Personally, although I might be bitter if a writer doesn't finish a story, I have also been that writer, and so I understand. I have given up on a couple WIPs in my time because I have simply run out of enthusiasm for them, and I still feel guilty for leaving them but I know I was young and hadn't planned the stories as well as I should have and I had other things demanding my attention in RL so it had to be done. I think it's fine for a reader to ask if a story has been abandoned and the writer should respond, and if the answer is "yes" and especially if they give a reason, the reader should not question it.
My line is, if you're being paid to write then you have to finish, full stop. But there's two kinds of free (or more): when people are expecting something, and when people aren't. When people are expecting writing then you do it because it is your moral duty, there is no financial gain but you gain experience and brownie points, and that's good enough for me. BUT if this free writing (the expecting kind) distracts too much from my livelihood or anything I deem important in my life, then I have to draw a line, whether it's slowly down or stopping entirely. It's hard though because there is no golden rule of where that line is, and sometimes it's hard to see it coming.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-09-05 09:32 pm (UTC)My line is, if you're being paid to write then you have to finish, full stop. But there's two kinds of free (or more): when people are expecting something, and when people aren't. When people are expecting writing then you do it because it is your moral duty, there is no financial gain but you gain experience and brownie points, and that's good enough for me. BUT if this free writing (the expecting kind) distracts too much from my livelihood or anything I deem important in my life, then I have to draw a line, whether it's slowly down or stopping entirely. It's hard though because there is no golden rule of where that line is, and sometimes it's hard to see it coming.