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Hi everyone!
I read a story "Mrs. Cavendish" on Fictionmania by Paula hanson a long time ago. Its still in my favourite list. The story tempo is really good. The boy gets into gradual feminization process due to his long hair working for a woman. But the problem is the story is incomplete and i think the author has no intenstion to complete it. There are many talented writers right here on this platform. Can someone have a look and complete it? Please? Pretty please?
I would also appreciate some suggestions for stories like that. thanking you in anticipation...
Comments
Another author's story without asking
Finishing another author's story without his or her approval? That could open up a very big can of worms. The other problem is absolutely no one has that particular writer's style. It would be akin to an artist trying to impersonate Rembrandt. One might get close but the difference is still there. And then writers are usually locked into their own stories. Which in case you haven't noticed leave a lot of unfinished stories behind in their own wake. For one reason or another their life takes a turn and the writer's gift left them. Or life itself took a great big bite out of them and they had no desire or time to write. Especially true among writers who write for the pleasure but receive no monetary reward.
always,
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
totally agree
There is a world of difference between an abandoned story and one where the author asks for people to take over the reins.
Some years ago, I took some ideas from a story and developed one of my own that went in a vert different direction to the original. It will never get published because it explores some themes that many people would find abhorrent but could well be going on under our very noses. I digress....
Unless you get permission from the original author you could well be in breach of copyright. Read Tiggers blog to get an idea of the trials an tribulations of this very thing.
It might be nice for there to be some exemption for obvious 'abandonware'. Perhaps a period of say 5 years of total inactivity from the author would be enough but IANAL so what do I know eh?
Even though it's been 18
Even though it's been 18 years since it was posted she clearly meant to finish it...
I understand the frustration, there are several stories on here that are left unfinished that I hope some day get completed but I also know that there are times when the author has troubles in their personal lives or ther muse won't cooperate or they suffer from a severe bout of depression, anxiety, anger, or other issue that prevents them from writing. It's just something that we have to deal with as readers.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Don't post incomplete works
unless you have every intent on completing it.
I've said several times before, that I do not post anything that is not complete. i.e. there is already an ending in place.
My WIP folder has at least 20 stories that are incomplete. Some will get finished and some won't. That's life.
Then I for one would never post nor complete anything
Except short stories.
One size does not fit all.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Honestly,
The author is giving their time and effort to put out a work at a cadence that fits them.
I do have a problem with unfinished works. But guess what? It's my problem. Not the author's.
While I also wish the Completed tag would gain more usage, it's up to me to decide whether I wish to invest in reading someone's offering before it reaches its completion (or even a completion at all).
i do the same thing
"Don't post incomplete works" this is something i took to heart after my first and still incompleate story. I didnt want my readers to share in my own frustrations when i get stuck. I learned very quickly that while i write (in my opinon) fairly well, i am bad at actually making up a story. I have a lot of storys that i've started but then got stuck on and i dont find it fair that readers will get stuck right along beside me waiting for the rest of a story that will likely never be finished.
I understand
I understand the etiquette and legalities of working on or adding to someone else's work. I would be upset too if someone made changes in something that I developed. The author may even have plans to publish it professionally. However, for us poor readers who don't have the muses that authors do, we are very often truly disappointed when we get into a story and are left hanging with no place to go.
My request would be for those of you with talent and an idea of how to continue a long left story to try to contact the original author and discuss the idea of continuing a story. Angharad was kind enough to finish her "Snafu." Penny Cardon is continuing Crystal's "Texas Gals. Brandon Sanderson even completed Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. I assume permissions were obtained for each of these as needed but it was such a relief and so enjoyable to finish a series or at least to continue it.
When you run out of ideas, it can be a source of inspiration. Just a thought.
Much Love,
Valerie R
if they were deceased, etc, it might be different
but since you didnt mention that, i am guessing she is alive? i remember the fiasco (at least in my opinion) of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. he had fought a long time battle, which he eventually lost, but before he could finish his masterpiece. he HAD talked with his family about the ending, etc, and left copious notes supposedly, but they changed things so much it wasnt the same, the style, they made EXTRA books out of it (they were always large books, they just made the last two into 4 i think?) and the fact is, he was NOT ROBERT JORDAN, and couldnt be. someone could be very close and if they were a devoted fan (this person was NOT in my opinion) they might be able to make a decent job of it, but being an author, from what others tell me, and from my experience as a prolific reader, its part of their SOUL, so how CAN another put that same bits into something, when they have a different soul, not bad, or good, just different.
Teresa L.
I, Laika Pupkino, being of sound mind and body...
Just for the record, if I die anybody who wants can complete any of my unfinished stories. I really won't care...
hugs, Veronica a/k/a Laika
(Now watch some crazed obsessive fan I never knew I had murder me so they can complete PLAY NICE...)
"Government will only recognize 2 genders, male + female,
as assigned at birth-" (In his own words:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1lugbpMKDU
...I would have gone with
...I would have gone with "get hit by a falling meteorite" or "chased by wild animals" but that's even scarier!
