Fic Talk > General Discussion

The NeverEnding Story

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julilly:
You won't find Bastian or the land of Fantasia here! Instead you'll find that story that goes on and on, my friends.

Sometimes ending a story is as hard as starting one! We get so attached to the characters and their lives that it's easy to just keep going but is that 100th chapter really doing your story any justice? Consider that you are not reading it from the beginning, and a great way to turn off a reader is for them to see a daunting amount of chapters to read on a story that isn't finished yet.

Let's discuss endings, and whether it's sometimes better to just finish a story at a natural point instead of when you want it to finish for the sake of keeping the character alive.

FrickingKaos:
I have to agree on this, because it is a turn off to me to see a story that is over 100 chapters and not done. I tend to get bored easily....so I try not to read those fics. The longest story I have written was about 50 chapters I believe, then I just took it and made it into a series. Ending a story is somewhat difficult because I want to enjoy the ending myself, not to mention be satisified from a reader's point of view. I like to make sure the ending makes sense too.

mare:
I think it all depends on the nature of your story. I mean if it's one of those things that has  alot of characters and t makes sense to keep it going then by all means, but there are so many stories out there (both fanfic and oringinal fic) where you can tell when those filler chapters we were talking about in the other thread are happening.

When I write, I usually gauge my length by those chapters. I tend to have at least one or two throughout the story but if I find myself writing more than that I know the story needs to come to an end.

Book or fanfic lengths don't deter me from reading them if they are long but too many of those filler chapters will make me stop. LOL

julilly:
I think that from time to time filler stories are kind of necessary because not every chapter has the ability to be action packed and plot moving. So sometimes you just need that bit of a link to bring one part of the story into the other; it's filler and not filler at the same time.

I agree though that when every other chapter is filler it's time to wrap it up. Even if readers are egging you on for more, it's time to stop. Consider that you may have one reader saying you need to keep writing it but how many are saying 'When is this going to stop?' they're less likely to say anything about it though.

Sakabelle:
I can't do those never ending stories, I like to get to the point. The middle part is difficult enough for me, so I'm not going to spend a ton of time on filler if I don't have to. My stories usually end around 20 - 25 chapters. I do have one that I intended to be very long but I eventually got bored with it and started writing something else. I think I have too much story ADD to stick with something for 100+ chapters! lol

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