#FicWriterProblems

[athenanfaymont]

🛠️📚 “Where’s the Love?”: The Struggles of Writing Gen Fanfiction

Every time I hit “publish” on a new fic, I brace myself — not for hate, not for mistakes, but for silence. And more often than not, that silence comes when I’ve written something without romance at its core.

Because let’s face it: if your fic doesn’t have shipping, it’s statistically doomed to underperform.

💔 According to AO3 data, more than 85% of bookmarked and hit-count-heavy fics are tagged with romantic or sexual pairings. And when you look at Tumblr reblogs, Twitter/X rec threads, and even fanfic awards? The trend is clear: love stories dominate. And if your fic is about found family, grief, personal growth, moral conflict, or slice-of-life friendship moments... well. Good luck breaking 500 hits.

And that’s not wrong. Romance is powerful. It’s emotional, it’s validating, and it drives plot with satisfying clarity. A well-written ship can change how we read canon — and ourselves.

But still. Sometimes I wish that a fic about a character rebuilding their identity post-trauma got the same attention as one where they kiss someone for the first time. That we could crave inner worlds as much as we crave intimacy.

🔍 Writing gen (general) fiction isn’t just harder to get read. It’s harder to get noticed, categorised, or even respected. You tag it as “gen,” and people assume it’s dry, boring, plot-only, or worse: that you’re playing it safe. That you’re not going deep enough.

But I am going deep. I just want to explore the ache of legacy. Or the cost of violence. Or what it means to be loyal when no one asks you to be. And yes, sometimes those things matter more than “will they or won’t they.”

📉 I've seen incredible character studies sink unnoticed while fluff-fics soar. And again: romance isn’t the problem. The bias is.

We all say we love worldbuilding. Character arcs. Quiet moments. But fandom attention doesn’t always reflect that. And for those of us who write gen, it’s easy to feel invisible.

I'm a romance writer, at least, always with a bit of romance. I shouldn't be complaining… but I am. Or rather, I reflect, I reflect on my own bias, on whether I review Gen fanfics or not, on how I organize my searches, on whether I'm being unfair to myself by not giving my soul different stories to feed on.

🧠✨ If you’re one of the readers who leaves kudos, reblogs, or comments on these kinds of fics — thank you. You’re rare, and you make all the difference.

And if you’re a writer feeling discouraged? I see you. Your work is powerful. Even if it doesn’t trend. Even if it doesn’t get shouted about. Even if it’s read in silence, at 2 a.m., by someone who desperately needed it.

Keep writing. Not everything that matters gets bookmarked.

[Naoko Takeuchi]

[mama-orion]

When that writing 'break' turns into a 'vacation' turns into a 'dry spell' turns into 'maybe I'm going through SAD' turns into 'uh oh I better do something about this' turns into 'an arduous climb back in front of the laptop'...and then the cats start knocking every single effing thing off the shelf because I had the nerve to try and write one hour before kitty dindin.

Self-sabotage at its finest.

[xerceii]

Getting all prepared to write and then realizing I have writers block this week

[lizardbeths]

#ficwriterproblems

I have so many pieces of Ragnarok-related fics on my computer right now. Two that my brain wants to make longer fics. 

Meanwhile Yuletide cries plaintively from the trunk in the corner... 

[jenjo93]

Researching because you can’t come up with an idea for the prompt.

#ficwriterproblems

[slavyash]

my fantasy:ooh, ooh, look! Look, what a cool idea for a new fanfiction! Finish this soon and immediately begin this! me:I'm fucking trying so.

[ohhcaptainn]

I STARTED A RYDAY THING AND NOW I DON'T KNOW HOW TO END IT HALP

[epicfuckinglovestory]

Dear God, why am I watching Emily Lake/ Stand, oh that's right because HG is being a troll right now in chapter 4. Oh the feels.

[mama-orion]

[lizardbeths]

zhusanna replied to your post “#ficwriterproblems”

This may be a ficwriterproblem but it most certainly is not a ficreaderproblem! *happyreaderdance*

ha! It may become a #ficreaderproblem if none of them get finished !

[sleepinnude-blog]

ugh i want to write more blaine/draco but i don't have enough of a developed headcanon for them

:|

[ohhcaptainn]

write a story about snow that isn't snow

i wanna write for this so fucking badly but I HAVE NO MUSE WHY IS THIS WRITER'S BLOCK NOT GONE YET

[epicfuckinglovestory]

Oh, H.G. you just  had to go there didn't you, and I am unable to write at the moment :-/

[mama-orion]

This is just to say... for the wonderful, supportive gaggle of The Man in the Iron Collar readers, I’m still here.

But the last three months... hoo. I haven’t been able to write fiction. Too hectic - parent/teacher life under stay-at-home orders was never dull, never quiet. Too foggy - a thick cloud in my mind for weeks. Grief - a friend gone far, far too soon. Shock and anger with politics. Hard, endless antiracism work. And summer exploding, food to grow, cats to chase.

There has been richness, deep connection with my family, and a helluva lotta self-soothing with Animal Crossing.

But my characters are shouting in my head. They want to move forward. With summer here, I hope writing will happen again. I’m slowly building up my courage.

I hope you are taking good care, and I hope to bring you more story, soon.

@prettyrealisticjohnlockfanart @spenglernot @discordantwords

[mama-orion]

I’m sure as hell not writing a lot of fanfic this week.  But I’m sure as hell reading a lot of fanfic this week.

[mama-orion]

24 hours has passed in the story I’ve been writing for nearly 3 years. my characters must be getting very antsy.