As someone who doesn't write but reads fanfiction - I usually only comment when it is useful. Or when I can praise something more technical with the writing. Or I was particularly moved by it.
So it's always praise. I'm happy to go over someone's work and provide constructive feedback but will only do so if approached. I feel weird just dropping that into a comment section of some random person's piece. So I'm happy to beta something on here if anybody wants.
I felt weird offering constructive criticism sometimes too, but I had done so on here. My original career goal was to be a book editor...and I am kind of a natural nerd about bringing out my inner editor, which I do sometimes try and contain because I don't want to be...overbearing.
I was having a similar discussion over dinner the other day with my friend who is getting her Masters in creative writing. I'm not as formally educated on the subject but it's stuff like my natural instinct coupled with all of those feelings I mentioned previously, that I think help in being someone pretty good to bounce things off of without a harsh response. 
It is finally sunny and warm out today, and I must take advantage. I think I shall wear my hermit card shirt and go sit in the park to read Asunder with some iced coffee. Fangirling process underway.
I felt weird offering constructive criticism sometimes too, but I had done so on here. My original career goal was to be a book editor...and I am kind of a natural nerd about bringing out my inner editor, which I do sometimes try and contain because I don't want to be...overbearing.
I was having a similar discussion over dinner the other day with my friend who is getting her Masters in creative writing. I'm not as formally educated on the subject but it's stuff like my natural instinct coupled with all of those feelings I mentioned previously, that I think help in being someone pretty good to bounce things off of without a harsh response.
Yeah. Well like...so like I think sometimes you get so stuck in your head but you're not seeing why the piece is just NOT working that it does help sometimes to sit down and map it out with someone else. You may be so set on it going a certain way but it's just not working out and it helps to have the other person confirm that and say "no it's not working but maybe try this". As per the usual, another set of eyes can be really helpful it seems.
my writing tends to be much more academic. when it comes to fan stuff, i have a lot more fun writing meta. i'll leave the pretty prose to other people.
You... you should probably go study. xD Fan fiction will always be there! In fact, there will be even more of it by the time you're done studying.
Haha. Nope. Fanfic always out rules studying. Always.
Yeah. Well like...so like I think sometimes you get so stuck in your head but you're not seeing why the piece is just NOT working that it does help sometimes to sit down and map it out with someone else. You may be so set on it going a certain way but it's just not work out and it helps to have the other person confirm that "no it's not working but maybe try this". As per the usual, another set of eyes can be really helpful.
Yes, this is often the case. Even when you don't have another set of eyes around, it's good to leave something be and come back to it in hours or days later and take a fresh look.
I was picking at something recently and left it alone for a day, and when I came back, it was better than I thought it was....even though nothing had changed.
It's so easy to get caught up in your own work and even get a bit frustrated.
I've recently discovered the "mini chapter" which is about 1000 words long. One story has several mini chapters, I guess they are basically single scenes. But I find it really encouraging to write in this format because I can post frequently and get some feedback, which encourages me to write more.
No, the mimi chapters are the ones that are so short you don't have to scroll to read it. I hate those.
If your fic has 45+ chapters and they are all only a paragraph or two long? No thanks.
No, the mimi chapters are the ones that are so short you don't have to scroll to read it. I hate those.
If your fic has 45+ chapters and they are all only a paragraph or two long? No thanks.
Huh? Sincere question, why is that so off-putting? I generally don't like long fanfictions. I don't really have the time and like these little small things. If someone is particularly talented at setting up small scenes - they can be quite nice to read. AO3 lets you load the Entire work so you can just scroll down, if it's actually the logistics that bother you.
Huh? Sincere question, why is that so off-putting? I generally don't like long fanfictions. I don't really have the time and like these little small things. If someone is particularly talented at setting up small scenes - they can be quite nice to read. AO3 lets you load the Entire work so you can just scroll down, if it's actually the logistics that bother you.
It's something about having to click the next button every couple minutes. And I think even with AO3, yes it's all together, but it still breaks up the chapters.
For me, a chapter break is just that - a break. I'm not able to get immersed into the story when there's a break every couple paragraphs. It just gets exhausting.
I don't know if that really explains it very well...
