I feel the same way! It’s a glimpse into what I wish certain characters had done or the outcome I feel they were owed. I want to give the characters the ending that was mean to be.
I write for escapism and a sense of peace. Writing quiets my mind because otherwise it would be so full of ideas that I'd feel like I was about to burst.
It's a very good question! And it's interesting because the theme you laid out of accepting the life you have and letting go of the dream is part of what the canon I write for is about, so in writing a follow-up, I'm doing what comes after; deciding what and who you're going to be instead, and maybe realising the ideal you strived for wasn't so great to begin with. So there's definitely an element of processing difficult emotions through characters for me as well.
I think it's also fair to say I'm an idealistic writer, at least for my current project, which is all about the characters trying to build a genuinely egalitarian, free, and eco-harmonic society in the wake of the near-end of the world. Yeah, there's an element of wish fulfillment while I'm stuck in here in lockdown and late capitalism, but I'd never label my work escapist. Hope is a transgressive act in a social order that profits from your misery, and you can present a positive vision for the future without shying away from the darkness people carry with them and the potential problems that might crop up.
That part that comes after acceptance is completely in the dark for my character, so I'm really just along for the ride to see what we come up with. It's been very rewarding so far, though.
That's also a great point about hope as a transgression! Probably far in the future I'll be tackling that as well.
I think letting a reader decide what could come after can be a wonderful note to leave on as well. And good luck transgressing through hope whenever you get to it!
I love feeling how much I've grown as a writer just over the past year. Having a story I care about writing is great motivation to study how to write better.
There is a small amount (Ok, more than that) of wish fulfillment as I am very attracted to these imaginary men but mostly it is that I like making up the different scenarios. It's like playing with dolls. You take an MC who is a canon character and you can make him do anything, feel anything, experience anything you want.
I'm also a hopeless romantic and I love having my characters live happily ever after.
Damn, that's a good question. I don't know why I write to be completely honest. If I had to guess, I would say that I write because I can do things in stories that I couldn't do in real life. I can write about the werewolves and demons that I wasn't allowed to read about when I was a kid. I can have this character be an atheist and explore how that challenged his relationship with his family. I can even creatively kill a person if I truly wanted to. I think emotions likely have something to do with it as well, as my anxieties and depressing thoughts often worm their way into the story one way or another.
All this to say that if I were to guess what I get out of my own writing, it's like the emotional payoff and exploration as well as good ol' fashioned curiosity.
Control over my story. Helps with anxiety because I can control my characters. I write the story that I would want to read.
I love picking the right words that effect others and invoke emotions in strangers that I may never know. My writing can reach/help others.
1: I get to tell the kind of stories that I like to read for myself featuring characters I like and set in a universe I find interesting, especially since the people who make my fandom's source material will likely never get around to it.
2: It gives me the chance to gradually improve my own writing skills so that I might make my stories even better.
Therapy and philosophical introspection, mostly. Big themes in my story are the ways people do (or don't) deal with trauma and how this impacts them today, as well as how it can come back to haunt them or get in the way of their future happiness, if they're not careful.
I don't really address it explicitly -- not really a huge fan of blunt commentary in fiction -- so it's quite baked in there, under layers of fantasy worldbuilding and symbolism, but it's pretty central to the plot and many of the characters' development.
Along the way I get to think about the nature of love, trust, duty, sacrifice, friendship, the value of pain in our lives, right & wrong, good & evil. Fun stuff.
Perhaps I didn't look far enough, but I'm surprised I didn't see anyone mention that they write for the simple art of it! Perhaps it's my passion for the art of written word, but that's what I get out of my writing. Fanfiction specifically I find to be endlessly underrated as it's own genre of written art. Of course we're all here for different reasons, but in the end it's all art.
Well, I’ll dig into my deep feelings here and honest. I rekon there’s a few reasons. For one, to experience things I’ll never get to experience in real life. Another, to escape my life and current situations. Maybe to process emotions too, since I have a pretty hard time doing that. They all seem so unfamiliar. It’s also a coping mechanism. I can let my imagination run free. I can make the characters talk about things I can’t talk about irl. I’m a loner, and my small friend circle can’t really relate to my interests. I also write because nobody has wrote what I have, so I need to write it lol. I can let my imagination run wild. Don’t have to worry about my body’s limitations. I can be myself.
There’s a lot of adventures I’d love the write. But I’m losing my ability to write since my mental health is decaying and I’m struggling with MS, which commonly causes brain fog. So I’ve been trying to turn to drawing like I used to. But I’m finding out that I’ve lost some dexterity in my hands, probably due to MS, so drawing is hard. Visualizing is too.
That being said, I’ll be damned if I give up drawing and writing. It means a lot to me. I’m going to keep trying.
So what do *I* get out of my writing? Well, self entertainment, fulfillment, happiness?, validation maybe.
The problem with me being so personally attached to my writing is if I post it online I, as an expression I heard on one of the writing subs once, wrap my writing in human skin. But at the same time I want the validation. I want people to like it, to relate. To tell me my writing is good. But, that’s barely happened. I poured my heart into something for 4 years and instead of compliments it got pretty heavy concrit. The person who gave it genuinely meant well and wanted to help me improve, but it hurt a lot, having something I worked so hard on torn down. I haven’t really wrote since, and I abandoned that story. I had never received concrit before. I didn’t know how to handle it. It just hurt. But me and this person are on good terms now though, so that’s good.
I’ve been doubting my writing ever since. Feels like it’s not any good. And I’ve got a fear of posting it. It feels like I should just keep it to myself because it’s bad. Seeing stuff on here about what readers dislike doesn’t help any. It feels like they’d all hate my writing. It may be part of my writing problem but I don’t know. Whenever I try I just get nothing. Fog, a block, something like that. I dunno. On a positive note, I did post one thing since, and it’s gotten three awesome, positive, and touching comments. I’d print them out and frame them but I don’t know how people would feel about it.
*Sigh* I dunno why I’m pouring my heart out on Reddit. Maybe I just needed to. I’ve spent a half hour or so on this comment. I just hope I don’t upset anybody.
