WIPs and feedback

[namasteyoga]

Extrabitter did an essay over on housefic_meta looking at creating the series “Knots,” and I thought I’d essay a bit here myself. Hopefully some of this will be worthwhile, but I wanted to address a little bit about writing a longer story as a Work In Progress, and also how reader feedback can influence that WIP, or at least how it impacted what I’

Comments

[geshonesix]

I read and loved ‘Tracking Time’ as a WIP and ‘Declarations’ as a finished piece and loved them in equal measure, but I enjoyed the slow burn of watching TT unfold

[namasteyoga]

I definitely agree that it's more interesting to participate in the discussion and feedback on a WIP. It is in a sense, as you said, almost a free form style of writing where you give and receive in almost a jazz (or prog rock, if you prefer) setting.

And I know that for some people the open ended structure of a WIP works better. Blame my German heritage, perhaps, but I'm uncomfortable without a construction blueprint to work from. I fear that it would become too easy to wander off down blind alleys with no return to the plot -- because I love exploring those blind alleys. Its just that I've seen how easy it is for WIPs to be abandoned once they wander off their original course.

But as I said from the outset, this style has worked for me. For others it may not.