[ SECRET POST #2769 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2769 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 064 secrets from Secret Submission Post #396.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

03. http://i.imgur.com/uQtbNUX.jpg

[fingalsanteater]

Stop posting WIPs and just post when your fic is finished. Problem solved.

[(Anonymous)]

Gosh. I was just getting ready to say this. Finish your work and then serialize it. What a concept!

[peablossom]

+1 That is a sure fire way to make sure you get no comments and no people asking for the next update.

[(Anonymous)]

Yep, this. If you don't need feedback to encourage your progress and it's in fact detrimental to the process, then there really aren't any advantages to posting each chapter as you go. If you finish it before you post, then you get the opportunity to smooth over any continuity errors or plot inconsistencies, so... win-win!

[(Anonymous)]

This! I wish so many people would do this. Either post it when it's complete, or don't post it at all. Then you don't have to think about comments/kudos while you're writing it!

[(Anonymous)]

Huh. That seems really weird -- I'm like the exact opposite.

Do you have any idea why? Is the effect still there if you don't read the comments? Do kudos have the same effect? (Sorry, I just like trying to pin down explanations for quirks.)

[sarillia]

I can imagine myself doing this. I don't work well under outside pressure. The idea of people waiting to see the next part of the story and getting impatient would make me anxious and procrastinate. That's why I haven't posted a WIP since I was 12.

op

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not sure as to why.
I always read comments, because I don't write that many fics that I lose track of the feedback. Kudos or short positive comments have the same effect.
Maybe I feel that there are too many comments for a mediocre fic... I'd include the reason in the secret if I knew.

[(Anonymous)]

It's the same for me.

In my case, I think many people liking my wip makes me fear they could stop liking it if I do something "wrong". If there aren't expectations, I don't need to worry about disappointing anyone so I have an easier time writing.

[(Anonymous)]

It's because every comment, no matter how well intentioned, needles at one's own personal guilt complex.

Or at least, that's what happens with me. Bunches of people reading = pressure, which creates a sort of "stage fright", if you will.

It took me years to figure out what others here have suggested. I work best if I write out a work in its entirety first, then start sharing it. Because that way, there's no outside pressure to either perform, or that deep-seated fear of not living up to readers' expectations. Or at least, it's greatly lessened, at least for me.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow this is kind of like the polar opposite of the secret a few days ago with the OP silently holding their fics hostage for more reviews.

[(Anonymous)]

I was thinking that exactly. I hope this will start people thinking that the author of their favourite WIP is one of these OPs, but not know which one, and thus will freak out about whether they should leave a comment or not.

[(Anonymous)]

lol. It is.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm the opposite. Comments remind me that a WIP is worth continuing even if I feel really down about it or my writing in general. When I'm struggling to write, I'll try harder because I know people out there want to see more.

But... I don't admit this in public because I'm tired of how writers get dogpiled for being "entitled" to reviews. And if you think that this doesn't happen, you've missed out on the umpteen similar threads on FS alone about this subject.

[(Anonymous)]

My friend always talks about lack of feedback and entitled readers who want a story to go a curtain way and then complain when it doesn't, so I'm really sympathetic to this plight. She can't say all of this online. (

[souljelly]

I know how this feels. I'm writing a fic right now that's getting really good feedback, and I feel so nervous whenever I update, what if people don't like it etc. I didn't update in a year because the nerves got so bad haha.

On the other hand, I've written an entire completed fic and just begun to post it chapter by chapter and it feels like much less pressure. It could work for you too :)

[gondremark]

I could never published an unfinished piece online. It's a matter of done-ness. If people read and like it, I'll starting viewing that work as me having accomplished the intended goal, and there'll be no reason to keep working on the same piece.

And also, what if I wanted to go back and change something early in the story in order to make the later portions work better? Yeah, i never really understood the work-in-progress thing.

[elaminator]

That's a great picture of him. (Yea, yea, he looks like an alien, he's gross, whatever.)

And I guess the pressure gets to you and you're afraid to screw up? I can't speak for everyone, but I would rather a fic be complete than perfect.

You could try what fingal suggested and only post after you're done? Even then you could post a chapter at a time if that's what you want.

[(Anonymous)]

My writing professor advised us never to show someone a work while we're in the middle of it or we'd feel like we'd already told the story when we go back in to write on it. It's not true in every case because different folks and all that but maybe that's the case for you, OP.

op

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you to everybody here for great tips and food for thoughts.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm exactly the same, OP! But I'm working hard to overcome it.

For all those who are saying well, don't post WIPs then, there are many other reasons to post WIPs than wanting comments.

For example, I post WIPs to help cure my tendency to overedit. I wouldn't post any writing at all if I didn't post it in parts, because I'd eternally go back and edit the first chapter until it became an unreadable mess.

[(Anonymous)]

I won't read single story works in progress (series of completed stories are a different matter) on principle. It's like I'd be rewarding attention whores if I did so. You ain't Dickens, bitches.

[lb-lee.livejournal.com]

Aw, anon! I can sympathize. I write for money, and do a bunch of serials, and while I rig things in such a way that I can quit at any time or move to something else without dropping too many balls, there's always that pressure to keep coming up with good stuff.

I second what folks have said before about finishing and THEN posting. I obviously can't do that with entire series (my system involves people specifically prompting me and paying me to write it) but I try to do that with stories whenever possible. That way, you don't hamstring yourself.

Also, for my REALLY big projects (series with 50+ stories in them, or really popular serials that I know people will be wanting for a while), I make little world-building notebooks with ideas, timelines, etc. Might not be as relevant for fanfiction, but it's REALLY handy when you're trying to remember what happens when and what you're going to do next. It makes you feel like you're flying less blind, you know?

Good luck, anon!

[mishey22]

This sort of thing is why I don't read a WIP in progress until it's done, no matter the author.

Like the others said, just finish it first and then break it up.