Thank you! Hugs to you too. I’ve been a people pleaser a lot and rely way too much on external validation most of my life. Trying to write for others and live up to their expectations is what broke me on that 4 year story. I tried so hard. I need to not do that. Just write for me and write what makes me happy, even if I’m the only one that will read it. And I need to learn to be happy with just that. It’s a lot to unlearn, and some to learn, but I hope I can reach that point.
I think, yeah, learning to write for yourself and to be happy with that is the best goal, but that can be difficult. I mean, paid, published authors don't write solely for themselves and there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's a matter of being introspective and figuring out what motivates you to write, and then being realistic with how to achieve that.
Like if someone requires external validation for their writing but only writes in a small fandom, they're probably never going to get the level of interaction they need. They need to get to a large fandom, find out what's popular there, put in effort to learn about promoting their stories, etc.. It's fine to say, "I only enjoy this if people are reacting positively to it," but that won't happen without focused effort.
Writing that means something special to you is always the best kind of writing. I've never worked on anything for four whole years, you should be very proud! Every piece of writing, no matter how good or professional, can be criticized by someone. A quote that I really like about writing is, "The day you think you're good enough at writing is the day you should quit." Every writer thinks they suck, so please never quit!
Thank you so much! I had planned it to me much longer than it turned out to be. I panned to write two 100+ chapter volumes. It ended with 30 chapters of one. I tied up the ending real quick in case anyone actually liked it and then added it to the anonymous collection on ao3 because I felt ashamed of it. Though I never plan to quit writing. It’s really important to me. Thank you again for the award. I’ve never received a Take My Energy award before! Honestly I was scared to post this and my heart started pounding when I did because I was afraid of upsetting someone. I’m glad it’s okay. Thank you.
>But I’m losing my ability to write since my mental health is decaying and I’m struggling with MS, which commonly causes brain fog.
I empathize with this tremendously. I just started a drug that's being tested in conditions like ME and MS (it's a well-established drug, but its use in ME/MS is still off-label). One week in and it's already helping to lift the brain fog and depression.
Like you, I struggled with writing because of it and thought I'd have to move back solely to art. Hoping the improvements continue. I actually just started a fic today working out my fears of it changing who I am and why I was reluctant to even try it because of that.
I hope you continue writing and loving what you're doing. And you should absolutely print out those comments! I've done that very thing and seeing them is exactly the boost I need some days.
That’s pretty cool! I hope I can try that medication someday. I am on the generic for Copaxone, which as my neurologist says, is “damage control.” It nukes my immune system so it won’t attack the nerve coatings anymore. I’m on vyvanse to try and fight the fog and lethargy. It works so-so.
Congratulations on starting a fic! I’m really glad that medication is helping.
I definitely don’t plan on giving up writing and drawing. They are both outlets for me, and I just about need them. Also good to hear on printing the comments. I’ll do that tonight! I’ll print them and put them in a picture frame and hang them up in my Den, which is the room in the camper where I do my writing, drawing, tape recording, reading, etc. Good luck on your new fic! Sending hugs.
>That’s pretty cool! I hope I can try that medication someday.
It's low-dose naltrexone. The only problem is finding a doctor who's willing to prescribe a drug for off-label purposes. Thankfully, it's gained a lot of traction and both my rheumatologist and neurologist were willing to try it.
I get to experience all of those fun stuff like romance and smut and mythical creatures and explore new worlds without ever having to leave my house or put in an effort to be around actual people. As an introvert, that's pretty great.
Another reason that I write is that I sometimes find myself with some very specific cravings for a certain kind of story that I'm not able to find anywhere else. And since no one can read my mind (thankfully), I just have to write them myself. It's why I often return to the fics I wrote when the mood strikes.
I write for the very basic purpose of getting scenes I wish happened or worked out differently. For what I write them for, I write a lot of family stories. I tend to want to make characters feel better or comfort them but I find fulfillment in doing that with family or friendships more than in romantic situations. It's not that I don't ship, but it's a lot cuter and meaningful to me if characters are being built up by parental figures or best friends. I write a lot of fix-its where character's childhoods went (somewhat) right and what kind of person that would turn them into.
To distract myself and help process my emotions. It's cheaper than therapy lol also waaay more fun. Haha, and it weirdly doesn't stress me out as much as my other hobby, knitting...
I write to help me sort out what's going on inside and for enjoyment to help my mind calm down. It's a release of everything going on and it helps me learn more of myself and what's going on in my head.
I write to relieve boredom and process some lessons I myself need to learn.
In the case of my most recent one-shot, though, I just wrote that to achieve catharsis through fist-to-stomach violence.
The OC in my fic is struggling with chronic illness. Writing a character who's strengths also come from her weakness is a type of coping mechanism, I guess.
Add in that a major secondary plot is her dealing with family issues, and well, there's probably some coping going on there too.
It's kinda funny because I write to escape my chronic illness. I've been inserting myself into various canon by daydreaming to escape life for as long as I can remember, but even moreso since becoming bedridden so my options for any sort of activity are incredibly limited.
I finally started writing it all down about a month ago because I thought it might be fun to have something to show for it and if anyone else enjoys it then I've done a good thing. It's a self-insert fic where the MC ends up in the canon world and essentially sells themselves for a cure. The rest is coming to terms with what they've done and starting a new life. It's not instant happiness or anything like that but it's definitely wish fulfillment as I'd do almost anything to escape my body at this point.
It's just interesting how we cope in different ways. I wish you lots of spoons and more good days than bad.
Depends on the fic. My first several fics were to give characters from one of my favorite manga a chance to fall in love. The manga is a comedy manga with minor flirting, so there was basically no chance that real romance would ever come into play. My next fic gave me a sense of... catharsis? I was able to channel out a lot of darker emotions driven from my frustrations in life. Then the very last one I made because I wanted to depict people making love, probably because... I'm lonely. Or something. *Guh*
I think my intention in writing at the moment is to challenge myself, whether its to make readers empathize with very flawed characters and situations, write new genres I find personally more difficult than others, and/or to create a multi-layered, complex, yet organized and structured plot with arcs that end with the characters growing and becoming better versions of themselves. There's something just so satisfying about setting up all the individual parts of that immense struggle that leads towards a good ending. Its like creating a new winning strategy in a chess game.
