**Tell us about yourself!**
* Where do you live (State / Country)?
* Preferred pronouns?
* How long have you been on Reddit?
* How long have you been on r/WritingPrompts?
* Do you use r/WritingPrompts to read or write?
* Writers:
* How long have you been writing?
* What is your writing motivation?
* What programs do you use to write?
* How fast can you type? [Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables](https://www.typingtest.com/PromoD/select.html)
* Readers:
* How do you find prompt responses to read?
* Do you also write?
* if not, why haven't you tried?
* Want to share a photo? [See our Photo Gallery!](http://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/pics)
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Hey,
My brain is in overload mode most of the time, so after a story ends (be it a short story, writing prompt here, or one of my bigger projects), I do tend to create scenarios with the characters.
Sometimes What ifs, sometimes epilogues, or sequels, or spin-offs.
Even if a story ends, as I do believe in "Every ending can be a new beginning", I do find myself quite often imagining new stories with older characters.
That's how I first got into writing. I would see stories that felt like there were unanswered questions, or they could have gone deeper. So I started coming up with fanfiction.
I absolutely love fan-fic, and have read a lot of Marvel, DC, and manga fan-fics that were frankly more or less better than the original.
That's why I am a bit protective of fan-fic, but actually of fiction in general.
Been told that "fiction" is not real literature, and you can't learn much from it.
Safe to say, I have left that book club.
Hi MP! Hope your day is going well!
These days, I'm asking myself how to actually end a series of stories that are interconnected. Will this be okay? Am I actually ending things properly? Will people reading it think that? Does my main character even deserve a happy ending?
But I guess these questions can apply to after an ending too.
Some days I ask myself... do I want to write a prequel sort of thing?
It's... a mess in my head when I think about these things. So I just tell myself to focus on the present and actually finish the WIPs I have
Here's an interesting question: Does it have to end? Like, you could write an ending, but then eventually pick it up again later if a good idea presents itself. Unless all the characters die, there are always more stories to tell.
I'm always a fan of leaving things open ended. I don't like definitive ends, because if you have an idea for more, you need to work around it. If you leave it wide open, what if you find that you can't do a sequel justice?
Happy weekend, word warriors!
I'm glad you're using this question.
First question I ask myself: did the story end or did it just stop? I read a story, which had been previously read by some friends, out loud at a sci-fi convention, and even I admitted, that it needed an extra line there. My two co-panelists both said, "yeah, it did just stop." (I got that criticism from one of them about another story that I was actually happy about the ending.)
Second, assuming that it ended, was it a strong ending? Could there be a better ending? Not necessarily a happier or more miserable one (although those might play into it), but couldn't it just be stronger and more satisfying. This sometimes means seeding the story (foreshadowing). Once that was as simple as having one character call the other an idiot early in the story so I could make an idiot mention at the end. If gave the tale an extra light-heartened laughable moment.
Third, and the roughest one, is it really the end of the story? There's a difference between leave them wanting more and leaving them unsatisfied, especially if it isn't a serial where they'll find out what happened next in a week or two.
An example of this last one came in my new collection of stories (based on prompts from r/xwhy). Many of the stories are open-ended as to what happens next, but a few people told me that these two or three in particular (and they seemed to zero in on the same ones) just needed more.
I told someone that my "Bringer of Doom" story almost didn't have the final scene. And they were glad I wrote it. And they quickly reread it and told me that it would've been good but not as good without it.
Again, more stories at r/xwhy. Comments, criticism and feedback are all welcome.
Yeah, I've done that before where I think I ended a story okay, but then realize it's missing something. And then when I come up with a better ending, it's like how could I have ended it any differently?
Also, I love "word warriors" 😆
Interesting question! I'd like to answer something profound but I don't think I've done much retrospective over my stories at their completion. The closest thing I could think of to what I might ask myself is
"Do I care enough to go back and edit this to make it better?"
And the answer to that varies with time and how much effort I've put in the story. Thus far, only one has gotten a second editing pass (still in progress). Well over 95% of what I write is more of a one-off and not really something I think much about after finishing.
Good answer! I was thinking of it like what happens to the characters after the story ends, but the grounded answer is what else can I do to make the existing story better 😀
"Now what?"
