about 90% of the benefits are for the author. The 'please, OMG write more, more!111!' must stroke that ego. But the thing is, that does command a committment from the reader to either watch your journal or check your workspace (like FA or ff.net) for updates, and the thing is, it's not like a soap opera where you can tune in at the same day, same time on the same channel. That doesn't work at all.
Besides, when the story is presented as a whole - it's better for the reader in the sense that although it's a long read, more often than not, it's a good one. I know this writer that went offline 9 months to write a story, and she got it edited and buffed before she put it in her journal. As a result, that must have been the best multichaptered fic I've ever read.
I myself actually wrote a story, and it took me three weeks to write and retweak (from writing to beta turnaround) but once it was up there in the old journal, I didn't have to look at it again, or reread the sections to make sure that the other sections slotted, and I had to change the beginning (once the story had finished) to make sure that it had the same style as the end.
And you noticed that fandom sat up, agreed with my astounding conclusion, and stopped writing WsIP altogether. Er.
It's for the best, really. Most times than not, the WIPs never get finished, or people leave fandom or 'real life' happens, or the writer gets bored. WIPs are fraught with inherent problems.
That's true
Besides, when the story is presented as a whole - it's better for the reader in the sense that although it's a long read, more often than not, it's a good one. I know this writer that went offline 9 months to write a story, and she got it edited and buffed before she put it in her journal. As a result, that must have been the best multichaptered fic I've ever read.
I myself actually wrote a story, and it took me three weeks to write and retweak (from writing to beta turnaround) but once it was up there in the old journal, I didn't have to look at it again, or reread the sections to make sure that the other sections slotted, and I had to change the beginning (once the story had finished) to make sure that it had the same style as the end.
And you noticed that fandom sat up, agreed with my astounding conclusion, and stopped writing WsIP altogether. Er.
It's for the best, really. Most times than not, the WIPs never get finished, or people leave fandom or 'real life' happens, or the writer gets bored. WIPs are fraught with inherent problems.