Writing is hard. Us writers put A LOT of time and effort into our work. Coffee replaces blood in our veins, sleep becomes a distant memory, our eyes are permanently bloodshot from staring at our Words documents for hours on end, and don't even get me started on writer's block! We work hard, and sometimes, with little to no reward. But! For every six hours of missed sleep and every twelve cups of coffee we drink, there is one magical moment when you get a comment, favorite, or if the writing gods permit, a new follower!
A couple months ago, I started a second blog, but this one is for fanfiction (no, I will not explain what that is), and, it's pretty small compared to the other fanfiction blogs I follow. I knew I wouldn't be popular over night, but I was still hoping I would have a few likes and reposts on my writing.
After I posted a few fics, I was beginning to get discouraged with how little attention my blog was getting. I had only about 15 followers, half of them ad blogs, half of my works weren't getting any notes at all, and the other half got six notes or less. I had only ever gotten two requests and one of them was my friend who told me to start my fanfic blog. At this point I had posted a little over fifteen fics; I had spent a really long time on all that writing! And I was barely being rewarded for my diligence and creativity! That was until a few days ago...
I was running out of ideas. I hadn't been getting any requests so I had to come up with the writing prompts myself, but I was rapidly running out of creative juices. I had been able to come up with one more fic, then I would be completely spent. It was about a soldier during WWII talking to his girlfriend right before he leaves for the army. I felt I had done pretty well on it and I thought people would like it, though my doubts told me it would be ignored just like the rest of my writing.
Before posting it, I added an author's note at the beginning of the fic, as I usually do. In this little author's note I half-jokingly said, "help guys, I'm running out of ideas, please send requests,". I knew people would ignore my needy plea, so I didn't check my blog until the next day.
I checked my blog, expecting to see a barren ask box and blank notifications board, but, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had gotten, not one, but TWO requests! I eagerly wrote, edited, and posted the first one, entitled "CUDDLE BUDDY" and in my author's note, I thanked the anonymous requester profusely! But, after such an intense burst of writing energy, I was creatively spent, so I took a break before filling the next request.
The day after that, I started writing out the second request. As soon as I posted it, again, thanking the requester profusely, the fic started getting notes. I was pretty surprised, considering I still have fics, that were posted before Thanksgiving, that have zero notes at all. After checking my blog's activity, I saw that I had gained three new followers! That may not seem like a lot, but to a small blog like mine, that meant the world!
So, as I am writing this, I have 28 followers and "CUDDLE BUDDY" has a whopping 124 notes, including favorites and reposts!!!! And, yesterday, I had gotten a request for a part two to "CUDDLE BUDDY"!!!! Four days ago I barely had 18 followers and an empty inbox. Now, I've gained ten followers in 24 hours when it took me three months to get 18, and I'm getting requests for sequels!
As a writer, it feels so good to finally get recognition for my work! I feel so happy and I've gotten my writing mojo back and then some! So please, take time to let the writer in your life know that their hard labor and creativity is appreciated.
Over and out!
<3 Ary
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