Why Writers Will NEVER Let You Read Unifinished Work

This is it. You've asked a million times before and you're about to ask again. I mean, they're your best friend and they're good at telling stories. They won't shut up about this "secret" book they've been working on but they won't show it to you either. You want to know what it is, to tell them what you think. You open your mouth and those dreaded words "Can I read it?" are about to escape, you feel the wind coming up your throat...

NO!

I will stop you right there, you suck back in those words, you hold that air, you leave them alone, and you sit back and relax as I explain to you why, as a writer, you will NEVER get to see our unfinished work. I don't care if you're a sister, brother, mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, I don't care if you're Jesus, the odds of me showing you my unfinished stories are still in the negative range and that's where they'll remain. Just like artists don't like hearing "Oh, will you draw me?" the dreaded words to a writer are always "Oh, can you send me your story?"

I mean don't get me wrong. We are generally amiable people aside from living in our own world half the time and maybe we'll nod. "Oh, yeah, totally! I'll send it to you, tell me what you think!" ERRRR. Wrong. You're not getting that story no matter what they said (If you do get the story, you'd better understand that you are one of the most important people in their life and appreciate that). These kinds of promises, for me, are like boxes of chocolates; the minute I remember they're there, they're empty in an instant.

You might ask, why don't writers show unfinished work? That's kind of like saying why is the sky blue? You could get a long, complicated answer or you could just accept the simple fact that it is. However, to shed some light on this situation from a personal standpoint, I will make you, a genuinely interested friend, a list explaining why no matter how many BFF heart necklaces you buy, you're never getting that goddamn story.

1. Unfinished business
Having a story that is unfinished yet in the hands of another human being is like having an itch you can't scratch. I mean, any self respecting reader would want to breathe fire down on an author who published an unfinished book and as writers, well, it's kind of our entire existence to understand the reader. So, basically, willingly giving someone an unfinished story is like having peanut butter without the jelly. Or an ocean without the salt. Or a British person without the accent. It just feels wrong. And as the reader of an unfinished story, no matter how breathtaking the plot might be, there's always the undercurrent of knowledge that you're reading a rough draft. And nobody likes that. Especially the author because, believe me, revisions are a writer's best friend and having to constantly update someone to revisions made to early-on events is just not fun. You feel like because this person read a crappy version already, they won't want to give you feedback on the finished version. It's overall, just a bad experience for everyone.

2. Extra pressures
There is always the hope among authors that people will enjoy their story and want more - but when you're writing and suffering from writer's block (as always seems to be the case) or just busy all the time, it can be so stressful to have someone enjoy your book and not have anything else to give them. You can't fangirl about characters together if you have to explain an unfinished plot to them - that's just a horrible idea from the get go. Again, it's like an itch you can't scratch but when you have a friend or reader breathing down on your neck, it feels like someone's going "FINISH FINISH FINISH" in your ear and, surprisingly, this makes me want to actually finish about 0%. It's a cruel cycle, I know, but nobody ever said life was fair. Do artists and musicians have this problem also? I wouldn't know. But what I do know is that this extra pressure is a big no-no if you want to even contemplate ever having a finished product.

3. No one means it
I get it. You're excited, your best friend said they would love to read your story so the first thing you do when you get home is email them the document and eagerly refresh Facebook to see when they'll message you telling you what they thought. Newsflash: they probably won't. Not that night, not ever. People rarely mean what they say when they go "Oh, can you send it to me? It sounds really cool!" They. Will. Not. Read. It. It's easier to just say yes and then "keep forgetting." All that happens if you cave and believe these liars people is you will end up regretting the fact that another person now has a copy of your unfinished work. And believe me, that's much more stressful than some people might assume. There is nothing worse than knowing that at any moment your work could not be your work anymore and maybe that's an exaggeration but better safe than sorry. Also, again, they're not going to read it anyway.

4. Over excitement
Every young writer wants to be told that their book is good enough to be published, that they'll be the next J.K. Rowling and actually, I think it's great if you have people who encourage you like that in your life. But...chances are they're just being nice. I mean, we all want to be the next big writer. And maybe you have the potential. Maybe you don't. But the most important thing a writer can do is not forget that if you go into any project with the attitude that your first draft is your last draft, you're setting yourself up for failure. Even if your friend absolutely loves this part, if you think it needs to go, it needs to go. It doesn't matter if your friends are the "target" audience or if they make you feel good about it. As the writer, we need to make impartial decisions about what stays and what goes. That's not to say that after completion your friends and family aren't an extremely valuable source of revisions. But with an unfinished product? That's just a recipe for bad luck.

5. More fans!
For the love of god, understand that if you, as a friend ask for a story, everyone will suddenly think they care. And as writers, we know that they don't. Also, we know that you probably won't even read our 50k+ word story even though you think you will. But attention to an unfinished story is SCARY. It can feel very intimidating to have people constantly asking you about something that was previously at least somewhat private. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about asking after a project if your friend talks about it all the time but unless you have been hired as a personal marketing consultant, keep your trap shut where an unfinished story is concerned. Considering all the past points, it's enough to have one person asking after an unfinished story but more than one makes a writer feel like they're swimming in a sea of thumbtacks. Maybe that's over dramatic. But it's not fun. So maybe just don't ask in the first place?

In conclusion, asking a writer for an unfinished story is basically like asking Satan to drive you. You're both not going to enjoy it as much as you might think. Wait...anyway, you get the point. Let this be a lesson to everyone who asks for an unfinished story and ESPECIALLY let these reasons be a lesson to any writer who thinks it's a good idea to give your bestest friend ever your unfinished story - IT'S NOT. You will inevitably make this mistake and it's okay. You'll recover, you'll learn. And if not then that's your fault, honey, don't blame me if your writing career ends up being like the bad parts of this list in a drier on permanent spin.

Have a Brettastic Day!

(Image credit: http://weheartit.com/entry/130652259/in-set/25608967-journals?context_user=kimberly64&page=2)