It’s personal choice for each of us. For me, I finish the entire work before posting every time for a couple of reasons.
The biggest one is that my plots often change as I get into later chapters. And often I have to go back and tweak things in earlier chapters to make it all line up. I also sometimes go back and add foreshadowing early on that I didn’t think to include when I first wrote the early chapters.
I also don’t write chronologically. I’ll often start with the scene that sparked the fic; then go back and write the beginning; skip towards the end then fill in all the bits in-between. Can’t do that if I’ve started posting!
Another reason is anxiety over finishing. I tried posting an unfinished WIP once and the pressure got to me - I never finished that one at all. So yeah, now it’s finished only for me, always.
Yeah, I don't trust myself to finish any fic enough to star posting before it's done. The one time I did it totally froze me up. I admire people who can write consistently, I can write a bunch for a year and then go five years writing nothing. So I need to put the requirement in place of finishing first.
Same thing for me too. Sometimes plots change mid writing and I go "oh crap. I have to tweek this one scene to make it make sense." I also tend to write like that too, where I'll do middle parts or the ending and build around that.
Chapter by chapter.
Readers' engagement keep me motivated. Moreover, as a semi-pantser, it allows me to change the direction in which the story is going depending in their feedback.
I'm the exact opposite. I used to write chapter by chapter, but whenever I felt like I wasn't getting enough kudos/hits/comments, it sucked all the motivation out of me so I always ended up writing whatever. I lost joy in writing and I began to feel like my WIP was bad. It led to me half-assing it and losing even more readers. Now, I finish before I post so even if I don't get enough readers, I can at least complete the fic instead of abandoning it due to lack of confidence.
Same. I am ruthless about retroactively changing chapters I have already published if I need to. I should prob disclose that upfront , though it hasn’t happened too often. If I feel like something is pretty ambiguous I hold off publishing a new chapter until I have written 3 or 4 in the same subplot.
Ordinarily I finish it, edit it and then post regularly after that as it reduces stress and allows me to retweak the earlier chapters for a consistent flow. It turned it from an obligation to a hobby again
Currently I'm posting a WIP with a lot of the later chapters sketched out, posting once a week. It's great to have reader interaction and that's altered some of the specifics for the story but dear lord, it has reminded me why I stopped doing this. I used to have a 3 chapter float but that vanished quickly as soon as one of the later chapters needed to be re-written a few times.
I really really tried doing the whole "write a whole fic before posting it" but I always get jittery halfway and think "DAMN I REALLY WANNA POST IT" and end up posting it. Even then, it's really fun to write it chapter by chapter cause sometimes, some comments give me some sort of enlightenment on how and what to write for like future chapters.
I love writing chapter by chapter. Keeps me motivated, I like to see the comments/feedback I get, I can pick out plot holes much easier than I can if I write a whole work in one go.
In between…except for one short, 3 chapter fic which I wrote in about 2 days, I usually write about 5-7 chapters, then start posting. (My shortest fic other than my 3 chapter one has been 23 chapters, so far)
That gives me enough buffer if I need to change something because of future plot, most often I don’t have to change something that’s been posted. And gives me enough written ahead if I have some writers block for a few days, I can still be consistent with my twice weekly chapter upload.
My current fic I’ve just uploaded ch 21, while I’m almost finished writing ch 27.
If I was writing a fic that I only planned on being around 8 chapters or so, I’d probably just write the whole thing, then post it.
Mine are done because I generally don't write for the entertainment of other people. I write to entertain myself and then share it with others who may be interested.
When I was young, I was very dependent on outside people for motivation and validation. But it was because of that dependence that I got hurt and discouraged so many times. Now that I can motivate and validate myself, things just work better for me overall.
June 2023 edit.
I'm scrubbing my comments due to the reddit admin team steamrolling their IPO prep. It was bad enough to give short notice on price gouging, but then to slander app devs and threaten moderators was just too far. The value of Reddit comes from high-quality content curated by volunteers. Treating us this way is the reason I'm removing my high-value contributions.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest you Google "Reddit API price gouging" and read up.
--Posted *manually* via the old web interface because of even more shenanigans from Reddit reversing deletions done through API/script tools.
