Thirty-seven works in progress

28th September 2025

That's not hyperbole. If anything that is conservative accounting. These are works of fiction, stories. Does not include any other projects, zines, sites, games, ideas, whatever. That would be... many.

I'm sure there are people with far more than thirty-seven WIPs. I'm curious how to feel about this number. Overwhelmed? Inspired? Happy to have this many potential ideas?

An accounting of the reason each remains in progress:

1. The vast gulf between what it is and what I want it to be.
2. A nice idea but it has a narrative mechanic I don't know how to convey properly.
3. The love interest is a self-absorbed millionaire playgirl. However I have actually written her as a shy nerd.
4. A secret desire to use a form that would render it unreadable.
5. Structurally lopsided and I refuse to do anything about it.
6. No plot just vibes.
7. Entirely me scratching my own itches.
8. Is it a fluffy romance? Is it gritty political intrigue? I certainly don't know!
9. Would be very easy and very fun if I actually sat down and wrote it.
10. Plot adheres to no known structure, mostly vibes.
11. A serious theme but I only want to write the falling in love bits.
12. There could be a good plot but, again, I only want to write the falling in love bits.
13. A complicated structure I am not capable of pulling off.
14. Needs a thriller element I do not have in me and the time travel part bends my brain
15. Needs an absolutely minimal amount of work, still can't do it.
16. Keep changing my mind on the structure and form.
17. Cannot decide what the theme actually is.
18. Started in 2009.
19. Keep changing my mind about what century it's set in.
20. Melodramatic.
21. Miserable.
22. Historical? Fantasy? Who knows.
23. Needs more research than I can handle.
24. Would be good fun, should go back to this.
25. Probably not my place to write.
26. Plot/theme demands sacrifice but I don't want anyone to die.
27. Sequel to 9 so really 9 needs finishing first.
28. Sort of a prequel spinoff of 7.
29. A fever dream.
30. Should probably be about something.
31. Too much about something.
32. Requires something very meta figuring out.
33. Needs an actual antagonist and unfortunately I can't write antagonists.
34. Don't want it to finish so haven't written the ending.
35. A sequel that is far too different from the first.
36. Accidentally thought about how the characters would eventually die even though that wasn't in the story and made myself too sad.
37. The structure is all wrong so I took it apart, replotted from scratch... And it came out exactly the same.
38. Bonus that I didn't count originally because I thought I had officially given up on it but I keep working on it, so obviously I have not. It needs a plot climax, it currently has 'rescue goes here'.

Recurring themes in the obstacles: structure and/or plot. Is it all just stuff I want to read? Rather than anything I'm actually capable of writing?

I've got two sort of prioritised right now. 34 and 10. This doesn't mean on any given day I'm not fiddling with a random one, probably 37. The most sensible option to focus on would be 1. And a few that are very close to done, like 24, 15, 5, and 9. It also doesn't mean I won't ditch them if I have a fun new idea tomorrow. 'Priority' is a loose term.

On balance, I think I like having them all. They can stay. Wips forever.