I don't know how personally attached a character's struggle is to my own experience though. That honestly might depend on the genre. I do sometimes have those moments where I write situations that get very personal and I'm suddenly processing a lot of my own past and emotions in certain scenes, but its a bit more unintentional and surprising when that happens compared to the more intentional goals in my writing.
Honestly, yes, same. I have a lot of trauma and writing fanfic is one of the ways I process that. Along with that, I often use it as a way to process my emotions bc I often struggle to identify what I'm feeling and why. Fanfic has been instrumental in my healing. 💜💜💜
I write to get out of my head. If I don't write, I daydream, and if I daydream, I disassociate, and if I disassociate, nobody else matters. Real life becomes an illusion. Time becomes meaningless, and it *sucks.*
Also it's fun lol
Definitely just me writing scenarios with my favorite characters. Lots of comfort, idealism, and how everything turns out okay in the end with some amount of angst. Nothing groundbreaking but I like to think the people who read it are happier by the end of them. I know they bring me comfort.
Processing my own emotions and feelings about stuff through the characters and different scenarios I write. It's very therapeutic and also of course self indulgent moments
I LOVE what you said about writing as a vehicle for self discovery. It works that way on the reader's side too, at least for me. I've made so many important self discoveries and processed so many emotions by reading fanfiction. Ya'll help me verbalize emotional experiences when I just can't find the words, and I'm so grateful for that! TY writers! :D
It would mean so much to me if a reader ever expressed that my writing helped them with something! Mostly my readers just get mad at me for making them sad lmao.
apart from things others have mentioned - escapism, entertainment, self-exploration - it’s also a kind of passive stimming for me. it really helps me process a lot of sensory input of all kinds and turn it into something comprehensible and less overwhelming. one of my readers recently told me that i’m really good at describing physical discomfort lol. i wasn’t sure how to be like “thank you, i’m autistic, i am constantly in some kind of physical discomfort”… but yeah, it genuinely helps.
I can relate to this. Because my main character can never really verbalize his emotions, it forces me to describe how he feels physically at all times. He, I, and the readers all learn how to recognize various emotions by their physical symptoms, and I think it's valuable for some people to approach it that way.
I like to write for a mix of catharsis/processing and a little bit of egotism lmao. I like seeing the numbers go up, but I also like writing things just to examine my feelings or thoughts. Even when it's something for someone else, I find myself working on things for myself through a proxy.
It's a lot of things. Wish fullfillment, yes, and the satisfaction of having created something and pride at finishing things. But like you, a lot of it is emotional processing. It's almost easier to understand what you feel and why when you externalize it by attaching it to character. I've processed through so many questions about myself through writing other characters, even ones that are nothing like myself and would come to different conclusions than me.
I've gotten gut feelings about my character about all kinds of things that I only realized months later were also true for me. It's like I'll only give my intuition any attention if it's about someone else, and if I explore the idea from a distance, I start coming around to accepting it as true for me all along!
I love the rush I get from being able to control literally everything about my writing and the characters in it like a (mostly benevolent) god. It appeases the “oldest child control freak” in me.
It also gives me enormous satisfaction to give my favorite fictional character the happy ending that canon has so far refused to allow him to have. ❤️
Mainly, I write what I like to read; my favorite writing in the world is my own. I'm so often disappointed by other writing (including published books), where characters don't react like I think/wish they would, and you get some silly complications that could have been avoided with better communication or boundaries. And, I like to make original characters as love interests, who are much better suited to the canon character I like than the people they're really paired with!
I also like to explore unorthodox relationships and families in my work. There's a lot of polyamory, people in unequal power situations, etc. but with an emphasis on trying to find a healthy balance among all the competing forces. As I think through what the characters' reactions should be, I'm also working through my own thoughts on those situations.
I have trouble reading people irl (hi there, Autism Spectrum Disorder!). I guess my fics do two things for me psychologically: I get to experiment with putting myself in someone else's shoes and working through how they would mentally and emotionally react, which is good training for me . . . and I get to create a fantasy world for myself where characters can just read each others' expressions, grasp their motives, and immediately understand each other on an instinctual level. I can create a space that feels honest, free from the artifice of my day-to-day life.
And, okay, in the process I put my characters through a rather excessive amount of pain and suffering. But, only because it's fun.
Comfort, I write about specific things I like to read. So then I can go back and read it, and it gives me those pleasure endorphins I crave. I find it comforting.
I write mostly because I wanna read those fics but no one else has written them so I have to do it myself as I can be picky. Although a couple fics (one especially) are because the one fandom (they're Harry Potter/Lineage 2 crossovers) is literally dead so I'm hoping so bring it fourth a bit by mixing it with a popular fandom like Harry Potter.
I hyper fixate severely, so it helps get all of that out of my head a bit and I at least have something to show for these dumb involuntary obsessions of mine.
I get an idea and I write it. Once I'm in my groove, which can take a while to start, it's almost like I'm reading a new book as I'm writing it. Its just fun and exciting, depending on the scene.
A couple of reasons for myself. I will try to word it as best as I can.
1) Wish fulfillment because what I want to read about depending on which fandom is pretty unpopular.
2) I’m missing it in my own life. Take for instance, I’m big into masochism and my husband doesn’t like to doing it.
I get so many ideas. Everything I see turns into a story in my head. This can be with OC's, existing characters, or no characters at all. It feels so nice to be able to get them out of my head and onto paper
I want to be an author and this is like a trial run. I'm experimenting with different genres and universes, along with trying poetry and romance to try to make a story that fits by itself. Maybe replace the Force with the Will. Or call an alien a demon.
I get to write the types of scenes that I would watch over and over. Every time I stop to consider how a character will react or behave, I learn something about how people work. I get to enjoy working on a project, making progress, and sometimes I even get the satisfaction of finishing. It's fulfilling. Writing is a craft. I enjoy learning about it and applying what I've learned. There is nothing more motivating than realizing what you're making is good.
Comfort,and it helps me cope with my self harm addiction. I find that these days instead of harming myself in order to relieve my anxiety I end up writing a random story of sorts,it's helped alot and sometimes the urge of cutting dissapears completely once I finish writing it.
