To Finish (and post) or to Post (before you finish)

[Philipaholt]

It came up today that so many writers on A03 etc. have different ways of approaching fics and posting. I'm so very curious what people think, what they do, and why....

I have tended to start stories and post as I go, simply because I am the worst at waiting, especially when an idea excites me. I want to see the excitement of others, I crave their feedback, and enjoy their enjoyment.

Recently, I've got a story in the works which I'm so incredibly excited about, but I have started posting yet, and I'm torn...

What about you lot?

[DaisyNinjaGirl]

I'm definitely in the post before I finish camp - it's getting feedback and knowing that people want to know how it turns out that keeps me motivated.

[DarkshireLass]

so, I have already said that I am finish-then-post. Both as a reader and a writer.

I suddenly had a story tell me it needed writing, and I started that about a week ago. Now, I am pretty sure this will be very minority interest, so I think it would actually be discouraging to post before I finish it. I have not felt that before, and I don't think anyone has mentioned this aspect of publishing- as-you-write.

[AnnabellaGrace]

As a rule, I finish my stories before I post. However, for the correspondence collection, I ended up adding two chapters to my one-shot, Remarkable for the Truth, and two more chapters to Across the Miles.

I far prefer to complete my stories, let them sit a bit, and then begin revising. I have gotten much better at the revising part of it, and I am so grateful to Mimosa for her editing skills. I only begin publishing when I have the chapters written and really all that is left is the editing and some minor revisions.

I have a Google folder on my drive, and it is filled with North and South stories that are not finished or ready for publication. At some point, I plan to polish and publish them all.

Everyone has to do what they think is best and what time permits. I am just glad that our fandom is active and fabulous new stories are published regularly.

[anywhereis]

For me, it starts with :
having an idea -> expands it and tried to divide it in chapters -> write the story -> post it when a chapter is finished.

It reminded me to be consistent of writing my stories. I try my best not to procrastinate and immediately write it when I got some inspiration.

[merry]

This is a very good question; and I'm 100% unequivocally in the finish and post camp.

This is because I know myself too well, and how I can be very enthusiastic about a story and write loads - and then dry up. I need to know I have the story essentially done, "just" needing tweaks before it can be posted chapter by chapter. I've always done it this way since I started in N&S, because I learned I have this failing of just... stopping..sometimes. I still get mail from people asking if I'm ever going to finish a story I started in another fandom, decades ago - I let those people down :(

Having said that, it seems to work for many of you. Nought wrong with that if it does

[merry]

I have tended to start stories and post as I go, simply because I am the worst at waiting, especially when an idea excites me. I want to see the excitement of others, I crave their feedback, and enjoy their enjoyment.

Recently, I've got a story in the works which I'm so incredibly excited about, but I have started posting yet, and I'm torn...

See, if you trust yourself, and KNOW you will finish it, why not? People will be thrilled to read it and they won't mind waiting a bit for updates. It's just if you DON'T trust yourself, and know you might NOT finish it, that it gets tricky in your own approach.

I far prefer to complete my stories, let them sit a bit, and then begin revising......I only begin publishing when I have the chapters written and really all that is left is the editing and some minor revisions.

I have a Google folder on my drive, and it is filled with North and South stories that are not finished or ready for publication. At some point, I plan to polish and publish them all.

Annabella, that is so me.

Now, I am pretty sure this will be very minority interest, so I think it would actually be discouraging to post before I finish it.

Yes! another good point! That's very thoughtful and sane. I totally see what you mean and agree.

I'm definitely in the post before I finish camp - it's getting feedback and knowing that people want to know how it turns out that keeps me motivated.

Hmmm. That's also an interesting point,and I'm thinking about it.

Thanks Pipkin for this great topic

[Forsteriaana30]

Very good topic, merry. So here is how I manage my stories - I first writing story and then posting it after editing. Somehow I don't forget what I wrote and what is in my story and so maybe that's why it's easier for me to write before posting. I just like when story is finished and polished, and then I can only post it and answer to people comments what I like do very much. This is my writing way!

[DaisyNinjaGirl]

Oh man, so I've been working on a story that's longer than normal for me. I'm 2/3 through the third last chapter and I'm getting writer's block. Even though I know what's supposed to happen from now on in a lot of detail. (Probably because of that.) Right now, I think the only thing that's keeping me going is the posting schedule I set myself. ;-)

[SHBirds]

Oh man, so I've been working on a story that's longer than normal for me. I'm 2/3 through the third last chapter and I'm getting writer's block. Even though I know what's supposed to happen from now on in a lot of detail. (Probably because of that.) Right now, I think the only thing that's keeping me going is the posting schedule I set myself. ;-)

Hi there, Daisy! I'm sorry to hear that you've hit a rough patch in your writing, and while your posting schedule may be an incentive to keep going, it probably also adds some pressure.

I wonder if it might help to write the final chapter right now (even if only as a rough draft), so that you have something to work "towards", and you can still experiment with things within the intervening chapters while keeping all the details in the back of your mind rather than try to do drafts/summeries of the chapters you've as yet planned... at least, it tends to work for me to write "towards" a predefined ending (even if I eventually adapt said ending when I'll come up to it).

[DaisyNinjaGirl]

I wonder if it might help to write the final chapter right now (even if only as a rough draft), so that you have something to work "towards", and you can still experiment with things within the intervening chapters while keeping all the details in the back of your mind rather than try to do drafts/summeries of the chapters you've as yet planned... at least, it tends to work for me to write "towards" a predefined ending (even if I eventually adapt said ending when I'll come up to it).

