I know we haven’t been pretty active on this blog the last weeks but as always – RL interfered. In my case my work has been stressful and I have been working overtime the last weeks (and I’m really looking forward to my holidays in the last week of October!) and for Fiora her studies have started again.

Our own absence was the reason for this topic – because sometimes you wait more than just a few weeks for another chapter of you favourite fanfiction. I do have many, many, many fanfictions for which I would be ready to sacrifice my firstborn (well, not really, but you get the idea ) just to get another chapter, a very short list which my favourites:

• Die Heiler (“The Healers”) by Zita (a German Lord-of-the-Rings-Fanfiction I simply love) – Zita hasn’t updated “The Healers” for more than a year due to health issues, her last signs of life are from May, since then – nothing
• All that this entails – Noell S posted the last chapter on October 2nd but the intervals between chapters are huge, RL keeps her from writing much
• Broken hearts keep beating by Sara M – another story for which I am waiting for more than a year. The last chapter was posted in September 2007. At the beginning of this year Sara announced that she is still writing the story but will only start posting again when she has finished it
• Of all indignities – gretomy posted the latest chapter at the end of July but has since then had problems with her “muse” and not so much time as school started again. She’s still writing and we can expect new chapters either at the end of October or roundabout Thanksgiving.
• Excessively attentive – JessicaS had really spoilt us with regular updates on Wednesday. That was until Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area in September, the area where Jessica apparently lives and works. After a seemingly long phase in which there was no sign from her she finally posted a chapter on October 14 and announced that posting will be irregular for a while
• Between the Night and the Morrow by Sarah Hoyt – as Sarah is a published writer her deadlines often keep her from posting on a regular basis. The last time she posted a chapter was at the beginning of September and she promised to be reliable but in the Tea Room her fans are already calling for the battle scones

I could expand this list further and further, there are so many great stories I’m waiting for. I check the boards (DWG, HG, AHA, …) on a regular basis but to no avail, you simply have to wait and you shouldn’t give up hope. In most cases it’s not that the authors have abandoned their story but as mentioned in my first sentence – RL interfered, be it in form of their health, their job or time constraints.

And that’s exactly why I prefer PIPs (short form for “Posting in Progress” – the author has already finished the story and will post chapters in regular intervals) to WIPs (short form for “Work in Progress” – the author hasn’t finished the story yet). There’s nothing better than anticipation. When you know it’s this special day of a week where you can expect a new chapter of your favourite fanfiction – it’s heavenly when you check one of the boards and see the title of one of your favourites. It’s a feeling you cannot describe…

No offence meant – many great authors somehow manage to publish their WIP in regular intervals, but there is always a risk. What if somehow the author loses interest in his/her story? What if there is a major blow in the author’s RL that will keep him/her from posting? And that’s one of the major reasons why I prefer PIPs: The security. I’d guess that in 99.9% the author of a PIP finishes his/her story. And that’s why you can start reading a very promising story without fearing that it might end somewhere in the middle. It can drive you crazy not knowing what might happen or would have happened.

As of today I’m really pining for a continuation of some of the stories mentioned above. By God – I think I would start screaming like a madwoman and run around in my flat should Zita post another chapter (and I don’t care which of her stories it might be). Perhaps I would also swoon on the spot because of the shock. I will tell you of my reaction when she posts a chapter (yes, I still think that she will continue someday).

So, as a conclusion. WIPs are great and I read them every day but PIPs are (almost) like a gift from heaven