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writethisfanficFor those of you who were scared to write fic, what made you finally do it? What got you over that hump? I ask both because I like hearing about how people overcome creative hurdles & because it might be useful or inspirational for other people who are still considering it.
Me? It was the fortuitous discovery, at around the same time, of 750 Words & the latest iteration of the Oofuri kink meme.
My partner & increasing numbers of friends were happy converts to 750 Words. I was pretty skeptical, but signed up & figured if it didn't do anything for me I would just stop. Given that I was having fic ideas for the first time in ages, though, it ended up being the right (virtual) place at the right time: ideas plus a private place to work them out (with no expectations of quality) plus letting myself have permission to try something new? Perfect!
Nowadays I seem to divide my daily quota of words for the site between fic and brain-dumping, but when I first started I made myself write fic every day, because it felt like the hardest & scariest thing to do. (I think that meant, in reality, something like 33 straight days of Oofuri ficlets. Ha! I try not to be discouraged by how few of them are even potentially revisable to see the light of day, because writing through the crap to get to the good stuff is a technique I know works. So I've got a high crap to good ratio, oh well!)
And the kink meme? Just what I needed: anonymous, with friendly commenters. One of my friends pointed out that in small fandoms, people were generally more appreciative of any fills. Which on the one hand made it less intimidating. On the other, it made me feel like I could be incredibly sucky & still get positive feedback because people were starving for any fic at all, especially for rare pairings. It's lovely to get praise! But better if you feel like it's not just because people are lowering their standards.
Anyway, I wrote my first fill for that meme one day while doing my 750 words. Later that week I revised it a bit, took a deep breath, double-checked that I changed the comment options so as not to post with my username, & put it up. If I got a tepid response (one that felt perfunctory) or none at all, I could always crawl under a rock & never write fic again. And no one would know it had been me, at least.
Pretty grim thoughts! But fortunately (or unfortunately, I suppose, depending on one's opinion of my writing), that didn't happen. I got a few very positive comments. Which felt like a miracle!
The anonymity of the meme made it a safe place to play until I felt all right attaching my username to things. Not that removing anonymity has to be a goal for anyone writing fic. For me, though, it's a sign that I'm becoming more comfortable doing something if I'm willing to admit publicly that I'm doing it. I've seen a few other people say, whether in the meme itself or elsewhere, that they hadn't written much fic before, or not in ages, or whatever, but that they thought they would try it. I'd guess that the same factors that kickstarted my writing also applied to them. Kink memes as newbie writer empowerment: I like it!
Are there other anonymous commentfic memes that aren't kink-related? Because I know not everyone wants to write smut, & particularly maybe not for their early forays into fic.
But yeah, in summary: sometimes anonymity can be a good thing! Nervous new fic writers-to-be might want to give it a shot.
Me? It was the fortuitous discovery, at around the same time, of 750 Words & the latest iteration of the Oofuri kink meme.
My partner & increasing numbers of friends were happy converts to 750 Words. I was pretty skeptical, but signed up & figured if it didn't do anything for me I would just stop. Given that I was having fic ideas for the first time in ages, though, it ended up being the right (virtual) place at the right time: ideas plus a private place to work them out (with no expectations of quality) plus letting myself have permission to try something new? Perfect!
Nowadays I seem to divide my daily quota of words for the site between fic and brain-dumping, but when I first started I made myself write fic every day, because it felt like the hardest & scariest thing to do. (I think that meant, in reality, something like 33 straight days of Oofuri ficlets. Ha! I try not to be discouraged by how few of them are even potentially revisable to see the light of day, because writing through the crap to get to the good stuff is a technique I know works. So I've got a high crap to good ratio, oh well!)
And the kink meme? Just what I needed: anonymous, with friendly commenters. One of my friends pointed out that in small fandoms, people were generally more appreciative of any fills. Which on the one hand made it less intimidating. On the other, it made me feel like I could be incredibly sucky & still get positive feedback because people were starving for any fic at all, especially for rare pairings. It's lovely to get praise! But better if you feel like it's not just because people are lowering their standards.
Anyway, I wrote my first fill for that meme one day while doing my 750 words. Later that week I revised it a bit, took a deep breath, double-checked that I changed the comment options so as not to post with my username, & put it up. If I got a tepid response (one that felt perfunctory) or none at all, I could always crawl under a rock & never write fic again. And no one would know it had been me, at least.
Pretty grim thoughts! But fortunately (or unfortunately, I suppose, depending on one's opinion of my writing), that didn't happen. I got a few very positive comments. Which felt like a miracle!
The anonymity of the meme made it a safe place to play until I felt all right attaching my username to things. Not that removing anonymity has to be a goal for anyone writing fic. For me, though, it's a sign that I'm becoming more comfortable doing something if I'm willing to admit publicly that I'm doing it. I've seen a few other people say, whether in the meme itself or elsewhere, that they hadn't written much fic before, or not in ages, or whatever, but that they thought they would try it. I'd guess that the same factors that kickstarted my writing also applied to them. Kink memes as newbie writer empowerment: I like it!
Are there other anonymous commentfic memes that aren't kink-related? Because I know not everyone wants to write smut, & particularly maybe not for their early forays into fic.
But yeah, in summary: sometimes anonymity can be a good thing! Nervous new fic writers-to-be might want to give it a shot.
no subject
Date: Sunday, August 1st, 2010 19:51 (UTC)I still need to write the second half of that fanfic...
no subject
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010 17:53 (UTC)Also, yay for low-pressure challenges that tickle the creative bits of the brain in just the right way. We (er, the mods here) want to eventually compile (& keep updated) a list of challenges that feel low-pressure & welcoming to newbies.
Also, your comment just kind of made me want to squee in general. Because it's so exciting to just be starting out, even if it's scary, too, isn't it? YAY FOR US!
no subject
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010 17:58 (UTC)The list of challenges sounds like a fabulous idea!
*mutual squee*!