I have seen more and more readers on Ao3 mentioning that they don’t read non finished fics.
And I am not here to tell you to read fics that aren’t completed yet, because it’s not my job.
But please, if you subscribe to this policy, be aware that this absolutely contributes to fics never being finished.
Because writing a fic, especially a multi-chaptered-one, takes a lot of time and effort and writers need positive feedback to make it worth it. So if they aren’t getting it, the chance of them dropping the project altogether is significantly higher.
I started not reading certain writers until their stories are finished, because those writers are the ones who start story after story after story and don’t finish them. I started that after one of my top 5 favorite stories wasn’t finished.
I have one unfinished story. Lack of feedback isn’t the reason. Poor planning on my part is.
I only don’t read unfinished fics if the fic hasn’t been updated in over a year because I know that lack of planning leads to lack of inspiration and I don’t want to get hooked on something that’s 6 years old and never get to finish it.
As a writer who’s only ever finished one full fic and posted, it’s kind of some of both. A lot of it is lack of inspiration and poor planning for me, but having active readers commenting and asking when the next chapter is coming definitely helps spur on the information. (Speaking of which, I should probably go post that next chapter of my fic that I promised like a month ago 🙈😬)
