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[Rose]

There was a whole long train of thought that brought this question into my head yesterday after our chatty conversation, but I thought I'd wait for a lull to post it.  So here it is!

I was thinking yesterday about how we all like to write different things and the reasons I like to write what I do, and I came to the conclusion that there are three types of fanfic writers:

1. Writers who write about things they wish would happen, or their greatest fantasies.

2. Writers who write about things they hope never happen, or their worst nightmares.

3. Writers who write about things that really did happen, either in the Boys' lives or their own lives.

I'm sure most of us do all three, to some extent, but which category would you say you fall into most of the time?

I've always been writer number two LOL. I always write about things I hope will never happen. Horrible deaths, alien wars, epic accidents. And let's not forget cruel diseases LOL.

Lately, I've been writing more in number three, where it's things that really did happen with my own spin on it.

[mare]

There was a whole long train of thought that brought this question into my head yesterday after our chatty conversation, but I thought I'd wait for a lull to post it.  So here it is!

I was thinking yesterday about how we all like to write different things and the reasons I like to write what I do, and I came to the conclusion that there are three types of fanfic writers:

1. Writers who write about things they wish would happen, or their greatest fantasies.

2. Writers who write about things they hope never happen, or their worst nightmares.

3. Writers who write about things that really did happen, either in the Boys' lives or their own lives.

I'm sure most of us do all three, to some extent, but which category would you say you fall into most of the time?

I think I pretty much fall into the last category. I tend to enjoy writing stories where the things I write about have really happened to a certain extent, but then put in enough fictitious elements to liven things up. It's also just not the boys though. I'll sometimes use things that have happened in my life and make the boys have to deal with it. lol I do the second one as well, when it comes to the suspense stuff I write, but I can honestly say I don't think I've ever done the first.

[Rose]

You're not alone there Mare. I've never done the first LOL. I don't even read the first typically lmao.

[mare]

I'm going to be straight with you. I love sci-fi, I'm a big nerd about it. It used to be ALL that I would write actually. I still love it. I was actually planning on checking out CP because the summary caught my eye till I saw your self-promo tweets. It made me not want to read it until the reading challenge. It's why I picked that story when I got paired up with you, because it was one I'd want to read anyway.

You don't self-promote much now, but with that story, you did. I don't mind fanfic talk, because like I said to Steph, we all do that. But I do feel there's a difference.

This post is why PMs are a great thing. There's really no reason we all needed to know that. Not in this thread anyway. When you guys fill out the final challenge survey, that's when you can have at it.

[Rose]

This post is why PMs are a great thing. There's really no reason we all needed to know that. Not in this thread anyway. When you guys fill out the final challenge survey, that's when you can have at it.

Sorry, I just got offended at the previous post saying I would never read anything of hers, when it's not true.

[Purpura Lipstick]

I wasn't having it out with her, just making comments as I saw it and what she replied doesn't bother me either. *shrugs*

I think I wrote the first category, wished it would happen, with my first few fics. MTT and MWM very much fit into those categories.  I've never done 3 in the sense of what is going on with the boys but I've thrown a little bit of my own life, what has happened or is going on with me.

[mare]

Sorry, I just got offended at the previous post saying I would never read anything of hers, when it's not true.

I know! It's all good.

[mare]

I wasn't having it out with her, just making comments as I saw it and what she replied doesn't bother me either. *shrugs*

I think I wrote the first category, wished it would happen, with my first few fics. MTT and MWM very much fit into those categories.  I've never done 3 in the sense of what is going on with the boys but I've thrown a little bit of my own life, what has happened or is going on with me.

When I said have at it, I didn't mean a barroom brawl or anything lol just this type of discussion. But if you don't mind it... just trying to keep everyone happy.

[Rose]

BTW Mare I'm sad you never do #1 .

You mean you don't want someone to carve MINE into your flesh? That wasn't a fantasy? LOL

[myconfession]

This post is why PMs are a great thing. There's really no reason we all needed to know that. Not in this thread anyway. When you guys fill out the final challenge survey, that's when you can have at it.

Agreed. It's just plain out rude.

[RokofAges75]

With the self-promotion thing, I agree that if you want to get your stories seen and build up a base of readers, you do have to do some self-promotion, especially when you're just starting out.  Steph has talked about how it's necessary on the One Direction fanfic site she's started posting on because there are so many stories being updated every day, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle unless you make an effort to draw readers to your story.  That's not such a problem on AC, where stories may stay on the first Most Recent page for a few days, but I still tweet once when I update and post in my update thread here so people will know.  I try not to spam everyone's Twitter timeline with tweets about my stories because I know not everyone reads them, wants to read them, or wants to hear about them all the time.  If they do want to talk about them with me, awesome, but that's what reviews or the update threads here are for.

