At the start of 2019, I wanted to write a family sitcom type of story. I had my main character and her family. But I didn’t really have a plot. I changed it constantly and re-wrote the first episode about ten times or more, until finally deciding on having her be a writer for an online magazine, and each chapter would be based on an article she had to write. The chapters would be stand-alone episodes, like in a sitcom, where that situation would be solved at the end of each chapter.
However, the MC was dull. Pretty much a Mary-Sue, but not even as ‘special’ as a Mary-Sue is supposed to be. Just an average, slightly quirky, boring girl. I couldn’t continue writing about someone who sparked… nothing.
I also had an idea to rewrite a story I wrote years ago that was set in 1895. But I wanted to combine in with another old story, and… it just got too complicated. So I ditched that idea, too.
Share your ideas, complaints, unused plot lines, and advice for people who have abandoned stories here!
I have so many unused plotlines I come up with all these great ideas but never have the patience to develop them. If anyone needs prompts feel free to message me
One that I really loved but didn’t end up doing was a story where the main character wished they weren’t in their family/life, and then kind of got to see what life would be like without them. But the thing was that in the universe everyone who is close to dying (or not existing in the world as we know it) gets a choice to see what the world would be like without them and then decide if they want to come back or not. So like, the MC met someone who was on life support and wasn’t planning on returning to life, but they both kind of explore the world together, talk to some other “ghosts” or whatever, and both eventually decide that continuing with life is worth it for them. I really wanted to write that one, but I’m not good enough at Episode coding to do all the complex point systems and directing I think the story would have needed.
That is so good! Personally I think you should definitely write that storyline, it’s very original and unique in my opinion and it could easily blow up. I would start planning the story first, like on Google docs or something then I would start writing bc it would be easier to just look at the script and write from there since you won’t forget anything.
So this story was going to be about a virus that destroyed the world and turned people into something non human and everyone who survived minds were enhanced.
This was inspired by the maze runner but then i lost inspiration for it.
I may write it in the future but rn its a nahhh.
Unknown dreams
This one was going to be about the mc sees the same person in her dreams every night and one day they show up at her school.
Again i lost inspiration.
Dead or Alive
I made it up to chapter 2 before i lost inspiration so progress.
It was about the mc sees ghosts her entire life but one day she sees her own ghost and it was going to be about her trying to prevent her death.
Redemption.
This one was going to be about 8 misbehaving kids get sent to a strict boarding school. Will they find redemption or create more chaos?
Trust no one.
It was fun writing but then it went
Devil or Angel
Yall cant blame me for not continuing this coz it was so baddd.
It was basically one of those cliche mafia stories.
I wrote it years ago okay dont judge.
The one I am currently writing:
Dead or Alive
This is a thriller kinda story so i decided to keep the name of my other horror story.
Because then i didn’t have to make a new intro lol smort.
Basically about a group of 4 best friends get harassed by a stalking psychopathic killer and it turns them into psychopaths too.
A couple of months ago I published a story called Reaper’s Property. It was about a girl who started a huge gang after her mother died in order to find her killer, but got sidetracked with money and power. The LI was a police officer.
I had a quit working on it because a friend of mine was murdered, and I feel like writing about a person who is looking for her mother’s killer while killing people would be a little triggering for me Well, that and I had no motivation to work on it and I didn’t know where it would go.
That’s awful!
Sometimes I struggle to find motivation to write, especially now… but I can totally understand how a traumatizing event like that would turn you off from writing about that subject.
I’ve definitely overcome lack of motivation, but I just can’t work on that story. I’m working on a new story, but I’m taking my time to write it so I don’t give up on it. I like the story, and my ideas for the ending are super exciting to work towards!
I’ve abandoned most of my story ideas because they turned out to be either cliche or the MC was a Mary Sue. I don’t mind those points but I don’t want to face the bad reviews just because of that
I lose interest in my stories for a while or get busy, and then when I come back I realize there was pretty much nothing there anyways, so… Not like there was much to the story idea anyways (especially not remembering it)
I wrote a reality tv show named “Bring It On” on episodes, it has like 10+ views, with three episodes. It was really garbage and cliche so I abandoned it. And of course, the episode forum was also a factor.
I have some abandoned stories which I didn’t continue because I either lost motivation to write it or I think they’re not good. Plus I’m also too lazy to code.
I have a story idea that would make a good entry for the Squad contest, but I decided not to continue it because I have no definite plan to where the story is going ahead. It’s titled “Polaroid”, and it’s about a group of six guys who used to be friends, but then split up due to some misfortunes in their lives. Suddenly, one of them mysteriously dies, and the only clues that will help them figure out why he died are have some Polaroid pictures that symbolize cryptic messages. Kind of a spoiler, but little did they know, their situations were the one that lead to the death of their friend.
I also have this story idea about rival elf kingdoms, but then I scrapped the idea because it’s cliché (rival kingdoms ended up being in peace because both rulers fell in love with each other).
I had a story idea about a girl who gets stuck in her sister’s imaginary world, and she find out that they are in danger because the demons in her head (her depression) are slowly getting rid of them.
I had it mostly planned out, but I skipped to the end a lot, and lost motivation.
Also, I am working on a story, but my motivation is slowly draining. I don’t even know why, it has such a good plot!
I have lots of ideas for stories. They’re not really abandoned because I haven’t had the chance to try to write them because I’ve always prioritized something else. So they’re on hold until I feel like the right time to write them lol, which could be tomorrow or never.
Very brief descriptions lol
1
One is heavily based on Final Space and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s sci-fi space, humans and stuff. I started to write it as an Episode story but I’ll probably just write it as a regular story if I ever get the chance.
2
Another one is actually a story for kids, I wanted it to be a musical but I can’t write music. It’s about trolls and magical mythical creatures. The main characters are trolls.
3
A third one is about death and life after death. You become a guardian angel and the main character gets to be the guardian angel for three person before he gets to move on to the next chapter in his life. The next chapter is filled with lots of fantasy and I consider to not write about what comes next because it might get confusing.
4
Then I have a fantasy story about siblings going getting separated and going through some hardships. They find themselves in the middle of a war, kind of like GoT but not as epic
5
Then I have a bunch of stories with the exact same story line but I can’t figure out it really. They’re more for me just practicing writing.
6
I have one really depressing one about abuse and stuff. What I love about it are the characters. I’m not sure if I ever should write it because I’m not sure if I will write it well and not romanticize bad stuff.
It’s hard for me to abandon my ideas, especially when I think they’re really good; however, I do have a number (usually those I generated from when I was a kid) that I abandoned because… well, they’re not good enough and I don’t have the motivation to write them. Honestly, I even forget about them. I’m the worst.
Though sometimes, I merge an idea with another idea and sacrifice what must be sacrificed from that idea :>
ooh ok I remember some I abandoned them because either they’re not what I would write or they just don’t feel like a good story/cliché… or both.
girl and her sister have powers but they were hidden in Earth because of their evil aunt in their world (they know it) and one day they were needed-
Honestly I don’t even understand why they have to be hidden if they’ll be “needed” some day especially when they’re not even trained well… the only special thing about them was that they’re royalties, and maybe the fact that their powers are forces of nature (?)
plus this is so cliché bye
girl has an adopted sister who is apparently loved more than her
I don’t like writing drama-focused stories, or maybe it’s just that this idea just sucks a lot.
I come up with all these great ideas but never have the patience to develop them. 
Well, that and I had no motivation to work on it and I didn’t know where it would go.
I abandoned them because either they’re not what I would write or they just don’t feel like a good story/cliché… or both.