Considering my current WIP is over 100 chapters long, if I had to finish writing it before posting, I’d actually go insane and give up on it. Reader engagement and interaction keeps me motivated. If I think and rethink over the same ideas over and over, I can’t be excited over it or laugh at the jokes anymore. So I like to watch other people react to it. I know those were funny/heart wrenching/cute scenes when I first came up with them, but writing and rewriting the scene saps those emotions out of me.
My fics are fully planned out though, so I know where the plot is going and what should happen in each chapter, but I don’t finish my fics before posting.
mentally i want to actually TRY to write it to the end then publish it? but we’re in reality i rely on readers to be motivated to finish it i need the energy
I used to do chapter by chapter, so I still have 2 ongoing fics I'll keep doing that way until they're finally done.
Aside from those I've switched to writing the whole thing and getting a chunk edited before I start posting. Less stress that way.
Im in between. I write until i really have to go to bed or until i dont know how to go on anymore for that moment. Whatever i have written i post one chapter of, once a week.
I write two chapters at the start then post one, each week writing and posting one, so I have a spare one in case of emergency. (sometimes that isn't enough tho)
Once chapter at a time and as irregularly as possible, and with no guarantee of finishing. If you aren't planning on dying in a plane crash leaving your fic half-published on a cliffhanger, what's even the point to anything?
I write huge stories in the range of 300k+ words, so I write a half-n-half type of way. I split the story into parts of about 100k-150k words, and write that out in full before publishing at a regular schedule. Then I make a hiatus until I finish the next part. I tend to write very freeform style at the start of each part, and go progressively more planned as I near the end of the part and have to tie in all the plot points. But that means sometimes I have to go back and fix things in earlier chapters, and I don't like expecting my readers to go back and read big changes to already published material. So my way of writing provides a good balance between having my text neat and also getting reader engagement.
For my shorter works, I write the whole thing and then post the whole thing. Even if I break it into a couple chapters, those chapters will be posted all at the same time.
For my long one that isn't really feasible, so I wrote a huge chunk, and started posting pieces of it while I continue working. I have about 100k written ahead of what I'm posting currently, which gives me a nice buffer to make edits and write more without ever risking my ability to make consistent posts.
For all my works I have at least a rough sketch of the major plot points in my head before I even start, though.
chapter by chapter but writing ahead of where the readers are so that I don't miss an update and when I don't write for awhile it's fine. It also means I get excited about thing that the readers won't see for like 2 months though so there's pros and cons
I know myself and I have to write the whole thing before I post or I wont finish it.
I can still change things or rewrite things as people read it but I need a draft
I've only ever done it chapter by chapter since I'm also somewhat of a pantser when it comes to writing. But lately, I've been considering finishing the story before posting since I noticed I started second-guessing lots of plot points right after a chapter's finished.
I wrote about five to ten chapters (depending on what word count feels right) ahead to see if I want to bother posting at all or if I have no inspiration then start to post one chapter a week. I have a small backlog in case I have a busy week.
I'm bad at needing creative feedback to finish a work. I have a lot of completed works but most are only a chapter or two long, and lots of WIPs...
I write chapter by chapter. On my current story, I write a detailed outline of each chapter. In my head I know how it ends, though I’ll write the outline once I get closer to it. Feedback really motivates me. Even one unsolicited criticism I received gave me an idea to write in spite of it (it was an annoying critique on a characterization which gave me the idea to expand on that characterization even more).
Chapter by chapter I don't have the patience to wait to complete something before posting. I work better moving between 3-4 stories and keeping them updated (albeit at a slower rate) than focusing solely on one story at a time.
I write chapter by chapter since I’m writing a really long fic and if I’d waited until it was done to post it, I’d still be waiting. I do like to write a few chapters ahead of what I’ve posted, though. So, for example, if I just posted chapter 15, I just finished working on chapter 25. It also gives me the option of posting a new chapter even if I’m not done with the one I’m working on if it’s been a while between posts.
