The Fandom Paramedics
By Jantathra
If you’re a writer or a podficcer you probably know there are people out there in fandom with interests that are, in this cruel world, unusual…
Wait! It’s not what you think!
If you’ve rushed off at an impressively lurid tangent, please rush back, sit down and relax. Here, have a good gulp of whatever it is you like to gulp in such circumstances.
These people with unusual interests, then? They are everywhere. Lurking in the shadows or venturing into the light to boldly go where…well frankly, where lots of people are already milling and thronging. But you may not realize those people are there until you need them.
They tend to be a little on the shy side so when they register a writer's call of distress they like to make sure their help is being actively requested before sallying forth with blankets, hot sweet tea, and words of affectionate encouragement. Especially when trying to provide support on more, ah, delicate matters. Commas, for example. Spelling and grammar. Or plot holes. Self-doubt. Shortage of kudos. Writer’s block. Even every writer’s natural enemy, Real Life.
You know—setbacks.
Some of these fandom paramedics are writers and creators like you. Some are humble readers and listeners like myself. But all of them are On Your Side (okay, there may be the odd villain; a quick virtual stake through the digital heart should fix this).
If I have spent twenty-seven chapters breathlessly following your every word I am not going to give up without a fight when you indicate you’re struggling with any of the above problems. I’m going to encourage you with all my heart to keep going for the next twenty-seven, because you’ve become an important part of my life. Indeed, my inner sixteen-year-old secretly and incredulously marvels every day at the sparks of joy emitted by the fantastic fics she's following and you’re writing.
So that’s the first thing: There are people out there who love what you’re doing. And if they’re a bit reticent about saying so, it may be because they don’t want to counter your great writing by linguistically-challenged dull gushing. Or they haven't quite got round to that one true gem of a comment they’ve been honing for the last three months. Or they may feel their feedback could be unwelcome. But they’ll rise to the plate if you’re brave enough to shout (or whisper) for supportive feedback. And they’ll be patient. I have WIPs bookmarked and I doggedly check them for updates. Even after years.
So much for the broader picture.
Should your problem lie more among the mundane nuts and bolts of writing (you’re proud of your story-telling but perhaps a little unsure whether your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are as stellar as you’d like? Need another pair of eyes to find those typos you’ll never notice until after you’ve pressed that button, if at all? Wondering whether Sherlock might not raise a quizzical eyebrow at biscuits and gravy for breakfast?) then be assured that here too there are readers quietly waiting in the wings who will jump at the chance of inserting forgotten commas, adjusting semi-colons, gently correcting those "your/you’re, who’s/whose and its/it’s“ mix-ups without judgement, and also helping John and Sherlock avoid getting their underpants confused with their leg wear.
We wouldn’t dream of raising these issues in the comments, though; that would be offensively intrusive.
We’re just waiting for you to ask.
Brit, wrong side of 60, lives in Germany. Loves and has learned so much from the brilliant authors and podficcers of the Sherlock fandom. Find Jan on Twitter.
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How do you handle writing setbacks? From bad comments, to lack of inspiration, to an editor's edits what do you do?
AlchemistDoctor @SHonlinet
For bad comments/reviews, I politely tell them that fic is free, and not up for review. If they insist on continuing, I reply more harshly and then delete the comments, because I don't need to leave arsehole droppings on my fic.
All Manner of Somethings @Shouldknowbetta
Fic I struggle with. Not so much for myself, but know others who’ve been told they’re doing it wrong. My first instinct is “F**k you! I’m doing this for fun! It’s costing you nothing. Get stuffed!” Especially if they can’t be arsed to write it themselves. (And when I say I’ve not had much criticism myself, it’s not because I’m perfect! It’s just that I’ve not published loads.)
Dr Nicko @nickovdw
My way of coping with the snarky, passive aggressive and pointless notes from some editors is to take fifteen minutes a day to picture the many different ways I could murder them and get away with it.
Gef @Gefionnes
With bad comments, I usually bitch to my friends about how stupid it was and then simmer over a reply for while so I don't reply totally emotionally. Edits: maybe give it some time to calm down, too, and then dive in. It's best to edit in a rational mood so I don't get upset.
J. Baillier
I think inspiration is highly overrated. It’s entirely possible to write good stuff when not maximally inspired to do so. I see fic as my non-paid, voluntary artsy side career, so the rules of work apply. Work isn’t always fun, but it can still be done. Inspiration can also be actively sought: watch things. Read things. Go to a museum. Talk to a friend about their hobby. Anything could give you that one tiny idea of a scene or an AU that could then turn into a novel. When I feel stuck, I do something else than write, and often something completely unrelated will get those creative juices flowing again.