Obviously, published writers who are trying to make money off their books have to promote them if they want to make any money LOL.  And unless they're self-publishing, there's a publishing company behind them that wants to make money too, so it's kind of an expectation!  Most of us are not trying to make money at this, though; we're writing fanfic for the fun of it and posting it for free.  We all want readers, but I must admit, I find it annoying when I see my timeline filled with lots of "OMG This chapter I wrote is so awesome; everyone should go read it right now!" tweets from the same person and people RTing compliments they received.  I guess it's not much different from seeing lines from good reviews about a book on the back of the book's cover, but I think that's what makes it seem pretentious coming from fanfic writers.  I don't mean to diminish what we do because I DO take my writing seriously, but I don't pretend to be the next Stephen King or something LOL.  There's nothing wrong with talking about your stories; obviously, we all enjoy talking about our writing, or we wouldn't be doing it in this thread.  I don't mind seeing people tweeting about what they're writing on Twitter.  It's just when it verges on bragging that it becomes more of a turn off than an attractant.

[myconfession]

With the self-promotion thing, I agree that if you want to get your stories seen and build up a base of readers, you do have to do some self-promotion, especially when you're just starting out.  Steph has talked about how it's necessary on the One Direction fanfic site she's started posting on because there are so many stories being updated every day, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle unless you make an effort to draw readers to your story.  That's not such a problem on AC, where stories may stay on the first Most Recent page for a few days, but I still tweet once when I update and post in my update thread here so people will know.  I try not to spam everyone's Twitter timeline with tweets about my stories because I know not everyone reads them, wants to read them, or wants to hear about them all the time.  If they do want to talk about them with me, awesome, but that's what reviews or the update threads here are for.

Obviously, published writers who are trying to make money off their books have to promote them if they want to make any money LOL.  And unless they're self-publishing, there's a publishing company behind them that wants to make money too, so it's kind of an expectation!  Most of us are not trying to make money at this, though; we're writing fanfic for the fun of it and posting it for free.  We all want readers, but I must admit, I find it annoying when I see my timeline filled with lots of "OMG This chapter I wrote is so awesome; everyone should go read it right now!" tweets from the same person and people RTing compliments they received.  I guess it's not much different from seeing lines from good reviews about a book on the back of the book's cover, but I think that's what makes it seem pretentious coming from fanfic writers.  I don't mean to diminish what we do because I DO take my writing seriously, but I don't pretend to be the next Stephen King or something LOL.  There's nothing wrong with talking about your stories; obviously, we all enjoy talking about our writing, or we wouldn't be doing it in this thread.  I don't mind seeing people tweeting about what they're writing on Twitter.  It's just when it verges on bragging that it becomes more of a turn off than an attractant.

I agree with some of what you said to a certain extent. I know on our MC twitter account, when people tweet us things they liked in the chapter, I'll RT them. It's a twitter account for the fan fiction site, so people obviously know that tweets are going to be made about the stories, which is why they followed it in the first place. Personal account? I don't do that kind of stuff that often, but I do talk about writing, whether it's talking to Hannah, Lore or Steph or someone else.

That's one of the problems I've had now with my self-publishing, I haven't felt great and work has been busy so I haven't really promoted and I've seen a small drop in sales... so I'm going to take some time to do that this weekend.

[mare]

BTW Mare I'm sad you never do #1 .

You mean you don't want someone to carve MINE into your flesh? That wasn't a fantasy? LOL

No, but maybe I would like to carve that into someone else some day lol

[RokofAges75]

There was a whole long train of thought that brought this question into my head yesterday after our chatty conversation, but I thought I'd wait for a lull to post it.  So here it is!

I was thinking yesterday about how we all like to write different things and the reasons I like to write what I do, and I came to the conclusion that there are three types of fanfic writers:

1. Writers who write about things they wish would happen, or their greatest fantasies.

2. Writers who write about things they hope never happen, or their worst nightmares.

3. Writers who write about things that really did happen, either in the Boys' lives or their own lives.

I'm sure most of us do all three, to some extent, but which category would you say you fall into most of the time?

I am definitely #2.  I do try to weave real life events into my stories, but it's been a long time since I wrote a story that was solely my interpretation of a real event, like Running Up That Hill, Borrowed Time, or the various stories about them recording in London.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't put some fantasies into my stories, too, but I can honestly say I would not want to be any of my characters because, for the most part, they go through so much trauma and tragedy and trials in their lives that even if they get a happy ending, it's not worth it!  My life is not that exciting, but it's not that dramatic either, and I'd like to keep it that way! LOL

I have always written about things that scare me, and I'm not talking about my horror stories.  Zombies, killer monkeys from outer space, and even more realistic threats like murderers and kidnappers do not scare me.  Death, illness, accidents - those are my biggest fears.  The things that can happen unexpectedly to you or your loved ones that you can't prevent and can't control... Those are the things that scare me, and I think that's partly why those are the things I choose to write about.  I've written very few stories that don't contain some sort of death or near-death experience.

[Rose]

No, but maybe I would like to carve that into someone else some day lol

So when I see it happen in the news, I'll know it's you!