Thank you for the kind thought and advice! It wouldn't work for me, because then I wouldn't have the drive to get to the 'juicy exciting bit' unfortunately. I've tried different methods over the years, and the one I'm most productive with is to give myself lots of pressure to get to the end. (I do know what exactly the last line is going to be - I have it in my head, but I'm worried that if I write it down, I'll lose the urgency to get there.)

[SHBirds]

Thank you for the kind thought and advice! It wouldn't work for me, because then I wouldn't have the drive to get to the 'juicy exciting bit' unfortunately. I've tried different methods over the years, and the one I'm most productive with is to give myself lots of pressure to get to the end. (I do know what exactly the last line is going to be - I have it in my head, but I'm worried that if I write it down, I'll lose the urgency to get there.)

Funny, isn't it, how different approaches work for different people? Keeping my fingers crossed that things will work out quickly in your story and looking forward to reading it once it's finished! (No pressure, mind )

[SHBirds]

... and back on topic:

I never, ever post a work in progress (I once rewrote and expanded a very early story of mine as a work in progress, but that was a different matter) because I do a lot of editing of early chapters during writing the later ones. This is particularly true when I'm writing a mystery; I constantly keep jumping backwards and forwards in my story fixing the plot because the clues and red herrings need to be in just the right place and order; or sometimes the pacing feels all wrong...

Also, my stories tend to get very few comments; and many of them are quite negative and/or aggressive to boot. Posting at ff.net with their anonymous guest comments is not for the faint of heart, lol. I can take it on the chin and laugh at such comments--but only when my story is finished and I am happy with it. I'd find it rather disturbing and, frankly, off-putting to receive so much criticism for a work in progress.

But I do understand that others may find finishing before posting rather solitary and frustrating, and that they like to publish just as soon as a chapter is written and edited to get some feedback. Also, AO3 may be a friendlier place to start with... I'd say, do whatever works best for you!

[DaisyNinjaGirl]

I'll admit that I do avoid Fanfiction.net, because it feels like the audience are meaner...

At least with AO3, you can turn comments off if you need to.

[DaisyNinjaGirl]

Also, my stories tend to get very few comments; and many of them are quite negative and/or aggressive to boot. Posting at ff.net with their anonymous guest comments is not for the faint of heart, lol. I can take it on the chin and laugh at such comments--but only when my story is finished and I am happy with it. I'd find it rather disturbing and, frankly, off-putting to receive so much criticism for a work in progress.

Your stories are so original and well written!

[Philipaholt]

... and back on topic:

I never, ever post a work in progress (I once rewrote and expanded a very early story of mine as a work in progress, but that was a different matter) because I do a lot of editing of early chapters during writing the later ones. This is particularly true when I'm writing a mystery; I constantly keep jumping backwards and forwards in my story fixing the plot because the clues and red herrings need to be in just the right place and order; or sometimes the pacing feels all wrong...

Also, my stories tend to get very few comments; and many of them are quite negative and/or aggressive to boot. Posting at ff.net with their anonymous guest comments is not for the faint of heart, lol. I can take it on the chin and laugh at such comments--but only when my story is finished and I am happy with it. I'd find it rather disturbing and, frankly, off-putting to receive so much criticism for a work in progress.

But I do understand that others may find finishing before posting rather solitary and frustrating, and that they like to publish just as soon as a chapter is written and edited to get some feedback. Also, AO3 may be a friendlier place to start with... I'd say, do whatever works best for you!

I truly love your stories. I'm glad you've got a stronger constitution to "take it on the chin" as it were. But ff.net is most definitely not for the faint of heart. I'm not sure why that is. And so many people have so many thoughts about How Things Should Be. Hold on to what you want to write. It's always lovely.

[Caesia390]

I definitely post as I go, and I think the main reason is that.... well, I know I'm pretty casual about it. As I said in another thread, this is a casual hobby for me. If I waited to really revise and polish my fiction before posting it then I would wait.... basically forever. I know it's not going to get a whole lot better than whatever I manage to publish, because I know myself and I know I'm just not going to put that much time into it. I have this one long, finished fic for another fandom from way back in the day, and I always thought it'd be nice some day to go back and work it all over into a completely revised draft. Fix some of the pacing issues. And is that ever going to happen? No. Never. It never will.

I do go back and tweak earlier chapters after they've been posted, but it's really just changing a word here or a word there - the most I've ever done is shuffle a couple of sentences around. So later readers do get a more polished version, but it's nothing significantly different. Just fixing typos and adjusting some wording for a better flow.

I think another reason for me is that having an unfinished story hanging out there is a stronger motivation for me to complete it. If it were just sitting on my hard-drive and no one knew about it but me then I would probably just lose interest. I do have some ideas and sketched out notes for future stories - but I don't even want to get started on those until I finish the ones I'm working on.

And of course ongoing feedback is hugely motivating, although I try not to depend on it, because my writing tends to be fairly niche to begin with. It can be a lonely road (cue miniature violin).

Having said all that, I do adore and appreciate all the exquisitely written, rich, well-paced, well-planned, well-plotted stories in this fandom!

[SHBirds]

Awww... thank you both, Daisy and Philippa. Coming from two such accomplished writers, this really means a lot!