EDIT: I have the opposite issue with books that don't have chapters. Section breaks work fine. But if you don't have either of those and its just one long text? I can't do that either... (though i haven't run into that issue with fanfic)
The current fanfic I am writing has short chapters, but I plan on posting them in chucks, like 5 chapters together. I also don't plan on posting them until the whole story is finished.
Also..I'm thinking I might not post it at all since I have a huge self esteem problem when it comes to my writing and no one has commented on anything I have posted before so I'm starting to think I'm a horrible writer and people don't like my stuff.
But...that might just be because I've only posted my stories on Deviant Art and Sable said I should post on a bunch of different places.
And I'm rambling..sorry.
The current fanfic I am writing has short chapters, but I plan on posting them in chucks, like 5 chapters together. I also don't plan on posting them until the whole story is finished.
Also..I'm thinking I might not post it at all since I have a huge self esteem problem when it comes to my writing and no one has commented on anything I have posted before so I'm starting to think I'm a horrible writer and people don't like my stuff.
But...that might just be because I've only posted my stories on Deviant Art and Sable said I should post on a bunch of different places.
And I'm rambling..sorry.
I chose AO3 because it seemed super open and easy. Though I posted one of my short things on Tumblr too. As you can see, I think comments are more of the exception, and that's kind of a bummer for its own reasons, but I've been reading a lot of stuff from people here and I usually find something to enjoy in each.
I was also a bit anxious to post things but I got to the point where I was endlessly editing and putting them up and letting them just live out there keeps me from doing that. My stuff was also my first bits of fanfiction as well as being short and not my best.
I thought of waiting until my last thing was done before posting it, but then I decided to put up the first two parts since AO3 lets you add and reorder chapters. So now they live over there and not just in a document on my laptop.
Consider this some encouragement. 
The current fanfic I am writing has short chapters, but I plan on posting them in chucks, like 5 chapters together. I also don't plan on posting them until the whole story is finished.
Also..I'm thinking I might not post it at all since I have a huge self esteem problem when it comes to my writing and no one has commented on anything I have posted before so I'm starting to think I'm a horrible writer and people don't like my stuff.
Lots of people don't comment when they read. AO3 is nice in that regard in that people can give you "kudos" which is like a like button. So even if you don't get comments, you know people are reading.
I don't mind short chapters, just the really short ones.
I've also found that it can help to post writing in sections and not all at once. So, say you have 5 chapters done. Limit yourself so you're only posting one a day, at least. Each time you post, it bumps your work into the "new stuff" section, which lets people find it easier. Whereas posting it all once, only gets you that one bump, so it has less chances to be seen unless people specifically search for it or criteria related to it.
If that makes sense...
I used to post on FF and DeviantArt as well as a couple of other spots once in a while. It got so I felt really scattered, having comments and info all over the place, so I moved everything to my blog so at least I could find it when I wanted to. 
I don't get much in the way of comments there but I mostly write for me so I view anything that does show up as icing on the cake.
Ok..I will not post them all at once. I never thought of that. Thank you, everyone.
I also write for me, mostly because once I get an idea, I have to write it down or else it will keep me up all night. :-P
Edit: Although comments are nice every now and then, they help me get motivated.
I write my fics for me and if others like it...great! It's gratifying when people read your stuff. But don't solely rely on it. But good things can and do come of putting yourself out there. I've had my professional work reach 300 people and also many thousands....each one of those views is meaningful, even if those people aren't all commenting. I've made actual friends with people who knew of me solely from work I've done. You just never know who you're reaching.
I was picking at something recently and left it alone for a day, and when I came back, it was better than I thought it was....even though nothing had changed.
I love when this happens. I've left stuff alone for months and basically forgotten about it then come back and thought 'Man, this is really good. Why didn't I write more!?' Those days are definitely preferable to the days when I come back and read something like 'Well… this didn't work at all.'
Also..I'm thinking I might not post it at all since I have a huge self esteem problem when it comes to my writing and no one has commented on anything I have posted before so I'm starting to think I'm a horrible writer and people don't like my stuff.
I think the problem with fan fiction is that there's such a huge saturation of it. And people tend to just… not comment either, which is understandable but frustrating.
