Dear people who enjoy fanfic: let this comment stand as a textbook example of what not to say to a writer who’s been slow to update.
I get feeling frustrated that a fic you’ve (presumably) enjoyed is stalled midway through; it’s always a potential hazard when reading a WIP, but particularly when the writer goes from regular updates to nothing – as I did in this instance – I understand feeling put out. But insults aren’t going to get you that next chapter any quicker, and acting as though the writer is actively withholding something they could really easily give you out of malice or laziness is just… insulting isn’t really a strong enough word.
As hard as it is to make it as a professional writer, it’s harder still to make a living from words alone. That has nothing to do with how prolific a writer you are, or how skilled – it’s a raw reflection of the fact that, unless your work becomes hella popular and/or you score a killer advance, writing does not pay well. The fact that so many of us still do it for free, whether in the form of blogging or fanfic or anything else, is because we love it – because we want to tell stories, engage with likeminded people, and practice our craft.
Initially, I stalled out on this particular Supernatural fic – called Into the Woods – because I lost faith in the ending I’d initially planned for it. Then I couldn’t get my replacement idea to feel right, and in the interim, I began to put my SPN fandom on an emotional backburner as I became enamoured of new things. I write fanfic for fun, to refresh myself, and while I don’t like to leave stories incomplete, neither do I want writing them to feel like one more chore on my never-ending list of Things To Do.
So, yeah. I’ve had an 11 month hiatus from a fic I still intended to finish, but which is going to have to wait a while before I can do anything with it. Why is that? Well, aside from not wanting to do a half-assed job (see above, re: the story needed fixing), let’s take a look at what I’ve written since 25 July 2015 that isn’t Into the Woods:
- multiple reviews and essays for outside venues (Strange Horizons, A Dribble of Ink, Uncanny Magazine, Tor.com) both paid and unpaid
- roughly 31 blog posts at my Wordpress site, supported by Patreon
- a fuckload of tumblr posts and content, unpaid
- multiple poems, unpaid
- a 14k novella, Coral Bones, for the Monstrous Little Voices anthology, paid
- 60k of an as-yet unfinished novel, unpaid
- approximately 45k of unrelated fanfic, unpaid
- four rounds of editing on my forthcoming novel, An Accident of Stars, including rewrites, paid
- multiple original short stories, some incomplete, unpaid (though one has been accepted for publication)
- all the correspondence and editing associated with being lead editor on the Speculative Fiction 2015 anthology with Mark Oshiro, unpaid (the proceeds all go to charity)
- roughly 50k of the sequel to An Accident of Stars, for which I’m on an extended deadline, due in two months, paid
In that time, I’ve also:
- held an administrative job for several months
- been primary childminder for our now three-year-old
- attended Fantasycon 2015
- attended Eastercon 2016
- dealt with the UK Visa Authority losing all our fucking passports and identity documents, an error which cost us thousands of dollars (our entire savings) and weeks of our life to replace them
- moved from Aberdeen, Scotland to Brisbane, Australia, with all the house-packing, house-hunting and stress that involves, including spending five weeks sleeping on inflatable mattresses before our furniture arrived
- dealt with depression, dysphoria and anxiety
- been taken to hospital by ambulance after collapsing from stress
- turned thirty
So, yeah. The next time you feel moved to tell a ficwriter they should give up writing because they haven’t updated fast enough, I’m gonna need you to shut up and consider that the person on the other end of your favourite smut or fluff also has a goddamn life, and that how they use their spare time isn’t subject to your approval.
ETA: I initially listed Coral Bones as unpaid work, which it wasn’t. Lousy brainspasm!
nik-nak-patty-whack liked this
crea8ive-traveler91 liked this
boringtochina reblogged this from fozmeadows
epicfailingagain reblogged this from tisserandencre
tisserandencre reblogged this from bastetsbard
imaginealexanderkozachenko-blog liked this
mustachioedmoose reblogged this from pettydabblerinthedorkarts violetemerald reblogged this from bastetsbard
deadtrilobitesociety liked this
worstsuperpowerever reblogged this from bastetsbard
pipkin-the-hellion liked this
1worknst1ff liked this padfutnprongs reblogged this from strangeharpy
fallenseraphs liked this
whovian-fallen-angel reblogged this from strangeharpy
cherrybaum liked this
strangeharpy reblogged this from fozmeadows
sirianddeanseethestars liked this nanavn liked this
aeivyen reblogged this from fozmeadows torenhoog liked this
mkyujji reblogged this from anaquana
obv10usly liked this
aranhin liked this
effulgentcorruptedpov reblogged this from overwhelmedbyfeels
suchabutt liked this
the960writers said:
Apart from the fucking entitlement in that comment, omg what an assface and the gall to demand this like he’s paying you – 40 MINUTES? 40??? For real? That just kills me. Goes to show what people like that think of the craft. charliebradburyismylesbianmuse reblogged this from fozmeadows
charliebradburyismylesbianmuse liked this
newname-was liked this
overwhelmedbyfeels reblogged this from fozmeadows
shinemyheart liked this
serafaina liked this
oft-goes-awry liked this
tumbleaboutit liked this
rebloggingsince2016 reblogged this from garshil
garshil reblogged this from alittlebriton
waterhobbit said:
Man, you know what makes me want to do stuff? Being told I must be shitty at it. It’s REALLY ENCOURAGING. acidburn42 reblogged this from fozmeadows
acidburn42 liked this
waterhobbit liked this
francesweyr liked this ekebolou reblogged this from fozmeadows
ekebolou liked this
fozmeadows posted this
- Show more notes