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It's frustrating that you can come up with the plot of an entire fic in just a few seconds, but writing it all down can take anywhere from never to forever.

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Fic writers: have you ever studied writing as a craft (formally or not) or do you just do your thing?

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to anyone missing my writing please know i am also missing my writing

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A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

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*emerges from the other room covered in blood* you should see the word document

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PSA: if you describe your sexy demons as "smelling sulphurous/like brimstone," that's not just vague mystical words.

Those are real smells.

They smell like farts.

Please know this. I'm begging you.

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took a break to pack up a bookshelf (and get dressed); 938 words now but i finished the chapter and it ended ominously.

writing update: we are now at 849 words for the day. i’ve reached a point where i’m not sure how to end the chapter to lead up to the next one. ehhhhh.

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writing update: we are now at 849 words for the day. i’ve reached a point where i’m not sure how to end the chapter to lead up to the next one. ehhhhh.

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okay i’m back and i am wearing a bathrobe still but that is neither here now there. let’s write more.

this is me, making myself write. i will keep you updated. i’m going to blog about writing on my blog about writing for once.

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112 words but i really need a showerrr

this is me, making myself write. i will keep you updated. i’m going to blog about writing on my blog about writing for once.

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okay so i’m going to have to at least skim the last section i wrote. and idk why i got scrivener open without grabbing my notebooks (of which there are four …) and binder. but i’ll go get those.

this is me, making myself write. i will keep you updated. i’m going to blog about writing on my blog about writing for once.

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this is me, making myself write. i will keep you updated. i’m going to blog about writing on my blog about writing for once.

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please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

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nooooooo it’s doooOooown ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

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nooooooo it’s doooOooown ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