Almost every fic I write, I write with the same intent: to get an idea that's been plaguing me out of my head, to write something that makes me feel good, to write something that I can be proud of, to become a better writer in the process. Sometimes the idea that's been plaguing me is a complex plot, and sometimes it's just a scene or even a single line that eventually grows into something more. Sometimes the intent is to write something very canon--very episodic and straightforward, blending plot, humor and drama in the same proportions that the show does. Other times I'm feeling experimental, and I've got a hankering to play with styles and techniques to evoke sensations and moods that you wouldn't find on the show.
But no matter the length, or the style, or the ambitiousness or the fic, I always approach my writing the same way: I try to write a masterpiece every time. It never turns out that way, but I always keep that as my goal--to write that particular piece the best I can and to become a better writer in the process. Sometimes that means working on it for weeks (or months), and sometimes, every once in a while, something comes together in just a few days, and it feels right, and, with my beta's approval, I release it into the wild. I never post anything that hasn't been revised at least two or three (or four, or ten) times, no matter how short it is or how spontaneously it started. What I consider the best fic I ever wrote started off as a single sentence that I wrote down one afternoon. The rest followed over the next couple of hours, and while I worked on fine tuning it for a few days after that, the bulk of it was created in that one brief afternoon.
I look at everything I write as an exercise of sorts--a stepping stone on the path to becoming a better writing. I never write anything that doesn't stretch my abilities to some extent, doesn't challenge me, and doesn't allow me exercise new muscles. My ultimate goal in all of this is to get better at it. Which is why concrit is such a precious gift when I receive it.
Feedback is a wonderful thing that fills the soul with happiness and inspires the writer to keep writing. But it can also be a poison, if there's too little, or if something you don't think is worthy gets more attention than something you think is precious. I try to enjoy it and appreciate it when it's offered to me, but not to take it too personally. Readers are an unpredictable, whimsical bunch, and they're not necessarily going to love everything that I love. I try to remember that that's okay, and not to let it bother me if something doesn't get the kind of feedback I'd hoped. I don't like all of the fics that people in fandom like to read, so why should they like all the fics that I like to write?
I love feedback, but recs actually mean a lot more to me. It's lovely if twenty people read my fic and take a few minutes to tell me they enjoyed it. But if one person was touched by it deeply enough to recommend it, it makes me feel like I've really accomplished something. I write primarily for myself, but when I know that something I've written has inspired someone else or really made them feel something, it's very special. It makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, I might not be so bad at this writing stuff after all.
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But no matter the length, or the style, or the ambitiousness or the fic, I always approach my writing the same way: I try to write a masterpiece every time. It never turns out that way, but I always keep that as my goal--to write that particular piece the best I can and to become a better writer in the process. Sometimes that means working on it for weeks (or months), and sometimes, every once in a while, something comes together in just a few days, and it feels right, and, with my beta's approval, I release it into the wild. I never post anything that hasn't been revised at least two or three (or four, or ten) times, no matter how short it is or how spontaneously it started. What I consider the best fic I ever wrote started off as a single sentence that I wrote down one afternoon. The rest followed over the next couple of hours, and while I worked on fine tuning it for a few days after that, the bulk of it was created in that one brief afternoon.
I look at everything I write as an exercise of sorts--a stepping stone on the path to becoming a better writing. I never write anything that doesn't stretch my abilities to some extent, doesn't challenge me, and doesn't allow me exercise new muscles. My ultimate goal in all of this is to get better at it. Which is why concrit is such a precious gift when I receive it.
Feedback is a wonderful thing that fills the soul with happiness and inspires the writer to keep writing. But it can also be a poison, if there's too little, or if something you don't think is worthy gets more attention than something you think is precious. I try to enjoy it and appreciate it when it's offered to me, but not to take it too personally. Readers are an unpredictable, whimsical bunch, and they're not necessarily going to love everything that I love. I try to remember that that's okay, and not to let it bother me if something doesn't get the kind of feedback I'd hoped. I don't like all of the fics that people in fandom like to read, so why should they like all the fics that I like to write?
I love feedback, but recs actually mean a lot more to me. It's lovely if twenty people read my fic and take a few minutes to tell me they enjoyed it. But if one person was touched by it deeply enough to recommend it, it makes me feel like I've really accomplished something. I write primarily for myself, but when I know that something I've written has inspired someone else or really made them feel something, it's very special. It makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, I might not be so bad at this writing stuff after all.