Pfeh, color me pissed off. I was reading a Big Bang story and it isn't actually finished. It ends on a huge twist, like a chapter-ending cliffhanger, and the writer's all "Hah hah, what a great twist!"--and apparently fails to understand that that isn't a complete story. She makes no effort to actually resolve any of the storylines, just stops the narrative cold.
Consuela, I read one of those too. At the end of it, the author wrote: "I realize that for many of you, this ending is less than satisfying. It should please you to know that there will be a sequel. At some point...in the future. I have a bunch of stuff to finish up first, but know that I have no plans to abandon the poor boys like this."
So very, very frustrating.
And Fay, I saw a historical J2 where the artwork is alnmost all atrociously naked manips and thought of your grumpy LJ rant about that very thing.
Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too. There's a reason I don't read WIPs.
Edit: I just realized that's grammatically incorrect, and should actually be WsIP. But there's no way I can imagine saying WsIP without sounding like I'm spitting.
I am totally happy to read a WIP, although I tend to do so only when I trust the writer to finish.
But a Big Bang challenge is by definition not for WIPs. That the story was incomplete and unfinished broke the implied contract with the reader.
And I don't know where she gets off thinking she's going to write a "sequel". You don't write a sequel to a story that you didn't finish to begin with. The story wasn't finished: it needs an ending, not a fucking sequel.
Huh, I totally will read WIPs. And fragments. And ideas that I know will never actually be written, much less finished. Though, granted, if I am reading those, it's likely because I am reading the author's lj and not a comm.
I do think Big Bang more than implies that the story is finished. Once I've committed to reading your 20K, I think I'd like it to actually have an ending.
I'll read WIPs if the story seems particularly compelling, and if I'm seeing signs of regular updates. Totally inappropriate for Big Bang though.
(And oh, what will I do when the Big Bang manna dries up, as I suspect it must. I mean, aside from get any work done or a reasonable amount of sleep.)
Well, there's always cliche_bingo, which had 400 people sign up to play. Although that's a multifandom thing...
And there are any number of big bangs. I'm not tracking any right now, but I do need to start watching some of them. The NCIS and Star Trek Big Bangs are the first two that come to mind for me. I think those two are scheduled to have their stories revealed in September. Maybe? ::scratches head:: I really do need to go check on those.
I generally find big bangs too...big.
They really are overwhelming in their Bigness, at times. I have commitment issues.
