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Hitting POST on ao3 should trigger a bigger dopamine rush than it does for me. This might sound crazy, but honestly, by the time I finish writing a fic, I'm ready for it to be out of my face. Probably not the attitude I should be having about projects I devote my time and energy to, but I'm so fucking itchy to brush it to the side, having looked at it for a concentrated amount of time, that the satisfaction of sharing it should feel more rewarding than it actually is in the moment.
Usually the excitement comes a day or two later, after the finality of posting starts to feel a bit relieving. By this time, I've had a day or two of email digests of kudos notifications, maybe a few comments trickling in, friends messaging me privately about it. Those are the affirmations of satisfaction that make me giddy with delight. That's when the dopamine starts to hit.
But that's so short lived, and then I'm saddling back on the horse to work on the next project to write and finish.
I've experienced these emotions like clockwork, at least 52 times (according to how many projects I currently have posted on my ao3, but the number is much higher): the initial start and planning holds all the thrill and excitement, but inevitably, I will hit a wall, an exhaustion threshold. It's the total (or often prolonged pseudo-)abandonment phase, and I pivot to something else either to procrastinate or start a whole new writing project. Seeking something new instead of sitting with what I have.
Sound familiar?
Ha. Thought so.
There're a lot of us who move like this with our fan fiction (or maybe even some with original fiction!) projects, and over the years I've had to come to terms with what works for me to just get on the damn horse and not give up on so many ideas.
In 2025, I wrote and even posted more words to ao3 than I had since 2020. By the end of 2025, I didn't post as much as I wanted to, but looking at my Ellipsus folders, it's no wonder: I have about 10 works in progress, with about HALF of these about half-written....like, girl. WYD??? Finish that story!!!
I'm stubborn and have a lot of Virgo and Capricorn placements in my chart, so like, some of these WIPs have been ongoing since 2024 (when I really got back to writing with confidence and started picking up the stamina to do so again—thanks, Stray Kids!), and the sunk cost fallacy of FULLY shelving these ideas feels far too painful to let go, damn it!
And a lot of these unfinished stories have something in common: they are story ideas I've mulled over, and over, and over again. A lot. With many people. With flourishing plots that extend even beyond what the heart of the story I want to tell is. I'm ready to host trivia for my own unpublished fan fic. Which is, like. Crazy. It's indulgent, which is what being in a fandom is all about, but like. Overindulgence does not make the best muse to Getting Things Done. Cue: recognizing oversharing has completely fucking killed my vibe.
I don't recall the first time I saw someone on my Twitter TL post a #wipwednesday screenshot, but I do remember it exciting me. Luring me in with a peak into one of my mutual's projects. Later, I saw RT's of these #wipwednesday screenshots for writers I didn't follow, and they made me intrigued enough to anticipate more from them. I was LOOKING. I was paying attention to new writers.
It was fun to read the replies with words of encouragement, or (more often) threats, and leave some of my own. God knows a little hype goes a long way when you need the positive reinforcement, or courage to keep going.
So, naturally, I joined. It was fun. I would get the dopamine hit of a like, a quiet acknowledgement of being seen. I'd also get kind remarks of excitement, or (delightful) threats to my wellbeing (lovingly), and I would briefly let them get to my head. I'd be excited. I'd maybe even rush back to my doc and peck a few more lines out. God, the people are waiting for this!!
There were some weeks I'd post, and I'd get little response. Probably bad timing. Probably when mutuals are working, or sleeping, or whatever. Maybe more people are on their FYP page now, and the algorithms are just changing, and there's no incentivization to having eyes on your estranged exes infidelity fan fic WIP.
Here comes the fallout: the inevitable self-conscious shame of being just ever so slightly vulnerable enough to share your work only to not having eyes pass over them. And then you have to quietly have a talk with yourself about how metrics don't matter, what matters is you put yourself out there, and it's not the full fic anyway, and this nonresponse means you should feel even more motivated to write the rest of it and post it and then they'll see! They'll see. Right?
Whew.
