Different Strokes for Different Folks: "Read As It Goes" or "Binge Read" (And Why Both Are Good) · 4:01am Jun 7th, 2015
I'm going to try a new series of blogs here. There won't be any schedule to them, but I am trying to make blogging more of a regular thing, so let's have the first in (probably) a series of things commonly debated. The series name might change if I think of something better. (Read: if someone gives me a better/more original name.)
Anyway, I've often come across people who differ from me in their opinion on whether it's worthwhile to read ongoing stories. (And occasionally, other media where the story is, at that point, incomplete. But mostly with stories, especially fanfic.)
Starting with my perspective because if you quit reading here, I want you to only hear my side for no actual reason, there are some valid reasons to wait. For one thing, there's a ton of other content out there, even ignoring other fics. It's pretty easy to find something else to do instead of read a given fic. (That's why I'm so grateful when you guys read my stuff! 
) If a fic never finishes and you never invested yourself into it, you lose nothing, because you have risked nothing.
That brings up a second point: any given fic might not finish if it's not pre-written. Fan writers have lives, too (well, most of them), and things come up. They get distracted or lose interest or just forget what they were doing. There are dozens of reasons why an ongoing story might never finish. Even with stories written by writers I talk to every day and whom I could get a completed outline from if I just asked, I still don't like reading as it's written, because then I have to wait. I do not like waiting. I am not terribly patient most of the time.
Reading along also comes with the risk of losing track of the action. I could name a few stories, but I won't, because even though I enjoyed them, it would seem like I'm telling you not to read them. Suffice it to say, there have been a few stories that I thought were fantastic, but I couldn't tell you now what happened three chapters ago, because that was at least several months ago, if not a full year. When there are large gaps between chapters, it often requires a re-read just to catch back up on who's who and what's what. That results in a lot of wasted time, and it may result in no small amount of frustration after a few such occurrences.
But on the other hand, reading as it's updated has its merits as well, and some pretty good ones. The first is the most obvious: it encourages the writer. Knowing that they've stirred up interest is sometimes the impetus that keeps writers going through long and arduous tales. And, yes, having tried and failed many times to write a longer story, I can confirm that it can be a very difficult process to complete a novel-length story. Accruing likes, comments, and views keeps writers motivated to see a story to its end. (Just don't send multiple PMs or comment on other stories to tell them to continue. Patience, people. Patience is a virtue. One that is probably hypocritical for me to preach.)
Another reason is that it's helpful to the writer, as they get feedback as they go along, making the story stronger as it progresses. That is how a lot of new writers learn. I came into contact with my first editor (and first FiMFic friend), Andy Grey, in the comments of Stranger Than Fan Fiction. (No link, because that fic is so far below my current standards that it isn't even funny.) His comments helped me start toward fixing the many errors I was making at the time, which was the first step in getting to where I am today. I owe Andy all of my gratitude, because I totally thought I was the best thing ever back then, and I never would have even realized I was doing anything wrong.
Perhaps most important, however, from a reader's perspective is that reading incomplete stories is worthwhile for the experience. My read-along friends have insisted that I'm missing out by not reading along, and while from an opportunity cost perspective, I'm actually not, I cannot deny that I'm missing out on whatever enjoyment I would derive from reading it now.
For some people, in reading and in other things, it is better to wait. However, for others, waiting is for chumps. (Somehow, this turned into a metaphor for just about any given rite of passage. Like drinking. Or driving. Or certain intimate activities. But hopefully not for any mix of those things at the same time. ... I digress.) Whichever side you fall on, that's what works for you, and that's fine. We need both kinds of readers. The read-along crowd keeps the writer motivated, and those who wait allow the writer to bask in their accomplishment. And some basking is justified. I already stated that just finishing a longer story can become a monumental task. (The waiting crowd also provides authors their paychecks. Think about it. Editors and friends read along and offer input, serving as the read-alongs, and the rest of us buy the book after it's complete. We are waiters by default with most professional publishing.)
And since you've made it this far (unless you just skipped for some reason), I have a special announcement for you, my devoted readers. I wrote a short darkfic back in March, and I've just recently made revisions called for months ago put painstaking labor into it since then. I can now announce that tomorrow afternoon, I will be publishing a story called Stay. Have a screenshot of the cover! (Linked so it doesn't show up in blog previews. This is an easter egg of sorts for those of you who actually read this.)
I know the Twilight and Flash tags will still anger some people, but just... trust me, okay? I don't want to spoil anything, but I did have a reason for putting the Dark tag on there.
Anyway, so those who don't read my blogs don't catch on to the secret hidden just for you guys, let me know what your thoughts are on the whole "read now or read later" thing. And let that sneak peek be my thank-you to you for reading. I really do appreciate it. A writer is nothing without his readers, and a Writer without his readers is even less than that. Writing fluff is fun, but my absolute favorite thing is stirring up discussion and making people think. Talking to people with differing views is an important way to learn and solve problems, and it is my hope that I can make it an enjoyable experience for all involved.
I try to balance the two reading activities. For some stories, I'm willing to patiently wait for the next update on. Not most stories, but some. Usually I'm only patient on the especially well-written stories, or maybe for a story that has a particularly interesting idea. Some other styles of stories, like collections of unrelated short stories, have no drawbacks to waiting since each chapter is independent, so I'll happily read them even though they are not really "completed" stories.
Sometimes, however, I just get frustrated with waiting. I'll slap those fics into my read later and check back every month or so to see if it's started regularly updating again.
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How patient I am is entirely dependent upon how distracted I am from what I'm waiting on. For instance, with my 2.3mil word backlog of stories, I can easily ride out the wait until the next chapter of a story with months between each chapter. But when it comes to publishing... eh, not so much.
Soon. I will publish soon. Only about... ten more hours, maybe? I'll see what the mods are doing tomorrow. I don't expect this thing to feature, but I still do push for at least 500 views and 50 likes in the first 24 hours, so hopefully it publishes at a somewhat decent time.
Brief question. I was going through your stories, and I noticed that Stay wasn't among them anymore. Why is that?
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My more in-depth explanation got deleted when some issue with CloudFlare prevented me from posting my response.
TL;DR version: The story was just a quick little experiment published as a stopgap. In hindsight, I don't think it was that good, and I'm not really proud of it or anything. The comments section became a total mess, in part because people completely misunderstood my comments, and my attempts to fix it only made it worse. I got tired of the whole mess, so I unpublished it. Mere minutes afterward, I decided that it was pointless to unpublish something that I was never bringing back into the light of day, so I deleted it.