Hello!

I've been reading fanfictions and novels for a very long time. I have always been awed by how an author can bring his work to life, leaving room for the reader's own imagination.

I've always enjoyed creating little, mini-stories in my mind. I don't know if it ever happened to you; you go to bed and start thinking about how interesting it would be if this character were more like this, did more things like that and so on...next thing you know a few hours have already passed and you have yet to actually sleep.

I've been contemplating actually writing, condensing it all into an actual concrete, physical form. The problem is, I don't know if I will be able to stick with it. I am not foolish enough to believe that writing is not demanding.

Furthermore, so far I've only read other people's stories, not knowing what might happens next, which is part of the fun.

My questions are:

What is it like to write for other people?
Does knowing what is going to happen in your own story spoil the fun?
More generally speaking, why do you write?

Most heartful thanks to whoever will have the patience to answer!

And sorry for my English

 

You can try writing your first five chapters and revising them to death before you begin to release them one by one so you should have some extra chapters to fall back on if you ever get stuck.

I get a lot of ideas but I allow myself to sit on it until I realize its stupid or I don't have the skills to pull it off, which is almost always. Most of my writing I never share, since it's usually never my main interest. I have a folder on my computer of a thousand dead ones I decided to quit midway. I don't know if my situation is typical, but that's how I am.

I write because real life is never going to be nearly entertaining enough.
Your English is fine, by the way. English isn't my first language either, and I can also become insecure with it. So I guess I also write to improve my English.

 

I don't think I've ever written for anyone other than myself. Its gratifying to know if people like your stories but that's secondary.

Worrying about whether you can stick to a story or not is not something that one needs to lose sleep over imo. The hardest part is taking the first step. The rest will follow.

Knowing what will happen in the story next doesn't spoil the fun. The fun part is getting to the end, which in itself isn't a constant and keeps changing. Developing the characters, working on the plot gives you a lot to do and good characters have a habit of taking the author places they didn't think possible.

As for why do I write? I write because I enjoy doing it. Its fun.

 

First of all, your English is fine.

If you're questioning whether you should write or not, the answer is probably yes. If you have the time, why not? As long as it's fun and you've nothing to lose from doing it, then there you go

I have a weird love/hate relationship with writing, because I always second-guess what I've put down. Is it consistent? Is it meaningful? Am I giving too much/not enough away? The thing is, no matter how many times I've asked myself these questions, I still end up getting it wrong. But I still feel very accomplished after finishing a chapter, so on I go.

Knowing what will happen is all of the fun for me, but I'm weird like that. I do get rather excited when I see people debating over what might happen next, or what the "big reveal" might be, because it indicates that they're invested in the story on some level. It's also refreshing to be right all the time

As for why I write, it's really just because there's nothing stopping me from doing it (outside of work/other time constraints). It's also an escape, I guess.

 

I'd agree with crimson in general, but if you ever hope to write some top tier stuff, I think that constant planning and drafting are essential unless you're naturally that good and can pull an amazing plot from the get go. I don't think the HP series itself was pre-planned from the beginning either, and that shows. The more I read it, the more I realized how sloppy it had become at some points. You also don't want to find yourself stuck once you've established a few things, then realize your new idea that you're so excited about doesn't particularly fit.

 

I guess there are some things you can't understand unless you experience them for yourself after all, namely experiencing a story from the author's perspective. Creating stories of your own can be a good outlet indeed; to be honest, I used to think of it as the sole purpose of fictions.

Your answers have helped me clear my doubts. I will finally try to write something of my own. I believe it will be a good experience, regardless of whether I take up on it or not.

And I know what you mean Constantine, fanfictions took my English to a whole another level. Still bad though

 

Always write.

If you enjoy reading, writing is a great way to stimulate your creativity. Not everybody will instantly write a great piece of work, but writing is like lifting weights: don't expect to deadlift 20kg on your first attempt, but if you go to the gym every day, you will eventually see results.

 

This is the best advice that can really be given.

Don't be discouraged if you do't see amazing results right away, but keep at it. Write everyday if you can.

Try experimenting with planning an entire story out, or just taking a general idea and writing everything on the fly without knowing what's going to happen next. Generally one of those two methods will work for you.

There are also Plot Bunny Threads and Writing Challenges if you want a jumping off point, just go for it and see what happens.

 

This happens to me all the time. I find it's actually the time when I develop some of my best ideas for stories.