I've been known to host a Space on Twitter, too. And in there, depending on the crowd, there've been a lot of times we've talked about ideas we have come up with and want to write, maybe prompt for a fest, or commission a particular author we think might be the perfect fit for such a story. We can go on, and on, for hours, fleshing out the details of the universe with a fine-toothed comb, and by the end of it....that's usually were it stops.
Most of the ideas I've personally talked about wanting to write in a Space in this capacity are still in my WIPs, or they've been retired to my beloved Dead Baby Storage folder, where all my murdered darlings rest peacefully together.
Lowk, this feeling blows. As someone who prides myself in having good ideas, I've also been overcoming the frustration of just Being an Ideas Guy. Like, being an Ideas Guy is cool, but being a person who Posts Fics on ao3 and contributes to the fan fic wing of a fandom community feels even BETTER, and I just could not get over the amount of people I know who can do that SO effortlessly.
I watch a lot of self-help videos. Like, a LOT. And one of the most interesting things I've discovered is how powerful the mind is in talking you out of accomplishing things. One of the most shocking realizations was finding out talking to people about your goals and projects puts you at risk to derail and demotivate you. See, when you divulge your plans in great detail to someone, and they return with compliments and praise, your brain processes that positively like you've already achieved it. And then you end up...either feeling uninspired returning to the project, or just move onto something new entirely.
Not all hope is lost! Because, like anything, there are caveats here. Studies have also shown that who you talk to about these things also makes a huge difference:
Call me crazy, but it took me chewing on the psychology of yapping about my WIPs to the ether, and also the batshit metrics-induced anxiety of being on social media for me to realize I was nerfing any progress in my own writing goals by doing all of this! So, I've dialed it back. A lot.
I know to some it's "only fan fiction," but writing in any capacity is serious as hell for me. It's a hobby I enjoy, that I take a lot of self enrichment in the process and outcomes of writing, both informally and more structured ways. Evening helping people write provides a lot of insight for my own craft. So, the "it's not that deep" folks are not welcome to this picnic.
I'm saying all of this because this is something I've discovered about my own motivation and methodologies—a lot of it has come from personal growing pains in the Work Force, the company I keep, and my personal philosophies. And ultimately, I've discovered something like #wipwednesday feeds more into the superstition I'll never finish than making me feel connected to a community.
Instead, I gain more HP sharing a screenshot or excerpt privately, with a friend who I know is interested in the project I'm working on. I have a crit writing group, my trusted cohort I turn to when I'm stuck, where I can ask for critical feedback without fear of judgement or anxiety. That cohort is bound by years of growth, vulnerability, and honesty. I'm really lucky and proud to have that kind of stability, to share both fan fic and original fiction, and all of us having such diverse interests has only made our confidence in our writing better.
I've made new companions and friends along the way, too—and those private conversations have sparked some of my best ideas this past year.
One of my favorite self-help channels on YouTube, HealthyGamerGG, has a crap ton of videos on the psychological reasons behind motivation, burnout, sustaining focus and interest, and so much more. One of the best videos I can link in this particular post is his 26 minute breakdown of a Thinker vs. a Do-er. The TLDR of it is:
If you're like me and have found #wipwednesday more draining than uplifting, don't feel bad! And do not give into the FOMO! You're not missing out and are gonna be okay. You're still part of the fandom. Let this be another lesson in figuring out your boundaries.
Perhaps one day I can get to a place where I am sustaining momentum so stable that sharing a #wipwednesday doesn't feel so monumental, but for now, I like keeping most of these things to myself.
Usually the excitement comes a day or two later, after the finality of posting starts to feel a bit relieving. By this time, I've had a day or two of email digests of kudos notifications, maybe a few comments trickling in, friends messaging me privately about it. Those are the affirmations of satisfaction that make me giddy with delight. That's when the dopamine starts to hit.
But that's so short lived, and then I'm saddling back on the horse to work on the next project to write and finish.
I've experienced these emotions like clockwork, at least 52 times (according to how many projects I currently have posted on my ao3, but the number is much higher): the initial start and planning holds all the thrill and excitement, but inevitably, I will hit a wall, an exhaustion threshold. It's the total (or often prolonged pseudo-)abandonment phase, and I pivot to something else either to procrastinate or start a whole new writing project. Seeking something new instead of sitting with what I have.