Hopefully we never have to worry about that, I refuse to believe anything bad will happen to members here as the members are such good people.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
From the Demented One
"Ahhh me pretty." Picture me hunched over wringing my hands, giving yon beautiful lady my bulging eye, evil stare.
"Just your stories? You think I come just to take over your stories? Foolish child. Nay. I come to take it all. Your mind, that beautiful gorgeous body, your castle, your fleet of cars, your cruise ship." I bring out my magic amulet and start rubbing it.
"You will become me. A poor working farm girl, growing old and wrinkled working in the sun, trying to etch enough out of the unforgiving earth to feed the banker, the equipment dealers, the seed companies, the fuel dealers, license and regulation fees, the IRS, and around forty or fifty cats."
I rub the amulet harder. "Now its my turn to be the bell or is that belle of that southern plantation you own."
The haze finally clears. I'm looking at forty or fifty cats and one ol dog laying in the yard. "Ah rats, I still need to clean out the grain cart, grease the bearings on the trailer, and take the grain drill apart and clean the feed gears to get it ready for next year. The disk still needs new bearings. I spent nine hundred dollars on tires for the trailers and still need four for the spring tooth harrow. The tractor is still jumping gears after spending nine grand on it. And...
Oh well, a girl can dream can't she? I wonder if Veronica would trade places if I asked her nicely? Where's that friendly old wizard everyone is always writing about? Wonder if he would help?
always,
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Thousands of unfinished stories
I'd guess that 20-30% of all stories on this site are unfinished, probably more. So there are thousands of stories like this.
I would like a better way of marking them as such, so readers don't start with false hopes. There is a Completed tag which few use. Perhaps a tag which readers could click on to indicate an unfinished story and which could be used as a search term would do the trick.
Some people don't mind an unfinished story, but for the rest, this would prevent a lot of frustrated readers.
A formal process?
Perhaps a formal process could be agreed on to allow continuation of unfinished storys.
Something like a "living will" for deceased or incapacitated authors.
A (formal) method for authors to grant authority for someone else to continue or finish the work.
Perhaps a standing committee to assign the "rights" to a work after approval of the original author ("living will" or email/signed letter) for the committee to act on the behalf of the original writer.
First, a consensus should be found to go forward with the concept.
not easy
you would need to track those that agree to let others finish stories, the criteria for that to go into effect and probably WHO they would allow to do so.
Whateley did this with second gen, but the original characters are left with unfinished stories from authors disappearing.
with BCTS, trying to get that permission for any unfinished stories already posted, nearly impossible.
in a shared universe it is a bit easier, but a wider focus like BCTS makes getting the agreement a massive effort almost guaranteed to fail.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Reader tagging
There's a way to do reader tagging in Drupal but if we installed it and used it, it would be likely that the next time we did a major update of the core software, all the tags would have to disappear because no one is doing a Drupal 8x version of the module. (We are currently using Percona 7x which is a fork of Drupal 7x and completely compatible, it just has an optimized database engine.) The reason we haven't upgraded to D8x or P8x is some of the modules we already use are not available for D8. Yet.
Current plans are to look at this again in March and decide if we are going to upgrade next year or skip it again. So far 7x has been being maintained but D9 is out now so I don't know how much longer. There are other modules we would like to have but have not installed for this same reason; they might keep us from being able to upgrade without losing features.
Sigh. Reader tags would be nice for other reasons, too.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
What About...
...Rock Star: Coda by Karin Bishop? It is a three-part sequel to a story by Jennifer White. I know a LOT of people write Gaby stories.
Be kind to those who are unkind, tolerant toward those who treat you with intolerance, loving to those who withhold their love, and always smile through the pains of life.
Free rip off licence
I don't post fics here but on the sites that I do I grant express license to rip off my fics. I just ask to be aknowledged as the source.
I simply consider anything I post online as "lost and gone forever" :), as being out of my hands and fair game to predators and - not being a particularly good writer - I'm flattered if anybody rips me off at all :D
As to unfinished fics - sadly I have one or two fics abandoned fics as I ran out of ideas for those fics too early as to wrap them up up by my favourite method, i.e. killing the whole cast :) - I also grant permission for anybody to pick up my shit and carry it forward.
Possible solution?
I have taken several unfinished stories and completed them. I have not posted them. I wonder if we add a preamble to posting listing the original author and how long it's been unfinished. Thank the original author and post the new writing. Also add if the original author disapproves of the posting the story would be taken down.
Is that possible?
Boys will be girls... if they're lucky!
Jennifer Sue
Fan-Fiction
You seem to have an ideal there. One simple one would be to use the "Fan-Fiction" tag with the "If the original author disapproves of the posting the story would be taken down."
Peace tmf
Paula Hanson - Mrs Cavendish sequel
wrote that story in 1998 and hasn't published anything since 2001 on Fiction Mania. I doubt anyone would be able to contact her or get permission to continue the story since she may not even be alive. Unless it is done as a fan tribute to her 24-year-old story but the original would have to be republished as well. I have never read this story either, I think I have only gone back around 15 years on FM.
Edit: There was a sequel written by an author Titania Midsummer on FM, here is a link:
https://fictionmania.tv/stories/readxstory.html?storyID=1609...