Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
AYRT

Same, to be honest. I couldn't really get back into it after the first two versions of it I saw were unfinished. The story is okay now, and I would probably have enjoyed it if I had been gifted this version, but it's somehow hard to shake off the first impression. I might reread it in a few days or weeks to look at it with a pair of fresh eyes, but right now, I can't forget the mess it was when I opened it.

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
ayrt

Mine was actually pretty good when it was finished, but it had lost its luster for me. I still commented and was enthusiastic about the parts I really liked--I'm sure my disappointment didn't show--and they seemed relieved. We had some back and forth, and they gushed a lot.

I went to reread later with fresher eyes, and they'd deleted the whole thing. So I think now if I got an unfinished story as my gift, I'd be tempted to auto-reject and move on to stories I could enjoy. It's one thing to be unpolished, but not even a finished draft? Eh, nah.

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
AYRT

Oh no, that's terrible. :( You'd think after scrambling to fix the fic they wouldn't delete it afterwards. I'm sorry, coalie, that sucks.

I did leave a comment that was cautiously enthusiastic about the things I liked about the (finished) fic, but I think it's fairly obvious that I wasn't over the moon and that I saw the unfinished first version. In hindsight, maybe I should have tried harder to not let it show, but I don't like to fake squee (and I'm not particularly good at it either; when I'm excited I'm excited and when I'm not I'm awkwardly polite).

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
DC I vote for letting the underwhelm show, TBH. If everyone's gracious and understanding and enthusiastic about receiving half-finished fic, it just normalizes the practice and makes the authors think it's okay.

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
Hell, I'd make it clear they were busted, even if there was enough there in the end for me to compliment some of it. I'm a last minute finisher myself, but after the last minute is beyond the pale, and they deserve to know they fucked up, not kid themselves they got away with it.

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
I'd be tempted to quote the last line of a fic and call out what an interesting ending it is.

Re: Unfinished fic

(Anonymous) 2019-12-27 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
That would probably backfire.