50 tips for (fanfic) writing
write whatever is interesting to you, even if it wonât be interesting to anyone else
appreciate kudos when they come, but donât expect them
appreciate comments when they come, but donât expect them
if you wish you could just write that one scene you have in your head, do that. you donât need to create a 30K backstory for it first.
embrace writing your story out of order
rough drafts are meant to be rough. if you canât think of a word, put in a placeholder for it and keep going.Â
try not to get stuck on the little things
itâs okay if your readers canât see the picture inside of your head
some people work well when they have a posting schedule. some people work well when they donât. itâs okay if you donât know which kind of person you are, and itâs okay if the type of person you are changes over time.
if a rule you created for yourself isnât working for you, get rid of that rule.
make fandom friends. even if they donât read your fic, theyâll cheer you on while you write it.
cheer on other writers you know. youâll be cheering yourself at the same time.
no trope or genre is better or worse than another one. they all just appeal to different audiences.
quality and popularity are not the same thing, although they do sometimes overlap
numbers and statistics will never tell you whether or not youâre a good writer. they will never tell you how valuable you are as a person.Â
you belong in fandom if you want to be there
youâre a writer as soon as you start writing things
writing and posting are two different things. your story is still worth writing, even if you never plan to share it
you donât need to apologize for what you write or what you post.Â
donât worry about taking up too much space. the internet doesnât have a maximum size.Â
keep your readers in mind when youâre tagging your content. how could they search for your fic? if you use a tag, will be a reader who loves that tag be satisfied with how much it appears in your story?
if you have a relationship in your fic that plays a minor role, tag it in the Additional Tags section instead of the Relationship section so that people who love that ship donât get their hopes up
be cautious when looking at bookmarks on your fic. they arenât âextra comments.â thatâs a space where readers make notes for themselves and each other, not for authors.Â
you donât need to know everything about canon before you start writing fic
you donât need to read fic in the same fandoms you write for
you donât need to read fic at all in order to write it
love your work because sometimes youâre the only one who will - and thatâs okay
if your hobby starts feeling like a job, you might need to take a break before you get burnt out
if you get stuck on a story, you can always start a new one
if you fall out of love with a story, you can always stop writing it. if youâre worried about your readers, you can always give them a bullet point summary of where you were planning to go with thing. for a lot of people, thatâs satisfying and provides closure
if you get hate, report it
use the tools at your disposal to block hate before it can come in (limiting or turning off comments, limiting or turning off asks, blocking users, etc)
try replying to comments sometimes. it can be a lovely way to make fandom friends
donât be afraid to reblog your own writing posts.
if you get stuck on your summary, just write 1) who the story is about 2) what they are doing and 3) what problem gets in their way
notice when your writing makes you smile. that moment is a gift. enjoy it.
notice when your writing makes you cry. that moment is a gift, too.
even if youâre disappointed in how your story turned out, thereâs something in there thatâs fantastic. find that thing and focus on it and feel proud.
some ideas are ones you want to write. some are ones you want to read. if you ever have too many ideas to deal with at once, give some of the latter ones away to someone else.Â
sometimes the things you write will be really personal. be careful about putting them where other people can comment. they wonât know how personal it is for you, and you need to remember that comments arenât about you, theyâre about the story.
remember that you can write series as well as stories. if the story is done but you still have passion or ideas, start a new one in the same universe.
enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a story. savour it. bask in it a little while.
donât feel guilty about abandoning a story. not every story gets finished, and thatâs okay
you can have separate accounts for different fandoms. you can have one account with a million fandoms in it. do whatever works for you.
sometimes writing is more important than sleep - but only sometimes
it doesnât matter if that story has been written before by someone else. it doesnât matter if it was written by you. write it again.
only follow the advice that makes sense to you. the rest isnât important.
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