Mmm. I think the easiest answer is—I don't think the author has any obligation. As a reader, I think I am in the "all or nothing" camp; I don't think I'd be too interested to read a synopsis-sort of ending if I won't get to read it with all the flesh, blood and bone. Whether the characters come together has never been too relevant to me when I follow a story; even the how I am not too keen on... it's almost always the details, the little things that I am after.
WIPs are tough for me to follow because I have honest trouble remembering the details of anything I read more than a week ago; the last WIP I tried to follow was Drop Dead Gorgeous, but every time a new chapter came out I had to re-read... and before the story ended I was starting to get bored of the beginning because of the sheer number of times I had to go through it :(. So this wasn't as much about the risk of reading WIPs but a personal problem that I am alone responsible for...
If I am to write a long, multi chapter story one day, I think I will be those people who die an old, peaceful death first finish the whole thing first before posting—no, I don't really trust myself. :))) Also, because I tend to not follow a strict plan when writing a story, chances are I'll need to "patch" the earlier parts as new ideas spring up from the later and so it's best I have the whole thing done and beta'ed before making any part of it public. But if I do end up with an abandoned WIP, I think I will try my best to accomodate the wishes of my readers, whatever it is—be it providing a synopsis of the ending, or burning the script, or ... :)))))
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-02-23 11:34 pm (UTC)WIPs are tough for me to follow because I have honest trouble remembering the details of anything I read more than a week ago; the last WIP I tried to follow was Drop Dead Gorgeous, but every time a new chapter came out I had to re-read... and before the story ended I was starting to get bored of the beginning because of the sheer number of times I had to go through it :(. So this wasn't as much about the risk of reading WIPs but a personal problem that I am alone responsible for...
If I am to write a long, multi chapter story one day, I think I will be those people who
die an old, peaceful death firstfinish the whole thing first before posting—no, I don't really trust myself. :))) Also, because I tend to not follow a strict plan when writing a story, chances are I'll need to "patch" the earlier parts as new ideas spring up from the later and so it's best I have the whole thing done and beta'ed before making any part of it public. But if I do end up with an abandoned WIP, I think I will try my best to accomodate the wishes of my readers, whatever it is—be it providing a synopsis of the ending, or burning the script, or ... :)))))