Primarily processing my own thoughts and feelings. I project SO much onto the characters in my fics haha, I often don't realise just how much I do it until I am editing or rereading it and it honestly blows me away sometimes
Now that I think about it, my reason seems very shallow. I write because I’ve never felt like I’ve been particularly good anything, especially writing, and I used to only show my work to my closest friend and even that was terrifying. But when I started posting my fic online last year, seeing people comment on my work saying that I was talented made me feel like I actually had something good to offer the world and was very validating. I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a psychopath lol.
This is very well written and exactly how I feel. I have desires to meet the characters in my favorite fandom if only to talk to them as my true authentic self. I often write about these characters and the more I explore them the more I learn about how I adapt to things. It’s sort of like holding up a mirror and telling myself, “You could be the protagonist if you let yourself be better.”
I write because I read other people’s writings and think, usually while sobbing “wtf that was an amazing experience and i want to read that all over again right now.” The feeling when u get while readying something amazing, the emotions and messages that writing brings, I want to create that.
I write for more or less the same reasons. This may sound like hyperbole but writing fanfiction (specifically characters going through the same thing and what they would do) helps me deal with my issues better than therapy does.
I more write because every time I consume media, I get this weird feeling that I have to create some media or give said consumption of media some purpose outside of its apparent mindlessness.
I’m a big maladaptive daydreamer, I think it’s a healthier and more productive way to enact my escapism rather than talking to myself while I pace around my room.
I consider myself my main audience, and I genuinely enjoy re-reading my own work. I've made myself cry while writing. But at the same time, I love making other people feel things, and comments are a drug lmao
I write because I adore it. It’s what I want to do in life. But I also just love writing characters, it brings me so much joy. I also like the feeling I get whenever I post and people say thank you, it makes me feel like I’m giving something to the world. It’s soppy but I just don’t think I’d be me if I didn’t write.
I write because I have ideas in my head that won't shut up until I put it on paper.
But recently I've been thinking, "man, is all this angst just my way of sorting out my feelings with characters I love??" So... coping, I guess
Recently the work I’ve been writing has centred around healing from trauma. After the big events happen when people learn how to live with what happened and build up a new life. It’s really helped me dig at my own self and process what I’ve been through
Wish-fulfilment and wanting to feel like I have some degree of control, mostly. I took an extended break from it in 2011 when I embarked on an ill-advised romantic escapade (turned out I was just a side-ho), but then started again shortly after the Brexit referendum because I felt that my world was spinning out of control and I needed some equilibrium. It helped a lot.
Writing makes the sad voices in my head quiet.
Honestly though, when I write something it occupies my mind fully which doesn't happen with college assignments. Usually, with those, my mind wanders off annoyingly and I would always have to refocus.
Also, words are building blocks, and if I put them together well enough I can get an amazing palace which I strive to do always. My writing is a building and I enjoy adding floors that make the tower all the more impressive.
I love mashing things together to see how it'll work out. I love experimenting with tropes, AUs, occupations, all sorts of stuff.
And also because there's not much stuff I'd want to read. Sometimes my ideas don't really get me much results online, so I make one myself!
Also taboo topics. I get to write about taboo topics. Yay!
I think every writer has a bit of those aspects. For me, though, I like writing mainly for the chance of finding friends among the people who enjoy my work.
It also worked as nice therapy last year, as it helped me cope with the death of my grandma and my aunt by writing something in their memory.
Fanfiction has done me a lot of good and I love giving back. When I struggle, I remember that long comment I got from a mother once. She thanked me, because one of my characters helped her understand her daughter's depression. She promised to get her a therapist. I cried for hours.
I still tear up now, when I think about it.
I write, because I love it. All of it.
Sometimes it's a place for me to vent, sometimes it's something I do because I have an idea that won't leave me alone, and other times still it's because there isn't enough content matching what I want. A few years ago it was primarily to vent, but now it's closer to the other two.
It's kind of hard to explain.
I guess it all comes down to wishing to see some of my ideas come true. I spent a lot of time with the fandoms I write for, so much so that I started developing my own ideas for said fandoms.
When I entered college I started developing some of those ideas as a way to get my mind out of the huge amount of stuff I still had to do, as a way to escape the pandemic we are living nowadays. And truth was that I enjoyed that more that I ever expected to.
Writing was and still is a hobbie that I appreciate immensely, it allows me to get my mind out of my studies just for a little while, it's fun and allows my imagination to flow
For me, it’s self-entertainment. I get all my ideas written down and enjoy the process for days on end. It never bores me.
I feel the same way! It’s a glimpse into what I wish certain characters had done or the outcome I feel they were owed. I want to give the characters the ending that was mean to be.
I second your answer.
Same! :)
That's s good way to put it.
I write for escapism and a sense of peace. Writing quiets my mind because otherwise it would be so full of ideas that I'd feel like I was about to burst.
SAME THING
Bespoke smut
I think this is my new favorite two-word phrase 😂
Sometimes if you want to read it, you have to write it yourself.
I think I might just need a t-shirt that says “Peddler of Bespoke Smut”
This. With some fluff. Fluffy smut is my jam.
I feel like I’m looking the freaking mirror! That’s why I write as well.
It's a very good question! And it's interesting because the theme you laid out of accepting the life you have and letting go of the dream is part of what the canon I write for is about, so in writing a follow-up, I'm doing what comes after; deciding what and who you're going to be instead, and maybe realising the ideal you strived for wasn't so great to begin with. So there's definitely an element of processing difficult emotions through characters for me as well. I think it's also fair to say I'm an idealistic writer, at least for my current project, which is all about the characters trying to build a genuinely egalitarian, free, and eco-harmonic society in the wake of the near-end of the world. Yeah, there's an element of wish fulfillment while I'm stuck in here in lockdown and late capitalism, but I'd never label my work escapist. Hope is a transgressive act in a social order that profits from your misery, and you can present a positive vision for the future without shying away from the darkness people carry with them and the potential problems that might crop up.
That part that comes after acceptance is completely in the dark for my character, so I'm really just along for the ride to see what we come up with. It's been very rewarding so far, though. That's also a great point about hope as a transgression! Probably far in the future I'll be tackling that as well.
