tfa_kink | DISCUSSION/OFF-TOPIC POST

As a writer, I can confirm sometimes the guilt will make you embarrassed and kill the writing mojo. If you've been having other type of difficulties that prevent you writing and the person seems selfish, it can make you resentful. HOWEVER, when someone who appears to be a new person, shows up and comments on every chapter and/or you run into someone you don't know recommending the fic... that awakens the muse even if you've entirely stopped writing about it. It depends on how long it has been without updates.

If it's less than a week, hold back, if it's less than a month then be encouraging but not demanding, if it's over a month, do the thing above lol.

If it's been that long, you could always comment to say 'hope you're doing okay' and throw in a 'would love to read more whenever you get a chance'.

Oh, that's a good idea - thanks!

One of my favourite authors just completed a long story, so I've been using that as an incentive. If I meet my writing target for the day, I can read another chapter.

"I don't want to rush you, but just so you know, you still have readers who are excited about this and would be happy to see more of it."

I love this idea!

A comment like that would send me straight into a major guilt spiral because I'm disappointing people by working full time and doing a full load of college courses online. I want to continue, but real life has to take precedence.

As questioned.

Sometimes I find some pretty fun prompts to fill by going backwards. Time consuming though.

I feel different. About the part of fandom being "legitimized and acknowledged part of society". Its not that I doubt that, but I am afraid, the general society and mainstream people are not thinking of fandom that is being kept running by women. They still think of fandom as of fanboys, and conventions with weird teenagers or adults in costumes running around.
Slash fandom? Will still let people put the label "freak" and whatever on a woman, no matter her age, if she engages in what we do here.

I am slightly younger than you probably, and I have been reading printed gen fanfics since 1992, or when I was thirteen. I spend my pocket money on getting fanzines and comics from US, before there was even the internet and email existed. I akcknowledge, that as a whole, we are slightly better off than 30 or 40 years ago, but nowhere are we being at a place, that would and could put us in the public eye, in comparison to fanboys, or what male fans can afford (male fantasies about two women in porny pieces? totally fine! female fantasies about two men having unrealistic sex? those women should be examined).

I don't want to sound bitter, but we still cannot carry out our hobbies the same as men can. And I talk about able bodies, cis white and cis WOC. how far would society tolerate (generic) you, if you were anything from trans, to lesbian, to asexual, to aromantic or whatever deviations from the norm there is?

I cannot provide you with those metas , that I was mentioned, but two were relatively easy to find, that were also ignited fierce discussions over half a decade ago:

http://thingswithwings.livejournal.com/49928.html?format=light

http://solar-cat.livejournal.com/233267.html?format=light

The age for that kind of discussions has gone, much like the elves in LoTR have sailed to the West, but its still feels good to look back, even if I never participated on those, on the mere grounds, that well, linguistic reasons.

And if you really have time to dwell in the past:
http://metafandom.livejournal.com/profile

Yes! Rarely! There are two reasons I'll do this:

1) I saved a prompt I liked and only just got around to filling it.

2) I feel like writing for a given pairing and have no ideas (like usual). The delicious account makes it easy to search for inspiration that way.

Fills do generally get less attention from those rounds and sometimes OP is AWOL, but that's how kinkmemes are and an inspiring prompt is an inspiring prompt.

Yeah. If I have lots of wips I will totally save something and if I have free time and no one has filled it yet, I will.

Yeah, agree, this wording would not work out well

Something more neutral about really loving it or having been recommended it would not induce guilt and make the point of PEOPLE LOVE IT

DA, I know that's not the intention, but that sounds kinda passive aggressive and might have the opposite effect.

Even when insecurity strikes authors know that there are people who would like to know what happens next. It's just that there has to be a certain balance of reward/obligation and this would feel like the reward is just not deserving being seen as a disappointment and that just doesn't work for me lol. I'd rather sacrifice my time and go through the pain that is writing or put aside some urgent real life things to make someone who doesn't know me yet happy than stop disappointing people who already are disappointed and might be disappointed anyway.

It's difficult, like, I feel really gross for the fics I haven't managed to finish just from reading this even though the fandoms are dead now and every time I stopped writing I was going through horrible shit. Try to make the author feel good and like they're doing something good for people by updating, but make sure between the lines you're not saying that they're bad for not updating and please, don't use "just so you know" or "for information" nor speak for a group because that feels like people have discussed how much of a failure you are

Knowing that people talk about your fic feels great, but knowing that they've talked about your lack of updates is the worst feeling

Sorry about drama and formatting, on mobile and oversensitive

There's nothing more frustrating than a dead WIP

True for authors too. Sometimes a story just dies on you and no amount of defibrillation is going to bring it back.

Considering fanfic writers do it for free and usually for fun, I'd broadly say the etiquette is tread very carefully indeed. The impact is going to vary widely between authors because of personality, but generally I'd err on the side of not asking to be safe.

An author will update or they won't. They probably haven't literally forgotten a story exists, and either they're feeling like writing it or they're not.

What is preferred - to post the whole fic in a comment, or to post a link to AO3? Lately I've just been posting AO3 links but it occurs to me that maybe that isn't how people prefer to read things. What is easiest for people or does it not matter at all?

I have a weak preference for reading things on the meme itself, but man if that 16,000 character limit isn't brutal for posting longer works. Also the lack of an edit function when anon is mixed blessing for the casual perfectionist. There's no real etiquette obligation to observe, I think. It's up to the author.

It's way easier to read A03 on mobile phones.

Do both, so we're given the choice.

Same.

I would really prefer a commenter just to say they enjoy it so far than to make a big point of how they have noticed it hasn't been updated for a while and don't want to be pushy etc. That way guilt lies.

Seconding this.

Trust me, my WIPs are always at the back of my mind, on my "to do list". We don't just easily forget something we put so much time and effort into, so readers truly do not need to remind us that our WIPs exist. If they haven't been updated in ages, best you can do is leave a comment about how much you like the story and leave it at that.

In sci-fi, spaceships are more commonly interpreted as ships rather than aircraft. Hence the name, and hence the naval-sounding ranks.

That vague, hollow feeling when you finish an amazing fic and know you'll have to wade through so many others to find one that is as good as the one you just finished reading is the worst. (￣▽￣)

So does anyone have any long fic recs? AU or in-universe and any pairing as long as there is a solid, engaging plot. I need another one to occupy my study breaks!

Yeah! I use the delicious to look at the pairings I like and write when a cool prompt comes up!

DA seriously!

The average reading speed in adults is apparently 300 wpm, and the average TYPING speed of a professional typist starts at 50 wpm.

That means that writing an average 3k piece in a way so fast that you make no pauses and it's as if you were just typing in a way that is sufficient to make a living off of it, takes ten times longer than to read it. It's always there.

(Personally I read about 150 wpm and take over an hour to write my tiny 600 word things but case stands)

Just started reading this and I'm floored

http://archiveofourown.org/works/6443686?view_full_work=true

I also can't math, my example is 10 minutes to read, 1 hour to write, that's six times heh

DISCUSSION/OFF-TOPIC POST

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Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: Dealing with insecurity

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Do you ever go back to the first 2 threads to fill prompts?

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Re: Is anyone else afraid of Cap America: civil war? will it slow down SW TFA?

Re: Do you ever go back to the first 2 threads to fill prompts?

Re: Do you ever go back to the first 2 threads to fill prompts?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Posting Etiquette

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Re: Posting Etiquette

Re: Posting Etiquette

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: WTF is the Resistance

aw man

Re: Do you ever go back to the first 2 threads to fill prompts?

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?

Re: aw man

Re: What's the etiquette on asking an author for an update?