thewritershelpers:
I’m writing this as somebody who has been writing and fan fiction and posting it on the Internet for something along the lines of sixteen years, as well as actively reading the stuff.
1. If you are writing fan fiction, you are amazing. Thank you. What you are doing is writing stories for free that others are going to get to consume and enjoy. You’re bringing pleasure to people who you don’t know, all over the world. Hopefully you are enjoying yourself as well. Good job.
2. Somebody is reading your stories. You know that story you wrote, with very little notes and reviews? Somebody read it. Somebody even enjoyed it. You might not always get the number of notes that you want, but you aren’t writing into a void.
3. Somebody is -going to- read your stories. I have this one
fanfiction.net account from 2001. In 2001 I was like 16 or something. I was dyslexic. I mean, I totally still am, but it showed more then. So many typos. Every once in a while I’ll still get a review on one of those stories. The reviews are mostly positive. There are people today reading and having a positive response to those little stories I wrote as a child, about the things that mattered deeply to me back then, and it’s really cool. If you write a story, and it doesn’t get the response you want it to right away, don’t write it off as a failure. It might surprise you down the line.
4. But seriously. These stories you write? Unless you take them down, they are there forever. Sometimes I stumble upon stories with fantastic characterization and great plots, but get super nostalgic because they’ve brought up aim instant messenger away messages or something. Your stories are there forever. They are a gift to your fandom. They last.
5. If you choose to write a little bit for a smaller fandom, your stories have a greater staying power. The same goes for small ships. Naturally, you are going to write mostly for whatever catches your attention and inspires you, and if that is the behemoth that is superewholock or whatever, so be it. That said, if you ever feel inspired to write a story for that movie that has about ten fics on the Internet in total, do it. Absolutely do it. Maybe you won’t get a ton of initial reaction, but reviews might be trickling in for years or decades.
6. There are lots of people who are searching for a certain fan fiction with a certain plot. It is the story of their heart. You never know if you are writing the plot that somebody has been dreaming about and searching endlessly for. If you have a plot that you are endlessly searching for, consider writing it yourself.
7. Maybe you have a plot that you think about as you are going to sleep at night. Maybe you don’t want to write it, because it seems to self-indulgent or trope filled or whatever. Write it. That’s probably the story somebody else wants to read. Self-indulgent fan fics are often the really good ones.
8. Consider participating in Yuletide. If you don’t know what that is, Google search it (mostly because I can’t do html and pretty links on mobile…). It’s a yearly fanfiction exchange where people request stories they desperately want to read in rare fandoms. All of the stories that I’ve gotten the most reviews on were for that event. It’s a big deal, and good fun, because you know that no matter what else, you will be writing somebody’s ideal dream story.
9. Fic exchanges in general. Same goes for prompts. If somebody is leaving you a writing prompt, you have one nearly guaranteed reader, who will probably be super fond of your fic.
10. Don’t be afraid to reach out to writers that you like. If you have a favorite writer in a fandom, consider asking them to read your story and give their opinion. Be polite about it, and make if clear that they are under no obligation. Some will say no, because they are busy or whatever, but I’m willing to bet that a good percentage of people will be willing to look at your work if they are specifically sought out and asked to do so.
11. There is something good about most stories. I’m completely serious about this. You’d never believe how much fan fiction I’ve read. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that I could say nothing positive about.
12. Give the reviews that you’d like to receive. Encourage other writers. When I first started writing, I had so many problems that are super obvious to me now. I still have problems, that will become obvious to me down to the road (if they were obvious to me now, I’d fix them. Obviously.). Back to the whole dyslexic thing. When if first started writing, I was a kid who couldn’t reliably spell the word “friend” correctly. I got positive feedback from fanfiction that I never got at school. As a result, I wrote and wrote and spent over half my life writing, and right now I’m an English teacher. If you finish somebody’s story, try to leave a word or two of encouragement. If there is a part that you like, tell them about it. It’s worth it. If the story seems like it’s written by a twelve year old, all the more reason to leave a nice note. Maybe you are helping somebody learn to believe in themselves as a writer, in a world where being a writer is a huge asset, as communication is becoming increasingly text based.
13. Even if you write a fic that has defied all the laws of Internet, and never found a single reader, if you enjoyed writing it, then that’s fine. It’s still a good story, and it’s still an accomplishment.
(Originally posted on my personal blog, @icouldwritebooks)