rivers_bend

But sometimes through the comments I see what's resonating with other people, even if it wasn't clear to me (I probably shouldn't admit that!)

In some ways I feel like even basic comments have made me a better writer in the craft sense, but in a LOT of ways they have made me a better fandom writer. I almost always read a handful (or more) of the comments on other people's fics that I love, and also on fics that I didn't love at all but that have lots of comments, because they are really informative w/r/t the pulse of fandom. And in the same way that you want to market an article to the specific magazine you're hoping to sell to, I want to market fanfic to the fandom I'm writing for. I write because I love writing and need it like breathing, but I write fanfic because I love the audience I have. Both in the sense that I love knowing I have an audience at all (in a way that most of my MFA colleagues do not) but also in the literal sense that I love many of the people who are reading my stories, and making them happy makes me happy. How do I know what makes them happy? comments. Which is to say, totally admit it! :D

I'm definitely with you on the lower confidence with a new fandom, thing. "voice" is very important to me, and I really need to feel like I have it right. Once I have written several fics in a fandom I feel like I've had conversations with the characters, and in the same way that I recognize my mom's voice on the phone, I recognize when I have the character's voice right.

If I get a beta, it is almost physically painful for me to sit on a fic once I've made edits. I am fascinated by people who can say, "Oh, I think I'll post that next week," or whatever. With the Valentine's Day fic I just wrote, I stalled and stalled on the writing, so that I wasn't actually done until I just had time to send it for beta, and edit, and then post on Valentine's day. I knew I would be totally freaking and would probably sabotage myself and post early. I do a little better with imposed posting dates, and can put it away and get it out again on posting day, because posting before is FORBIDDEN. But if it's just me? so hard. If I am posting sans beta, though, I do my best to leave it overnight or at least several hours, before I do my read-aloud self-beta on it.