Recently I have been getting around to writing fanfiction, trying at least. Ideas come easily time me, I am constantly thinking "wouldn't it be cool if this happened?" But when th time comes to write, it is the hardest thing for me. What advice would you offer to someone who is writing fanfic? How do you stay so motivated or inspired to continue writing? How do you avoid writer's block? Do you get anxiety about what people will think about your work? If so, how do you get out of it?
Congratulations on getting around to writing fanficiton! Trying is actually the hardest part, so I commend you on pushing yourself to try! Coming u with ideas is actually one of the other hard parts, especially when you sit down to write and your brain goes blank, so I’m really proud of you for being able to come up with ideas so easily!
I’m actually so massively honored you’re asking me for advice. I never thought I’d get to the point where people wanted my advice on writing, so i just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for asking! <3
It’s actually funny, because the idea for the Daily Destiel Delights was actually born out of a phase of writers block. From April to the middle of June, I was writing and posting one fic a week for the SPNStayAtHome event. And then once that ended, I lost the motivation to write and hit this massive span of writers block where I couldn’t come up with any ideas or get myself to write. I really wanted to get back to writing, but just didn’t have the drive. And then I wrote a couple incorrect quotes because they were fun, light, and easy. I posted them two days in a row, and then my friend told me she loved them and said “omg plz keep making those I’m dead” and out of nowhere this idea came to mind of like why don’t I create this Daily tag and force myself to write and post every day. I’m one of those people who works well under pressure, and I can’t really get myself to write unless there’s a fire under my ass hahah.
My biggest advice would be just do it! And I know that sounds dumb like “Sophie what do you mean just do it?”, but I’m serious. Force yourself to sit down, put your hands on the keys, and tell yourself you’re not getting up until you’ve written 100 words, 200 words, 500 words. Set a goal, and push to it. Even if you go back and re-read it and it’s awful and you decide to delete it and start over, it’s progress. Progress is everything. I’m one of those people who gets in my head and I start doubting and questioning myself, and it makes writing hard. I struggle coming up with ideas sometimes, and it’s literally like one random word pops into my head and that’s all it takes to spark something.
Sometimes, when I’m really struggling to write, I listen to music at the same time. That can spark ideas, too. You have to find inspiration in the smallest things. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with all these ideas that nothing can come out. So just sit at your laptop, or tablet, or phone, or even your notebook if you’re a handwritten type of person, tune everything out, and hone in on one idea. And run with it.
As for what helps me to stay motivated and inspired, it’s gonna sound corny as hell, but it’s all of y’all. It’s the readers, the fans, my friends. The people who show any love of any kind to my writing. I see notes coming in- people liking or reblogging or commenting- and it’s this wave of euphoria that makes me want to keep writing. Seeing even one person like my content is inspiring, because it’s like, wow, that thing I slaved over for two hours, someone likes it, wow. I’m not without my faults though. I struggle a lot. Sometimes I spend all night trying to come up with an idea and I strike out and I tell myself, we’ll try again tomorrow. Sometimes you just need time to reset and ideas will flow. To avoid writers block, I just try and write something dumb and silly and short. If I’m stuck, I change gears and write 50 words of something random. Wallowing in writers block for a few days is okay and normal, but you’ll never break out of it if you don’t try, if that makes sense? If something is giving me trouble, I try working on something else until I’m ready to come back to that thing I was struggling with.
Oh God, yes, I get SO MUCH anxiety about what people will think of my writing. Especially lately with tumblr randomly removing my fics from the tags, I literally have so much anxiety when I post my writing that I’m shaking and sweating and I can hear my heart rate going through the roof. And then I anxiously sit and wait to see if anyone likes it or comments or reblogs. And that’s horrible and a habit I’m trying to break. The best way I deal with my anxiety is my friends. I ask them what they think, and I trust they’re there to boost me up and ease my anxiety. And I try to remind myself of the most important thing- I’m really happy with my work, I’m proud of myself and really like what I just posted, and that’s all that matters. Does that cure all the anxiety? No. But does it help a little bit? Yeah. It’s a fine line to balance between wanting other people’s validation, and wanting our own validation. Write what makes you happy, write something to make yourself proud, and others will see that and enjoy seeing your honesty. The anxiety of other people’s opinions never really goes away, but if you have a support system (I’ll happily support you and boost your works) then, in my opinion, that’s the best way to cope with it.
tl;dr: Just do it. Find the small things that inspire you and run with it. Sit down, set a goal, and don’t get up until you’ve made even the smallest amount of progress, even if it’s 50 words. And most of all, fanfiction is meant to be fun, so enjoy it and be proud of your work!
