annavere | Reasons to Post Fic

Found a closed Tumblr poll listing Reasons to Post Fic, most of which were not very applicable to me thus far, but a few were accurate.

"Here to make number go up in my blorbo's tag."

So much this. Aside from A Lasting Impression, all of my posted fic feature secondary or minor characters, and I get a charge out of clicking on those character tags and seeing my fic there, doing God's work. Shipping tags are the same way for me. Highly motivating.

"If I put it on Ao3 Maybe I'll Stop Editing it and can Finally Rest"

Tied for first place. Adding to the archive is the gleeful part of the equation. Finally escaping the editing process and being free of the text tormenting me every stray second is the exhausted, bedraggled, "Spike draped over a cross asking to rest" part of the process.

"I thought about blorbo and took 5d8 psychic damage, which is now YOUR problem"

Yep. Pretty much. Sorry about that.

"No one else is writing this trope? THIS TRAVESTY MUST BE RECTIFIED."

Sans the all caps, this is an accidental, but frequent, occurrence. I come up with an idea, think to myself "this is neat, I'm sure it's been done before," and then go looking for the fic I want to read. All too often, I come up empty, and then what choice do I really have?

"This is the best fucking thing I have ever written, you can read it if you want"

This is definitely part of the process, though it tends to manifest very early in writing and dissipates around the 3/4 mark (right when I need the motivation most) and then departs completely when I reach the final edit, leaving only shame and recrimination.

Missing from the list is anything to do with soul-hunger, which is mostly where the writing and posting impulses come from for me. Writing anything takes time, it's difficult and slow and I'm not sure there's a rational clicky-box that sums up why a person would do something like this for fun and relaxation. At least, that is my experience of the task.

Also missing is the spirit of generosity, wherein I sincerely hope that even if my stories are not perfect, they do others some good by existing.