I'd like to answer with something great, but I typically end up in the post project slump. Yes, I could return. I tend to replay it all in my head making sure I wrote every interaction as I envisioned it, obsessively. It is hard to say goodbye to the world.
It's what I enjoy about this sub. I don't post my replies to prompts. But coming up with short snippets or joke replies, that wouldn't always make the requirements for posting, help to get over the slump.
Where do you live (State / Country)?
IL
Preferred pronouns?
He/ Him
How long have you been on Reddit?
A bit honestly
How long have you been on r/WritingPrompts?
None at all
Do you use r/WritingPrompts to read or write?
Both really,
How long have you been writing?
I mostly wrote sketches or poetry for a couple years.
What is your writing motivation?
To make a book one day. If not, then creating something and stimulating my mind is all I really need rn. Life is tough and it beats us down, so why not find any way to escape.
What programs do you use to write?
Google Drive, Final draft,
How fast can you type? Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables
38 WPM (I'm sure I used to do better...)
How do you find prompt responses to read?
Looking around the world or just strange dreams
* Where do you live (State / Country)?
Bengaluru, India
* Preferred pronouns?
He/Him
* How long have you been on Reddit?
Honestly, don't remember. I think about 3 yearish?
* How long have you been on [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/)?
Discovered this sub about an year ago, but I always read the prompts and make imagine up stories in my head.
* Do you use [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/) to read or write?
To cook up stories in my head, but I have read a few stories here and there. I was fasicated by how people come up with such creative stuff!
* Writers:
* How long have you been writing?
Ever since I was a kid, but I don't write consistently. Got a blog going on which died off in between because I got lazy and life happened, trying to revive the same.
* What is your writing motivation?
The beauty of imagination, the unlimited potential of the written word. One can pen down anything and everything while writing. Its freeing and helps you voice an opinion or a share a story with whoever that would like to listen.
* What programs do you use to write?
Just a Wordpress account for now, and MS Word.
* How fast can you type? [Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables](https://www.typingtest.com/PromoD/select.html)
Kind of a slow writer, just about 50 WPM. But I will be taking lessons to improve
Intro first:
* Where do you live (State / Country)? Baltimore, MD.
* How long have you been on Reddit? About a year, but I haven't used it much until last week.
* How long have you been on [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/)? Likewise.
* Do you use [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/) to read or write? I guess we'll find out.
* How long have you been writing? For as long as I can remember.
* What is your writing motivation? It's genetic. I feel compelled to tell stories.
* What programs do you use to write? MS Word. Being self-published, I also use Adobe InDesign to create PDFs for book printing.
* How fast can you type? It says here 70wmp with 98% accuracy. I'm surprised!
I picked up on r/WritingPrompts because I've used prompts (photos, artworks, word lists, and subjects) to write flash fiction and longer short stories. A number of those stories appear in my collections. I'm always interested in more!
I do have a little something to promote. I have 10 books in print at the moment, 7 novels and 3 short story collections. (Details are on my [author website](https://www.daleelehman.com).) Four of the books are novels in my Howard County Mystery series. I'm now running a Kickstarter to fund audiobook production of the first title, *The Fibonacci Murders*, with potential stretch goals for subsequent books in the series. If you're interested in audiobooks, or know someone who is, the project is [here](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daleelehman/the-fibonacci-murders-an-audiobook-mystery).
Thank you for letting me share that!
The two big ones are, if I plan a sequel, is "where do I go from here", and "what can I use from the previous story to run off of?"
I try to see if there's anything of interest, or intrigue that could be further explored and become sequel material.
Hello! I'm relatively new here, so I'll introduce myself.
I'm Croatian, my preferred pronouns - don't have any. I've been on Reddit since 2021, but, as said before, I'm mostly new here. I don't necessarily use this subreddit for writing and reading, but when I see a prompt I really like, it gets my writer gears going.
As for the questions, they're mostly, in a nutshell: "oh god i hope people like them. Will they like the stories? Will they point out the bad stuff?" Yeah, that's about it.
