Low self esteem and fanfic writing

You know, it seems like I'm reading more and more stories with comments like these at the beginning and end:

"This is just a really silly story, I don't even know why I wrote it."
"This post sucks, I know."
"I'd just like to apologise for how terrible this post was ..."

etc etc


It's really sad, just makes me want to track these people down and give them a hug!

No one should ever feel like they have to apologise for their own creative work ...

So why is it, do you think?

 

Well, I think we all know that there's an element to writing of "Look at me!" and we want to mitigate the strut of it by saying, "Oh, of course I know I'm not Shakespeare."

That's part of it, anyway.

Another part may be the way the Real World (tm) treats fanfic, as if it's some really freakish thing to do -- writing stories is weird enough; wring stories that no one pays for? That's just bizarre! So we sort of feel the need to explain ourselves.

There's of course, also the urge to have people say, "No, that was great!"

I agree that it's not a good thing, for whichever reason.

I say it's time we have a "Fanfic Writers' of the World" celebration of the genre. How's that? Forget a general con for sf, or a specific con for Star Wars, with one panel or another at either for fanfic writers. Let's just have a fanfic con, for people to meet each other and take pride in what we're doing.

Of course, I have no idea how to do this logistically...

 

Well any fics that start off with an Author's note that apologizes about their writing turns me off right away. I'm cruel, I know, but I like to read fics where the author actually has some confidence in their own writing. How else am I going to trust that it's a good story if they don't even like it themselves? It also seems as if the writers were fishing for sympathy.

Of course I know for a fact that some people just don't like what they write... me for example, I won't look back at my own fic after I've edited it and such until like a few weeks later.

 

Well, I don't know that I put down my writing as much as in the examples you gave, Kitt, but I do tend to be sort of under-confident about my writing.
I think it has to do with the fact that I'm still relatively new to writing fiction and especially to letting people read my stories. I know I'm a good technical writer, because of the comments I got from teachers and profs, but I'm still not very confident about my fic-writing abilities.

I TRY not to make too many negative comments about posts, but I still do sometimes. Why? I don't know. I just do.
And I would rather read a fic where the writer keeps saying, "I'm not too sure about this post. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted..." and so on than one where the writer acts like they're doing you an incredible favor by letting you read their fic, which is surely the most wonderful fanfiction ever written.
But that's just me.

 

I'm very confident in my writing abilities. Yeah, that came off rather stuck up...

Anyway, I know what you mean, jade_angel. I don't understand that people can have the courage to post on these boards and then bash their own fic. Aside from the occasional, "This post is iffy...tell me if it sounds off to you," I refrain from commenting. I think it's confidence that actually makes the reader feel secure in what their reading.

My theory is that people aren't sure of their abilities. They may think they're great, but they're afriad that the readers will think their works are awful. To mitigate that, they openly say they think their fic is awful so that if someone truly does think that, they won't be embarrassed. My other theory is attention. Who wouldn't want to be told, "You're fic isn't horrible! It's wonderful!"?

 

Let's just have a fanfic con, for people to meet each other and take pride in what we're doing.

Of course, I have no idea how to do this logistically...


We could all just meet up at your place. How big is your back yard?

 

Could be a bit crowded, but there is a public park on the other side of the fence...

 

I have to offer my apologies when the scene in my head just doesn't come down on paper as I imagine it.

lanuguage has always been my weakpoint(I speak four of them at home-so I'm sort of stretched) and since english is non-native to me, I'm terribly unconfident in it. Of course it helps to have encouragement, I don't think I could have gone past the first month if not for the helpful comments of other members.

 

If you're doing the best you can, then don't worry about it--no need to apologize.

 

I am knew to fan fic writing.... But when I post something (Hopefully soon) it's because I want other people to enjoy it. And to do that I can have no regrets about my writing.

But, I do love feed back!

 

Sometimes I think that authors are unsure of their post and how it looks to them may not be how they want it to. And they need to get a post up, so they are not sure about it.

Maybe it's just a warning to let the readers know that the author was iffy about the post, but knowing me I would probably like it anyways.