
So many great stories never finished... I try to cope by looking for new stories all the time and learn the appreciate (and thank the author) when they finish an epic.
Here's where I list great unfinished stories? The Golden Rule, Hard Reset 2: Reset Harder, Night's Favoured Child (☹), Synthetic Bottled Sunlight (wait what, it went on hiatus?), Sweetie Belle and the Quest for Knowledge.
I'd like to give a special mention to Stories of a Warden which actually contains a finished story but the Author decided to append the sequel right onto it thus obscuring the gem that is the first book...
If only great stories like these were dime a dozen...
Dawnscroll's 'A Slice of Life'. I miss that fic updating, but it looks like it's gone. And everything Rust did. Especially since I consider him a friend, and did so love his Echo stories.
4316582
As a fan of your work, if you ever wanted someone to pre-read for it, to help you go back through and refine it, get it further up to your current quality standards, might I offer my services? I'd love to help.
For staters, I would like to applaud your blog posts since i've followed in that they always have something interesting to talk about or comment on, i like that. Keep up the good work.
Im not really talented enough to write my own story, as i've had some great ideas but struggled in the bigger picture of trying to piece everything together to make a working and functional story, OR just the simple fact that someone wrote something faster, i've always wanted to write something unique not something someones tried and done before, so the point writing, for me, seems to be moot.
Anyways, a couple storys that i've enjoyed, that they were never finished were:
1.http://www.fimfiction.net/story/140628/diary-of-a-store-clerk -Really good HIE story, dont think he's going to finish, heart doesnt seem to be in it anymore.
2.http://www.fimfiction.net/story/16310/rampant -Another good one, gore/horror genre, which is a rarity for me but on hiatus for unknown reasons.
Thats all i can think of, im sure there was more but im tired lol good day!
4316582 I've got the same problem: I started my stories back in 2012 and wrote most of them in the following year. However, I've got one (unpublished) story that's just been on permanent hiatus. My heart really isn't into it anymore, but I need to finish it to free up my creative focus on things I'd actually enjoy. Luckily, I can at least scrap the really dumb and over-stuffed plot points (pun intended) and write something I'd find more enjoyable, but it's something I've got to do so I can say I'm done and move on with my life (but I keep putting it off because I'm just not interested anymore).