[ SECRET POST #3280 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3280 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 053 secrets from Secret Submission Post #469.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Advice to stop writing fic

[(Anonymous)]

I want to stop writing fanfiction and focus on writing original stuff from now on. Any advice on how yo make the transition?

Re: Advice to stop writing fic

[(Anonymous)]

I took a piece of fanfic I'd written, scraped the serial numbers off, and rewrote it as original fiction. I swapped the sexes of a few characters, combined the roles of a couple of others, and added an element the original work didn't have.

I never sold that story, but I've sold three others set in that universe to venues that paid me at least a penny a word for them. I've sold two of them more than once.

Once I wrote that one, the dam kind of broke for me and I started getting ideas for original stories from everywhere.

The main thing is to not get discouraged by rejection. It really does take ten years to become an overnight sensation, and selling a first novel or a first story (or even your second) is super rare. Just keep at it! *\o/*

Re: Advice to stop writing fic

[ketita]

From an emotional standpoint, think about what makes you want to write a fanfic, or what you enjoy in a story, and then try to replicate those feelings. What are plots you like? What ideas get you excited? What types of characters do you think are awesome? Whose head do you want to get into? When you look around at your preferred genre, what do you feel is missing, or nobody is writing about?
These types of things can help you lay groundwork. And seconding what the above anon said about trying to modify existing fanworks. It works especially well when you pick a fandom you're no longer active in, I think.

Re: Advice to stop writing fic

[(Anonymous)]

Making the transition can be tough. If you can, try and find a writing group that does original fic and not just fanfic, so you have people in the same boat to bounce ideas off of and be accountable to. Concentrate on some of the skills that fanfic doesn't exercise as much, such as creating your own characters, world building, etc.

I think one of the hardest parts of writing original fic is that you don't have the same feedback system as fanfic, and it can feel rather lonely without all the encouragement of reviews and an established fanbase of readers. Keep going, anyway! Good luck. :)

Re: Advice to stop writing fic

[ariakas]

One of the hardest parts about writing original fiction is finding an audience - with fanfic, the audience is right there already and presumably already interested in what you have to say.

I think that's why a lot of fledgling writers go niche. If you have a niche genre (or better, sub-genre) that really appeals to you, you'll have an audience that'll be thirsty for any works in that niche and much more willing to give something by someone they've never heard of a try than if you wrote generic literary fiction without an established name.

That's all the advice I can really give. I started with original fic and didn't start with fanfic until I was an adult; the transition back to original fic wasn't that difficult.

It's definitely a different skillset, though. There's a lot more worldbuilding and plotting required, unless you're the type of person who wrote novel-length AU fanfics riddled with OCs. You can't just write a one-off whump with the assumption that all of your readers are already invested. OTOH worldbuilding and plotting can be a hell of a lot of fun.

Re: Advice to stop writing fic

[(Anonymous)]

>>You can't just write a one-off whump with the assumption that all of your readers are already invested.

True, to an extent. But you can get the reader invested and whump the hell out of your characters. Maybe not so much in non-speculative fiction, but there are a ton of short SF/F/H markets that pay pretty well, if you can get in them.

Which, you never know until you try, and you might as well try because you have absolutely nothing to lose by doing so. Not even postage, anymore. Literally everyone takes e-subs.