Sound familiar?
Ha. Thought so.
There're a lot of us who move like this with our fan fiction (or maybe even some with original fiction!) projects, and over the years I've had to come to terms with what works for me to just get on the damn horse and not give up on so many ideas.
In 2025, I wrote and even posted more words to ao3 than I had since 2020. By the end of 2025, I didn't post as much as I wanted to, but looking at my Ellipsus folders, it's no wonder: I have about 10 works in progress, with about HALF of these about half-written....like, girl. WYD??? Finish that story!!!
I'm stubborn and have a lot of Virgo and Capricorn placements in my chart, so like, some of these WIPs have been ongoing since 2024 (when I really got back to writing with confidence and started picking up the stamina to do so again—thanks, Stray Kids!), and the sunk cost fallacy of FULLY shelving these ideas feels far too painful to let go, damn it!
And a lot of these unfinished stories have something in common: they are story ideas I've mulled over, and over, and over again. A lot. With many people. With flourishing plots that extend even beyond what the heart of the story I want to tell is. I'm ready to host trivia for my own unpublished fan fic. Which is, like. Crazy. It's indulgent, which is what being in a fandom is all about, but like. Overindulgence does not make the best muse to Getting Things Done. Cue: recognizing oversharing has completely fucking killed my vibe.
I don't recall the first time I saw someone on my Twitter TL post a #wipwednesday screenshot, but I do remember it exciting me. Luring me in with a peak into one of my mutual's projects. Later, I saw RT's of these #wipwednesday screenshots for writers I didn't follow, and they made me intrigued enough to anticipate more from them. I was LOOKING. I was paying attention to new writers.
It was fun to read the replies with words of encouragement, or (more often) threats, and leave some of my own. God knows a little hype goes a long way when you need the positive reinforcement, or courage to keep going.
So, naturally, I joined. It was fun. I would get the dopamine hit of a like, a quiet acknowledgement of being seen. I'd also get kind remarks of excitement, or (delightful) threats to my wellbeing (lovingly), and I would briefly let them get to my head. I'd be excited. I'd maybe even rush back to my doc and peck a few more lines out. God, the people are waiting for this!!
There were some weeks I'd post, and I'd get little response. Probably bad timing. Probably when mutuals are working, or sleeping, or whatever. Maybe more people are on their FYP page now, and the algorithms are just changing, and there's no incentivization to having eyes on your estranged exes infidelity fan fic WIP.
Here comes the fallout: the inevitable self-conscious shame of being just ever so slightly vulnerable enough to share your work only to not having eyes pass over them. And then you have to quietly have a talk with yourself about how metrics don't matter, what matters is you put yourself out there, and it's not the full fic anyway, and this nonresponse means you should feel even more motivated to write the rest of it and post it and then they'll see! They'll see. Right?
Whew.
I've been known to host a Space on Twitter, too. And in there, depending on the crowd, there've been a lot of times we've talked about ideas we have come up with and want to write, maybe prompt for a fest, or commission a particular author we think might be the perfect fit for such a story. We can go on, and on, for hours, fleshing out the details of the universe with a fine-toothed comb, and by the end of it....that's usually were it stops.
Most of the ideas I've personally talked about wanting to write in a Space in this capacity are still in my WIPs, or they've been retired to my beloved Dead Baby Storage folder, where all my murdered darlings rest peacefully together.
Lowk, this feeling blows. As someone who prides myself in having good ideas, I've also been overcoming the frustration of just Being an Ideas Guy. Like, being an Ideas Guy is cool, but being a person who Posts Fics on ao3 and contributes to the fan fic wing of a fandom community feels even BETTER, and I just could not get over the amount of people I know who can do that SO effortlessly.
I watch a lot of self-help videos. Like, a LOT. And one of the most interesting things I've discovered is how powerful the mind is in talking you out of accomplishing things. One of the most shocking realizations was finding out talking to people about your goals and projects puts you at risk to derail and demotivate you. See, when you divulge your plans in great detail to someone, and they return with compliments and praise, your brain processes that positively like you've already achieved it. And then you end up...either feeling uninspired returning to the project, or just move onto something new entirely.