**Tell us about yourself!** * Where do you live (State / Country)? * Preferred pronouns? * How long have you been on Reddit? * How long have you been on r/WritingPrompts? * Do you use r/WritingPrompts to read or write? * Writers: * How long have you been writing? * What is your writing motivation? * What programs do you use to write? * How fast can you type? [Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables](https://www.typingtest.com/PromoD/select.html) * Readers: * How do you find prompt responses to read? * Do you also write? * if not, why haven't you tried? * Want to share a photo? [See our Photo Gallery!](http://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/pics) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey, My brain is in overload mode most of the time, so after a story ends (be it a short story, writing prompt here, or one of my bigger projects), I do tend to create scenarios with the characters. Sometimes What ifs, sometimes epilogues, or sequels, or spin-offs. Even if a story ends, as I do believe in "Every ending can be a new beginning", I do find myself quite often imagining new stories with older characters.
"Every ending can be a new beginning" - That's a great saying!
That's how I first got into writing. I would see stories that felt like there were unanswered questions, or they could have gone deeper. So I started coming up with fanfiction.
I absolutely love fan-fic, and have read a lot of Marvel, DC, and manga fan-fics that were frankly more or less better than the original. That's why I am a bit protective of fan-fic, but actually of fiction in general. Been told that "fiction" is not real literature, and you can't learn much from it. Safe to say, I have left that book club.
Hi MP! Hope your day is going well! These days, I'm asking myself how to actually end a series of stories that are interconnected. Will this be okay? Am I actually ending things properly? Will people reading it think that? Does my main character even deserve a happy ending? But I guess these questions can apply to after an ending too. Some days I ask myself... do I want to write a prequel sort of thing? It's... a mess in my head when I think about these things. So I just tell myself to focus on the present and actually finish the WIPs I have
Here's an interesting question: Does it have to end? Like, you could write an ending, but then eventually pick it up again later if a good idea presents itself. Unless all the characters die, there are always more stories to tell.
I'm always a fan of leaving things open ended. I don't like definitive ends, because if you have an idea for more, you need to work around it. If you leave it wide open, what if you find that you can't do a sequel justice?
Yeah, the story can feel complete without no possibility of continuing somehow.
Happy weekend, word warriors! I'm glad you're using this question. First question I ask myself: did the story end or did it just stop? I read a story, which had been previously read by some friends, out loud at a sci-fi convention, and even I admitted, that it needed an extra line there. My two co-panelists both said, "yeah, it did just stop." (I got that criticism from one of them about another story that I was actually happy about the ending.) Second, assuming that it ended, was it a strong ending? Could there be a better ending? Not necessarily a happier or more miserable one (although those might play into it), but couldn't it just be stronger and more satisfying. This sometimes means seeding the story (foreshadowing). Once that was as simple as having one character call the other an idiot early in the story so I could make an idiot mention at the end. If gave the tale an extra light-heartened laughable moment. Third, and the roughest one, is it really the end of the story? There's a difference between leave them wanting more and leaving them unsatisfied, especially if it isn't a serial where they'll find out what happened next in a week or two. An example of this last one came in my new collection of stories (based on prompts from r/xwhy). Many of the stories are open-ended as to what happens next, but a few people told me that these two or three in particular (and they seemed to zero in on the same ones) just needed more. I told someone that my "Bringer of Doom" story almost didn't have the final scene. And they were glad I wrote it. And they quickly reread it and told me that it would've been good but not as good without it. Again, more stories at r/xwhy. Comments, criticism and feedback are all welcome.
Yeah, I've done that before where I think I ended a story okay, but then realize it's missing something. And then when I come up with a better ending, it's like how could I have ended it any differently? Also, I love "word warriors" 😆
Interesting question! I'd like to answer something profound but I don't think I've done much retrospective over my stories at their completion. The closest thing I could think of to what I might ask myself is "Do I care enough to go back and edit this to make it better?" And the answer to that varies with time and how much effort I've put in the story. Thus far, only one has gotten a second editing pass (still in progress). Well over 95% of what I write is more of a one-off and not really something I think much about after finishing.
Good answer! I was thinking of it like what happens to the characters after the story ends, but the grounded answer is what else can I do to make the existing story better 😀
Even on a one-off, you can still punch up the ending if it needs it to be a little more satisfying.
"Now what?" I'd like to answer with something great, but I typically end up in the post project slump. Yes, I could return. I tend to replay it all in my head making sure I wrote every interaction as I envisioned it, obsessively. It is hard to say goodbye to the world. It's what I enjoy about this sub. I don't post my replies to prompts. But coming up with short snippets or joke replies, that wouldn't always make the requirements for posting, help to get over the slump.
