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

[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.