Joanna @ArtemisAstarte
I make sure I do something every day, even if it's only write a few sentences. There's been a seven month break in my long Holmes/Watson fic, Since First I Saw Your Face, because of family circumstances. But I am still working on it, even if all I do is re-read, edit & add a bit.
K. Caine @kdotcaine
Walk away, first and foremost! Take a deep breath. Weep quietly into my pillow. Go outside. Window shop for something nice. Eat a cookie. Read something I wrote that turned out awesome so I remember I still know how. Then I go back and edit.
Kizzia @Kizzia30
Nasty comments on fic get a blistering response detailing acceptable behaviour given what you just read was FREE! Edits on work: read them, take a deep breath, take the “I am useless and can’t write” thoughts for a walk in the woods and leave them there, work through edits calmly.
Blog quote from KJ Charles
"Edit letters can be very tough to read. Authors are generally highly invested in their work, not to mention reluctant to strip six months’ work down for parts and do it again. But digging your heels in and rejecting everything outright, or throwing a fit across social media, is not an appropriate response (unless the editor is a catastrophic mismatch with your book)…By all means feel overwhelmed by an edit letter. Then take a walk / a deep breath / a drink, sleep on it, and come back to make a sensible list of changes that you agree will strengthen the book."
Merinda should be working on her novel @merindab
Sometimes a brain break is needed. As long as you don’t make it permanent…I make sure to set limits and goals. like “okay today you can veg out and play video games all day, but tomorrow there needs to be some words.” For me right now I’m trying to write every day. Even a sentence counts, so even if I’m slacking off there’s something. Yesterday I wrote 26 words at 11:50pm but at least there were words!
Noadventureshere @HoltzTrudy
Comments: Consider that English isn't their first language and that they meant to say something nice. Reply sarcastically. Or ruthlessly delete. I got no time to hurt myself that way. *nods decisively*
Onion Budgie @OnionBudgie
I never had a bad comment. I've been scolded for controversial plot decisions, but never derided. It's the *lack* of comments that discourages me more than anything. I just grit my teeth and plough on. Don't they like it? WTF is everyone?! The fic writer needs stamina!
Tei @teiandcookies
When I get bizarro comments, I just figure that I must have really done a great job for someone to read all the way through and then spend time writing a comment on something they *claim* to not even be into.
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In the Meantime
By Tessa Barding
Ah, writing setbacks. A writer’s worst nightmare.
With me, it’s mostly because of Life plus a healthy dose of Job. And the self-doubt that usually follows because: if I truly were a writer, I’d write and life be damned. Right?
Just…it doesn’t work like that for me. Sometimes I’m just too tired to think when I finally get home. Sometimes my new, soft yarn is sexier than the sexiest OTP (I’m a knitter, too!). Sometimes my ideas collide in my head and want out. All. At. Once. And then I get exactly nothing done because, seriously? All at once?
And sometimes—and this is the worst—I realise I’m growing tired of the fandom I’m writing in and it’s getting harder and harder to finish the fic I’m working on. You see, there are two kinds of fandoms for me: those that are for life and those that fill a momentary craving. I call the latter my “temp-doms” and I hang around there for a while, either consuming or contributing. I enjoy them and am grateful for what they offer but when that particular craving’s been fulfilled, I will leave.
This is where it gets tricky because I strongly dislike leaving things unfinished and yet, it happens. Suddenly I have no idea how to continue a story, I find myself not really caring about my (former) OTP’s happiness anymore and the time between updates grows longer and longer: I’ve begun to fall out of love with a fandom.
So how do I cope with that?
The most important thing I've learned is: keep writing. Write stuff that’ll never see the light of day. Practice writing fluff, smut, dialogue, scenery, angst. Write letters (I have pen friends, so that’s another way of creative writing). Write newsletter contributions. It’s all writing, you know.
I let the story sit for a while: weeks, months, even years. If it wants to be continued, it’ll tell me and then I’ll do my best to bring it to a worthy end. If not…well. Sorry about that.
Do other things, too.
Read. Knit. Watch the series you’re writing about or read fandom stuff you’ve already written and see what it’ll do to you. Just don’t force yourself. Forcing myself just doesn’t work for me. If anything, it’ll block my lust for writing even more.
If I feel I can’t write, then I don’t. It’ll come back. It usually starts as a soft whisper somewhere in the back of my head…what if…have you thought about that…just imagine if X were to do that, how would it make Z feel…what if A hadn’t killed C and ends up with B somewhere completely different? And the whispers grow louder and more urgent and I sit back down, and the writing continues.
