Check-in time?

[wordstitch]

How's everyone doing with their writing this week, now that we've passed the half-way point?  Have you been working on your WIPs?  Made any progress?  Run into any trouble?  Let's talk about it!  


(not sure if I'm supposed to post this, but since nothing was posted yesterday I thought I'd go ahead!)  

 
 

Comments

[menage]

I haven't made any progress since Sunday. *keels over*
For the past few days I've been questioning my work, even though it's unwritten! I've been wondering if the characters would even be in character, or if the au i'm writing is too far from canon, and generally I've been asking myself other negative and discouraging questions. Wah, a first draft is just a first draft so I know I shouldn't overthink it. It has to be written before it can be edited and judged, right? So why can't I make my inner editor understand? So all week I've been staring at my outline, thinking about the next scene, and then my thoughts wander to negative things like, "this is complete and utter trash and no one will want to read it."

[wordstitch]

That is so dangerous, and happens to every single one of us, I'm sure! I'm so often afraid that someone will read my writing and go, "This characterization sounds like someone else!" In original stuff it's less clear-cut, but I feel like fanfic writers get a lot of grief for not being "in-character," as though a single group of people can really decide what "in-character" actually means. I find that it all depends on the reader, and on what works for you as a writer too.

But basically, you shouldn't worry about it! If you write it the way you think will work and you do your best during the editing process (which you will!) your fic will work for you, even if it doesn't work for someone else. And even if it doesn't work for them, that doesn't mean no one will read it or not one will enjoy it! This month I read a couple of fic which I thought had really solid story-telling and which were recced all over my flist, but which I didn't think had quite the right characterizations for the main character. Characterization is only part of the equation, and a very subjective one. You can write exemplary fic even if your idea and someone else's don't quite jive.

XD Anyway, the tldr version of this comment: You should do it! If you already have an outline you owe it to your plot bunny and to the effort that you've already put into this thing to at least write a scene or two, even if it's just a little bit of dialogue. Why don't you try picking a scene at random somewhere in the middle, so it's not too overwhelming, and at least write the first paragraph? Better yet, show me the first paragraph so I can tell you you're doing awesome =D

[menage]

Thank you, especially for what you wrote about things being "in-character," because the subjectivity aspect of it is so true. You're making me feel a lot better about writing this!
Ah yeah I feel like I owe so much to my plot bunny as it's been nagging at me for quite some time. I'm still working on the heavily detailed outline because I feel like it's really good for me to know where I want the story to go. Thank you for your encouragement!

[wordstitch]

I'm glad you feel better!

I'm total shit at outlines, tbh. Good for you that you are able to plan everything out! =D

[ravengown]

Although I definitely understand the "this is trash that no one wants to read"— one thing that's helped me a lot to keep in mind is that if you're writing fic that you want to read, then at the very least that'll come through and people might respond more positively on the pure fact that it's genuine? I've definitely read fanfic that read like it was catering to "fandom id" and not "personal id" and as a result it didn't really ring true or read particularly interestingly.

But IDK I also pretty much constantly roll around thinking to myself "Oh god my tastes are too weird and no one cares." The answer to that is that honestly a lot of the stuff I like writing isn't really hitmaking stuff? But that's okay because we aren't getting paid to write fanfic so writing stuff that at least you like is the best bet.

(I also hate my most kudos'd work on AO3, go figure.)

[wordstitch]

(I hate mine too! It's never the one you're most proud of that gets the most attention!)

[menage]

Thank you for this reminder! Your comment helped me realize that I'm writing this fic for myself. Of course I'd like others to receive it positively but this is a fic I'm writing because it's the kind I wanted to read but that the fandom didn't have. I just want to meet my own standards and if it happens to hit the sweet spots of someone else then that's just an added bonus.