Works in progress, old and new.


Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the purple button to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.


How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?


I only have one completed and unpublished novel, that will be out in July.

That’s the good news, I wasn’t sure about the number of unfinished stories I had, so I took a look through my saved files.

The rather embarrassing answer is far higher than I realised.


There are at least fifteen!

Some of them go back several years, like the third Horis Strongman adventure and the fourth part of the Balcom Dynasty.

The thing is, none of the other books in those series were ever popular enough to make it worth my while to spend the time on finishing them.

Then there are the sequels to what were originally meant to be stand-alone novels. When I originally finished the stories, I realised that there was more to be told and started writing more.

Both Survive and Life and Other Dreams have unfinished sequels. Again, a lack of reader interest has stopped me from finishing.

Plus, there are so many new and exciting projects to occupy my mind.


Not only that, or maybe because of it, the voices in my head that were narrating the stories appear to have given up as well. Without their input, I have little chance of ever finishing any of the above.

Will the voices ever return and pick up where they left off? Who knows? Maybe they too have seen that the demand just isn’t there and have lost interest.

If people start asking, I suppose they might be persuaded to return and resume the stories.

The only series to buck the trend so far is the one featuring my amateur detective, Andorra Pett. I currently have two unfinished stories featuring her. I will complete them because the rest of the series has been popular.

The good news is that, so far, the voice is happy to carry on narrating.


The rest of my unfinished works are brand-new ideas.


I have ideas for new stories on a regular basis. I get at least one a week.

In a new departure, I’m trying out the concepts and characters on Medium, in specially written short pieces, to test the waters, as it were.

If these get a lot of attention, then I’ll know the idea is sound before I commit to the job of making at least 70,000 words out of it.

If not, then at least I have another short story or flash fiction to add to my portfolio.


What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know below.

Then, please check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.


Until next time.



Let me know what you think about this week’s subject.

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4 Responses

  1. P.J. MacLayne

    I’ve always finished a book I’ve started writing, even if I don’t expect to do anything with it. It’s a way to get it out of my head.

    • Richard Dee

      The voices are fickle, they very often disappear mid narration.

    • Richard Dee

      I agree. The trouble is, the voices in my head have given up narrating.

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