I was tagged by the brilliant @calaisreno to review my writing of 2025. First of all, what a great thing to do!! Have to admit, I never actually gave it that much thought, so, thanks so much for tagging me!
I will cheat a bit and (in hopes that I will finish and maybe even upload the work in question this next year), will talk about a WIP, because that's the fic where I feel I learned most about my writing process (and I'm still learning, of course).
First of all, I have to bow before calaisreno. Great words, great conclusions/lessons drawn, just overall amazing!
Now, on to my own (additional) experiences concerning that mysterious WIP:
(I'm writing in second person, though I'm addressing myself. Sorry if that's confusing.)
1. Don't look at the numbers
That's mainly about the words I've written. It's just that. You can be proud afterwards, when you look at the finished document and think, 'wow, that's a lot I've written here.' Don't expect a certain wordcount, don't stare at the numbers while you're writing. If anything, it slows down the progress and it's disappointing. Enjoy the progress, be happy about the final product!
What I found works great for me is looking at the wordcount of chapters, so they are more or less the same length, but not at the wordcount of the entire fic.
2. Don't be afraid to change the script
Now it gets more specific. I gave 'Wuthering Heights' a reread in... 2024? Maybe even 2023? Anyway, the longer I read, the more I wanted to see Sherlock and John in that setting (without Heathcliff though, don't like the guy). So, eventually, in that weird time between Christmas 2024 and NYE, I collected all my thoughts and wrote an outline. I kept adding to it, until it was about 5k words (the outline for my 70k story had about 3k words), and I was soo excited to finally start writing! I also worried, of course (as always), but I was also giddy with joy. I remember I started writing on the 1st of January, and eight days later, I closed the document and didn't touch it again for almost an entire year (more about that later). When I eventually returned to the WIP, I had to reacquaint myself with the outline, and I remembered why I was so excited about it! Much drama :) And before I started writing again, I sat down and rewrote that outline, and I changed parts of the plot, changed the order of happenings and all that. And as I wrote, I suddenly realised I had overcome my fear to stray from the script. Much later, in the middle of writing, one of the characters developed an almost entirely new personality on her death bed, and I looked at it and thought, 'why not leave it this way?' So, changes don't have to be bad. Sometimes they're much needed and natural, so don't try to hold on to the original idea if it doesn't fit any longer.
3. Don't take things too seriously
I normally love doing my research for fics because I want things to be as accurate as possible. I spent hours scrolling through websites about the Natural Hisory Museum London to try and get the setting for 'A Furry Friend' right. However, this desire to get things right was one of the main reasons why I abandonned the fic for so long. It took me an entire week to write 2k words, because I kept looking every small detail up. Paired with my worry to get the language right (which is a struggle for my German brain even in 'normal' fics) I ended up questioning whether I know anything at all about that era, and whether I of all people should write that fic, when I can't even get the setting right in any way. It was very frustrating.
One of the things that helped when I finally opened the document again after one year, was thinking that I would just do it. If it's done shitty, that's my problem, not anyone else's. At least I'll have had fun writing it, and that's what counts at the end of the day. Because for me, writing will always be a hobby. If I end up uploading the fic, I'll write a sentence or two, warning that historical accuracy was not my most important point writing it, and it will be okay. Or maybe I'll even get someone to read it before? (That's your chance to send me a message, if you're interested in (beta) reading what I'm brewing in the dim light of my room :)
Writing should be fun, and when it doesn't serve that purpose, leave it behind or change the experience.
4. Give it time (It's what calaisreno said, and it also goes hand in hand with the point 'changing the script').
As I mentioned above, I discareded the WIP after only eight days. I'm not used to discarding WIPs. Once I have an idea I really want to write, I wait until I know I'll have enough time, and then I write the fic more or less in one go. 'The Ashes on the Ground' I wrote in about fifty days. So it was something I had to accept, that I couldn't 'just write' that fic. For a time I thought I'd just never be able to write it, but the longer the document stayed untouched, the more I wanted to return to it. So (after a bit of a pep talk from a friend) I read what I had already written, read my outline, and then (remembering how it went back when I was so excited about it), I made myself wait just a bit longer. And I think it was good I did so, because here I am, 70k words in. And as I said, I changed a lot of of the original ideas, I'm still changing stuff as I write. I'm now planning to kill off even more characters (that makes five, in total :D) So, I suppose by giving it time, I had the chance to take a step back, think about things, and I feel I'm not putting that much pressure on myself. I feel I'm generally more relaxed and patient with the progress and with myself.
5. Remember, you can write without having to share a work. If it turns out well, you can still upload, if it doesn't, well, at least you've written it down, the idea is out of your head. And if it's bad and it still doesn't let you go, well, maybe you'll find the time to return and give it a little polish.
I think it was even that mindset that got me back to continuing the WIP. I wanted the story written down, because I do love the idea of it, all this unnecessary drama, almost every character dying along the way. And I am having tremendous fun, in a strange way, even though it might be among the hardest things I've ever written so far.
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Not sure this turned out as intended, but I did think a lot about my writing, so I guess that's something.
And I wrote a small novel here, didn't I? Apparently I just like talking about my own stuff. It's probably just a lot of hot air I've written here, but it made me realise that my journey as a fic writer is only now beginning, and it will probably (hopefully) never end. Anyway, want to share your experiences?
