A poll!

[sophinisba]

My big (currently just over 38,000 words) post-quest AU has been mostly stalled since November, but the first two (big) chapters are done and the next two are close, though the fifth is kind of a mess.
[Poll #951999]
Note: This is not to ask whether you think you will read the fic; this is to ask for your advice. Please share your own experience with posting and finishing WIPs.

Comments

[dreamflower]

Thing is, advice that works for one person doesn't always for another. I've always posted as I write, and I've only one story that I've ever stalled on, and it's not going to be unfinished--it's just...slow. Anyway, it's never really been a problem for me.

But, as they say on usenet, Your Mileage May Vary. If you are the sort to freeze up under scrutiny, then it might be best if you wait until at least the whole first draft is done.

[sophinisba]

Yeah, it is really hard to know because we all work so differently. I have stalled on a lot of fics, but I can't really tell how much that has to do with the angst of having them Out There and how much is just that I tend to get stalled on fics! It seems to happen whether I am posting them or not. But I am really not all that far from finishing this one (especially if I scrap chapter 5) so maybe I can get a draft done without too much more trouble if I just put my mind to it. Thank you for your input!

[danachan.livejournal.com]

I find that if I do not finish something in full before I start posting chapters, then I never will finish it. (I have many unfinished stories from when I first came into this fandom.)

And yes.

What dreamflower02 says about what works for one person not always working for another. That is true. But I do think you will end up feeling bad about it if you post it and then you don't end up writing more immediately (because what if posting it does not inspire you to write more?).

I love you!

[danachan.livejournal.com]

Please do not be mad at me for saying you should not start posting it!

[sophinisba]

Ha ha that is okay. I am the one who told Claudia not to post any of her post-quest AU until she finished the whole thing and that probably has not helped my popularity with the Claudia fans but hey. :)

I am just, you know, chapters one and two are so nice and formulated, they want to be out in the world!

And last night I was thinking maybe I should just go ahead and drop chapter 5 seeing as how it has given me so much trouble and is not really all that necessary for the plot (and doesn't have its own plot). But maybe these things are better discussed on chat. *hints*

[danachan.livejournal.com]

*on chat with bells on, omg*

[shirebound]

For five years now, I haven't written a single chapter until I've posted the one before it. Knowing that 'the die is cast' and I *have* to get cracking on the next chapter is extremely motivating for me.

[sophinisba]

I do have two fics that I abandoned after I started posting and I feel horrible about that... and at the same time I know a lot of people whom I now consider friends first came to my journal through those fics. So it's hard to know what I should do here!

[mariole.livejournal.com]

I hope you do finish. It's a service to you and the work. But that's just my view.

[sophinisba]

I like what you said in your other comment about the hardest chapters being the most rewarding and I do still want to go back to my Frodo-in-jail fic for that. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want Aragorn rushing in with his sword and making everything all right, but I thought I had a better idea of how it would go than I actually did and when I went back and tried to work it out last summer the OCs totally took over and I don't think that would be a very satisfying ending for a fanfic so then I quit again.

But someday. For now, post-quest angsty AU, pre-quest hobbitpile, Frodo/dwarf, and remix and homework.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Yes, you def. want characters to solve their own problems. You've got such a great dynamic going in that jail story, it will be fun to play that out. Good luck with it all!

[sophinisba]

Thank you!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Lately I've been all about finishing before posting...but if I wasn't sure that it would ever be finished, then I think I'd want to post some rather than none. Then again, I'm one of those people who is not particularly offended if the author never ever finishes. I'm just happy to get SOMETHING and consider it a gift. :-)

[sophinisba]

Oh, I do intend to finish this one, I do, I do.

I'm like you in that as a reader I don't get upset if other people don't finish their WIPs, and I guess that's the main reason the third option (yes whether it helps you finish or not) is up there. But as a writer I sure do feel bad about those ones I started posting and then stopped, and I really wouldn't want to have that happen with this one because it's one that I care about a lot. And the caring is another reason why I really should make an effort to finish before I post it, because once I start posting I'm afraid I'll care more about the fb (or lack of it, more likely) than about the fic itself, and that would be a sad thing.

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I'm no one to ask. I used to always post WIPs as I went along. That went OK for a while but then I ended up with some that have never been finished, so now I'm trying the other tactic.

Well, that was helpful, wasn't it, LOL!

As a reader, I've never cared particularly whether someone finished a WIP or not -- it's all good. I know it's an issue for some readers, but it's not one that's ever made the slightest difference to me.

[sophinisba]

That was very helpful, yeah, because I mostly just felt like talking about this rather than coming up with any real answers. It seems like in the old days a lot more people were posting as they went along and then actually finished. And I mean, posting a chapter or more a day because they were actually writing a chapter a day, and that just boggles me because I've never been anywhere near that productive.

I think I need to keep this one to myself a little while longer, but goodness has it been in progress for a long time. I might need to impose a new set of deadlines or something. But that feels weird since there are all these other obligations that have real deadlines.

Hmmm.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

This is why I gave myself a WIP Amnesty festival. Sometimes, you just have to go with what you've got.

[sophinisba]

I think some of my Faculty fics need a WIP Amnesty festival. I'm going to keep trying with this big fic though, for a little while longer at least.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

I'm really not a big fan of telling other people who to do their fiction. Perhaps this poll is a way of finding out what motivates you. That's crucial: you have to figure out what supports and energizes you. Sometimes feedback gets you flying. Sometimes it kills you, because you don't have the story thought out and all these new ideas pull you from your original course. I've see feedback crush as many people as it helps. Only you can decide which camp you fall in.

For me, I have done both. I'm a strong believer in finishing stories, because I think I learn the most in the last chapters that are the hardest to write. Anyone can start; few finish. So I encourage you to get the support you need to finish, because you really are an amazingly talented writer and I'd like to see more of your work out here in the world where we can see it. Best wishes.

[sophinisba]

Perhaps this poll is a way of finding out what motivates you.

I think, yeah, I mostly just wanted people to share their thoughts, and polls are fun so I did it in poll form. The yesses definitely have the majority here but I'm thinking, yeah, this is one I should finish before I post because I really would be disappointed if lack or excess of feedback got in the way of my finishing it.

I'd like to see more of your work out here in the world where we can see it.

This is really wonderful and encouraging to hear. When I saw it was your birthday last week I picked up an old smutfic and made a mad dash to finish it before midnight and post it as a present. I actually brought it from 4000 to 7000 words in an afternoon and an evening, but it wasn't done and I didn't end up even wishing you happy birthday. Sorry! Happy belated birthday! Anyway, I picked it up again last night after I saw your comment. So thank you very much! I will drop you a line when I post it. :)

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry about missing my birthday. I never do! Thanks for the happy thought, though. I'd like to see the story when you post it. Thanks for dropping me a line; my LJ attendance is sporadic these days, so I'd otherwise miss it. *hugs*

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to write an entire fic and THEN start posting. But truthfully... it's not working very well. I find that I want to go back and keep changing earlier chapters... and that I lose track of what has happened in earlier chapters, too.

I think I feel more motivated when I post a story chapter-by-chapter when I'm working on it. I do believe in getting a fairly good head start on a WIP, but I don't really think it's beneficial to plan on finishing it entirely. And, truth be told... I'd always rather read a fic and then not have the author finish it than never get a chance to read it at all.