alt.tv.x-files.creative Interview with Mare
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | not specifically titled as such |
| Interviewer: | Dee |
| Interviewee: | Mare |
| Date(s): | November 29, 2000 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | The X-Files |
| External Links: | original post is here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In 2000, a fan named Dee asked fanfic writers about their thoughts about writing, specifically feedback.
The excerpts below are from that series of answers.
The original post:
I'd like to direct this questions to fanfic writers: What motivates you to write a story? Do you write a fic because you have a story to tell? Would you write a story for yourself? for an intended audience? Would you write a fic if you didn't think anyone else would read it? The reason I am asking these questions is because I am puzzled by the strong reactions to reader's comments. Does it really matter? Unless you are accused of something horrible, like plagiarism, do the negative/unfavourable comments really matter? I am posting this not incite a riot, I am genuinely interested in what motivates a fic writer to write. [1]
Some of Mare's Responses
Would you write a fic if you didn't think anyone else would read it? Fic? Maybe. Probably. Non-fanfic stuff? Sure; I've been doing it for years. I write for ME. Working out the details of plots keeps me awake during boring meetings at work. I can escape to a romantic scene in my imagination when my real love life is in the toilet. When the details of a story all fall perfectly into place it's a better high than I can get from almost anything else. I don't need anyone else to read it to feel like that.
Unless you are accused of soemthing horrible, like plagiarism, do the negative/unfavourable comments really matter? Plagiarism aside, yes, negative comments *do* hurt. Badly. I remember sitting with my head down on my desk sobbing for 2 hours once over severely negative feedback. Those words *almost* made me stop writing; almost made me throw away a WIP I'd slaved over for years at that point. I allowed myself 24 hours to wallow in self-pity, and then I was able to move on, but maybe another writer wouldn't.That feedback hit so hard because writing is close to my heart. Always has been. Criticism like that cuts deeply, even after you realize that people have all sorts of reasons for sending feedback like that, many of which probably have more to do with that person than with you or your story.
I'm not even going to touch the plagiarism issue. That accusation gets tossed around a tad too easily sometimes (or at least it used to), and it's a very difficult thing to defend yourself against. It's an issue quite different from negative feedback.