Not all hope is lost! Because, like anything, there are caveats here. Studies have also shown that who you talk to about these things also makes a huge difference:
“Contrary to what you may have heard, in most cases you get more benefit from sharing your goal than if you don’t – as long as you share it with someone whose opinion you value,”...
...“If you don’t care about the opinion of whom you tell, it doesn’t affect your desire to persist – which is really what goal commitment is all about,”...
...Evaluation apprehension may be one key to why it helps to tell a higher-status person about your goals, Klein said.
...“If you don’t care about the opinion of whom you tell, it doesn’t affect your desire to persist – which is really what goal commitment is all about,”...
...Evaluation apprehension may be one key to why it helps to tell a higher-status person about your goals, Klein said.
But it may be possible to take that too far.
“We didn’t find it in this study, but it is possible that you may create so much anxiety in trying to impress someone that it could interfere with your performance,”...
— The Ohio State University. Share your goals – but be careful whom you tell, September 10, 2019. https://news.osu.edu/share-your-goals--but-be-careful-whom-you-tell/.
Call me crazy, but it took me chewing on the psychology of yapping about my WIPs to the ether, and also the batshit metrics-induced anxiety of being on social media for me to realize I was nerfing any progress in my own writing goals by doing all of this! So, I've dialed it back. A lot.
I know to some it's "only fan fiction," but writing in any capacity is serious as hell for me. It's a hobby I enjoy, that I take a lot of self enrichment in the process and outcomes of writing, both informally and more structured ways. Evening helping people write provides a lot of insight for my own craft. So, the "it's not that deep" folks are not welcome to this picnic.
I'm saying all of this because this is something I've discovered about my own motivation and methodologies—a lot of it has come from personal growing pains in the Work Force, the company I keep, and my personal philosophies. And ultimately, I've discovered something like #wipwednesday feeds more into the superstition I'll never finish than making me feel connected to a community.
Instead, I gain more HP sharing a screenshot or excerpt privately, with a friend who I know is interested in the project I'm working on. I have a crit writing group, my trusted cohort I turn to when I'm stuck, where I can ask for critical feedback without fear of judgement or anxiety. That cohort is bound by years of growth, vulnerability, and honesty. I'm really lucky and proud to have that kind of stability, to share both fan fic and original fiction, and all of us having such diverse interests has only made our confidence in our writing better.
I've made new companions and friends along the way, too—and those private conversations have sparked some of my best ideas this past year.
One of my favorite self-help channels on YouTube, HealthyGamerGG, has a crap ton of videos on the psychological reasons behind motivation, burnout, sustaining focus and interest, and so much more. One of the best videos I can link in this particular post is his 26 minute breakdown of a Thinker vs. a Do-er. The TLDR of it is:
- New interest is sparked by curiosity (this fandom's is neat!)
- External exposure - entertain the curiosity (read fan fic)
- Sustain and indulge curiosity by observing it repeatedly (read more fanfic to the point it makes you want to write your own fan fic, start drafting your own plots, begin outlining, plotting, etc) -- you don't have to progress past this step, this is the sweet spot!
- Reflection and crafting -- begin to engage with curiosity critically (take notes, appreciate the craft of other writers in and out of your fandom, experiment by incorporating findings into own work, etc.)
- Sustain momentum -- keep up a routine, form this skill like a muscle (write drabbles, write drafts, write fics, post WIPS, post completed fics, post blogs, etc.) Note: the larger body of work you develop, the more opportunities you have to observe your advancement/progress in the hobby. Re: The Taste Gap by Ira Glass
- ADVANCED STAGE: seek feedback (use beta readers, ask other writers and readers you respect in your fandom to review your work privately)
If you're like me and have found #wipwednesday more draining than uplifting, don't feel bad! And do not give into the FOMO! You're not missing out and are gonna be okay. You're still part of the fandom. Let this be another lesson in figuring out your boundaries.
Perhaps one day I can get to a place where I am sustaining momentum so stable that sharing a #wipwednesday doesn't feel so monumental, but for now, I like keeping most of these things to myself.
