I think a big part of why Chemistry has lasted for so long is the fact that I lose passion for a project once people know about it. Stephen King says "Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open." By posting every new chapter on my website or on FictionPress, I am constantly writing with the door open.
Whenever I get a new story idea, I instinctively want to share it. I tell my friends, I tell my boyfriend, I tell my family.  I want everyone to know about what I'm writing, as if talking the story out will help me improve it. But it never does. As soon as people know what I'm writing, as soon as anyone starts asking how it's coming, or what'll happen next, I immediately want to start a new project.
It would make a lot more sense for me to just always write in secret. Instead of posting every new chapter as soon as I write it, I could hoard them, wait until they really take shape. Wonder of wonders; I could wait until the story is finished.
I am, by nature, a very open person. If someone asks me something, I'll answer them without hesitation. It doesn't occur to me to tell them it's none of their business. It doesn't occur to me to lie. I automatically assume that everyone has pure motives, and that they're just asking because they're genuinely interested.
It doesn't help that people always assume they have the right to know. It used to just be this way with non-writers; I'd be scribbling out a chapter during study hall, and a friend would tug it away from me to read it. I had always just told them, "I don't like people to see my work until it's finished. It's a writer thing." So why do I post it online after one draft? Why do I stack up my chapters, one by one, without really finishing anything? Even other writers are always curious, always asking.
When I tell my mom (who I am very close to) that I hate the fact that I post half-assed, half-finished work, she tells me it's as simple as just not posting it. But in a way, it's not. It's not as simple as just not adding it to the collection of stories, because it's like I need to post it to prove I've been writing. Like I actually feel like I need to justify myself and my work. It's like posting the chapters is just part of my writing process. I think; I write; I post. The end. I don't understand why I do that.