Corpses on my hard drive

Yes, I admit it. I do have two old corpses on my hard drive. If they were humans and had just been left somewhere in a cellar, they would be skeletons by now. They’re old – they’ve been around longer than I have had my own flat so far.

They’re stories – novel material, even – and I just seem unable to finish them. Why? Can’t I think up to the end? Far from it. I know how they’ll end. I have a concept for each of them, with the main characters and a complete line-up of the story. Yet they are not finished and out there to find a publisher. Why?

I really can’t answer that question, to be honest. When I started them up, I really liked them. I still like the stories and the characters, but I can’t bring myself to write them down completely. (I also have devised a complete story line for a slash version of “Dracula”, but I haven’t finished it yet, even though it’s good…)

It’s the concept, I think. Knowing how it will end takes quite a bit of the adventure out of writing for me. I know that’s stupid – I can’t write a novel without having a concept first. I can’t finish that long a story without knowing where I am going. And I know I will enjoy writing the scenes, making them come alive inside my mind (my very own mind-movie theatre inside my skull). But I can’t continue.

This ends now!

I have read over most of one of the stories so far and will continue to write it. It’s a mystery story (they both are) and I will finish it, even if it kills me! “Der Fall des Cornwall-Vampirs” (“The Cornwall Vampire Case”) spans over 100 pages already (and is good for about 200 more). I’m about one-third through the story and just about to introduce the real villains. Maybe that’s the point. I’m going to change my point of view for the first time in the story and I’m a bit worried about that. I’m good at looking into a villain’s mind, so that’s not the problem. By now I’m out of the story, too, but that can be remedied by reading through the story again a couple of times. The Cornwall Vampire is not going to get away, that much is for sure!

This time I will hang in tight and finish the story. I promise!