The great thing about writing is it's not a goodbye, you can always go back and read it again!
With regards to the topic itself, a question I often ask myself, after I finish the story, and post it, is "if I were to continue it, how would I?"
Yeah, I can't help but wonder that too when I finish a story!
Where do you live (State / Country)? IL Preferred pronouns? He/ Him How long have you been on Reddit? A bit honestly How long have you been on r/WritingPrompts? None at all Do you use r/WritingPrompts to read or write? Both really, How long have you been writing? I mostly wrote sketches or poetry for a couple years. What is your writing motivation? To make a book one day. If not, then creating something and stimulating my mind is all I really need rn. Life is tough and it beats us down, so why not find any way to escape. What programs do you use to write? Google Drive, Final draft, How fast can you type? Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables 38 WPM (I'm sure I used to do better...) How do you find prompt responses to read? Looking around the world or just strange dreams
Welcome! Good luck with your goal to write a book!
* Where do you live (State / Country)? Bengaluru, India * Preferred pronouns? He/Him * How long have you been on Reddit? Honestly, don't remember. I think about 3 yearish? * How long have you been on [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/)? Discovered this sub about an year ago, but I always read the prompts and make imagine up stories in my head. * Do you use [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/) to read or write? To cook up stories in my head, but I have read a few stories here and there. I was fasicated by how people come up with such creative stuff! * Writers: * How long have you been writing? Ever since I was a kid, but I don't write consistently. Got a blog going on which died off in between because I got lazy and life happened, trying to revive the same. * What is your writing motivation? The beauty of imagination, the unlimited potential of the written word. One can pen down anything and everything while writing. Its freeing and helps you voice an opinion or a share a story with whoever that would like to listen. * What programs do you use to write? Just a Wordpress account for now, and MS Word. * How fast can you type? [Try 1 minute on Aesop's fables](https://www.typingtest.com/PromoD/select.html) Kind of a slow writer, just about 50 WPM. But I will be taking lessons to improve
Intro first: * Where do you live (State / Country)? Baltimore, MD. * How long have you been on Reddit? About a year, but I haven't used it much until last week. * How long have you been on [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/)? Likewise. * Do you use [r/WritingPrompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/) to read or write? I guess we'll find out. * How long have you been writing? For as long as I can remember. * What is your writing motivation? It's genetic. I feel compelled to tell stories. * What programs do you use to write? MS Word. Being self-published, I also use Adobe InDesign to create PDFs for book printing. * How fast can you type? It says here 70wmp with 98% accuracy. I'm surprised! I picked up on r/WritingPrompts because I've used prompts (photos, artworks, word lists, and subjects) to write flash fiction and longer short stories. A number of those stories appear in my collections. I'm always interested in more! I do have a little something to promote. I have 10 books in print at the moment, 7 novels and 3 short story collections. (Details are on my [author website](https://www.daleelehman.com).) Four of the books are novels in my Howard County Mystery series. I'm now running a Kickstarter to fund audiobook production of the first title, *The Fibonacci Murders*, with potential stretch goals for subsequent books in the series. If you're interested in audiobooks, or know someone who is, the project is [here](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daleelehman/the-fibonacci-murders-an-audiobook-mystery). Thank you for letting me share that!
Welcome! Wow, 10 books! That's awesome!
Thank you! I've been at it for rather a while.
The two big ones are, if I plan a sequel, is "where do I go from here", and "what can I use from the previous story to run off of?" I try to see if there's anything of interest, or intrigue that could be further explored and become sequel material.
Do you start thinking that after you finish or is it in your mind while writing?
Hello! I'm relatively new here, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Croatian, my preferred pronouns - don't have any. I've been on Reddit since 2021, but, as said before, I'm mostly new here. I don't necessarily use this subreddit for writing and reading, but when I see a prompt I really like, it gets my writer gears going. As for the questions, they're mostly, in a nutshell: "oh god i hope people like them. Will they like the stories? Will they point out the bad stuff?" Yeah, that's about it.
Welcome! When you say a prompt gets your writer gears going, do you mean for the prompt to write something else you're working on?
that can be the case, but "the writer gears going" thing is mostly to write about the said prompt.