There are many reasons why a story can remain unfinished for a while, and it is a natural part of the creative process. There is also a temptation, if a story was finished, but it was popular, or even just because the writer feels like it, to bring it back to life with a sequel, or even a 'prequel'.

Short stories, and good novels that have a well-constructed and conceived plot, have a beginning, a middle and an end and they feel right that way. There are many good ways to begin or end a short story, or a novel.

When people write erotica, they are often thinking more on the lines of, 'a day in the life', something more like an episode in a television series than a novel. They are focused more on the detailed denoument than any underlying plot that extends beyond the particular chapter or episode. In that case, it is easy to see how a story can become almost endless. When this happens, you need to take a fresh look at the story, decide where it is going and make sure that it actually gets there. Was there a message in the story? Is that clear from the episodes out there? If not, maybe it's time to get round to saying just what that message is. It is better to write something shorter with a message, than something longer without any particular message. A writer should not take reviewers too seriously either. They don't always see, or understand what the message is, perhaps because they are also focusing on the detail of the action rather than its underlying message, but sometimes because they don't share the same perspective as the writer on the subject matter.

Sometimes it is easy to put an idea down in a way that makes it complete in itself, but sometimes we don't do it justice by rushing to finish it. Knowing where the story is going, where it will end, does not mean that every problem will solve itself easily along the way. Posting chapters means that you cannot change direction by going back and writing them again. You have to solve problems by carrying on, which is much more difficult.

I have at present a number of stories that are unfinished, although I believe that what I have shared with people out there was worth sharing as it is. If there is a problem to be solved, I have always preferred to take longer and solve it better, than rush into it. In the end the reader benefits.

There are ideas, stories that pull a writer on. The personalities you create seem at first to have little shape, and even less right to dictate their place in the story, but the power of a writer can be an illusion. When you see a world in your mind with people in it, they appear to behave like real people in their own alternative world, and sometimes it seems as if they are writing it all by themselves. That is where the middle of a story can become very much longer than you had originally intended. You have to keep them in line, and always remember where the story is going to finish up, whether they like it or not!

None of this matches up with the kind of reasons that have been posted here to explain the unfinished story. It is not particularly a result of having other things to do, but sometimes a break is needed before the right idea pops up to create that much needed bridge between the middle of a story and the end.

Problems that arise can be technical in nature, psychological, behavioural or even affected by events in the outside world. I had a story set in Manhatten that seemed inappropriate to continue immediately after September 11.

As readers, here you are fortunate in being able to communicate directly with the writers. You can ask them about a story that appears to have been on hold for a while, and they might tell you the reason. But please try to be patient with them. In the end, their imagination is your entertainment!