I'm sure we've all read many stories and just something that I really hate is when stories are abandoned even more annoying then any sort of cliche crap some authors right about. Maybe not as much as slash but I avoid slash so It doesn't bother me as much.

So which do you think is worse?

1. A Story that is 2 or 3 chapters long that is abandoned.

or

2. A Story that is long (over 20 chapters) and that is abruptly abandoned.


Wondering what you guys think because personally I'm split, there are some really good starting stories that I really want to be worked on and then there are some really good long ones that with a ending would be one of my favorite stories.

 

The 20 chapter one beacuse I have devoted a few hours of my life to reading it unlike the short one which would be only a hour or so.

 

Definalty the 20+ one because if you've read that far it's either A) A good story or B) You're really bored and need sometihng to read.

 

I'm split. You can usually tell which writers could have done a brilliant complete story. Whether they write 3 chapters or 20 doesn't matter as much as knowing what could have been--then suffering because it's been abandoned.
I'm also not one to talk since I might have done both. For a bit, anyway. I hope. I'll go hide now.

 

I'll give you a 20 second head start then it's fair game

 

The 20 chapter. I've invested a lot more time in it, and obviously find it good enough to keep reading. But for it to just stop would piss me off. Much more then reading something for around 30 minutes, with no real focused plot, and just starting.

This needs a poll, could mcatrage make edit his, or someone put it in?

 

I should warn you I'm a screamer. And on medication. And insane. And I might have been called a liar. Either way I bite.

But the most annoying stories are the ones that are abandoned somewhere in the middle. They've set up everything: motives, scenes, attitudes. And right before the story is about to open into its first big thing...it goes quietly into the night.

 

It's extremely annoying when an author writes some 70,000 words in 7 chapters, then doesn't update for three months.

/me blushes

I'm not going to abandon it, but honestly, it's hard to keep going. There's just so much shit to take care of that it leaves little time for writing. I'll get to it, eventually

 

*crackle*
I'm not the only one. I didnt mean to abandon it for as long as I did. It just happened.
And you have no idea the amount of guilt-like feelings that show up each time I see some poor, poor soul review it again.

 

I be irked if a novel length story I invested half a year into was abandoned,especially if I had high expectations for it.

 

I hate the 3 or 4 chapters when they're good. Some fics go 20 chaps long and you hope it'll get better but it doesn't, then it's abandoned.

 

Damn I hit poll but for some reason it didn't work. Guess I messed up because I wanted this to be a poll. Don't know if moderator can add it because when hitting advance edit I don't see any options for adding a poll.

 

I wouldn't get any more annoyed if it was a 20+ chapter story that was abandoned than I would a 3 chapter story. I'd actually prefer to read a 20+ chapter story to waste some time, that's what fanfic is to me and I got way to much time to waste.

 

For me it doesn't matter if its three or 20. If its got a good plot, fleshed out characters (including OC's), seemingly original storyline( keep in mind people that not everyone can make up a good storyline) and a cliffhanger thats the big climax of the story, than BAM! Abandoned... Not saying that I could do better but IT PISSES ME OFF.

 

The short, abandoned story is definetely more annoying for me. It really doesn't bother me if a story is abandoned, only that it entertains me. Of course I would prefer an author to finish, but if they stop halfway, it can still be entertaining.

 

Probably the ones that start and die annoy me most. Only time I would care is if they have a great start and then, of course, I want to know what the story will become. If it is a longer fic, usually you have a good idea where the author is going with it, but there are several writers out there who are unpredictable and when they drop out of existence it's infuriating.

 

And here's the moral of the story folks- guilt-trip authors into writing by necro-reviewing abandoned stories! Ah, if only that actually worked...

 

LOL @ Syao...well, yeah, if the author DIES...

As has been said, it depends on how involved the story is, and how long it is. If it's a twenty chappie, but super short, it won't matter as much because you haven't gotten as involved as you could in a really, really, long short set.

Of course, any abandonment is annoying, but once you get involved in the story, and invest your time (especially if you take the time to write a good review...unlike myself), you just want to kick the author. ^_^