What do You Prefer?

[Polipuff]

Just a quick question:

For chapter fics, do you normally finish the whole thing before posting, or do you post as you finish along?

Thanks.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I generally prefer to post as I go along. I find it helpful to get feedback during the writing process so that I know exactly what I need to work on going forward. Occasionally, I'll write a few chapters before posting one so that, if I get busy, I can still post the next in a reasonable time frame, but yeah. I know a few people who wait until they're finished either because they'd rather fine tune their work before releasing it to the public, or because it gives them a bit more freedom with the fic. Since I write as I go along, I'd find it nearly impossible to go back and dramatically change previous chapters/plot points without confusing readers, but that's not the case with people who wait to post. So there's pros and cons to both methods.

 

[roule]

I like to have one or more chapters done so I can always stay on schedule with my posts.

It works in theory, but in reality it never really works out.

 

[Kutie Pie]

I like to have one or more chapters done so I can always stay on schedule with my posts.

It works in theory, but in reality it never really works out.

^ This, so much, and am also parroting DP.

I keep telling myself "Get X-number of chapters finished before you start posting it online". I then get maybe two or three chapters finished before I get impatient and put it up. Since the updates would've been weekly anyway, that usually gave me time to continue writing and staying one step ahead--it works for maybe two more chapters until life kicks me in the butt and/or motivation just slowly dies. And then it's nothing but lots of guilt for not updating as much as I would like.

I'd like to have a complete story before posting, I just have fic commitment issues |D.

 

[Sike Saner]

I've done both, and having done so I can safely say I vastly prefer holding off until I have a finished story.

TOoS was entirely written before I had internet access at home. Communication was not, and I think part of what made it such an uphill struggle to finish was that hyperawareness that they're watching me; they're waiting on me; I musn't let them down. Knowing that the results aren't going to be seen for a while... I guess it makes it seem less like performing. So I'm less likely to choke. I get to relax, work at my own pace--which tends to be quicker when I don't feel observed. No pressure to meet deadlines. No guilt about keeping people waiting or giving them dead-fic worries.

That said? This isn't a one size fits all solution. Some people perform better under pressure. Some don't perceive any pressure in it to begin with. Some of us need space to be productive; some of us need just the opposite. Some of us need a bit of both. Try whichever way you want. If it sucks, you can always try a different way.

 

[Bay]

I think pretty much all the longer/chaptered stories I've done have been finished before I started posting them. For some of them, they were for writing events where I can't post it until after a certain timeframe. Otherwise, I prefer to finish them first so that I don't have to worry about leaving large update gaps. Those stories aren't too long, though, compared to other chaptered stories. There's only one case where I posted a fic where I'm only like 75 percent done, then I didn't get to finish the last part because I lost steam.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Not that I have much in the way of chapterfics to show for it, but I know that I'm much more comfortable with the idea of finishing before posting, or at the very least having a rock-solid outline or first draft. I want to be sure I know where everything fits into place rather than discover it when I'm already in the thick of things—or worse, realize that I'm not discovering it in a timely manner, and then the story stalls while people are potentially already invested in it. And I'd rather know that I have a beginning and an end ready to go for a regular(ish) update schedule than leave people hanging in general, plotholes or no.

I can definitely understand the benefits of post-as-you-go, though! In particular I like the idea of getting feedback that can fix unforeseen plotholes and the like before they become a much bigger issue down the line. It's just that I personally am far more afraid of losing steam or direction while people are expecting updates than I am afraid of major problems. Not that a ridiculous plot problem couldn't happen, of course, but I feel like I'd prefer just dealing with it when it happens, yanno?

 

[The Teller]

Well, we've all seen how MY chaptered stories go on this site. The most popular ones I've written for this site have all been oneshots, sometimes anthologies, so I don't know if that quite fits your original question, Polipuff. My non-Pokemon-related-chaptered-stories found elsewhere on the internet are/were big hits during their heyday. However, I always had several chapters written and proofread ahead of time, just in case some week came by and I had no inspiration to write that week. So my answer is "stockpile a fair few chapters, like...5-8 of them before thinking about posting the first one. Post the next one at a reasonable time (eg.: the following week, no matter how much you think everyone is dying to know what's about to happen right now). Continue this pattern and keep writing (don't allow yourself to catch up to yourself), AND keep in mind all the constructive criticism you may get along the way and incorporate it whenever you can."

 

[Samayouru]

Woooahhh boy this is an interesting subject for me.

For the longest of time I have always written chapters and posted them up as I've gone along. But after NaNoWriMo this year, I finally realised that doing this has been a horrible mistake. I always used to start out with no plan, just a vague idea that I'd go along with. Nowadays I actually map out everything before even thinking about typing up the first words of a story. Like Sike Saner said, I am absolutely terrified of letting my audience down, and unfortunately this, alongside plotting as I went, has been my downfall with most of my work.

 

[DeliriousAbsol]

I like to have several chapters written in advance before I start posting, since I tend to go back a few chapters and tweak things to make things flow smoothly and avoid plot irregularities. I'm a pantser. I don't pre-plan things to the letter, so going back and fixing bits is pretty crucial to me and if I updated too soon I'd worry things would end up being a real mess. I also like to update twice a week, but sometimes things get delayed if I'm not far enough ahead to be comfortable with that lol.

 

[Crystal]

I planned to post my fic when at least the first 3 chapters are completely done without any need of large changes (excluding small things like grammar corrections or change of sentence structure or small change of description without changing the large scenes), and will then post new chapters along one by one when it is done immediately. That is because the first 3 chapters are the most crucial to my entire story, where they are basically the basement and foundation of everything afterwards. Not that it means it will be info-dumping, it is just that they are the "seeds" that will grow to become a tree afterwards, of course I still needs to water and fertilize it with my writing efforts, but because they are the starting point, hence I need to construct the "seeds" correctly before it will grow to become a beautiful plant afterwards.

Through, I am still not yet up to the first-3 chapter mark... I don't even know when I can have that ready...

 

[ChloboShoka]

I post my chapters as soon as they're finished. I find it more motivating that way and if I post all the chapters at once, I'm not sure if I'm posting them too quick or too slow.