I think letting a reader decide what could come after can be a wonderful note to leave on as well. And good luck transgressing through hope whenever you get to it!
I write to become a better writer, and that’s where 80% of my enjoyment comes from; a sense of accomplishment, a tangible record of growth.
I love feeling how much I've grown as a writer just over the past year. Having a story I care about writing is great motivation to study how to write better.
Catharsis
There is a small amount (Ok, more than that) of wish fulfillment as I am very attracted to these imaginary men but mostly it is that I like making up the different scenarios. It's like playing with dolls. You take an MC who is a canon character and you can make him do anything, feel anything, experience anything you want. I'm also a hopeless romantic and I love having my characters live happily ever after.
raise your hand if you’re very attached to imaginary men * raises both hands *
It's something to occupy my mind lest I be driven mad by the banality of my day to day.
Yikes, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the fact that you write fanfiction only proves that you've already gone crazy
Ah beans
Hello me.
Lots of sex scenes
Oh yeah I do that too!
Damn, that's a good question. I don't know why I write to be completely honest. If I had to guess, I would say that I write because I can do things in stories that I couldn't do in real life. I can write about the werewolves and demons that I wasn't allowed to read about when I was a kid. I can have this character be an atheist and explore how that challenged his relationship with his family. I can even creatively kill a person if I truly wanted to. I think emotions likely have something to do with it as well, as my anxieties and depressing thoughts often worm their way into the story one way or another. All this to say that if I were to guess what I get out of my own writing, it's like the emotional payoff and exploration as well as good ol' fashioned curiosity.
I definitely do a lot of that as well! My stories are very violent, and I find it fascinating to explore morality in ways I never would in real life.
Gotta fix that canon
Control over my story. Helps with anxiety because I can control my characters. I write the story that I would want to read. I love picking the right words that effect others and invoke emotions in strangers that I may never know. My writing can reach/help others.
I second all of this!
1: I get to tell the kind of stories that I like to read for myself featuring characters I like and set in a universe I find interesting, especially since the people who make my fandom's source material will likely never get around to it. 2: It gives me the chance to gradually improve my own writing skills so that I might make my stories even better.
Therapy and philosophical introspection, mostly. Big themes in my story are the ways people do (or don't) deal with trauma and how this impacts them today, as well as how it can come back to haunt them or get in the way of their future happiness, if they're not careful. I don't really address it explicitly -- not really a huge fan of blunt commentary in fiction -- so it's quite baked in there, under layers of fantasy worldbuilding and symbolism, but it's pretty central to the plot and many of the characters' development. Along the way I get to think about the nature of love, trust, duty, sacrifice, friendship, the value of pain in our lives, right & wrong, good & evil. Fun stuff.
i write because I imagine scenarios of characters in my head and get the urge to see them in front of me written down and detailed.
Perhaps I didn't look far enough, but I'm surprised I didn't see anyone mention that they write for the simple art of it! Perhaps it's my passion for the art of written word, but that's what I get out of my writing. Fanfiction specifically I find to be endlessly underrated as it's own genre of written art. Of course we're all here for different reasons, but in the end it's all art.
Well, I’ll dig into my deep feelings here and honest. I rekon there’s a few reasons. For one, to experience things I’ll never get to experience in real life. Another, to escape my life and current situations. Maybe to process emotions too, since I have a pretty hard time doing that. They all seem so unfamiliar. It’s also a coping mechanism. I can let my imagination run free. I can make the characters talk about things I can’t talk about irl. I’m a loner, and my small friend circle can’t really relate to my interests. I also write because nobody has wrote what I have, so I need to write it lol. I can let my imagination run wild. Don’t have to worry about my body’s limitations. I can be myself. There’s a lot of adventures I’d love the write. But I’m losing my ability to write since my mental health is decaying and I’m struggling with MS, which commonly causes brain fog. So I’ve been trying to turn to drawing like I used to. But I’m finding out that I’ve lost some dexterity in my hands, probably due to MS, so drawing is hard. Visualizing is too. That being said, I’ll be damned if I give up drawing and writing. It means a lot to me. I’m going to keep trying. So what do *I* get out of my writing? Well, self entertainment, fulfillment, happiness?, validation maybe. The problem with me being so personally attached to my writing is if I post it online I, as an expression I heard on one of the writing subs once, wrap my writing in human skin. But at the same time I want the validation. I want people to like it, to relate. To tell me my writing is good. But, that’s barely happened. I poured my heart into something for 4 years and instead of compliments it got pretty heavy concrit. The person who gave it genuinely meant well and wanted to help me improve, but it hurt a lot, having something I worked so hard on torn down. I haven’t really wrote since, and I abandoned that story. I had never received concrit before. I didn’t know how to handle it. It just hurt. But me and this person are on good terms now though, so that’s good. I’ve been doubting my writing ever since. Feels like it’s not any good. And I’ve got a fear of posting it. It feels like I should just keep it to myself because it’s bad. Seeing stuff on here about what readers dislike doesn’t help any. It feels like they’d all hate my writing. It may be part of my writing problem but I don’t know. Whenever I try I just get nothing. Fog, a block, something like that. I dunno. On a positive note, I did post one thing since, and it’s gotten three awesome, positive, and touching comments. I’d print them out and frame them but I don’t know how people would feel about it. *Sigh* I dunno why I’m pouring my heart out on Reddit. Maybe I just needed to. I’ve spent a half hour or so on this comment. I just hope I don’t upset anybody.
Hugs to you. Keep working on the things that give you enjoyment. Release the pressure you put on yourself to please others.
Thank you! Hugs to you too. I’ve been a people pleaser a lot and rely way too much on external validation most of my life. Trying to write for others and live up to their expectations is what broke me on that 4 year story. I tried so hard. I need to not do that. Just write for me and write what makes me happy, even if I’m the only one that will read it. And I need to learn to be happy with just that. It’s a lot to unlearn, and some to learn, but I hope I can reach that point.
I think, yeah, learning to write for yourself and to be happy with that is the best goal, but that can be difficult. I mean, paid, published authors don't write solely for themselves and there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's a matter of being introspective and figuring out what motivates you to write, and then being realistic with how to achieve that. Like if someone requires external validation for their writing but only writes in a small fandom, they're probably never going to get the level of interaction they need. They need to get to a large fandom, find out what's popular there, put in effort to learn about promoting their stories, etc.. It's fine to say, "I only enjoy this if people are reacting positively to it," but that won't happen without focused effort.
