daredevilkink | Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

Man, I really hate unfinished fics. Hate hate HATE.

So a while back, I read the first part of a fill here on the kinkmeme, thought it was good, and waited not so patiently for a second part. It's been weeks, and it hasn't been updated yet.

Then I go to A03 to-day and find that the author has posted this fill over there. Just the one part, of course. And I said to myself, "I'm not even going to click on this until I can see part 2 there."

And I hate it even more when I give feedback and say, "I hope you update again soon," and the author writes back, "Yeah, yeah, I'll post the next part soon," and then they never do.

It seems to me that about 90% percent of stories that are not one-shots never get finished. Okay, maybe 80%. (That's just my perception of course, not a real statistic.) But still. So many cliffhangers out there, so many unfinished fics!

Okay, rant over, sorry to take up your time. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

I think that's sort of the nature of a kink meme/fandom, though? Like, you read through thousands of prompts and one of them catches your eye, so you start a fic for it, maybe write an outline with some stuff that you're really excited about, but then you find another prompt, or you join another fandom, or your schedule changes and you no longer have time for writing fanfic. I think that unfinished fics are the price we have to pay for encouraging an anonymous, volunteerism-based fan community to provide us with entertaining stories.

OP here. Yes, it's true that this is the nature of every fandom. And I guess it is the price we have to pay. It's just that some days I'm more sensitive to it than other days. :-)

i don't think it's a big deal? i mean, it's a shame when you're loving a fic and it doesn't get finished, but i don't think any fanfic author is obligated to finish something. like, it's all for fun, and if an author isn't finding it fun anymore or doesn't have time to finish or has found something else that interests them, then that's their call.

but i guess that's me talking as someone who writes. as someone who also reads a helluva lot of fanfic -- it can suck :')

I am forever amazed at the willpower of people who wait until WIPs are finished before reading them.

I'm like: ".....how???"

Because I always fall into the perpetual-WIP trap. Always. I just love reading; I can't help myself.

I guess the only upside is that, eventually new stories come along and you just stop caring about the unfinished story?

(That said, fanfic is a hobby, not a job, and we're not obligated to write, even if you leave comments. I feel tremendous pressure when I write, knowing people are out there waiting to read the next part. I love it, but it also gives me anxiety. And I'm juuuust contrary enough that I will purposefully NOT update if people start harassing me about finishing a fic, lol)

And I'm juuuust contrary enough that I will purposefully NOT update if people start harassing me about finishing a fic, lol)

I'm just a mere reader but I feel kind of bad when I see comments that state only stuff like "update soon/pls/prettywhatever!!!", how is that even a comment?!
but this would be another topic of discussion.. :D

I agree that it sucks and I am a complete hypocrit because there might be a wip on this meme I haven't updated. For me, it's a self-discipline issue. Unlike other writers, I have a shit ton of free time I just don't have the focus to sit and write. It's something I hope to improve on though. I am amazed by the prolific writers who can knock out tens of thousands of words within a few weeks.

While I hate unfinished fics too, I've abandoned quite a few fics as well. For various reasons like college, getting my thumb drive stolen, falling in love with a new fandom, and so forth.

For one extreme example, three close friends all admitted to me last year they were sexually assaulted. (One was at a party, the other was at a friend's house, and one by her own father.) As you can imagine I was pretty depressed during this time. While I was watching an interview of a favourite actor of my current fandom/fic, he made a vicious rape joke.

I saw red. I felt sick that I spent so much time on these fics based around his character. I ALMOST deleted every fic I wrote in that fandom. (nearly 30 fics could've disappeared) The only reason I didn't was because so many of my lovely dear readers still loved these fics and I didn't want to deny them. It's been months now, and I've let go a lot of my anger, but I never went back to that fandom or those fics. Just thinking about it even now makes my stomach clench in anger, and yet at the same time, I'm sad because that was a lot of work I put into those fics. I wrote those out of love.

I've been on both sides of fics. Agonizing over fics that will never get updated again, and feeling utter relief to never have to write in that fandom again.

Be like Elsa, anon, and let it go. Complaining about fics not being updated isn't going to get them updated faster. Life gets in the way, or people move on to new fandoms. It happens. The important part is that writers have fun writing, and getting salty about people not finishing stuff is only going to make them stop writing all together.

Thank you for saying this in a much classier way than I would have.
Yeah, it's just someone venting and at least they have enthusiasm for the work and blah blah blah but the fact is that sometimes 'enthusiasm' crosses the line into 'entitlement'.
I really hate when my love and enthusiasm for writing is squashed because someone got carried away and started treating me badly for not writing at the pace they want.

+1

+2

And I don't want to miss out on great writers who might decide not to post their work just because other readers get pissy/entitled about WIPs.

+3

'Tis better to have read the first chapter and been left with a cliff-hanger than to have never seen the prompt filled at all.

Pretty much this. Like, I have a 40hr/week job, a chronic disabling illness to deal with, not to mention family and friends whose obligations need to be met. I have a life and I am trying my best. I don't appreciate the harassment.

UGH

I'm not a fan of rants like these even though I totally understand the need to blow off steam about it.

I have comments from 100+ days ago helping me work on the final chapter for a fic that really is finished as it stands now. And I just! UGH! I haven't been able to get it done. It's been like four months. I have a WIP from last year that I really am meaning to get back to. But whenever I see comments like this it reminds me that most people expect a deadline on fics of a few weeks to maybe maybe a month.

It makes me worry that no one is going to care about my final chapter or care when I finally update and it just feels so shitty.

What's even worse is over at another kinkmeme I wrote a thing, got encouragement to write more of the thing along the lines of "update soon!". I wrote two more updates and dead. fucking. silence. It felt like those people just fucked off after a week of waiting and figured "oh, I guess this is abandoned."

ITS NOT FUCKING ABANDONED IM GETTING TO IT IM JUST BUSY GOD.

Yeah. I'm still tracking fills from the first kinkmeme page. I check up on what I filled to see if anyone's commented. You know, I look into this stuff. And yeah it's sad when I have so many tabs open in one of my windows that I can't see that swirly little dream width logo and NONE of them have updated but I'm not really that invested in it.

Object permanence I guess. Even when I check I don't care, but as soon as there is an update I'm ALL OVER IT.

So that's my /rant.

So you're THAT author! XD

I tend to read things long after they were written and I try to comment if nobody else has. Occasionally get happy authors replying, which is nice.

I know that pain of the WIP that is never completed has altered the way I write. I try to finish it first, before ever posting it because I know that I might never finish (or might need to alter it extensively). Readers do like prompt updates. That said, one that I wrote and posted that way got no comments after several updates and a steamy sex scene. I was so disappointed, because I'd worked so hard on it, that I just haven't felt the energy to post the rest. I do it in a shot if someone commented, but I guess it wasn't good enough for someone to want the rest.

Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

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