In the meantime, until it comes back: hand over that yarn.
You can find Tessa on AO3 as lobstergirl, and she proudly waves her fan girl flag on Tumblr. Her book "The Case of the Misplaced Models" comes out with IP in 2019.
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Stars and Black Holes
By NovaNara
To be honest, I waited a long time to write this, because…writing setback. How could I explain how to get around them when I wasn’t?
I could have written about how to deal with bad comments, I suppose—though “be a Leo” isn’t exactly something I could suggest. My sign’s natural arrogance means that any trenchant review—the “you suck, and this story sucks, and I regret ever having read this”—slip over me like water on a duck, leaving behind only vague bewilderment…because if you hate my story, why are you reading it? It’s not like there’s a dearth! Give me a reasoned critique, and I’ll…maybe not listen right now, but note it down for the future. Insults? The most you can elicit from me is pity that you don’t have a pleasant way to spend some time.
But being too busy/stressed/downright paralysed to write is a situation I know all too well. And the longer you don’t write, the more afraid you are to even look at your story again (or at least, I am), and the vicious cycle feeds itself.
How do you break out of it?
Weirdly, for me one way is to have deadlines. The fear of disappointing overcomes the fear of facing the story again. It’s far from perfect, and doesn’t work every time, but more often than one would think.
The other way—for me, of course—is exactly the reverse. (Who said humans make sense?) Ignore that story. It doesn’t matter. Plan another project, if it helps. You’re emphatically not thinking about that poor, mangled, half-done story. Play with a pet. Have a snack.
When you’re thoroughly distracted, you might find that your brain comes up with an idea. Open document. Write. Reward yourself. Always remember to reward yourself. You so deserve it.
Elena writes as NovaNara and you'll find her Sherlock and other stories on AO3 with stories also on FanFiction.net.
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A Debacle of Blood in Three Parts
By Atlin Merrick
Part I: The Holy Fuck What?
I don't know why 'track changes' in Word highlights everything in red, but red it does and red it is, a red that splashes on the eyes, a red that palpitates the heart like—
Blood.
Look, we're creative people you and I, we're allowed the melodrama of seeing drama when we get our writing back with corrections and everything is red and everything hurts.
If it helps to know you're not the only one, that even Neil Fucking Gaiman gets his stuff corrected (okay Steven Moffat did not "correct" it, he peed on it, but that's another story), then please let that help. I write for a living and my stuff gets corrections all. the. time.
After I get all those dramatic blood-red corrections you know what I do? I put 'em down and go bang my head on the wall awhile.
Once I can brave the bloodbath I look at what the editor did and—damn my leg—three times out of four I get down on my knees and say thank you baby Jesus they caught that before publication. Because most times most editors are good editors and they make my article or story better. When they don't I do something every writer is expected to do.
Part II: Push Back
I studied scriptwriting for my BA and working screenwriters told us to push back when we got edits to a script because no one expects a writer to roll over and change everything.
So fight when you know you're right, when the changes the editor wants to make make everything worse. They aren't perfect, they don't know everything, and sometimes your research is far deeper than theirs. So when an editor wants to remove a reference to books about trans people from my Jane Austen short story, I point her to books about trans people in Jane Austen's time and my reference stays in the story.
That said, most of the edits you'll get in your writing career are good ones because most editors just want what you write to work. It's their goal to have good content so they're keen to make your content good. Help them do that.
And then know this:
Part III: You are Your White Knight
Life did some shizz this year that kept me from writing as much as I have in years past and you and I know what happens when that happens: Not writing makes you think you can't write.
Except our gifts don't go away like that. They hibernate is all, and sometimes they're loathe to stir themselves but stir themselves they will if we will it.
So when an edited story or book makes you feel bad, feel bad. But bestir yourself you noble beast. You wrote something good. And between you and the editor or your beta, or just your own critiquing self, you'll make it better.
First you gotta keep writing though. So do that please. Always. Keep trying to keep. on. trying—trying is out superpower. We have that within us, we control it, we can do it.
So let's.
Atlin Merrick loves writing but lord love a duck she hates getting edited. It doesn't ever not sting but almost always edits make her words better. Damn it.
∞
Your words mean the world to this newsletter and it's never too late to begin sharing them. A dozen words? We want 'em. Five hundred? We want those, too.
For the next issue, we want to know if you're a lurker and if so why? Shyness? Time? Something else? If you used to lurk and don't any longer, what changed? Share (please read this bit) either 25-120 words OR 250-600 words.
Your words mean the world to us. We're waitin'.
And remember…
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