Write Away

Thank you for your kind words! I'm usually closer to your style, mulling over words and trying to get them right the first time. I have a lot of affection for the 160K fanfic I wrote this way, remembering the care that went into every draft, the elation and agony behind every word and line.

I decided to go a different direction for my original project because I was so intimidated by it and using that as an excuse not to start. NaNo made a lot of sense for me to take the leap, which isn't to say it was easy or always fun--if anything I went through the doubt and pain in fast-motion. Writing lots of crap definitely has its repercussions, don't let anyone tell you different.

The LiveJournal version of this post got a valuable response from a friend who presented a very different perspective. He tends to write short stories, and over-production is actively dangerous for his health. Rather than write everything in one go, therefore, he has periodic "writeathons" where his fans sponsor stories in his 'verses based on the theme he's offering at the moment. I could never work this way, but the method suits him. So there's definitely a wide range of working methods for different writers, even ones that seem as "out there" as my friend's.

Now if you're a novel-writer with a longer time frame, that sounds like a lonely place to be. If it were short stories or a serial, there's some feedback in a reasonable amount of time, even ones as banal and discouraging as rejection slips. Over the two years I was writing my long fanfic I got reviews, favorites, follows, messages etc. that kept my spirits up and motivated me. Still, there are different communities for ongoing work and I hope you've found/will find one that works for you. Maybe you could join up with the one Téa and I admin, if you don't have one to your liking yet!

~LJ