Fanfiction Fears

[notebookishtype]

It occurred to me recently that while I have a Tumblr account that I essentially made for my AO3 account I've only really blogged a link to one fic. Yes, the direct links are kind of ugly (a convenient excuse) and I've reblogged posts from AO3 feeds, and I've snuck links into text posts, but I've never really been like "Hey, I wrote this thing, take a look!" It can't be a coincidence that that one fic was a pedestrian pairing.

I made the account for two reasons: to interact with authors that I enjoy and in hopes of finding someone interested in what I'm putting out there. Which, I can't do if I don't actually put it out there.

What the heck am I scared of? Like, I know the purity police are a factor, but that's such a nebulous thing to be afraid of. Do I really care if some person I don't know, and will probably never meet thinks I'm gross and disgusting. That wouldn't be/isn't fun, but in the long run, I KNOW that's not important.

It would suck to have someone take the time to tell me they don't like my writing for whatever reason, but that wouldn't really be the end of the world either. Painful and unpleasant, but it wouldn't kill me.

So what is it? Process please, brain.

Comments

[senmut]

Do you use the share function from AO3's side, or tumblr's link function? (curiosity for my brain)

I like seeing notes from you!

[notebookishtype]

I hadn't tried the AO3 side. I forgot that was there, I may have to try that.

Thanks <3

[caudipteryx]

Or, maybe there are other ways besides Tumblr to find rewarding online social interaction.

Just sayin'. ;-)

[notebookishtype]

Well, this is obviously true, as I didn't post this on Tumblr :P

Even then, I was just trying to shake out what it is I'm hung up on.

[caudipteryx]

Hang ups, anxieties, fears, okay. Let's talk seriously about those (and other things) for a moment. If the #1 problem with Tumblr is that you're *afraid* of negative interaction, perhaps it is worth using it simply to get over those fears and learn to deal with any negativity that arises.

On the other hand, social media like Tumblr are often psychologically draining, not invigorating, and even if you deal with the bad stuff in a healthy way it's still bad stuff that takes away from other things you could be doing. And is that worth it? Only you know the answer to that.

The biggest part to knowing the answer is knowing what you want in the first place. That bit is arguably even harder still. ;-)

[notebookishtype]

Is it weird that I hadn't considered the possibility that it might not be worth it?

You're right of course. It does depend on what I want, and while I am still figuring that out, there are definitely some things that I know I don't want on Tumblr. Things in the draining category.

[caudipteryx]

FWIW, and I think I've mentioned this before, there is consensus emerging in the field of social psych that depth/quality of interaction is better than quantity of interaction. So, face-to-face > video/phone/voice chat > email/texting > browsing social media feeds/liking/reblogging/etc.

In fact, there's good evidence that the more time you spend on particular social media platforms that emphasize both passive consumption and an artificial presentation of self such as Facebook (and probably Tumblr as well, tho I've never seen anything specifically on it), the more unhappy you'll become...and that this is true regardless of your state of mind prior to use.

Anyway, it's sort of like how everybody knows these days that cigarettes are bad for you. That knowledge may or may not stop you from actually lighting up, but it should certainly factor in your decision. :-)