Everyone is a week past the whole writing rules and advice meta, I realize, but I started talking about this in a thread the other day, and finally had time to finish it off, so voila, you get it anyway
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Huh! The airplane analogy is interesting to me. And it makes me feel better. What blocks me most times with writing and posting stories -- if the newest one isn't better than the last, then I think, "Well, what's the point, then?"
I feel compelled to improve upon myself in some way. So I'm always hung up on making my fic better than the last, or to at least like the fic enough to delude myself that it's better than the last. Sometimes, that's what blocks me -- my own bar going too high for me to reach.
Here is another way to think about that -- just think of your favorite author, rank your top five stories of theirs, then imagine that all of them except the first one have just vanished. Tragedy, right? Even if the first one is the very best and your favorite, it doesn't mean you didn't enjoy that fifth-best one a whole lot also. Of course, that is from the reader's perspective, but that's one of the great things about fanfic, that we're in this community where we are writing for each other, that people actually want to read our stories. Give us the story! *g
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Oh, awesome! I particularly appreciate the beta advice because right now I tend to receive and to beta for mistakes rather than for, erm, greatness. *g*
There have been so many interesting & helpful writing advice posts lately! Thanks for yet another!
Personally, I loved your passionate beta recommendation. Betaing another writer's story gives me a fresh reminder of why I love writing so very much. Which is never a bad thing & can be very helpful if you are struggling through a tough uncooperative story and/or a period of writer's block.
Actually, although I think this is matter of time crunch and taste, I pretty much never beta via email at all anymore. I only beta if I'm able to sit down and read *right then*, and have the author in chat somewhere, so we can have an immediate back-and-forth. It's the conversation that is where the best stuff gets generated, I find, and also it takes a fraction of the time.
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I feel compelled to improve upon myself in some way. So I'm always hung up on making my fic better than the last, or to at least like the fic enough to delude myself that it's better than the last. Sometimes, that's what blocks me -- my own bar going too high for me to reach.
Hmmm.
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Personally, I loved your passionate beta recommendation. Betaing another writer's story gives me a fresh reminder of why I love writing so very much. Which is never a bad thing & can be very helpful if you are struggling through a tough uncooperative story and/or a period of writer's block.
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**replaces with "vidding."**
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