audreycritter:

maybe!

okay, here’s the thing. you’re always going to end up finding people who are better writers than you. the few people i’ve ever met that didn’t feel that way are usually (a) not very nice people and (b) not actually very good writers. there are times when i’m reading and i’m blown away by how good something is. depending on my mood, this either surfaces as just pure enjoyment or outright jealousy. i know! it’s ugly! it’s not pretty! i’m ready to punt my laptop out the window from sheer “i can’t believe they wrote that and i didn’t” spite.

and when you’re in fandom, you’re surrounded. it’s free to publish, so people who wouldn’t finish original stuff or shop themselves to editors or only like writing shorts– they’re all there. and they’re generating a ton of content in bigger fandoms. you can’t throw a rock without hitting the same idea or premise five times before it lands on the floor.

so, accept these things, first of all, as facts:
1. you are going to be surrounded by other genuinely good artists.
2. most ideas aren’t new.

they’re not criticisms of you as an artist. they’re just not.

now, what to do about it.

1. Find friends who love the same things you do and then write for them.
This might sound like cliche advice, but write for yourself and your friends. Honestly. Other people might love what you write, they might hate it, they might be indifferent. But write what you want to write and read, without focusing on hit count or comment numbers. Those things are great if they happen, but write what you want first. Write for friends who will yell excitedly and accuse you of personally killing them. You need that support.

2. Embrace fanon or deconstruct it. Pick one. Pick both at the same time!
Listen, there are only so many plot structures. There are only so many tropes, and emotional pay-offs. If we all said that the one writer who did a flu hurt/comfort story was the only one who was allowed, and we had to all write original ideas after that, flu whump would have died in the 1970s with Star Trek fanfiction people mailed each other. But no. I will read any decently-written flu whump with my favorites because….I love that trope, I fricking love it. I will read a dozen stories about Bruce Wayne showing up for his kids in one day. So focus on writing well, include details that interest you, and don’t worry about what other people are writing. Maybe you’ll manage to say it in a way that sticks with one particular person and that’s awesome.

3. Read.
This is the advice I am bad at following. I get sucked into fandom. I do! I’m an obsessive person. But if you’re feeling like you’ve seen the same thing a hundred times, everything feels worn out and you’ll never write anything that causes a splash in the churning waters, then stop refreshing tumblr, stop reading about the same favorite characters, and read. Go find a comic from fifteen years ago you’ve never tried, go pick up a novel or some poetry or an essay. The best way to keep perspective that isn’t self-consuming and too repetitive is to introduce new thoughts and angles, then come back to your own writing with that lens.

4. Believe what you say matters, then believe it doesn’t matter.
Okay. You want to write. SO WRITE. Just do it! It doesn’t have to be perfect, you have something to say or talk about or explore: GO DO IT. You matter as a person and an artist and you aren’t actually just writing the same thing everyone else has done unless you’re plagiarizing. If it feels that way, then maybe find a different idea to write. But something is holding you back. If it’s fear of looking like a copycat, ignore it. If it’s disinterest because you just started a story hoping for hit counts, then move on. And now? Believe it doesn’t matter if you say the same thing someone else has written, a hundred someone elses have written. So what? This is your story. It doesn’t matter what other people think as long as you’re writing something that has meaning and importance to you. Yeah, it helps to get good feedback, but that’s what friends are for.

5. Encourage others.
Don’t let your bitterness or struggle make you compare yourself so much that you end up completely self-focused. When you find beauty, appreciate it. Praise it. Some of the best relationships I’ve found with other writers started with me loving their work and telling them so. Even if they seem more popular than you, I can almost promise most fanfic authors do not think of themselves that way. They’re still people who share the same struggles and fears about their craft, usually have somehow stumbled into the attention their work receives, and don’t know how to generate it or replicate it. And when you’re in the habit of building others up and encouraging them, you often foster an environment where they are willing to return the favor.

I hope this helps!

Wonderful reminders and advice! 💕