#There have been several times where I’ve felt like continuing Deathly Weapons was just sunk-cost fallacy
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Have you ever abandoned a fanfic? Just curious. I havent started one because i know that i WILL abandon it and feel shitty about it.
Hey nonnie,
Sounds like you’re in a bit of a bind right now 😔
To answer your question: no, there hasn’t been a point where I’ve personally discontinued a posted fic.
I think I might be a little bit like you in that regard. I’ve had quite a few potential story or scene ideas over the years, but either I didn’t feel like those stories headed towards a satisfying end-point or I just didn’t feel like committing to the work of fitting those scenes into something that would be interesting (or even understandable) for another person. When I start a large creative project I like to have an idea of what the end-product will be, or at least some specific creative goals to aim for. I need to feel as though I have a good chance of seeing a project through before I commit.
That being said (if it’s okay) I’d like to talk to the sentiment you expressed: that there’s something you’re not starting because in your mind giving up is inevitable and you’ll feel bad when (not if) that happens.
To me, it kind of sounds like you’re already feeling shitty about it? Like, you haven’t done anything yet but you’re already anticipating the worst possible outcome and emotionally punishing yourself for it.
If that’s the case, then why not just try it anyway? The time will pass regardless. And what’s the worst that could happen? You start writing a story, you post a few chapters, and then maybe you feel like the story isn’t going the way you wanted, or you get frustrated by a creative roadblock, or you find yourself losing interest, or maybe it’s just that other things come up that you’d rather spend your time on… and so your story becomes one of the literally thousands of discontinued fics that exist. Maybe a few invested readers are disappointed for a while, maybe it slips quietly into being forgotten… or maybe the part that you did post inspires someone else, or another fanwriter adopts and continues it, or you yourself find inspiration again and come back to it somewhere down the line.
It's worth pointing out that the vast majority of fanfics are either currently-unfinished works-in-progress or in some state of hiatus/ discontinuation/ being abandoned. Many of the fics that inspired me are either discontinued, have sequels that were discontinued or were written by fan-authors who had previously discontinued other projects. In fact, several of my favourite published original series are in some state of cancellation, indefinite hiatus or have endings/continuations that myself and others prefer to ignore, but that doesn’t make the revisit experience any less enjoyable.
a good plot was one which made good scenes. The ideal mystery was one you would read if the end was missing.
- Raymond Chandler in the introduction to Trouble is My Business, 1950
Still, that doesn’t really change the fact that it can feel really shitty to pull the plug on a creative project. Even if you never showed anyone, it’s okay to feel disappointed or frustrated at yourself for not reaching a personal goal. That’s a perfectly normal reaction, so long as you don’t let it spiral into self-punishment or something self-destructive. It can be easy to fall into a state of analysis paralysis or procrastination, where the fear of “failing” or choosing the “wrong option” means you just don’t start, or you keep stalling because you expect to feel guilty at the end for not finishing sooner (something which I’m definitely prone to doing). There’s also the risk of falling off the other end into sunk-cost fallacy or trying to overcommit your time, leading to things like sleep-procrastination and burnout.
Some of that might come down to broader personal challenges like overcoming perfectionism, depression, self-criticism or negative self-talk, learning how to be more gentle and reasonable about personal goal-setting/ expectation-management, and finding ways to celebrate the progress/ achievements you did make, even if you didn’t achieve everything. If these are things you struggle with, then it might help to talk to someone about it or even seek therapy if you’re able to (I am currently doing both of those things and it genuinely helps).
You might also like to check out my writer self-care and digital self-care tags, where I’ve been squirreling away helpful advice from other users.
In the meantime, here are some practical ideas that might help your story to cross the finish-line:
#1: Keep the scope small
You don’t have to jump into a big multi-chapter ensemble fic as your first project. If you’re worried about sustaining creative energy (or even just having limited time) then maybe single-scene or one/two-shot stories would be a better place to start. Pick a project which you feel confident that you can finish, and which lets you see and enjoy a tangible result quickly. Consider using AO3’s series feature to assemble short stories into a bigger narrative that you can build piece-by-piece. Set your bar low, start small and work your way up as you develop your creative workflow and stamina.
#2: Outlining might help you
I don’t know where you fall on the planner-to-pantser scale of writing styles, but having a roadmap for where and how far the story is going can give you a goal to keep focussed on. I’ve previously written a post series with some tips for outlining stories: [Part One] [Part Two].
