WIP challenge check-in: day 3!

[littlebutfierce]

I love all the cheerleading & commiserating going on in yesterday's check-in post! Yay! How's it going today?

Poll #6857 Day 3 May WIP challenge check-in!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15

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All right, how's the fic feeling today?

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I AM A GENIUS
1 (6.7%)

Not bad!
10 (66.7%)

SHUT UP SHUT UP
1 (6.7%)

...
3 (20.0%)

And what did you do today, fic-wise?

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Write
10 (66.7%)

Edit
2 (13.3%)

Send to beta
0 (0.0%)

Research
1 (6.7%)

Procrastinate
7 (46.7%)

Something else I will describe in comments
1 (6.7%)

3 words or less to describe your fic today:

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And in keeping with the fanfic flamingo theme, let's talk about comments. The flamingo has a lot to say about comments.

I think I can identify with all of those images, heh. My favorite might be this one, though:



[Background — a six piece pie style colour split in three shades of pink. Foreground — the long neck and face of a pink flamingo.

Top text: POUR HEART AND SOUL INTO FEMMESLASH EPIC

Bottom text: 5 COMMENTS]

So! Comments! Do you find them a big motivator? Do you find yourself working more on stories that you anticipate will get a lot of comments? Or maybe you're in a tiny fandom or your OTP is really obscure/unpopular: do you find that this means you don't worry about getting comments (maybe it just makes you really, really want the one comment from the one person who'll get the story!)? Are they icing on the cake, but not something you think about while you're actually writing a story? Do you not care at all (or try not to)? Be honest!

&, importantly, do you leave comments yourself?

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

I wrote ~800 words while doing my 750 Words on what might be a new fic, or maybe something that will end up in another one. I dunno. It doesn't feel genius, but I was able to make myself write something instead of just throwing up my hands today, so that's all right.

Hoo boy, I love comments. Love love love them. I do mostly write in small fandoms, though, & also sometimes the unpopular/neglected pairings (femslash in a fandom that is all about the dudes, etc.), & I think if I geared my writing towards what I thought would get the most comments, well, I wouldn't generally be writing things that I wanted to write. I do feel sad when I work my ass off on a story & it hardly gets read or appreciated because the audience just isn't there. I don't think that tends to affect what I write, though. Or at least not consciously.

I do comment, possibly not as much as I should, but I do make a point to do it. Especially because if I do my part to encourage more of a culture of feedback, well, I might get some more feedback myself. ;)

[jagnikjen]

Great job on the 800 words!! :)

[littlebutfierce]

Thank you!!

[glitteryv]

Woot for 800 words! BTW, I've tried doing 750words before but don't quite feel like I've got the groove of it. What do you like about it? What don't you like about it?

It's very hard when you work on a fic and then all you get is a couple of comments and then, nothing. But you can't force people to comment. Though I've read a couple of things on how the kudos feature on AO3 has led to people commenting more than before kudos was implemented.

[littlebutfierce]

I love 750 Words--I seriously wouldn't be here writing fic w/o it. In the early days of this comm I wrote a little bit about that here. Right now I'm up to a 370-day streak, or something ridiculous like that. I really like that it's made writing a habit. I don't always write fic in it; sometimes I just blow off steam (though sometimes I think out loud [well, on the screen] about what I want to happen in a fic I'm working on, which is also helpful).

There really isn't much I dislike about it. I wish they came up w/a badge for a 365-day streak in time for me getting a 365-day streak. ;)

What I find it interesting is when people leave both a comment & a kudo on a story! To me, a kudo is for when I liked something but don't have the energy to spell out exactly why, & for whatever reason I don't want to leave a brief "I really liked this!" comment. So I'm so curious about why people leave both. It must be when they really REALLY like a story, obviously, but I feel silly that it never occurred to me to do that.

[glitteryv]

RE the comment+kudo thing: I don't know how it is for other people, but for me giving a kudo after writing a comment is like trying to squeeze an extra YAY! I can see how it can be somewhat confusing, but I don't see kudos as an "either or" type of thing.