Do you write fics?

So, do you?

Personally, that's how I started writing. Well I mean, I started way before, back when I was very young and wanted to tell my stories (which lead me to pursuing animation and comics). But I've only written in Croatian until the pandemic hit and I got back into an old Game of Thrones ship.

And I finally tried writing in English. Turned out I really liked it, and it served as a good practice for my original book.

I do indeed! I have since I was young, and at this very moment I am avoiding working on a Hollow Knight fic that I've had kicking around for a while. By which I mean I have a bunch of tabs open wherein I was very recently working on it, and then I found a nice shiny distraction. I'll probably get back to it soonish.

Totel wrote:

But I've only written in Croatian until the pandemic hit and I got back into an old Game of Thrones ship.

And I finally tried writing in English. Turned out I really liked it, and it served as a good practice for my original book.

It's fun how fandom can make us pick up things we wouldn't otherwise do. Would you say you like writing in English more, or is it equal, or do you still prefer Croatian? Or is the language a non-factor, and you're just talking about finding fic fun?

Brush wrote:

It's fun how fandom can make us pick up things we wouldn't otherwise do. Would you say you like writing in English more, or is it equal, or do you still prefer Croatian? Or is the language a non-factor, and you're just talking about finding fic fun?

I have never written a fic in Croatian actually xD especially if it's NSFW. It's just... such an unsexy language. T_T

But when I'm writing books, I kinda... well, I like both languages. I've written books in Croatian, but they tend to be different than the one in English I'm writing rn. Sometimes my native language can be confusing for me because I have wider vocabulary, and in Croatian we have different verb conjugations for past, so I end up being overwhelmed by the choice of words, if that makes sense. There's just too much that can be used, and the language is, let's say, more flavorful than English, so to keep it interesting you have to be careful with them.

While in English, my vocabulary is more limited, so I can focus on the story more.

However, for fics? Absolutely not, haha. I couldn't imagine writing porn in it.
And besides, who would read it? All my fandom friends speak English. :'D

Lmao yeah, you kinda have to go where your audience is! It's a rare writer who can truly manage to write only for themself.

I appreciate the insight! Writing in different languages isn't something I have personal experience with, being monolingual, so it's very interesting to hear about it from someone who does :3c

Also kinda amusing seeing fic writing equated with porn 'cause like. Yeah I'm well aware that's a market. Perhaps even THE market, it seems a lot of people are just here to make their dolls kiss even when it doesn't go all the way to smut. But here I am, sitting in my corner, nodding politely at all the shippers as I methodically act out my platonic dramas with assorted stuffed animals. We are each here for our own reasons.

haha, that's perfectly fine! :'D sometimes i write NSFW, sometimes i don't. It mostly tends to be some kind of erotica tho. At least implied. But that's what fic is for me (and what my OTP is like), so yeah. tho i do sometimes read just silly crackfics.

it's dead dove tho, so yk, i'm not keen to share my ao3 because i don't think many people here would like it.

That's entirely fair, do as you will! Absolutely no judgment here, just making a breezy lil comment on our differing priorities. Like I said, I'm well aware of how fandoms will be.

Yeah, of course! What I love about fics is that there's something for everyone.
I think the most humiliating moment for me was when my little sister was like "you look someone who reads fics", and I go like "w-who? me? nooo!"
And my other sister just came and was like "Liar. I saw you on ao3 today."

The shame. xD

yes! although veeeery slowly at the rate of like 1-2 finished fics per year () but i'm doing my best but this also means that i usually only have time for like one fic per fandom before it changes... i spend so long feeling like idk the characters well enough to write about them that suddenly i've gone out of the fandom before i can muster the supposed knowledge

Totel wrote:

And besides, who would read it? All my fandom friends speak English. :'D

i remember seeing a tumblr post about how for basically every language there is an ao3 audience and if there isn't, one will appear or sth like that so if it speaks to you 2 one day suddenly write a fic in croatian, ajde ! go for it !! (even if i am a bit of a hypocrite myself, onyl writing fanfiction in english as well)

Totel wrote:

Brush wrote:

It's fun how fandom can make us pick up things we wouldn't otherwise do. Would you say you like writing in English more, or is it equal, or do you still prefer Croatian? Or is the language a non-factor, and you're just talking about finding fic fun?

I have never written a fic in Croatian actually xD especially if it's NSFW. It's just... such an unsexy language. T_T

i fully agree with croatian being super unsexy lmao i cant even imagine, but i know you wrote pokemon oc insert fics in croatian before!

hell my own start was harry potter self insert fanfics on forums just like this and i didnt even know english back then! it also took me some years to look back and go like, huh yeah i guess that was fanfic. i kinda miss those days of insular croatian fandoms, it was sooo undramatic. i havent written anything serious, fanfic or otherwise, in years at this point tho

yea, but like, i didn't really consider those things fics per se... more like my stories set in those universes 🧐

though i guess they were, kind of? but yeah, hp fics on forums were a golden time. i actually check sometimes if MIH is still up, and it was, but yesterday it was replaced by some weird bot spanish site???

i remember our little forum story threads lol those were fun. I think you should def write smth again!!!

Yeah! I started writing when I was pretty young for book series like warriors and wings of fire. I posted most of my older content on fanon wikis. I finally decided to get an ao3 account and start writing seriously again right before the pandemic, which ended up being fortunate because I was about to have a lot of free time.

I often go through droughts of motivation sadly but I am constantly having ideas. I just dont always work on them

Yodeling wrote:

I often go through droughts of motivation sadly but I am constantly having ideas. I just dont always work on them silent

oh same........ the ideas end up just standing there awkwardly with nowhere to go

I will always defend fanfiction. I mostly write my own stories for publication, but a lot of the themes I explore in my literary fiction, like children from dysfunctional families, child/parent relationships, friendships, queerness, and queer family, were tested out in fics I wrote before I entered higher education. Writing for an actual audience is one of the most addictive things in the world and sometimes you need that. Even now sometimes— although I don’t post fanfic anymore— when I’m stuck with writing professionally I’ll go back to some franchise or concept or character that resonated with me and sort of pick it apart in a little fanfic piece until I can learn what made it tick. It’s a great way for younger writers to practice their craft and it’s a great way for older writers who don’t want to publish traditionally to still have fun without the pressure of needing to be brilliant!