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]

Oh no, don't feel guilty.

I'm not complaining per se. I'm mulling over the fact that one the one hand it's so frustrating for me, as a reader, when a WiP stops abruptly and there's no hint of whether or not the fic wil be finished one day; but on the other hand, I am guilty of starting 2 fics and stopping dead when I lost my H/D mojo.

I do want to finish the fic, I've just lost all steam on it.

That's perfectly understandable. Do you get requests from readers re the fic's status? If so, could you add a note on the last chapter to say you'll return to it one day, or something like that?