Long Runners =/= Poor quality

I don't wish to make something that goes on forever and ever but still how can anything go on for years and years without fans or writers getting tired of it? How can you maintain the quality of long running shows or is it impossible?

Don't get caught in the endless cycle of my kung fu is stronger than yours.

Pace yourself.

The series I'm writing will likely be a long runner if all goes as planned. Though it's more unified by a setting than characters. I've got stories planned ranging from murder mysteries to a rebellion to a small-scale zombie apocalypse.

What I'm saying in general is, variety is really helpful. If people feel like they're reading the same thing they've read ten times before, they'll stop.

Only keep it going as long as you still have something to say about that world. If you have a lot to say, and/or keep finding new things you want to say, then it'll turn out as a good Long Runner. The reason many LongRunners suck is that the makers have run out of good ideas long ago and are still churning out stuff - hence it becomes either a repeat of previous stuff or badly done new stuff.

Recycle ideas and plots. If it's a long enough runner then people don't notice. This works best if it's another writer doing it as they'll hopefully make the repeat have a different flavour to the first. Longtime fans will put up with it and newer fans won't notice.

Or maybe most long runners that become bad do it because they are being kept past their use by date because it earns money. So end them.

I'm sure long runners can be good, I just can't think of any good ones that don't rely on negitive continuity or have an ending.

Throw in slice of life moments, it helps flesh out characters and spread out action. Just don't put to many in at one time.

In D&D there was rule for good campaigns that stated; Have a segment of the main plot show up every 3-4 adventures. In a novel that translate to 3 chapters, a show 3 episodes. That gives you one episode to get you there and one episode to recover from the last plot point. If you throw slice of life segments in. That can spread it out to 4-5 in between the main plot, and if characters are interesting enough, 4-5 shouldn't be too big of a push.

I like the idea of recycling Gvzbgul but I worry about leave some my writing in the hands of another person, I know it is to keep it fresh but I had seen some of the stuff on the comic page how it mostly works out. If I do leave it someone do I talk it about with them and see where they plan to take it? Depending on the writer is a tricky trope for me.

Are we talking about a fighting series or a harem series?

I amnot doing harem series but fighting however is in the story.