Forever books vs definitive ends

[Omnifarious]

If you can choose.

Do you write with the hopes that the story can have book after book that never ends?

Or do you think you want to eventually end it and start anew with new character, and new worlds?

 

[Corty]

Definitive ends. 100%. I start out with an ending in mind anyway; I just need to reach it. Then start a new story. Here is a tip, at least, as to what I did:

After finishing one story, my new one plays in a shared universe. That way, if I want, I can bring back old characters for cameos or new roles.

 

[LilRora]

I feel like there should be more of a distinction here. If I had to choose between a never-ending story and one with a definitive ending, I would go for a proper ending. The main reason for that is mood and themes, because in a long story they all get repeated, usually making it monotonous to read and even worse to write, at least for me.

What that doesn't tell and I feel should be specified is if it is a closed ending or an open ending. Because I personally hate closed endings as they don't allow me to do anything with the character I spent months creating and fleshing out. I mostly go for an open end that I can pick up from in the future, be it by starting a new story in the same world or continuing with the same mc.

 

[TotallyHuman]

I never finished any one of my stories, but the ends I had for them were like those of Andur's: complete on their own and never in a larger scheme

 

[Omnifarious]

I feel like there should be more of a distinction here. If I had to choose between a never-ending story and one with a definitive ending, I would go for a proper ending. The main reason for that is mood and themes, because in a long story they all get repeated, usually making it monotonous to read and even worse to write, at least for me.

What that doesn't tell and I feel should be specified is if it is a closed ending or an open ending. Because I personally hate closed endings as they don't allow me to do anything with the character I spent months creating and fleshing out. I mostly go for an open end that I can pick up from in the future, be it by starting a new story in the same world or continuing with the same mc.

Oh

I meant it as... like... you can potentially have infinite seasons of the sherlock holms, but only have a few seasons of I dun no, "breaking bad"

One have a story that could just keep going. The other will eventually runs its course cause it would be unrealistic other wise.

 

[APieceOfRock]

While my stories (will) have a definite end, I'm aiming for them to be like JoJo's Bizarre adventures. I always giggle to myself when I imagine my old MCs appearing in my new stories as not just a cameo, but as something actually important to the plot.

Besides, being stuck with one same MC over and over again would just be too boring to write.

 

[NotOriginal]

definitive ends, write a story long enough and it is bound to get stale and boring.

 

[LilRora]

Oh

I meant it as... like... you can potentially have infinite seasons of the sherlock holms, but only have a few seasons of I dun no, "breaking bad"

One have a story that could just keep going. The other will eventually runs its course cause it would be unrealistic other wise.

That, hm. I guess I still stand by my words? No story can be continued infinitely without repeating things. When you watch different episodes of Sherlock Holmes or Rick and Morty or whatever, while each is technically something new, it's still the same character going through similar things.

I personally never write two arcs, books, or stories about one topic. I wrote one about transgenderism and I'm not ever planning to write another. A rewrite of that story at most. That's because it would be just a second story about the same thing. What I am doing though is contuing it and talking about transhumanism and existentialism, with the same mc but significantly different themes.

So even if I wrote something that would never end, with a big if, it would shift its focus across volumes or arcs and could very well be divided into separate stories.

 

[Le_ther]

If you can choose.

Do you write with the hopes that the story can have book after book that never ends?

Or do you think you want to eventually end it and start anew with new character, and new worlds?

"A story would only be called a story ifit has an end. However, there is always a new beginning that comes after that end."

Idk who made that but I mostly see this quote but I think this is a variation of the original one

 

[Syringe]

"One closed door is the intro to a brand new story." - Some anime grim reaper.

Definitive ends, however long that actually takes. But keep the same core universe.

I really appreciate stories that have a sense of continuity/connection across separate tales, so I'm also adopting this approach. Kind of like the Tales series. Same universe, constantly different casts across various timelines. Some of the references (particularly of a certain magician) made me cry when she was brought up in a following game.

 

[Corty]

"One closed door is the intro to a brand new story."

I saw that anime.

I think its name was Full Jawbreaker Alchemist.

 

[georgelee5786]

Erase them

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Both. A long story with an eventual ending that can tie up all the loose ends of the series over the course of several final books.

 

[LunaSoltaer]

Most stories should have a nice end, or be in a proper series format. I actually somewhat hate the idea that SH calls books Series, but I get it: you can say Chapter 54 is really Book 4 Chapter 5.

but then sequel is a valid story relationship and.... hells.

There are some genres I feel that work very well as an indefinite or an it dies when the MC dies. DiceRPG is definitely in there, as well as any story primarily relating to exploration, or slice of life.

I guess you could also put in an axis for seriousness vs casualness of the work. The more you take yourself seriously, the more you should considee established storytelling convention.

Really the book will tell you the writer what kind it wants to be. I have found more personal success going with what my book seems to want, but if you're going commercial then reconsider that calculus

 

[Neosquall20022000]

Oh

I meant it as... like... you can potentially have infinite seasons of the sherlock holms, but only have a few seasons of I dun no, "breaking bad"

One have a story that could just keep going. The other will eventually runs its course cause it would be unrealistic other wise.

What helped me think of my story was the idea of "Doctor Who" and how it's a story that can continue infinitely, the main change being the person that becomes the new doctor. It gave me the idea of creating my MC that helps move the story, going from one new world to another in each book. It's why I often refer to the series name, not specific book titles when talking to others about my story.

I wanted to create a story that would never end and continue forever, even having stories branching off to form new series like a massive tree.

you can say Chapter 54 is really Book 4 Chapter 5.

This is how it feels like with my updated version of my first book. There are long arcs that are the size of traditional books. I'm just starting a new arc with the 5th chapter, and the first book has 41 chapters. And based on how I'm updating the first book, it'll be longer than the 1st Edition of my entire series.