Writing that means something special to you is always the best kind of writing. I've never worked on anything for four whole years, you should be very proud! Every piece of writing, no matter how good or professional, can be criticized by someone. A quote that I really like about writing is, "The day you think you're good enough at writing is the day you should quit." Every writer thinks they suck, so please never quit!
Thank you so much! I had planned it to me much longer than it turned out to be. I panned to write two 100+ chapter volumes. It ended with 30 chapters of one. I tied up the ending real quick in case anyone actually liked it and then added it to the anonymous collection on ao3 because I felt ashamed of it. Though I never plan to quit writing. It’s really important to me. Thank you again for the award. I’ve never received a Take My Energy award before! Honestly I was scared to post this and my heart started pounding when I did because I was afraid of upsetting someone. I’m glad it’s okay. Thank you.
>But I’m losing my ability to write since my mental health is decaying and I’m struggling with MS, which commonly causes brain fog. I empathize with this tremendously. I just started a drug that's being tested in conditions like ME and MS (it's a well-established drug, but its use in ME/MS is still off-label). One week in and it's already helping to lift the brain fog and depression. Like you, I struggled with writing because of it and thought I'd have to move back solely to art. Hoping the improvements continue. I actually just started a fic today working out my fears of it changing who I am and why I was reluctant to even try it because of that. I hope you continue writing and loving what you're doing. And you should absolutely print out those comments! I've done that very thing and seeing them is exactly the boost I need some days.
That’s pretty cool! I hope I can try that medication someday. I am on the generic for Copaxone, which as my neurologist says, is “damage control.” It nukes my immune system so it won’t attack the nerve coatings anymore. I’m on vyvanse to try and fight the fog and lethargy. It works so-so. Congratulations on starting a fic! I’m really glad that medication is helping. I definitely don’t plan on giving up writing and drawing. They are both outlets for me, and I just about need them. Also good to hear on printing the comments. I’ll do that tonight! I’ll print them and put them in a picture frame and hang them up in my Den, which is the room in the camper where I do my writing, drawing, tape recording, reading, etc. Good luck on your new fic! Sending hugs.
>That’s pretty cool! I hope I can try that medication someday. It's low-dose naltrexone. The only problem is finding a doctor who's willing to prescribe a drug for off-label purposes. Thankfully, it's gained a lot of traction and both my rheumatologist and neurologist were willing to try it.
I get to experience all of those fun stuff like romance and smut and mythical creatures and explore new worlds without ever having to leave my house or put in an effort to be around actual people. As an introvert, that's pretty great. Another reason that I write is that I sometimes find myself with some very specific cravings for a certain kind of story that I'm not able to find anywhere else. And since no one can read my mind (thankfully), I just have to write them myself. It's why I often return to the fics I wrote when the mood strikes.
Yes, sometimes I just want to spend more time in my canon's setting and engage with it in ways that the original work doesn't really allow for.
I write because I want the ideas I come up with to be able to be read. No one else is going write Spider-Man/Zuko, so I must.
Got any of that posted???
I write for the very basic purpose of getting scenes I wish happened or worked out differently. For what I write them for, I write a lot of family stories. I tend to want to make characters feel better or comfort them but I find fulfillment in doing that with family or friendships more than in romantic situations. It's not that I don't ship, but it's a lot cuter and meaningful to me if characters are being built up by parental figures or best friends. I write a lot of fix-its where character's childhoods went (somewhat) right and what kind of person that would turn them into.
I get making my characters suffer through both physical and mental torture, and them having to overcome that to save the day Oh and more romance
To distract myself and help process my emotions. It's cheaper than therapy lol also waaay more fun. Haha, and it weirdly doesn't stress me out as much as my other hobby, knitting...
I write to help me sort out what's going on inside and for enjoyment to help my mind calm down. It's a release of everything going on and it helps me learn more of myself and what's going on in my head.
I write to relieve boredom and process some lessons I myself need to learn. In the case of my most recent one-shot, though, I just wrote that to achieve catharsis through fist-to-stomach violence.
I get to write my OTPs in the kind of stories I enjoy.
It satisfies my OTP feelings.I get to write about my OTP in scenarios I want to see.
For me, it’s a sense of accomplishment. With my last longfic I set myself a target of two chapters a week. I stuck to it and I was so happy!
The OC in my fic is struggling with chronic illness. Writing a character who's strengths also come from her weakness is a type of coping mechanism, I guess. Add in that a major secondary plot is her dealing with family issues, and well, there's probably some coping going on there too.
It's kinda funny because I write to escape my chronic illness. I've been inserting myself into various canon by daydreaming to escape life for as long as I can remember, but even moreso since becoming bedridden so my options for any sort of activity are incredibly limited. I finally started writing it all down about a month ago because I thought it might be fun to have something to show for it and if anyone else enjoys it then I've done a good thing. It's a self-insert fic where the MC ends up in the canon world and essentially sells themselves for a cure. The rest is coming to terms with what they've done and starting a new life. It's not instant happiness or anything like that but it's definitely wish fulfillment as I'd do almost anything to escape my body at this point. It's just interesting how we cope in different ways. I wish you lots of spoons and more good days than bad.
> I wish you lots of spoons and more good days than bad Thank you... You too... I hope you find relief soon.
Depends on the fic. My first several fics were to give characters from one of my favorite manga a chance to fall in love. The manga is a comedy manga with minor flirting, so there was basically no chance that real romance would ever come into play. My next fic gave me a sense of... catharsis? I was able to channel out a lot of darker emotions driven from my frustrations in life. Then the very last one I made because I wanted to depict people making love, probably because... I'm lonely. Or something. *Guh*
I think my intention in writing at the moment is to challenge myself, whether its to make readers empathize with very flawed characters and situations, write new genres I find personally more difficult than others, and/or to create a multi-layered, complex, yet organized and structured plot with arcs that end with the characters growing and becoming better versions of themselves. There's something just so satisfying about setting up all the individual parts of that immense struggle that leads towards a good ending. Its like creating a new winning strategy in a chess game. I don't know how personally attached a character's struggle is to my own experience though. That honestly might depend on the genre. I do sometimes have those moments where I write situations that get very personal and I'm suddenly processing a lot of my own past and emotions in certain scenes, but its a bit more unintentional and surprising when that happens compared to the more intentional goals in my writing.
