So a while ago I started talking with a fan. They don't write often and I like having someone to talk about my work with since this is not something I openly share IRL. He of course wondered how things were going. I showed him the draft of what I had so far, as well as telling him where things are going. About how the plot arc I was working on up to the Opulent Mall was something I was beginning to have serious doubts about, and yet having trouble coming up with another one.
If anyone wants to see what that general plot arc would be, you can read the epilogue part 1 where I speed run through what would have been another 6-8 stories to finish off the series. The idea was to also create a part 2 with the original original plot arc that I abandoned way back around part 10.
But back to my talks. We talked through things but one of the things that made this different was that he offered to write the ending himself. We had discussions about where it should go and what it should be. I rewrote some parts to try to fit together smoother with a less extreme end to the party. Then something came up in my life and I basically put all that aside for a while. After long enough I just wasn't thinking about it. He tried to reach out but I only really skimmed them. Then I got an email, followed by notification of new comments, that he had finished the story and had put it up. It's my fault that I wasn't contacting him and had I been keeping up I would have read this was his plan. The story is in fact largely what had been part of my draft, written by me.
However, while he took many of the ideas we talked through, many more are new to me, and he envisioned having whole new arcs before reaching an end.
The selfish instincts of being an author makes me want to say no, the fate of the characters must be mine to dictate in full! But the practical side of me knows it has been years since I've last published, and I can't promise if left to my own I ever will.
So if anyone wants to get that, it is about 60% my own words but I don't personally like the direction it was going at the end. I've had a few messages with him and we may need time to sort out differences if I'm to keep letting him write the rest for me.
