Encouraging words for writers

[amberdreams]

I found this on tumblr, and I, for one, am takng some comfort from it. I shall just continue to endeavour to be a good writer.
Here are those words:

In fanfiction there is a difference between being a good writer and a popular writer.

Just because you can write a well-structured story with dynamic and consistent writing and characters doesn’t mean you will be popular. And sometimes stories that have disorganized plots, mediocre writing, and/or OOC characters will be held up as the greatest things to ever exist.

Just because your writing isn’t popular doesn’t mean you are a bad writer. Don’t ever compromise who you are, who your characters are, your plot, your writing style, anything for the sake of readership.

There are popular writers everywhere. But there are only so many good writers.

Comments

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I so needed to read this!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Me too! Especially after working my way through a really poorly written, poorly plotted not great story on AO3 the other day only to find it had tons of people gushing over how wonderful it was... *sigh*

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

RIGHT???

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean! I'm wading through one at the moment, I like the setting which is the only reason why I'm carrying on with it! And the amount of grammar and spelling errors is so off-putting!

[alethiometry.livejournal.com]

oooh, definitely needed to hear this, thank you for sharing! not that I consider myself a good writer, but at least I can rest assured that I'm not the only one who thinks some of the more "iconic" fics within fandom have "disorganized plots, mediocre writing and/or OOC characters" XD

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I'd put you in the good category!

[alethiometry.livejournal.com]

aww shucks!! XD

[frozen_delight]

I find that thought reassuring too! :)

[andiivalo.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, YES!! I couldn't agree more. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping that there is room here to consider that you don't have to be (or aspire to be) either a good or popular writer to be enough for some readers. Some days, weeks - months even, I do it give up because I know I'm neither. Then I go back to reading and maybe I read something that I know is no literary masterpiece - perhaps it has plot holes and bad grammar but y'know what, I enjoy it anyway, and yes I leave a nice comment. Perhaps it's the setting or premise or just a simple Mary-Sue character I need at that moment. It gives me the spark to go back and look at my own and think that maybe it will be what somebody needs that particular day, even if its only me, and that's enough to justify continuing.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Popular doesn't necessarily mean bad writing any more than literary masterpiece = readable! So yes, if your writing tells a story people want to read and that they enjoy, that's great. I guess what I was seeing here was that just because my writing isn't popular doesn't mean it's not good. And I've read stories that were distractingly badly written but I stuck with them and got something out of them because either I wanted to read something light and fluffy (or sexy) or because though the grammar etc was dreadful, the story itself was clever or interesting or just fun.

Hmm I'm not expressing this very well! LOL

Encouraging words for writers

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User theatregirl7299 referenced to your post from Encouraging words for writers (http://theatregirl7299.livejournal.com/63870.html) saying: [...] Originally posted by at Encouraging words for writers [...]

[theatregirl7299]

Thank you for this. I need it today.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I think I need it every day! LOL

[dear-tiger.livejournal.com]

I really like that you personally choose to keep working on your skill. Imo, that's a great, healthy way to take such advice, and I admire that you don't fall for it.

I dislike this type of advice because it seems to imply that hey, don't worry about not being popular - it just means that you're good! And true to character and your craft! And that's crap and platitudes. In fic, the wildly popular authors with massive audiences tend to write self-indulgent deep-fried crack that happens to be a lot of other people's self-indulgent deep-fried crack, too. But in however many years I've been in fandom, I have yet to see a writer who is legit good but gets no recognition. I'm not saying "oodles of fans" - just people recognizing the name in bangs and posting recs. I hate this because it encourages people to look outside of themselves and their work for the source of a problem. Say, a good BB fic in our half-dead fandom gets 15 comments these days, and mine only got two, one of which is from the beta? Well, that must be because I chose to stay true to characters while others wrote a/b/o werebuffalo slave fic with elves! I refuse to write elf slave fic because I'm a good writer, and this is why my fic only got two comments. It's a loser attitude, and it won't get anyone to improve in their craft. How can we improve as writers if we assume nobody wants to read our crap because "well, fandom"? Oh, that's convenient. It's like there are never any bad artists, only misunderstood ones that refuse to bend to the popular tastes.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

True, I wasn't taking this as an excuse to stagnate, more encouragement that just because I'm not 'popular' doesn't mean i'm NOT good or getting better. I do understand that generally people don't give constructive crisitism in comments on fics, I have to rely on my betas for that, but I don't want to gauge the success of a story by the volume of comments. It's about accepting that I don't want to write the kinds of stories that huge numbers of people want to read, and that's my choice.

