#okay this is a bit low effort cuz my laptop is dead and I have no idea where my charger is so I just used ezgif KMFOAO

[24601orwhatever]

JEREMIAH ALSOP AS MONTPARNASSE

go home, you’re in the way! 📸: @catstrophysics

MOMENTS: 1: getting ruthlessly bullied by ‘ponine 2: stealing away brujon’s ladies 3: getting bread instead of the woman literally begging for it and snackin’ on it without a care in the world (while the woman stares at him) 4: beefing with marius (who is hopelessly using his book as a shield)

[shijiujun]

hello im new to writing fics. i was wondering how your cope when you write something that flops? like has that ever happened to you?

Heya!!! Oooh okay that’s a loaded question but it’s an important one and while I don’t have much advice to give, let’s do this:

*If you want more advice I suggest following the account AO3 Comment of the Day! They’ve got some cool asks that are answered really well about writing and etc.

1. Firstly, yay that you’re writing fics!! Regardless of whether you think your stuff is good or not, kudos to you for wanting to write and contribute to your fandom! You’ll get even better with time and the more fics you write, so welcome to the world of fic writing! 

2. “Something that flops”: The argument is that you should not find value of your fic in the number of kudos or comments (or the lack of it) it gets, and of course it isn’t! But it still sucks when you see little or no engagement on your fic, but also I guess there are a few factors to why a fic isn’t getting as many kudos or likes, e.g. it’s a niche topic you’re writing about, maybe the fandom has been a little dead for a while etc., but once again it’s still healthy to not tag the value of your writing to the kudos/comments, maybe people are still new to the fandom and haven’t gotten into the fandom on AO3 yet (this one is about timing) etc. you get, really, it’s tough to do and it might be unfair but in the long run I do believe that fic writers first and foremost write for themselves. And somewhere somehow people will be interested.

3. Not every single fic you write, you write at your 100% - Don’t be too hard on yourself! You provided your efforts for free, and sometimes you write something nonsensical, or can’t be bothered to check every line to make sure you didn’t write uranus as ur anus but you know! Definitely some fics will do better than some others, that’s for sure.

As for how I cope:

Honestly I’ve been quite lucky? I write for two small fandoms, so firstly you have to adjust your expectations and set thresholds for like the number of kudos/comments etc. you are expecting to get - For me as long as I hit like a minimum number of 100 hits I’m good my expectations are pretty low because I tend to obsess over why people aren’t reading a particular fic for example etc. out of IDK a terrible, misplaced sense of narcissism but I AM GETTING OVER IT! 

Another thing is I don’t think of myself as a good writer so - If you hit, leave kudos and oof the best, leave a nice comment on my fics, you have my eternal love. When I upload something I erm... don’t usually go back to read it because I get embarrassed, but it makes a world of a difference if your mindset is - I’m new at this, I still got so much to improve on, people who support me even if it’s one of you THANK U and people over time will be drawn to your writing cuz it’s good

If you define ‘flop’ by the point above, then yeah I’ve had one that flopped before but I honestly didn’t think of it as flopping XD It was just 1. A niche pairing 2. The fandom is kinda half dead 3. Honestly was a work that was slightly below average - But I put it up anyway because I wanted to get it out of the way and honestly I don’t really think much about it (so yes, one way to cope is like: oh that flopped? cool let’s never talk about it or look at it again, thanks MOVING ON)

I also cross post on Tumblr (for certain fandoms and shorter fic lengths) and I am also fond of self-reblogging, but there’s nothing to be ashamed about that to be honest!

If no one champions your work and you can’t expect them to, then you’ll have to champion it yourself because you’re you own biggest supporter. It’s pretty cathartic actually, I recommend self-reblogging your own work so more people see it!

Also if you think about it, attention is double-edged sword - Lesser attention means emotionally you don’t feel like you’re obligated to put up certain fics or topics, or ensure they’re at a certain quality and honestly you really can write anything you want. More attention will of course on one hand motivate and fuel you to write even more (and I do think readers should at least drop a kudo or a short comment if they really like the fic) but sometimes it might hinder your writing process a bit.

Do what makes you happy! If writing fics and it ‘flopping’ gets to you after you tried the first one, take a step back, take a break, and then try again. Fic writing is fun like that. If a halfway through your draft you feel like throwing the whole thing away? Just slot it in an Archives folder on your laptop and think of something new or rewrite it.

I’m really not a good person to ask XD but I’ve been quite happy these past few months so!! <3 In fact, my issue is not really if a fic flops or not but IF SOMEONE STEALS MY SHIT!!! I don’t dare to check because if I don’t check and don’t see it I don’t have to fight but I got a feeling it’ll come sooner or later.