Fannish entitlement

[gayalondiel_bak]

Hi all

Recently a friend, I will call them Penfold, expressed upset to me about someone on a fandom Kinkmeme saying they weren't going to finish a story because they had run dry on inspiration. The understanding that I got was that Penfold felt cheated for starting a WIP and being deprived of a conclusion.

That really didn't chime with me.  As a writer my biggest work is sitting half finished as of 2008 because I'm not in the place to finish it, and also because I don't think it's very good. Nevertheless people still follow it on FFN, despite the update dates. Should the Kinkmeme writer have to meep working, devoting evenings and weekends of slot to a story she's not attached to anymore, because god knows, when you're not in a good writing place it can be torturous, just because a few people on a website feel she has an obligation to finish? Should I slog through chapter after chapter of a story I don't even like, because I had the temerity to see if there was an audience for the first chapter before writing the next fifteen? should I be justifying myself and a friend for the collab we started posting before both falling ill, or should I just sit quiet until we're ready? Or should I take it down?

It's an old - and somewhat trite - argument in fandom to point out that we're not paid. But seriously, writing claims on our time - housework, reading, tv, films, cat cuddling all get displaced for fanfic in my house. But if I do it out of obligation with no love, then stories I do love and want to tell are less likely to get written. 

Yes, it's unfortunate when they fall by the wayside.  But the kinkmemes are like that - a quicker and less formal sort of writing, and you don't always know where it will take you. Besides which, there are any number of reasons for not writing more that the author may not be stating, because that's her right too

I am writing on the phone and so even more than usual this is pretty incoherent. Nevertheless I am dying to know if I'm the only one who feels that way about it. Between the entitlement of the loyal reader (who is, after all, choosing to read  work in progress) and the right of the author to choose how to pass their free time, where does everyone else draw the line?

(I'd love to get impressions from beyond my flist, if anyone wants to signal boost. Very interested too to hear from Penfolds variously, when it is right or acceptable for a reader to require continuation?)

A final thought: if JKR had got to the end of Half Blood Prince and decided not to write the last Harry Potter, well, I would have gone into hiding because the reaction would have been apocalyptic. But with the exception of her contracted publisher and by extension Time Warner, would any of us have had the right to demand she complete it?

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Comments

[pillow-face.livejournal.com]

Hmm I can understand why an uncompleted fic can be a real pain to the readers but I also understand that sometimes you get to a point in writing a fic where for whatever reason you seem to be incapable of writing any more.
I think sometimes readers forget that it can be annoying to the author as well cause I doubt anyone likes running out of inspiration/ motivation for their fic.

Personally I like the idea the kink meme (I believe it was them anyway) had where you can put your incomplete fic 'up for adoption' as it were.

That way there's still a chance of it being completed by someone with the motivation to do so.

[casey-bee.livejournal.com]

I agree. The "up for auction" idea is fantastic, especially if the old writer and new writer have a chance to swap notes.

[gayalondiel.livejournal.com]

Running out of inspiration is hideous when it happens. I do not however subscribe to the idea that you should write an entire fic before posting. There are many reasons for posting as you write and involving the readers can be a really enjoyable part of that. I find the idea of only posting complete complete fics an idea that sits back in the paper fanzine days, not on a dynamic community like LJ. And I love watching other authors drafting their way through kinkmeme fills.

Adoption is a lovely concept, more should do it. Although I've been sitting on Crossover for years because I have a sliver of hope about one day picking it up. It's hard to make that break even when you're bored of a story, they're so personal.

A very odd attitude for a fanfic writer to have, that.