WIP CHALLENGE CHECK IN - DAY 6

[peachpai]

Happy Wednesday! How's writing?

-Wrote something, woo!
-Planning, outlining, note taking, research, etc.
-Editing
-Sent something to my beta
-It's done! I posted!
-Thought about writing
-Taking a day off
-Something else (discuss in comments)


Wednesday Discussion: Who do you write for? Is it yourself, friends, or a larger audience? Does having an audience motivate you to keep going on a story?

Comments

[enemytosleep]

I got more drafted on my lunch today, so that was good. It's been a rough week and not looking to change much in that regard either. xD

[doranwen]

I read over what a new beta had to say on the notes on a WIP I'm trying to pick up - but I haven't had time to do anything beyond that. Being sick for days last week means I'm still playing catch-up with everything I have to get done.

I write for myself - but also for someone. Not necessarily someone in particular, but I don't write fic just for my eyes only, I write it knowing that it'll be seen by other people, and that motivates me to keep going. Having a friend reading what I write *definitely* does motivate me to continue when I'm getting tired of a fic (I would never have finished the longest fic I've written if I didn't have a friend reading it).

[autobotscoutriella]

I did some plotting at work in between emails, and stayed up way too late working with a co-writer on some specific details that we'd both like to pin down early (that counts as "today" if it was after midnight, right?).

For the most part I write for myself--I really enjoy writing almost anything, and a lot of the stuff I write turned into a story because I went looking for something specific, couldn't find it anywhere, and decided to write it myself so I could read it someday. Having an audience has really kick-started my urge to actually post, though--I've been posting a LOT lately, and that's mostly a response to people (here, on AO3, and elsewhere) who told me "hey, this is good, you should write more". The ego boost doesn't prompt me to write in the first place, but it certainly gets me to put it out there when it's finished.

[frogfarm]

The Dexter/Buffy xover continues to get the most attention, as I mull over how to finish up the Daria.

I'd say I mostly write for myself and for fellow fan[atics] like myself, for whom the canon just isn't enough for whatever reason. (Four for's!) I'm getting less traffic in general, but it hasn't diminished my enthusiasm. Ultimately, wanting to finish a story is my main motivation for doing so. But I can't deny the dopamine rush of hits, thumbs up and best of all, comments from people who cared enough about something I wrote to speak up and say so.

[samuraiter]

Other stuff-ing today. Had to leave work early because I got a call about a death in the family, and processing grief is always a difficult thing for me. Fortunately, my boss has been through this many times himself, so he had no issues sending me home when I needed to go. ... Taking a day to process and get it all out of my system has been helpful. I am going to need a good night's sleep to right the ship, but I'm handling it.

I can still answer the question of the day, though! I always write for myself, to varying degrees, but I admit that knowing I have an audience for a particular story (or fandom) gives me added motivation. I love comments and kudos, even though I've trained myself not to become too dependent on them for validation.

[voodoosgirl]

I wrote some words as part of an exercise to get myself going. I get very stuck and often will not get anything done. I watched an online lecture by Neil Gaiman on writing which has been very helpful in finding inspiration.

I am relatively new at writing for others to consume so I am learning to not seek or lean too heavily on outside validation. My mantra lately is to write to please myself and if someone else happens upon the story and likes it then that is the extra dollop of icing. I have two friends who read and comment regularly that are amazingly supportive so I write with them in mind. Grateful for their encouragement.

[lady_katana4544]

Took a break today so not much in the writing front for the day.

I mostly write for myself, but also for friends if its meme prompt requests. There's certainly motivation to continue writing a particular fic if I know there's possibly an audience for it.