first and most important: if you wrote this in markdown, then you need extra backslashes to not lose an arm in the shrug emoji, like so: ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
ANYWAY. as someone who wrote a complete longfic four years ago and is only now picking it back up, uh, i feel you. it’s been an albatross around my neck for years. on the one hand, it’s done, i can just post it and be done with it. on the other hand it’s objectively a mess and there are parts that make zero sense. there’s this one great part where a character gets buried in a rockslide and then he’s back three chapters later as if it never happened because i needed him for the plot. #justwritingthings
for real though, it’s something you have to figure out for yourself and it sucks. all i can say is this: find out the solution that’s going to make you happiest long-term, for when you come back and look at this fic in a couple years. if that means setting it down for a bit, that’s okay. if that means posting what you have, that’s okay too. not finishing it right now doesn’t invalidate the work you’ve done and the lessons you’ve learned.
most important of all, if you feel like you’re forcing it, it’s just going to suck. it’s going to suck writing it, it’s going to suck reading it — for you, not for others. it would read fine, but it’d feel lousy to you, because you’d know you could have done better. and if that’s something that’s gonna stick with you, let it sit. (am i speaking from experience here? MAYBE. look i have a perfectionist brain okay it’s hard to shake this stuff)
OR none of this is any help at all, which is okay too :’) i’m sure you’ll figure out something that works. 💗
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-03-03 05:20 pm (UTC)ANYWAY. as someone who wrote a complete longfic four years ago and is only now picking it back up, uh, i feel you. it’s been an albatross around my neck for years. on the one hand, it’s done, i can just post it and be done with it. on the other hand it’s objectively a mess and there are parts that make zero sense. there’s this one great part where a character gets buried in a rockslide and then he’s back three chapters later as if it never happened because i needed him for the plot. #justwritingthings
for real though, it’s something you have to figure out for yourself and it sucks. all i can say is this: find out the solution that’s going to make you happiest long-term, for when you come back and look at this fic in a couple years. if that means setting it down for a bit, that’s okay. if that means posting what you have, that’s okay too. not finishing it right now doesn’t invalidate the work you’ve done and the lessons you’ve learned.
most important of all, if you feel like you’re forcing it, it’s just going to suck. it’s going to suck writing it, it’s going to suck reading it — for you, not for others. it would read fine, but it’d feel lousy to you, because you’d know you could have done better. and if that’s something that’s gonna stick with you, let it sit. (am i speaking from experience here? MAYBE. look i have a perfectionist brain okay it’s hard to shake this stuff)
OR none of this is any help at all, which is okay too :’) i’m sure you’ll figure out something that works. 💗