It doesn't stop me getting aggravated by seeing hundreds of gushing comments praising the writing skills of sub-par writers (whether in fandom or outside of it). But I have to face the fact that no matter what, I have zero desire to write that a/b/o werebuffalo slave fic with elves even if that is where I'd get most readers. And that's not because I'm a 'good writer' it's because that just isn't what inspires me to write.

So I suppose it's a balance between acceptance and the desire to improve as a writer? Don't know if I've phrased that very well.

[synn.livejournal.com]

This is so true.
My own writing has gone downhill drastically the last few years.
Ironically, the two stories of mine that I still consider to be my poorest are leaps and bounds above my others in kudos and comments.

One of the greek philosophers talked about writing giving catharsis to an emotion the reader feels or wants to feel, and I remind myself of that whenever I see a popular but poorly written story. The most cliche, poorly written stories, I think, survive and remain popular because they are filling a basic need/desire in the reader.
Better written, more unique stories still do that, but they may not capture the same broad base of readers, because they're touching on thoughts and emotions that a smaller audience is seeking out (not to mention, the audience that wants to *think* about their stories is significantly smaller than the audience who just wants to feel something and be 'entertained'). It's the same as romance/mystery novels vs. classic literature and fiction in published works.
Sorry, I'm rambling now.

[frozen_delight]

This!!! I think you've really nailed it.

not to mention, the audience that wants to *think* about their stories is significantly smaller than the audience who just wants to feel something and be 'entertained'
I once saw someone else compare this to a chocolate bar that can quickly be devoured and enjoyed, vs. being presented with a bowl of fresh ingredients that you have to prepare to something edible yourself.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I often think much fan fiction is like my old Saturday morning comics. They give me cliched and formulaic stories that I can devour but leave me with nothing much - they don't inspire me or change my life or make me want to write better. They're like soap operas on telly, easy to absorb and don't leave a lasting impression. But then there are the ones that I'd call good, that have sparked something in me, emotion, ideas, or a desire to be able to write like that. Not all of those are ones that are complex writing that you have to concentrate to read, but some certainly do fall into that category, and I'm definitely guilty of sometimes putting off reading (or re-reading) those, because they require investment from me. I'll often turn to something comic-like instead because it's 'easier'.

I think my writing probably falls somewhere in between those categories, which might be a classic case of pleasing neither Peter nor Paul when it comes to my potential audience!

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

YES!!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

*thumbs up*

[frozen_delight]

I don't fancy myself a good writer, though I do think that I've gotten better over the past few years, and I'm trying hard to keep getting better still. But even if I did, I don't think it would ever be enough for me to know that something I wrote is good if no one else reads it. Because writing fanfic is a means of communication to me - bonding with other people over something you both love. And I certainly don't aspire to bond with a thousand people out there or more, they're not the ones I'm targetting with my writing, but at least with a certain group of people within the corner of fandom that I feel comfortable in. So when there's barely any response whatsoever, that can get frustrating.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

This is so true for me too. And in fandom I want to read and support all my friends too - which does end up somewhat of a logistical challenge sometimes!

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

Thanks, this is very encouraging :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I hope so! :D

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Some days this is the hardest thing to remember!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

IKR?

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I think sometimes this can be easy to forget, so thank you. For me there's a journey too; my writing has certainly improved over the years, at least I like to think it has, and regardless of readership that's important to me too.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I think so many of us are in the same place - and that is also cool, because we can (and I hope do) support each other in our efforts to tell good stories and tell them well!

[sinfulslasher]

Ha. Truer words were never spoken!

I swear, some of the BNFs I've come across were atrocious writers and it left me baffled why they had such a huge following. They could've vomited all over their keyboard and folks still would've left glowing feedback. Mind boggling.

Granted, it's nice to receive positive comments or kudos, and it's a bit disheartening to have a fic basically ignored by everyone, but honestly, as long as I, the writer, am happy with what I created, all's well in my world. :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's so hard to get a balance in our heads, especially when we've spend so much time and effort in trying to tell a good story that is also a well crafted one. Maybe some of it is about marketing, and posting our work in the right places at the right time, rather than the quality of our work.

[kribban.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

There seems to be a formula to writing popular stories these days. Fluffy coffeeshop AUs and A/B/O comes to mind.

Also, in order to be popular nowadays you have to advertise and promote your stories! Preferably with month long campaigns! I had no idea that writers did that.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I suppose that latter part is only reflecting what happens to authors in the 'real' world these days - the amount of promoting they have to do is quite scary for an introvert with ambitions to get published LOL