Yeah. Well like...so like I think sometimes you get so stuck in your head but you're not seeing why the piece is just NOT working that it does help sometimes to sit down and map it out with someone else. You may be so set on it going a certain way but it's just not working out and it helps to have the other person confirm that and say "no it's not working but maybe try this". As per the usual, another set of eyes can be really helpful it seems.
Super accurate. The longer you look at a piece the more distorted it becomes. I remember producing two pages for Cherry Wine and though the prose may have been fine, the feeling was completely wrong. I could sense that much but not why, and so knelt at the altar of Kissiebear to ruminate. She, always gracious and patient with me, helped me to work out the issues I was missing for whatever reason. After two much needed rewrites, the work came together so much better than it would have done had I left it be. Another technique that works wonders: reading your work aloud. You'll blast through a lot of awkward sentences that way. If you have trouble saying it, the audience will have trouble reading it.
I love when this happens. I've left stuff alone for months and basically forgotten about it then come back and thought 'Man, this is really good. Why didn't I write more!?' Those days are definitely preferable to the days when I come back and read something like 'Well… this didn't work at all.'
Yes, both of these happen. I think my recent preoccupation was over how I was trying to write a first kiss scene and my own was almost as far back as hers, and I've been in a relationship for almost 10 years so early days were a while back.
Before I post this one I need to clean up but I think I've constructed the frame well enough and will add a note about my Lavellan being bisexual and that's why the heart of the tale is a story concerning her and her training partner/first love and their first kisses within a frame story of her and Solas many years later on a night with very similar circumstances. Again, this was partly a challenge to myself to construct.
I also write for me, mostly because once I get an idea, I have to write it down or else it will keep me up all night. :-P
Edit: Although comments are nice every now and then, they help me get motivated.
Comments are really nice. I think most people just don't know what to say or don't realize how important comments are to the writer. I'm part of a fanfiction group on FB and we had someone new join who admitted they had no idea why authors asked for comments until she started writing her own stuff.
Actually, if anyone is interested:
General FFN group: https://www.facebook...etWritersUnite/
Dragon Age fanfic specific group: https://www.facebook...79645122115873/
Top post edit!
I don't mean to sound like I'm whining..I hope no one thought that.
Also..Sable really helped me write better, she read my Cullen smut and helped me edit it. She's awesome. 
I dunno. I suppose frustrating is the right word.
It can definitely be frustrating, yes.
I don't mean to sound like I'm whining..I hope no one thought that.
Also..Sable really helped me write better, she read my Cullen smut and helped me edit it. She's awesome.
I dunno. I suppose frustrating is the right word.
Took me like 2 weeks to write my first smut chapter...not sure if my interpretation of gay smut is accurate...but I tried....both Giton and Meer (who are experts in the smut department) helped me with mine . Sometimes other suggestions can really help you when you're stuck!
Took me like 2 weeks to write my first smut chapter...not sure if my interpretation of gay smut is accurate...but I tried....both Giton and Meer (who are experts in the smut department) helped me with mine
Smut tends to be the most difficult thing for many writers. There are so many considerations to make. How much or how little should you describe? Which acts are within the parameters of this character's personality? What imagery ought to be evoked or avoided? I've seen writers reach for the visceral and dredge up the disgusting, while others used such vague language as to almost utterly erase the presence of one of the participants in the act (all by accident). There is no shame in having difficulty in this department. It takes practice, care, and as mentioned above writers always benefit from interacting with their peers and trusted partners. My dear smut padawan Cinnamonikki, whose natural talent astounds me, has the right of it.
Smut tends to be the most difficult thing for many writers. There are so many considerations to make. How much or how little should you describe? Which acts are within the parameters of this character's personality? What imagery ought to be evoked or avoided? I've seen writers reach for the visceral and dredge up the disgusting, while others used such vague language as to almost utterly erase the presence of one of the participants in the act (all by accident). There is no shame in having difficulty in this department. It takes practice, care, and as mentioned above writers always benefit from interacting with their peers and trusted partners. My dear smut padawan Cinnamonikki, whose natural talent astounds me, has the right of it.
Retour en haut
