The torment that is the WiP - Discuss

[moonlite_tryst]

That's discuss people, not flame!

As an author who has been a bugger for starting to post chaptered fics and not finishing them this may seem a strange post, but here goes.

Whilst spring cleaning my LJ, I clicked on a link for one of the greatest H/D WiPs ever written IMO. Although labelled as catagorically not abandoned, it has not been updated for almost three and a half years *cries* and who knows if it ever will because the author is now writing in another fandom *cries some more*, which leads me to wonder:

If a WiP has been abandoned for a period of time, e.g. over 2 years or more, and the author was close to the end, should said author post a synopsis regarding how things were going to end for the reader's benefit?

Does an author have any obligation to readers who have followed/are following a WiP, or does the label WiP translate into read at your peril?

Thinky thoughts authors, readers?

Comments

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

this. exactly.

[calanthe-fics.livejournal.com]

I don't get super attached to many fics, so I can live with them not being finished. I don't think anyone starts out on a fic thinking 'yeah, I'll just write a few chapters and then torture everyone when I get fed up of writing it'.

I'm guessing the fic in question here is the Mirabella one. I've not read it. And I'm too busy reading Skeller these days :D

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

same, same.

i'll not speculate on which fic lusi is talking about, but i will say that i would still rec sohw despite its (likely forever) unfinished state. i think the writing is excellent and the relationship between harry and draco — the palpable tension and the way they deal with each other — is well worth the read. it's one of the ones i was thinking of when i was writing my below comment back to the post. sure, i'd love to see the end, but i'm grateful for what i did get a chance to read.

I'm too busy reading Skeller these days

me too, bb, me too!

[moonlite-tryst.livejournal.com]

Over the last 7 years I've read many WiPs that have not been finished and they've faded from my memory, but there are several that burned themselves into my consciousness and I would love to know how the author saw their fics ending.

It is.

[moonlite-tryst.livejournal.com]

Do you have abandoned WiPs? I can't think of any.

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

my stuff is more abandoned series (of which i have several), as i've never written a true wip (unless you count the one chapter i wrote for a fest that never got continued). i couldn't write a synopsis now if i tried, because i hadn't planned everything out and i'm not sure what the ending would be, even on the ones that i was close to finishing the series. i do get hopeful comments every now and then asking if i'm going to write more on them and i try to always answer as nicely as i can. however if i was getting heaps of them, and having people demand the next chapter (which people do), i imagine i'd get a bit snitty.

[moonlite-tryst.livejournal.com]

and having people demand the next chapter (which people do)

Oh yes, I've seen that quite a bit. There's also the UPDATE NOOOOOOOOOWWW! comments after an author has explained at the top of the post that there'll be no more due to other pressures.

I'm now thinking that just a note on the last chapter to say maybe baby or abandon hope all ye who read here rather than nothing would be a consideration.