a plea on behalf of authors with works in progress

I know people “hate” WIPs and “don’t usually read/comment on them” because “it’s so frustrating waiting for updates” and “what if it never gets finished?”, but let me just say something from the point of view of someone who has written several multi-chaptered fics over the years, including one that has sat unfinished since 2010:

It’s lonely. It’s a huge investment of time and energy into a project that you hope people will like, but most of them will never tell you until it’s finished. It’s easy to get frustrated. To feel like no one cares, or is paying attention. To feel like giving up, or shelving it for later.

Encouragement along the way is like rain on the desert for writers of WIPs. Knowing people are excited about your story, and eager to see what happens next. Your questions and your love can light a fire under a writer, keeping them going when they might otherwise feel like maybe it’s not worth it. Your feedback might even give them a new idea when they are feeling stuck.

So take a risk. What’s the worst that can happen? You get to read something you enjoy, even if it’s unfinished. Balance that against maybe being the reason something does get finished, after all.

 

picascribit

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hopelesswriter #1
I know right...there's this once...i've stopped writing a story after 3-4 chapters and i've lost inspiration and self motivation(and barely have readers)...but after one year of hiatus...no updates at all...one day, i received one comment saying she's not sure if i'm going to continue or not but she just want to say she liked my writing style n i did well on the chapters posted. i was so touched and motivated by that one comment that came after a year the fic left on the dusty shelf...that i just got inspired to continue and less than a year later...i managed to complete it...still probably one of my better written works. All thanks to that one comment at an abandoned fic. Although i won't guarantee it always go that way...but like you said...we get to read something even if unfinished, why can't we at least show our gratefulness for it? And plus, we never know what we'll get. Writers aren't writing machines...they have feelings too and sometimes they can lose inspiration or the will/drive to write too. For me as a reader, i never hesitate to comment at stories that's been unupdated for long...because...why not...there's a comment box...and if readers feel it's writers' responsibility to write, then why isn't it our responsibility as readers to comment on WIP? if i'm just writing for my ownself without expecting comments along the way...i wouldn't need to post it on an interactive site like this.

Thank you for the thoughtful post.
Aidemstarz #2
True :)
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