So, as you guys know, AO3 has those icons that indicate whether a story is complete or not. There’s the “this story is complete” icon:

And there’s the “this story is incomplete” icon:

But “incomplete” is a really, really broad category, and WIPs are incomplete for lots and lots of reasons, right? I bet many authors wish they could put a little more nuance into that statement, in order to better communicate details to their readers, and I bet readers would totally appreciate that. I think AO3 should do away with the trite old circle with a bar through it, and give the authors access to some more flexibility and detail! So, I thought about some of the things an author might want to say about a story’s “incomplete” status, and I came up with some new icons!

First, the “still writing!” ones:

“I’m still writing this story!” (This would be the default icon for a WIP)





“I’m still writing this story, and I promise I will post a new chapter… just as soon as I figure out what’s going to happen next.”





“I’m still writing this story, but I’ve just realized that it has to be much, much, MUCH longer than I originally thought, and I’m currently rearranging everything.”





“I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD I will finish this story even though the last time I posted an update was 2 ½ years ago.”









And then the “not writing anymore” ones:

“Sorry, I’m not writing this story anymore.”





“Sorry, I’m not writing this story anymore because fuck that show/movie/book/fandom right in its fucking face“



(of course we wanna be multi-racial, so there are some options for this one):

(And multi-cultural!)





“Sorry, I’m not writing this story anymore because I’ve been sucked into a new fandom and have already written 37 stories for it!”





“Sorry, I’m not writing this story anymore–but if someone else wants to take over and continue the story, I’m fine with that!”





And one I can’t believe AO3 didn’t put into use years ago:

“WELP I DUNNO YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE YOU FOLLOWED A WIP OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL LOL”