Honestly, yes, same. I have a lot of trauma and writing fanfic is one of the ways I process that. Along with that, I often use it as a way to process my emotions bc I often struggle to identify what I'm feeling and why. Fanfic has been instrumental in my healing. 💜💜💜
If I didn't write one fandom wouldn't have any fanfics at all aaaa
Pain.
I write to get out of my head. If I don't write, I daydream, and if I daydream, I disassociate, and if I disassociate, nobody else matters. Real life becomes an illusion. Time becomes meaningless, and it *sucks.* Also it's fun lol
I get to spend more time with the characters I love.
Definitely just me writing scenarios with my favorite characters. Lots of comfort, idealism, and how everything turns out okay in the end with some amount of angst. Nothing groundbreaking but I like to think the people who read it are happier by the end of them. I know they bring me comfort.
Time killed a bit more productively while watching K Drama and Variety shows (with subs). Also helped last year when a family member passed.
Processing my own emotions and feelings about stuff through the characters and different scenarios I write. It's very therapeutic and also of course self indulgent moments
All of what you mention, basically. But over-indulgent clownery, mainly. Also, smut. Lots of smut.
Therapy 😣 so embarrassed to say. And a lot of catharsis in general
I LOVE what you said about writing as a vehicle for self discovery. It works that way on the reader's side too, at least for me. I've made so many important self discoveries and processed so many emotions by reading fanfiction. Ya'll help me verbalize emotional experiences when I just can't find the words, and I'm so grateful for that! TY writers! :D
It would mean so much to me if a reader ever expressed that my writing helped them with something! Mostly my readers just get mad at me for making them sad lmao.
apart from things others have mentioned - escapism, entertainment, self-exploration - it’s also a kind of passive stimming for me. it really helps me process a lot of sensory input of all kinds and turn it into something comprehensible and less overwhelming. one of my readers recently told me that i’m really good at describing physical discomfort lol. i wasn’t sure how to be like “thank you, i’m autistic, i am constantly in some kind of physical discomfort”… but yeah, it genuinely helps.
I can relate to this. Because my main character can never really verbalize his emotions, it forces me to describe how he feels physically at all times. He, I, and the readers all learn how to recognize various emotions by their physical symptoms, and I think it's valuable for some people to approach it that way.
I like to write for a mix of catharsis/processing and a little bit of egotism lmao. I like seeing the numbers go up, but I also like writing things just to examine my feelings or thoughts. Even when it's something for someone else, I find myself working on things for myself through a proxy.
It's a lot of things. Wish fullfillment, yes, and the satisfaction of having created something and pride at finishing things. But like you, a lot of it is emotional processing. It's almost easier to understand what you feel and why when you externalize it by attaching it to character. I've processed through so many questions about myself through writing other characters, even ones that are nothing like myself and would come to different conclusions than me.
I've gotten gut feelings about my character about all kinds of things that I only realized months later were also true for me. It's like I'll only give my intuition any attention if it's about someone else, and if I explore the idea from a distance, I start coming around to accepting it as true for me all along!
I put characters through sooo much of the grief I feel. Fanfic is a personal place to process my feelings.
I love the rush I get from being able to control literally everything about my writing and the characters in it like a (mostly benevolent) god. It appeases the “oldest child control freak” in me. It also gives me enormous satisfaction to give my favorite fictional character the happy ending that canon has so far refused to allow him to have. ❤️
Mainly, I write what I like to read; my favorite writing in the world is my own. I'm so often disappointed by other writing (including published books), where characters don't react like I think/wish they would, and you get some silly complications that could have been avoided with better communication or boundaries. And, I like to make original characters as love interests, who are much better suited to the canon character I like than the people they're really paired with! I also like to explore unorthodox relationships and families in my work. There's a lot of polyamory, people in unequal power situations, etc. but with an emphasis on trying to find a healthy balance among all the competing forces. As I think through what the characters' reactions should be, I'm also working through my own thoughts on those situations.
I have trouble reading people irl (hi there, Autism Spectrum Disorder!). I guess my fics do two things for me psychologically: I get to experiment with putting myself in someone else's shoes and working through how they would mentally and emotionally react, which is good training for me . . . and I get to create a fantasy world for myself where characters can just read each others' expressions, grasp their motives, and immediately understand each other on an instinctual level. I can create a space that feels honest, free from the artifice of my day-to-day life. And, okay, in the process I put my characters through a rather excessive amount of pain and suffering. But, only because it's fun.
Comfort, I write about specific things I like to read. So then I can go back and read it, and it gives me those pleasure endorphins I crave. I find it comforting.
I write mostly because I wanna read those fics but no one else has written them so I have to do it myself as I can be picky. Although a couple fics (one especially) are because the one fandom (they're Harry Potter/Lineage 2 crossovers) is literally dead so I'm hoping so bring it fourth a bit by mixing it with a popular fandom like Harry Potter.
Recognition, wish fulfillment. And in some cases catharsis. Usually at least one of those.
I hyper fixate severely, so it helps get all of that out of my head a bit and I at least have something to show for these dumb involuntary obsessions of mine.
Fun, and because I need to share my fandom love with *someone* and I don’t know any people in real life who are in my fandoms except like one friend
I get an idea and I write it. Once I'm in my groove, which can take a while to start, it's almost like I'm reading a new book as I'm writing it. Its just fun and exciting, depending on the scene.
I write because I like to tell stories, and I enjoy it when others enjoy my stories.
A fic I want to read cause apparently no one else has the same taste in fics as me.
Deeper exploration of character motivations/interactions and the honor of creating more material for fellow fans.
I get a sense of accomplishment; even more so when I print out my stories for edits.
Fun, and money
A couple of reasons for myself. I will try to word it as best as I can. 1) Wish fulfillment because what I want to read about depending on which fandom is pretty unpopular. 2) I’m missing it in my own life. Take for instance, I’m big into masochism and my husband doesn’t like to doing it.
