I didn't start writing my Yuletide story until fairly late in the game, but I'd been outlining it in my head for nearly a week before that. The trouble is that the story as outlined required too much time to write, so I sectioned off the second part as a standalone. (This worked because the original plan involved four or five mini-stories that all built together toward a unified effect.)
Anyway, I chopped the first 1,500 words off into a separate file and today I put a rough conclusion onto that section (which had not been necessary before, when it led into the section that became my posted story). Sometime after the author reveal, I will ask if anyone is willing to check it over for me, because right now I think it's kind of hammer in the face unsubtle on the thematic front.
I may or may not get around to doing something with the other parts of my original outline, but I still got two stories for the price of one, which is, I think, a pretty good deal.
Anyway, I chopped the first 1,500 words off into a separate file and today I put a rough conclusion onto that section (which had not been necessary before, when it led into the section that became my posted story). Sometime after the author reveal, I will ask if anyone is willing to check it over for me, because right now I think it's kind of hammer in the face unsubtle on the thematic front.
I may or may not get around to doing something with the other parts of my original outline, but I still got two stories for the price of one, which is, I think, a pretty good deal.