5 Reasons Writers Should Always Consistently Create

I got an email notifying me of a private message on my fanfiction.net account. It read as followed:

Hi;

I noticed in your profile, that one of your favorite stories is Hey Arnold. I wrote a few Hey Arnold stories a while back. Have you read any of them? If not, when you have time, maybe you could read a few of my stories. You might like one or two.

Thanks

<Name redacted to protect the not-so-innocent>

I decided to see what Mr. Read-My-Fic’s been up to in the community, and the answer is a big fat ol’ GOOSE EGG.

Aside from occasionally curating newer stories to his favourites list, this user has not updated since 2003.

Now, this actually ticked me off. I have no qualms about a fellow writer asking others to read his work. Where I draw issue is when said writer is asking writers to read his old stories, not because he wants to improve upon them, but because he just wants to see what people think.

And this is not a one-off. I have it on good authority this writer contacts every Hey Arnold! fanfiction writer on the site. So not only is he not contributing new ideas, he is harassing others into providing feedback for works that are over 15 years old!

That would be like if an unsuccessful author, burdened with multiple copies of the same book published in 2003, drove around the country and begged people and bookstores to buy his thriller about the Y2K bug. It’s impractical and, quite frankly, it’s annoying.

We are writers: by definition we should be constantly writing. As such, we should always be looking ahead, toward the next creative idea or writing project. Navel-gazing is a hindrance; it serves no purpose, and actually hinders our progress in becoming the best writers we can be.

I’ve compiled a list of reasons why it’s important for writers to ALWAYS be looking ahead. Read it, apply it, and hopefully you can avoid being guilty of Read-My-Fic Syndrome.

Your Energy is Better Spent on Future Projects

I have three separate accounts on fanfiction.net. Ergo, Mr. Read-My-Fic has contacted me on three separate occasions, which leads me to believe he simply spams any user that writes similar fanfiction.

I know it’s just a simple cut-and-paste job for every user he contacts, but it still must be time-consuming to navigate fanfiction.net’s archaic layout and PM each individual. The time he takes to essentially cold-call the entire Hey Arnold! fan community, he could creating brand new stories that users would be eager to read because — guess what? — they’re shiny and new and sometimes people love to follow a story at the very beginning instead of playing catch-up to already completed works.

Your Old Works Might Be Dated

Referring back to the Y2K thriller analogy; not every story is timeless. Things change, technology is constantly evolving, and sometime a concept that was once fresh and popular (roller-disco, anyone?) may be dated and laughably irrelevant when revisited at a later point.

As I mentioned, Mr. Read-My-Fic’s stories were finished in 2003, a year after the final season of Hey Arnold! hit the airwaves. Know what transpired for the series in the time between 2003 and today? Just a little thing called HEY ARNOLD!: THE JUNGLE MOVIE.

No one is clamouring to read a saccharine love story about two minor characters when the ship to end all ships finally had its moment and the two main characters of the series, Arnold and Helga, were confirmed as a couple. Had Mr. Read-My-Fic taken this into consideration, he could have applied his unique style to this new reality in the fandom; instead, he comes across as stubborn and stuck in the past, refusing to get with the times or even acknowledge the exciting new changes in Hey Arnold! beyond his limited scope.

Your Audience Will Resent You

Quick, how many times have you seen a comment on a viral Youtube video or a video you created which only exists to redirect users to their own (often-unrelated) channel? Did you respond positively to this blatant hijacking, whose sole purpose is to piggyback off your hard work to build up themselves? No! I bet you were plenty miffed at the gesture, and rightly so!

Likewise, no one wants to go to their private inbox on any social platform and see a request from someone to do something without the promise of reciprocation. It leaves a bad taste when an individual solicits a perfect stranger to waste their valuable time on an activity that only benefits the recipient.

You Will Improve as a Writer

“Ever try, ever fail, no matter. Try again, fail again, fail better.” — Samuel Beckett

Your earlier works may not gain a lot of traction, but the more you create, the more opportunities exist to grow and improve. The benefits can’t be obtained, however, if one stays stuck on their past stories. There’s no shame in wanting to receive feedback on older works, but sometimes it’s necessary to make mistakes and to fail in order to evolve.

And who knows? You might create something appreciated so much that…

People May Enjoy Your New Content Enough to Look at Your Old Content

As a veteran of fanfiction.net, I know how tiresome it can be to search for good content. No one’s going to scroll for pages on end when there are perfectly good fanfics on page 1. So why not be on the front page? People are lazy and would much rather read a decent story that’s easily accessible as opposed to something written over a decade ago that’s nestled 432 pages deep.

It’s the same with podcasts; if a person likes what they’re listening to, more often than not they’ll seek out the creator’s back catalog. That potential fan has a better chance of getting invested in a series with 50+ episodes than with a show that only churned out 1 or 2.

As writers, we are not going to evolve in our craft if we fall in love with a handful of stories and then rest on our laurels, refusing to accept criticism or try different ideas.

Even I was guilty of this practice. I had written a short story in high school that won a little award. I thought the piece deserved to be seen and recognized by more people, so I would routinely enter the same short story into contests, only to have it lose time and time again.

Instead of wasting my hard-earned money submitting to these contests, I could have been creating new ideas. It’s been over 15 years since I’ve written that short story; I’ve matured as a writer, and my technique has become more refined and polished compared to how I used to write in high school.

My original short story may have been good, but I realize now that I won’t get any better if I rest all my hope upon its success. I am now crafting a brand new short story, and I’m excited about its potential and how much truer it is to my current writing style.

I believe that a writer is a writer regardless of whether they’re published or unpublished, writing original content or just fanfiction. But if you decide to stop writing altogether and only want to bask in praise over a work from your past, then I’m sorry, but you’re a writer with no clothes. You’re looking behind yourself when you should be looking ahead, towards the future, and to the person you hope to become as you embark on this writing journey.

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Sylvie Soul is a recovering fanfiction writer on the path to writing her first novel. When not deliberating over plot holes and negotiating extra-lean word counts, she hopes to use her years of experience teach other aspiring writers to follow their dreams and pursue their writing journey. Check out Sylvie’s Twitter page or visit her website at sylviesoul.com.