Motivation Advice For Starting Fanfictions Again

[Crazydud619dx 30]

Alright, so i'm looking for advice, and some motivation to start making some stories again.

For starters, I do have a Fanfiction and Fimfiction account, although I barely go on Fanfiction since it has turned into quite a ghost town since the last time I visited the site, which was late last year; and I tend to go on Fimfiction just for reading other peoples' works for now. 

I have not made a story based on MLP, but I did make some stories back in 2010-late 2011, and at the time being I enjoyed making stories & chapters, and still do on occasions (if i'm motivated enough). I have tried to finish a story back in August 2012, but I only managed to finish 2 chapters before I lost motivation, and had no interest in updating it for a while.

 

So, some of you may be wondering why would I would be asking for advice if I have no motivation to story making at the time being. Well, to answer that, I was looking through some of my junk files on my laptop and I found a few of the story chapters i've first made; along a few 'character background' files for a story I decided to start on because I had nothing to do at the time and some of my friends on Skype suggested that I should try to create a story for fun. After reading some of those files, I somewhat missed creating new stories and finishing chapters to a ongoing story. I guess some of my motivation came back, although i'm not entirely sure if I would even be bothered to create another chapter or story or not, even though I would love to have that feeling again.

 

Well, to end this, I would like to know from any story writer or a former story writer, how would you guys go about gaining motivation to finishing up a story? This has been a problem for me ever since I started making my first multi-chapter story, and along with being a Junior in HS, this won't help much. I will appreciate the advice given.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Crazydud619dx

[Zygen 6,066]

I tried to write a fanfic once before, but i only got two chapters down before i realized that i kinda was bleh at it, and that i kinda lost motivation, partly due to not having much response.

 

Seems like fanfics is a crowded section of fan work and hard to get recognized in.

 

Anyways, i understand the issue, i'm terrible at self motivation frankly, and never seem to be able to motivate myself to do something.

 

What i normally do is just do it, maybe throw on some music, and i usually end up enjoying it after i finally get over the starting hump, the biggest jump of the entire process of doing anything really.

 

So i'd do that, put some music on and just write, get an idea and just write, then go back and edit it and write more, write at your own pace or whatever, and have an idea and whatever, but just kinda relax and write i think would be a good idea, you can be more picky editing. 

 

Of course i don't know how qualified i  am giving advice seeing as i'm sucky at writing, but still.

 

I think once you get started you'll enjoy it if you've already started to miss it, might as well try, and atleast see if you enjoy it.

 

Otherwise i really dunno what else to say, sorry that i'm not terribly helpful.

 

I wish you luck!

[Night Shine 767]

Ideas.

 

Ideas are everything (At least, for me ).

 

The reason I write fanfiction is because I have a story idea in my head that I want to translate into writing so others can check it out. However, the passion for an idea fades as time goes on, because initially thinking of the idea is the most exciting part.

 

Anywaiz. I'm not sure how helpful this is, but if you want motivation to continue an older fic, read it again. Try and remember all the ideas you had about it and why you wanted other people to know about them. Thinking of new ideas for the story is excellent, too, if you can do that.

 

Also, I know that probably one of my favorite things about a story I've been working on since last November is one of the characters in it, a villain by the name of Puzzle Master. He's such an awesomely evil jerk that I love writing for his personality and actions. If you can become obsessed (for lack of a better word) with a character(s), that would work too.

 

I think what I'm trying to say is that you need to find a way to engross yourself in the world of your story, any way you can or would like to.

 

I hope that helped 

 

EDIT:

So i'd do that, put some music on and just write, get an idea and just write,

 

Almost forgot to mention the importance of music. If you can find a song you can listen to on repeat (wait, maybe that's just something I do) that has a really good tone to match your story's, that is incredibly helpful. Since I write a lot of dark stories--well, deep, not necessarily dark--I like to listen to songs like Daylight's End or weird ambient music. While writing fight scenes I listen to video game boss battle songs.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Night Shine

[Batbrony 16,055]

As a writer myself, here's a couple tips that I've found helpful to keep motivation coming for writing a story:

 

(1) Collaborate regularly with a close friend who might also function as an editor/reviewer for chapters prior to release, exchanging/sharing ideas you have for a chapter and asking for advice.  This I've found helps keep ideas fresh in your head and, by extension, helps one remain excited and motivated to get to a point in your writing where some of your juiciest ideas finally get put to paper.

 

(2) Read some high-quality, long-term, extensive fanfics.  It may sound like a distraction more than anything else, but seriously, reading other people's work, especially great projects that took a long time to complete, reminds me that yes, it is possible to get an ambitious project done, and if I do it well enough, my story too might just be well received and viewed by as many bronies as possible, and ultimately, that's my biggest hope: to share the story I have to tell to as many bronies as possible and ensure it's the best story it can be.

[Crazydud619dx 30]

 

 

I tried to write a fanfic once before, but i only got two chapters down before i realized that i kinda was bleh at it, and that i kinda lost motivation, partly due to not having much response.  

 

Seems like fanfics is a crowded section of fan work and hard to get recognized in.

 Yeah, I know how that feels. Not getting any feedback on something you created can get quite irritating at times so you can know how to improve. And I do agree with you about being recognized; then again, this community is quite large, so more stuff seems to be overlooked and doesn't normally earn some amount of recognition (constructive criticism comes to mind).

 

 

 

 

The reason I write fanfiction is because I have a story idea in my head that I want to translate into writing so others can check it out. However, the passion for an idea fades as time goes on, because initially thinking of the idea is the most exciting part.

That's how I feel when I write up a fanfiction, or some type of story in general. The only issue is, sometimes, it gets difficult to expand on the idea and go more in depth with it; and even when you go along with a story, you end up thinking of new ideas for it.

 

 

 

If you can find a song you can listen to on repeat (wait, maybe that's just something I do) that has a really good tone to match your story's, that is incredibly helpful.

Nope. You are not the only one who listens to songs on repeat, because I tend to do that pretty much every day xD

 

 

 

And @@Batbrony, That is a good suggestion, although I barely have any friends that proofreads stories often, mainly because they aren't the best person for asking for advice on grammar, spelling mistakes, etc.

As for reading high-quality stories, I tend to read those quite often. There's a well made fanfiction that I sometimes read just for enjoyment, and the first time I read it was back in 2008, I think. 

 

And thanks everyone who gave out advice, i'll try to think of something for my stories soon Also, if for some reason any one of you seem interested in what story I lost motivation of, just shoot me a PM. I won't mind.