As for your questions:
Writing for other people is both rewarding and a pain. It's rewarding when you get a review or someone says something positive and encourages you to keep writing because they like/love your style. It can be a pain though because no matter how good your writing style is or your ideas are someone will find something they dislike and let you know. The most important thing to realize about this though is that writing is a form of art(more so with fiction). It's about aesthetics and not everyone is going to see the beauty in your work.

Honestly for me a story is never ruined because my ideas are constantly changing. I still don't know how I want to end the one I am currently writing and most likely won't be one hundred percent on how it will end until it is done and posted.

Obviously everyone writes for a different reason. Before I discovered fanfiction I wrote a lot of poetry and a few short horror stories. The why was because I found it enjoyable. If you enjoy something then you should pursue it in some form.

 

What is it like to write for other people?

Eh. It's just like it feels to cook for someone else, or play music for them. It's nice to be able to showcase something you personally have made, to make a dent in the "monotony" of all the other multitudes of stories out there. Unless you're obviously plagiarizing, you're probably bringing something new and fresh to the table, so you're allowing the readers to glance at a world with a slightly different insight. It's fun to write for others, although it may not necessarily be very rewarding.

Does knowing what is going to happen in your own story spoil the fun?

Rather, not knowing what happens in your story is more of a pain than knowing. Too easy to write yourself into a corner if you haven't planned for specific inconsistencies or are trying new mechanical techniques. Of course, then again, while I know major points that I want to exploit in my stories, I don't necessarily know precisely how I'll plan them down to the exact detail.

More generally speaking, why do you write?

Because I can't think of anything I want to do more. I get antsy when I don't write for a certain period of time, and different ideas tend to plague me at work, or during off hours. I may not be good enough to write full time as a job, but I've never considered outright stopping, overall.

 

You should give it a try. It can be very easy or very hard depending on the factors i.e.(fandom, characters, ecta.) It can if you let it. Then again in some situations that happens regardless. I am on a break from writing right now. I enjoyed the world building and sharing it with people.

 

You can have fun playing with expectations of readers. Imagining following scenes and writing them down is enjoyable if you like your story and can feel world as much as reality. And the best seems possibility of showing it to someone. Isn't it like "Hey, look! I have wonderfull imagination and I use it to do something cool!"?

There isn't better way to get to know if you like something than try. Writing one page or fifty doesn't make you obligated to continue, so why not?

I don't think it's done for others - I see it as writing to self and letting other people read as long as you don't benefit from your work and no one can compel you to do things certain way.

Well, I like to write because this let me see my story as a whole and not single scenes, hone it and add details. Improving text always show me small things I wouldn't think about before and get me looking for more information. Writing is also quite calming as same as drawing. And I feel proud creating something even if it isn't excellent(well, I don't write in English, so probably it's better than my posts may suggest...).

 

Writing isn't something you want to do; it's something you need to do.

So long as the above statement applies, write. If not, think more carefully about why you want to do it.

Is it to please others? But then you may be sacrificing your integrity as a writer, and of course you can't please everybody.

Is it to please yourself? But then it's so easy to fall into self-indulgence, and end up producing utter tripe.

Is it to explore a particular idea, viaa plot you find interesting, with characters you find compelling? This is a better reason, but still it's not easy.

Try sketching out an outline for your story, and then write the first 10k. If you can't do it, give up your grander ambitions. If you can, on the other hand, then take heart, and go the distance.

 

I'm going to disagree with this.

Writing is hard work. It's hours upon hours of mangling your keyboard in frustration. And doing that, writing constantly and regularly, is most often a choice.

In any given day there are a hundred things that you could be doing other than writing. Some of them even seem like they're related. You're going to reread that favourite book or check out that author's blog. These diversions can be great. They can revitalize you and lead to inspiration. Thing is, they still aren't putting words on a page.

Feeling the need to write is nice. It happens. I just think that it's more admirable to make writing a choice. Given a long enough timeline dedication will beat out an intrinsic desire to write.

 

Here is the thing about all of the examples that you quoted about the wrong reasons for writing-- pleasing others, pleasing yourself, exploring ideas you find compelling. Ultimately, they're all about enjoying yourself in the act of creation whether that is purely for yourself or to see the pleasure that other people get out of reading what you write.

Wanting to do something is as good a reason as having a deep seated need for that reason. Enjoying yourself should be all the reason you need to do almost anything that isn't hurting others. (And contrary to what some believe, bad fanfiction isn't going to hurt others even if it's published. Indeed, for a certain brand of critic, I suspect it ultimately provides its own sort of joy. )