I often wonder what happened to authors of unfinished fanfictions.
I hope they’re having a nice life
we absolutely are not and that unfinished fic haunts us to this day
Once I lamented on Twitter about never getting to finish a really good Sherlock fic, and the author recognized it and apologized, and I felt terrible. (And I SOMEHOW RESISTED begging her to finish.)
See, here’s how I feel: One of the best things about fanfiction is that I get the chance to read stories that are never going to be ‘published’ in traditional ways. I get to read the writing of people who are doing this as a hobby rather than a profession or even a part-time gig. And as a result, I get to be showered with so many beautiful stories that I would never, ever have found through any other medium. I get to read the work of writers who would have been lost to me if the only way I had of reading was through purchasing publications. There’s just so much more out there than publication systems have ever harnessed.
And, to me, unfinished stories are kind of the ultimate expression of that story that I wasn’t supposed to be able to read, but lucked out and got a chance to read anyway. Unfinished stories almost never get published. Before the age of the internet and fanfiction, most would never have been read except by their authors and maybe a close friend or two. But, thanks to the internet and the ability of authors to write as they go, for fun, with no obligations attached, I have gotten to read these unfinished, beautiful things. And sure, if I love a story I naturally wish that it would be finished. But if the choice is between never reading that story at all, or getting to read it as far as it goes, I’ll take the latter every time.
I have been changed by unfinished stories. I’ve been amused and moved and fascinated and transported by them. Some of my all-time favorite fics are unfinished. But I’m still so happy that they live in a corner of my head.
So if you have written an unfinished fic, thank you. I’m so glad you shared it.