#here is my mental quick snd my dirty kink please pay attention to me is just a weird way to go about it to me

[theknightlywolfe]

Not arguing the main point because I too work because "I have a burning need to eat".

But the second point about fanfic, I find fascinating because it's such a weird idea to me (yes, I know it is a lot of people, the begging for comments things makes that obvious).

Posting a story I have finished is a mental health thing for me almost. A story I finish but never post never shuts up. I go back and poke over and over and over for months, for years. It's not making it better, I just can't let go. Posting it is the trigger that tells my mind it is done, it ain't mine anymore, and I can move TF on. I used to post into LJ and never tag because it was just about getting it out of my head. I'm only moving things (slowly) from LJ to AO3 because I think LJ has to eventually die one of these days and I would like to have someplace to see my own work. I barely tag anything for categorization now (mostly only the required). I don't even have the email that AO3 uses set up to an app, I think I last looked at in two years ago when I had to reset my password and deleted everything else from it. I have read my own fic while moving through a tag and not realized it was mine until I was done.

Unfinished fic is noise cluttering my brain, people commenting with ideas or asking for more *creates more clutter*. If I want attention I get it other ways. In real life. Where I can see the affect.

it’s kind of weird how we’re culturally not supposed to admit that we do things for money and/or attention. Like I’m not going to work because i’m a team player or because I care about the company mission, I’m going so I can pay rent and buy food. I’m not publishing my fanfic because I’m passionate about writing or because I only care about art in its purest form, I’m publishing it because I want attention. If I didn’t want attention, I’d leave it on my hard drive. Really, why are we supposed to pretend to have “better” motivations?