it's only right that you should play the way you feel it

[musesfool]

Last night, I took a Benadryl along with my 1 teaspoon of robitussin with codeine, and I slept through the night! No waking up for a half hour of coughing every two hours! \o/ Of course, I still had to pause in the middle of getting ready for work for an epic bout, but sleeping through the night is such a victory, I can't even tell you

Comments

[moriann]

Having someone who'll cheer along your writing and /or is a guaranteed audience for your story is such a great motivator for writing. I think it's a huge part of why writing for fic exchanges is easier for me than writing something without outside help - you know there is at least one person who really wants this story to happen and is looking forward to it. It's the reason the majority of the fic I wrote in the last few years has been for yuletide. But for me, yuletide also has a second super-important factor: there's yulechat, and you can easily find people to who'll brainstorm with you and cheer you on, not matter how small your fandom is. If I'm just stuck alone with my story in front of the screen, that story will probably join the overcrowded wip folder and never see the light of day.

[musesfool]

Having someone who'll cheer along your writing and /or is a guaranteed audience for your story is such a great motivator for writing.

It's so true!

I think it's a huge part of why writing for fic exchanges is easier for me than writing something without outside help - you know there is at least one person who really wants this story to happen and is looking forward to it.

Yeah, I like that, though I don't really do a lot of exchanges anymore. It's nice to know that someone is going to be as excited about a story as I am.

But for me, yuletide also has a second super-important factor: there's yulechat, and you can easily find people to who'll brainstorm with you and cheer you on, not matter how small your fandom is.

That sounds great, though I have some anxiety issues around chats involving a lot of people I don't know.

[helsinkibaby]

I agree with you on the writing thing...what little of it I do at the moment is very small fandom, rare pair stuff and there's never much feedback to it, though the kudos button at AO3 is sometimes pressed! But then I enjoy it and especially with "The Following" stuff, there are about 3 people on AO3 who share my ship and will always leave kudos and occasionally comment, which is nice. But I were my het Big Bang fic for that fandom/ship thinking no one would read it but I really wanted to get it down and boom, 38k words in 4 weeks-I've not had that productivity in years, if ever!

So yeah...what's that song? You can't please everyone so you have to please yourself?!

[musesfool]

Exactly! I find that I can't always predict how people will respond. Sometimes I think no one will read this and I'm right, but sometimes I'm wrong! And sometimes I let myself dream big and the story sinks like a stone! So you can never tell! But as long as I'm pleased in the end, it's some sort of victory.

[delle]

I just finished my first story in FOREVER and I simply don't know how I would have done it without my girlfriend in chat, talking to me nightly, encouraging me, prodding me, telling me all the little details she really liked. (and then the 2nd girlfriend I just dumped it on for a beta who not only corrected my notoriously bad comma usage but also gave me some lovely feedback about what she liked)

I hope to keep writing now that I've managed to eke one out, and perhaps I'll not need the crutches so much, but my god it helped me so much..

[musesfool]

I think once you've finished something after a long time, you do get some momentum built up to carry you through to the next story, but having other people to cheer is such a nice bit of encouragement and I find it makes the writing go so much faster and smoother.

[prunesquallormd]

I read my own stories for comfort reading too XD
If you're not writing for yourself, at least in part, I'm really not sure what the point is.

[musesfool]

Yeah, I mean, it's one thing if you're trying to sell something or have a contract, but for fan writing, if you're not entertaining yourself, why do it? Otherwise, it's such a frustrating hobby.