#3. Know what you want from your story
I talk about this in Part One of the Outlining Series, but understanding what motivates you to start or keep writing can help you to understand where the creative drive for a project comes from. Maybe you’re writing purely for yourself, maybe it’s to share with a community, maybe it’s in response to another story or maybe it’s because you just want this to be a thing that exists.
For example, my long-fic Deathly Weapons started because I couldn’t find a story like it in the archives, and now I keep writing it because I want to see whether I can pull those things off for an audience who don’t have my behind-the-scenes notes. Meanwhile, there are a lot of other potential ideas that I haven’t written down because those are just for me – I get what I need from them just being in my head and I don’t feel a need to codify a “canon version” or do all the drudge-work of making those ideas accessible for someone else.
#4. Find a cheerleader
Sometimes it’s good to have writing buddies who are also interested in your story and can help to sustain enthusiasm, inspiration and excitement for your project. Whether that’s finding a beta-reader, joining/starting a discord server, reaching out to commenters on early chapters, roping in IRL fandom friends or finding community in other places.
#5. Your first attempt won’t be your best and that’s okay
I do a lot of cooking and a common rule there is “the first pancake always comes out wonky”. You need to get a feel for what you’re working with before things start to flow. Similarly, the first draft almost always feels rough… because it’s purpose is to be a rough draft. Don’t be dispirited if it’s not immediately perfect, or as good as what you pictured in your head. Each time you iterate/edit you have a chance to identify something you’d like to do differently and experiment with moving it closer to the effect you want.
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#6. Set milestones and consider an exit strategy
If you feel like there is a possibility that you might (or might need to) pull the plug on a larger project before the end, then it might ease your mind to have a plan for how and where you would want to draw things to a close.
This is something I have for Deathly Weapons. It’s a very long story that I planned at an age when I had more time and energy to spare, crossing two fandoms (of which one is getting pretty old and the other died of sudden-onset seasonal rot) and something I’ve been aware of for several years now is that one day I might need to call it quits, whether due to lack of time, inspiration-loss or for mental health reasons there have been times where this fic (and especially the attached fandom-rot) has been legitimately not good for my headspace. I’d like to finish DW and I don’t like the idea of leaving either the characters or my readers without closure, but I also recognise that it simply might not be possible. My compromise is that if that day comes I’m going to polish up all my story-notes and make them available so that the full narrative at least exists in some form. In the short term I want to make it to the end of the Mission 2: Flashpoints-Equilibrium set. Once I get there I’ll take stock and see if I feel like the Mission 3: Something Wicked set is still on the cards, and so on and so forth.
#7. Remember that fanfic is a hobby
You can certainly learn valuable things and meet wonderful people through writing, but ultimately this is something you do for fun, because you find it inherently rewarding or compelling. It’s a knitting club. Sure it might feel a little bit worse to close down a project that other people are invested in but, just like with any other hobby, it’s perfectly fine to take a break or move on if it’s not something you enjoy anymore, if it’s effecting you in a way you don’t like, or if you don’t like the particular group of people you’re currently doing it with. It’s your free-time to use, and it’s fine to weigh options and decide that it would be more fulfilling or better for your health to pursue something else.
Above all else, remember that it’s okay to “fail”
I feel like this is something we don’t talk about enough as a collective (and it’s definitely something I wish I had been told more). Sometimes you try things and it doesn’t work out. Sometimes you screw up. Sometimes you give up. That’s alright. It doesn’t change your worth as a person. Put it down to experience: it still teaches you things. And you can always try again.
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Be kind to yourself, okay? 💚
#Anonymous#3WD answers#Writing advice#Creator self-care#Writer self-care#Abandoning fanfics#Advice from a recovering perfectionist#It sounds a bit like you’re already punishing yourself nonnie#I feel like maybe you’re falling into a similar trap to one that gets me: self-selecting out of something that might be good#If you feel like there’s a chance that it won’t work out then it can be tempting to preemptively opt out#because at least then you feel like you had control over the outcome#You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take#(but sometimes it’s tempting to tell yourself that you only missed because you chose not to shoot)#Perfection can be the enemy of progress#I also understand the idea of feeling guilty for the thing you’re making if you leave it unfinished#I have a half-done painting of a bird that’s been on the backburner for a few years now and sometimes I feel bad for the bird#There have been several times where I’ve felt like continuing Deathly Weapons was just sunk-cost fallacy#and that maybe I should abandon it#(especially recently with the burnout + bad canon + current less-fun bridging chapters)#but ultimately this story is something that I want to exist#so I just keep swimming
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