The Writer's Struggles...
I've learned a lot over the years I've been writing, and I've come to realize a few things. When it comes to being a writer, it can be a double-edged sword.
On one hand, you relish in the emotional thrill of being able to create ideas, bringing characters into being through words alone and breathing life into their story. You envision glorious adventures that get your blood pumping, terrifying thrills and chills that make your own skin crawl, sweet tender moments that draws out a quiet "aww" and brings a warm smile to your face, heart-wrenching scenes that are so powerful that it brings tears to your own eyes...so many scenes and ideas that fill you with emotion just thinking about them!
On the other hand...you are afraid to put the words to paper. The moment you pick up that pencil or sit at that keyboard...you freeze up. You see the images in your mind clear as day, you hear the words your characters say as loud as a whistle in your ear, and you can smell or even taste that delicious feast tantalizing your characters at a festival! Yet no matter how much you wish to write the words in your heart and mind, the blank page--or even the very few words you manage to write out--seem to mock you. Make you feel as though your ideas are too "cliche" or "stupid," even to the point that you start to wonder and worry that no one will be interested in your ideas in the first place! But you know what?
It's okay. This is something that a lot of writers struggle with, be they original content or fanfics for a favorite series. We all go through the same thing, though admittedly both groups have certain struggles that are unique to their group.
For fanfic writers, it's easier to come up with ideas or even alternate universes for something they like because the rules and characters have already been established--people in the same fandom already know the characters and will no doubt automatically recognize them the moment they're introduced! The problem here, however, lies in the fact that because there is already a set lore (or in some cases like Transformers or World of Warcraft for example, a wide and varying range of lore that goes through changes) and well-known characters, there is a much higher expectation on writers to do a good job portraying those same characters the way they would likely behave in a situation they have never been exposed to before.
For those who dedicate hours upon hours digging up information and researching, it can become almost second nature to them to easily imagine this reaction happening or that being said and having it sound natural! The drawback to this is that we end up second-guessing ourselves to the point we begin to doubt that we're doing that character any justice, and as a result we simply believe we can't write that character and just give up writing anything involving them almost entirely.
For younger, more inexperienced writers that are just starting out and learning the ropes of writing, it's understandable that they'll make mistakes and mischaracterizations on their first story or two and would need some guidance and encouragement to grow and succeed on future stories they write. (And let's be honest here: everyone has that one first story that they cringe at whenever they think about what they've written and want to either burn or rework into something better. Keep it, that's good experience and shows how far you've developed as a writer!)
Unfortunately, because of those same high expectations, many of these young writers end up being criticized rather harshly, scolded and harped on for incorrectly writing a character a certain way or messing up a detail that may have been obscure to them at the time or simply because they forgot. Most times those who claim they're offering "constructive criticism" are the ones who end up never saying anything in their ranting "reviews" on what could actually be improved on, or even what may very well have been good or the writer's strongest piece about the story in the first place! And no, telling someone to "take it down and start over" or even threatening to sue them for getting a character wrong is not the way to motivate someone into writing better.
I kid you not, I once had a rude anonymous person on a fan fiction site threaten to "sue me" for writing a Yu-Gi-oh character out of character in my story...when I was 15 years old...and it was quite literally my very first story. That was 12 years ago, and I have never attempted to write anything for that fandom since that day because of them. In fact, that sort of behavior and reaction is the quickest way to ruin someone's confidence in their abilities and their dreams of being part of something they love and wanted to share in with a community of other fans. Don't be one of those bullies that just bashes creativity: actually HELP someone improve through positive feedback! It's not hard, and you will make a writer's day when you leave words of encouragement or even a detailed review on strong points and/or weak points that could use just a little boost to get back to where it needs to be. In the end, you may just wind up helping someone create a story that will someday become your absolute favorite!
Which brings us to the original story idea writers. This category is actually a bit more of a "free-for-all" so to speak in that nothing is set in stone yet. You can make fish climb trees and it'll make sense to your characters because it's YOUR world, YOUR rules! You get to create all these amazing characters of your own, give them quests or have them set out on a journey of self-discovery, and create the most epic fights and dreaded cliffhangers that will keep you and your readers on the edge of their seats! But this can also become an issue in it's own right:
Characters can end up sounding the same and become flat, uninteresting, and just plain boring. The rules and laws of your world can become so complex they end up contradicting themselves on page 234 simply because you forgot that one teeny tiny rule you set somewhere back on page 10. Creating an entire world from scratch takes time, patience, and lots of research you may end up never using just so that the information will bleed into the story as you write it. Creating your own world is one thing, but putting it to a story you know you want to share with the real world? It can be quite crippling a fear whether we realize it or not, because no one can guarantee that your first book will be accepted the way you imagined it the first time you submit it.
All this leads to one thing that every writer (fanfic or original) faces: the fear of rejection. We all want to share our imagination with the world, and we all want that validation that tells us, "Yes, my voice matters even if this idea has been used before by someone else" and that we can create our own vividly imaginative stories. Even if you tell yourself you're never going to let anyone see it, the need to show your writing and the fear of believing that someone will see all the blood, sweat, and tears you poured into your work and saying "It's lacking/it sucks/I couldn't get past page 3..." it's the most discouraging thought imaginable, and can often cause writers to even stop writing all together.
Yes, there may be times where there are boring chapters that are meant to progress your story. Yes, some chapters will get more feedback than others. Yes, there may be times where you get absolutely no feedback at all on a chapter and you feel you did something wrong.
Here's my advice to you: keep writing. Even if you hate those first few words you write down, just keep going until you get that scene that's been bugging you for the past few days or weeks or even months down on paper. Yes, it may suck once you read it again and you'll hate how it doesn't evoke the same feelings you were imagining just moments before, and you may feel the need to eradicate every trace of its existence. Don't! Think of it as that one building block to your story, still made of soft, malleable wet clay ready to mold and shape the way you envisioned it. With each line, each paragraph, each chapter you write, you're constructing the shape of the bricks needed to lay on the foundation of your plot (see what I did there?).
So keep writing that story you've been dreaming about. Weave your words in a way that lets others see the very world you've built out of nothing but a single thought. Seek out those who will encourage you to do your best, help you improve and keep pushing you until you reach your goal! Just remember the most important thing about that first draft: you have the ability to rewrite it as many times as you like until it flows the way your imagination dreamed it so.
Before I end this, here are two quotes I've found that have made writing easier for me to see as something not to be dreaded, but as something to look forward to:
"Convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble, on paper not eternal bronze: Let that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes." - Jacques Barzun
"I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I am simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles." - Shannon Hale
