i need this tattooed to me

HEY YOU, THE FANFIC WRITER OVER THERE

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU ARE ONLY WRITING SUPER “STEREOTYPED” FANFIC LIKE COFFEE SHOPS AU

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU WRITE THE MOST OOC CHARACTERS

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU WRITE OBSCURE CROSSOVER THAN NO ONE UNDERSTANDS

ITS TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU ONLY WRITE SMUT AND IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU NEVER DO

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU DONT POST YOUR FANFICS ONLINE

ITS TOTALLY OKAY IF YOUR WORK ISNT AS PERFECT AS OTHER WRITERS’

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU GIVE UP ON ALL YOUR WIPS

IT’S TOTALLY OKAY IF YOU WRITE THINGS YOU LIKE BUT NO ONE ELSE DOES, AND YOU DESERVE ALL THE LOVE

DONT LET FANFICS BECOME STRESSFUL FOR YOU BC OF OTHER PEOPLE’ OPINIONS

rustandruin:

I needed this.

What would you say the average kudos-to-hit ratio is, in your experience?

ao3commentoftheday:

A bad way to decide if a fic is good.

Yes, that’s a joke-y way to answer the question, but it’s also completely true.

Kudos to hits is invalid in a couple of ways. First of all, hits are not unique readers. People come back and reread fics all the time. Or they come back to the same fic multiple times to finish reading it. And readers can find a dozen different ways to leave more than one kudos on a fic, so that’s not an accurate number either.

Add in the fact that different fandoms have different levels of engagement and that different types of stories get different levels of interaction and it’s all just a totally unreliable way to decide if a story is good or not.

And that’s not even touching the fact that fanfic being “good” is judged on enjoyment, not on quality of writing (as a general rule, to which there are always exceptions).

People will tell you that a “good” ratio is 1:10 or 1:8 or 1:15 or all sorts of other completely arbitrary numbers. I’ll tell you to stay away from the stats because they lie and they will suck you into a deep pit of hell that is hard to escape. I know. I’ve been there.

orbingarrow:

owlsofstarlight:

ravencharm:

75% of writing is convincing yourself that your story is worth it

It is. In case you were wondering. Your story is worth the effort you are putting into it. It’s an amazing thing because you are writing it.

I needed this.

Reasons to Keep Writing

morgannbethh:

•everyone starts small. just because you’re not big now, doesn’t mean you’ll never be. and if you’re just starting out, keep in mind those bigger blogs have been writing for much longer than you. building a following takes time.

•there will always be someone who enjoys your writing. every like, reblog, and comment is one person who enjoyed what you wrote and i can assure you they want more! and remember, not everyone remembers to leave evidence that they liked your writing or they might just be too nervous to interact with you. invisible fans exist, and you’ve got them.

•going along with that last one, your writing has the potential to help others! you could write about a minority, or maybe you could publish a little something comforting at the exact time someone else needs it. and most of the time, when you affect someone like this they’ll tell you, whether it be through tags, or a private message or whatever. that’s an amazing feeling.

•getting a compliment from someone becomes a sure-fire way to make your day better. nothing feels greater than seeing a comment from someone saying how much they love something you worked hard on. maybe write down these comments somewhere, so you can look at them when you’re feeling negative about your skills as a writer.

•writer’s block is not the end of your writing career. it sure feels like it sometimes, but everyone, even the popular writers you look up to, suffer from writer’s block. everyone puts out work they’re not 100% satisfied with sometimes, and that’s okay! when you get out of this slump, your writing will be better than ever before and you’ll enjoy it again. keep writing through a block so you can get there sooner.

These are the things I think about when I feel bad about my writing, so I hope they can help someone else too.