100 Things I Learned By Writing Fanfiction # 5: You Will Lose Things

I just came across a comment that someone left me here about a story that she had written and lost.  I wish I could help, because I know this pain well, and there's nothing less satisfying than trying to reproduce something you wrote that you don't have anymore.  It seldom works.  If you manage to get something worthwhile, you're lucky.  You'll probably still feel a hollowness in your gut because it's not really what you want your readers to see.  It's just the best you can do the second time around.

100 Things Post 3: Reviews Are Everything

Hey! It's day 3 without a headache!  To celebrate, here are some more Things I Learned Writing Fanfiction.

My Fanfiction.net Account has a total of  97 stories posted on it.  Most of them are multi-chapered pieces.  There are still other, earlier pieces that have never made it into the archive there but are posted on other sites like my Livejournal.  You might think that, after a while, reviews stop mattering.  They don't.  They are some of the most amazing and fulfilling messages that a fanfic writer can receive.

You won't get many of them.  If you expect to, or if you expect them all to be glowing expressions of how talented you are and how wonderful your piece is, you should ask someone to pinch you.  You've been sucked into a waking dream.

100 Things Post 1: It Takes Courage To Post Fanfiction

Every time I finish a chapter or a oneshot piece, I sweat.  My stomach aches.  My hands shake.  It doesn't matter if I'm about to post a 5,000 word installment of my latest epic or a 500 word installment of Vader's Cat.  It happens because the story is mine.  It's part of me.  I'm sharing something that is integral to who I am.  I'm putting it out on the internet for anybody to come along and pick it up and potentially hate it.