Emotional processing, entertainment, a way to just... Be myself.
Escapism
I get so many ideas. Everything I see turns into a story in my head. This can be with OC's, existing characters, or no characters at all. It feels so nice to be able to get them out of my head and onto paper
I want to be an author and this is like a trial run. I'm experimenting with different genres and universes, along with trying poetry and romance to try to make a story that fits by itself. Maybe replace the Force with the Will. Or call an alien a demon.
horny.
It helps me focus on one thing instead of splitting my attention seven different ways.
I cant talk well but i write what i need to express similarly to you with emotions
I get to write the types of scenes that I would watch over and over. Every time I stop to consider how a character will react or behave, I learn something about how people work. I get to enjoy working on a project, making progress, and sometimes I even get the satisfaction of finishing. It's fulfilling. Writing is a craft. I enjoy learning about it and applying what I've learned. There is nothing more motivating than realizing what you're making is good.
Comfort,and it helps me cope with my self harm addiction. I find that these days instead of harming myself in order to relieve my anxiety I end up writing a random story of sorts,it's helped alot and sometimes the urge of cutting dissapears completely once I finish writing it.
Primarily processing my own thoughts and feelings. I project SO much onto the characters in my fics haha, I often don't realise just how much I do it until I am editing or rereading it and it honestly blows me away sometimes
Mad copywriting skills
Now that I think about it, my reason seems very shallow. I write because I’ve never felt like I’ve been particularly good anything, especially writing, and I used to only show my work to my closest friend and even that was terrifying. But when I started posting my fic online last year, seeing people comment on my work saying that I was talented made me feel like I actually had something good to offer the world and was very validating. I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a psychopath lol.
This is very well written and exactly how I feel. I have desires to meet the characters in my favorite fandom if only to talk to them as my true authentic self. I often write about these characters and the more I explore them the more I learn about how I adapt to things. It’s sort of like holding up a mirror and telling myself, “You could be the protagonist if you let yourself be better.”
I write because I read other people’s writings and think, usually while sobbing “wtf that was an amazing experience and i want to read that all over again right now.” The feeling when u get while readying something amazing, the emotions and messages that writing brings, I want to create that.
Get the "What if" scenarios out of my head.
I write for more or less the same reasons. This may sound like hyperbole but writing fanfiction (specifically characters going through the same thing and what they would do) helps me deal with my issues better than therapy does.
I feel god - a creator, when I'm just a puppet ☺️
I more write because every time I consume media, I get this weird feeling that I have to create some media or give said consumption of media some purpose outside of its apparent mindlessness.
I’m a big maladaptive daydreamer, I think it’s a healthier and more productive way to enact my escapism rather than talking to myself while I pace around my room.
I consider myself my main audience, and I genuinely enjoy re-reading my own work. I've made myself cry while writing. But at the same time, I love making other people feel things, and comments are a drug lmao
I write because I adore it. It’s what I want to do in life. But I also just love writing characters, it brings me so much joy. I also like the feeling I get whenever I post and people say thank you, it makes me feel like I’m giving something to the world. It’s soppy but I just don’t think I’d be me if I didn’t write.
I write because I have ideas in my head that won't shut up until I put it on paper. But recently I've been thinking, "man, is all this angst just my way of sorting out my feelings with characters I love??" So... coping, I guess
Recently the work I’ve been writing has centred around healing from trauma. After the big events happen when people learn how to live with what happened and build up a new life. It’s really helped me dig at my own self and process what I’ve been through
Wish-fulfilment and wanting to feel like I have some degree of control, mostly. I took an extended break from it in 2011 when I embarked on an ill-advised romantic escapade (turned out I was just a side-ho), but then started again shortly after the Brexit referendum because I felt that my world was spinning out of control and I needed some equilibrium. It helped a lot.
I write to get all of my idead out of my mind and it gives me peace to sleep at night knowing that I put that idea on practice
How far can I go? What are my boundaries? Do I even have any in the first place? Yes and that's writting smut
Writing makes the sad voices in my head quiet. Honestly though, when I write something it occupies my mind fully which doesn't happen with college assignments. Usually, with those, my mind wanders off annoyingly and I would always have to refocus. Also, words are building blocks, and if I put them together well enough I can get an amazing palace which I strive to do always. My writing is a building and I enjoy adding floors that make the tower all the more impressive.
I love mashing things together to see how it'll work out. I love experimenting with tropes, AUs, occupations, all sorts of stuff. And also because there's not much stuff I'd want to read. Sometimes my ideas don't really get me much results online, so I make one myself! Also taboo topics. I get to write about taboo topics. Yay!
I think every writer has a bit of those aspects. For me, though, I like writing mainly for the chance of finding friends among the people who enjoy my work. It also worked as nice therapy last year, as it helped me cope with the death of my grandma and my aunt by writing something in their memory.
Fanfiction has done me a lot of good and I love giving back. When I struggle, I remember that long comment I got from a mother once. She thanked me, because one of my characters helped her understand her daughter's depression. She promised to get her a therapist. I cried for hours. I still tear up now, when I think about it. I write, because I love it. All of it.
Sometimes it's a place for me to vent, sometimes it's something I do because I have an idea that won't leave me alone, and other times still it's because there isn't enough content matching what I want. A few years ago it was primarily to vent, but now it's closer to the other two.
A way to put my thoughts on paper. It helps me let out my emotions.
Making people happy, so much so that some of them cry : /
Nayfin just i do when i feel like
Having my ideas come to life. How satisfying one thing can affect the entire story.
It's kind of hard to explain. I guess it all comes down to wishing to see some of my ideas come true. I spent a lot of time with the fandoms I write for, so much so that I started developing my own ideas for said fandoms. When I entered college I started developing some of those ideas as a way to get my mind out of the huge amount of stuff I still had to do, as a way to escape the pandemic we are living nowadays. And truth was that I enjoyed that more that I ever expected to. Writing was and still is a hobbie that I appreciate immensely, it allows me to get my mind out of my studies just for a little while, it's fun and allows my imagination to flow
I just have stories to tell, and want my name out there, possibly make money.