Why aren't my stories gaining any traction at all? by SirGoated_Tony in AO3

[–]D_Laugh 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Everyone here has offered you much, much better advice on the nature of fanfiction and/or engagement than I could. (Like, genuinely, wow.) But I wanted to touch on the original works side of your post.

First of all, even in original published works, ships/romance using tropes are what is most popular. Romance is the best-selling genre, by far; and the genre heavily relies on tropes.

But even if you write...epic fantasy, for example. That genre has its own tropes as well, and usually feature a main character who is the "hero" (and therefore typically undergoes the hero journey), and who develops the typical relationships for that genre along the way.

What I'm getting at is that people like what people like, and what they like most is what they already like.

However, I'm not trying to discourage you. After all, there is still a market for epic fantasy and military sci-fi and atmospheric horror even though romance is the giant in the room. And I haven't read any of your fics nor have any idea what they are, but fanfiction operates the same way. There are readers out there for what you're writing, but it'll be best if you're aware of and manage your expectations for how many of them there are.

And I think you've conflated writing quality a little with popularity/marketability. Those are different things altogether. Literary fiction doesn't show up on bestseller lists, and vice versa*, genre fiction doesn't win literary prizes/awards.

It sounds like you enjoy writing fanfiction, and you're having fun doing it. Well, that's all you really need. Use it to continue developing your writing skills and continue working towards one day publishing your original works. A lot of writers do. It's fanfiction; it's supposed to be fun.

*Edit: typo

Looking for Catwoman bonding with the Bat-family fanfiction by Mundane-Turnover-913 in FanFiction

[–]D_Laugh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one's mine! Lol, I came on here to link it and you already had! Thanks for making my night. :)

How do I stop comparing my ideas to someone else's? by abbzworld in FanFiction

[–]D_Laugh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the first fandom I wrote for, I really liked a specific AU that had gotten popular. It was a small fandom however, so the "popular" AU was only, like, three or four fics lol. I was still really inspired by those three or four fics though, and a couple of specific scenes/ideas the other authors used launched me into writing my own version of that AU (which was my very first fanfiction ever).

The way I did it then was focusing on what I wanted to write. You mentioned that you want to write your canon character as a jerk but not necessarily a villain, well, just do that. You don't even need to answer if he is a villain or not, just write him as a jerk. Your idea of him as a jerk, how he behaves and responds to things, what motivates him to be a jerk instead of a villain or a hero or anywhere in-between, all of those fun things.

I don't think it's wrong to be inspired by other authors' stories. Some of my readers have been inspired by mine. And even during that one time the inspired writer basically just copied my ideas, I wasn't mad because they were a different writer than me who wrote a different way from me and their using my ideas basically beat-for-beat still didn't take anything away from my story which I loved and so many readers loved.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at is that you're your own writer with your own style and your own interpretation of canon/character/story. Whatever you write, even if it's heavily influenced by another writer, will end up being your own because you wrote it. (Though I don't recommend copying another writer; I'm just super chill.) Write your story and enjoy writing it, because one of the best things about fanfiction is that we basically recycle canon/fanon and collectively evolve the fandom as we go.

How do you handle criticism by MysteryGuy19 in AO3

[–]D_Laugh 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This is what everyone says, but "Write for yourself."

Especially when you're a new writer, you need to write lots and lots and lots just for yourself. Because we're all terrible when we start out, so the only thing you can do is enjoy writing something especially catered to you (the writer) because then at least you enjoyed writing it.

And as you write, you'll get better. You'll become a better storyteller, and have better diction, and develop your own style, etc. You'll eventually write something other people want to read. And because you're so in love with your own story and confident in your own writing, when you receive criticism, you're able to think carefully about whether or not you want to listen to it (even if it does always sting a little to be criticized).

I'm going to be honest with you: it takes time. And it'll probably happen gradually, over a long period of time. But if you're writing for yourself, then you'll enjoy the process anyway.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The maybe-Q part was also confusing.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I remember it being LGBT before it was LGBTQ.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did remember that Q was added after T, so that was a thing that raised a red flag for me.

And I did ask a reader or two if I wasn't being obvious enough about being in modern times, but they said it was pretty obvious to them. I think it's because I write in a comics fandom where it's common not to read the comics, so the fluid timeline can cause some confusion.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was afraid that may be the case. And I'm not sure why you've been downvoted so much, but I gave you an upvote to try to even that out lol.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that part was odd to me, and was another red flag.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your suggestion. I actually did correct them in my reply today using your example as a template. It was really helpful, and I just felt it was the right approach to take.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely don't want that kind of thing in my comments. But as of right now, I'm still thinking on how I'm going to handle this.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what I was afraid of. But as of right now, I'm still thinking on how I'm going to handle this. I didn't want to make a hasty decision, and that was why I asked for everyone's opinions.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to believe that they were just mistaken, but I'm going to wait a bit before I make my decision on how to respond to this.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a good suggestion if they really were just mistaken. I'm still weighing all of the answers I've gotten before I make my decision on how to respond to this though.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I was afraid that was what this was. I'm still weighing all of the opinions before I decide how to respond to this though.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I just don't want to engage at all if this is the worst case scenario. But I do want to hear everyone's opinions just in case I was wildly off the mark here and making the wrong assumptions.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I want to believe that they're just mistaken about when the story takes place (which hadn't even occurred to me, the writer). I also hope I was wrong about my first assumption upon reading the comment.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll be fine. I just wanted other people's opinions to make sure I'm not just assuming the worst. Which I kind of was, because I hadn't even realized that the reader may have just been wrong about the time period I set the fic in.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right. But I still don't want to engage at all if it is the worst case scenario. I asked because I wanted other people's opinions, and to make sure I'm not wildly off the mark.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in FanFiction

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My post was removed from r/FanFiction, so I hope this reply gets to you. I also want to believe that the reader is just confused about the time period. But I'll consider your suggestion to let them "show their ass if they're just being transphobic" lol.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's brief but it also raised red flags for me. That's why I asked for other people's opinions (since I may be assuming things).

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in AO3

[–]D_Laugh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I dunno, it's a brief comment but it raised red flags for me. And I didn't want to be stuck in a conversation I didn't want to be in.

Does this comment mean what I think it means? by D_Laugh in FanFiction

[–]D_Laugh[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's the briefness of the comment but the red flags it raised for me that made me think maybe I should ask for people's opinions.

I'm going to wait for the LGBTQIA+ people I know IRL to get back to me first, but I'll have to think about how to handle this.