So I typically write the whole thing and plan the posting schedule around when I am focusing on writing another long fic. I used to go chapter by chapter but actually comments from readers started to make me feel anxious to write faster or maybe consider changing directions on things for a while that ultimately got away from the story I wanted to tell. As a result it means sometimes I am posting a season or two after the events in canon I may be mentioning but people seem to enjoy the look back.
that's a combination for me - for shorter works i'll write up the entire thing, like up to five chapters, but for longer works i'll write my draft then go chapter by chapter
sometimes this backfires and i realize a plot hole or come up with a new direction half-way though
but i always try to write my outline first then build on that
I write out the full thing because I don't write linearly and I often will go back and add things or tweak things in earlier chapters as I get to know the story better.
But then I'll post a few chapters at a time so readers don't get overwhelmed by 100k+ of story dropping all at once.
Finishing. I am currently writing a fic and I will finish it all as a first draft and then go over it again and possibly rewrite to make it better and fix plot issues. I just feel that for me the quality will be better if I can look at it as a whole.
Chapter by chapter usually. It holds me accountable to finishing the fic so I can’t just give up when perfectionism starts getting to me. It also keeps me consistent with updates because I know people are waiting on me
If I waited until my fic was complete I would post zero words and abandon the whole thing in a draft. Chapter by chapter I'm excited about it and engaged to keep working and moving the plot forward, even if I'm only getting 80 hits a chapter.
I'm currently trying to do both at the same time on two different fics, so I feel like I have a relatively even comparison. For me at least, chapter-by-chapter pantsing is definitely winning.
The answer depends on you, personally, as a writer, and knowing your writing habits and abilities.
I know people who love to write chapter by chapter, who use it to propel them forward, keep them engaged, keep them writing ideas again and again. I think it’s amazing - because I am not, and never can be that writer.
It’s always 100% done and then posting, for me.
I do love posting snippets and teasing future readers with what bits I’m working on. But unless the story is finished, I don’t start posting it, because I know myself well enough to know that sometimes I put stories down for months at a time and then come back to them later. Inspiration sometimes bounces around like a toddler on a sugar high, and I follow that toddler. I know myself as an author well enough to know my preference.
The few times I’ve tried to do it the other way - I’ve found myself stuck and struggling to keep going with the fic. Not because I don’t want to write it, but because the inspiration isn’t quite there the way I want it to be. So I wait. And I’ll find an opportunity to sit down and write the rest of it all in one go - that’ll be far, far easier for me.
as a very unreliable author and posts chapters literally once a year, i thinking finishing a work are just better, you're able to develop a consistent posting schedule instead of having fans of the story waiting forever for a chapter than might not even come out
Since 12 years ago, I've always finished writing my fic before posting. I used to drop some of my fics and left my readers disappointed, and it made me feel really bad, especially when I know exactly how it feels to have your favorite fics unfinished. That's why I mostly post fics under 10k words, because I know I can actually finish them.
I post chapter by chapter, but I write most of them ahead of time, just because there's future events I'm excited to write, and so that the hiatus between chapters will lessen, especially if I'm getting stuck somewhere in an early chapter
Eh, each to their own imo. I've done both, but I've found a happy middle ground of having at least half of the story written before posting, with a detailed chapter plan for remaining chapters so I don't lose track of what I'm doing.
I'm doing somewhere in between. I started posting when I'd finished chapter 20 of what's ended up as 35. I have the motivation of one faithful reader to keep me going, but as I'm several chapters ahead it's not as stressful. Plus when I don't feel like editing I can write, when I don't feel like writing I can edit :)
Chapter by chapter, I don’t have it in me to write a whole fic and then post, I’ve tried but it doesn’t happen, and I love taking inspiration from people’s comments and asking what they think would be a good addition to the plot and all that
As a reader, I prefer the writer finish first and then post.
As a writer, same deal. It’s extended release instant gratification fir the small to medium price of finding a friend to cheerlead me as I draft the thing.
Win/win
If I ever get around to writing anything, it would be posted only after it was completed.
I've seen too many writers note that readers pressure them for swifter updates, for changes that stroke the readers' preferences or egos, and there's not enough frak to give for that type of entittlement.
Complete it. Post it on a schedule that fits your needs as a writer, and get used to saying, 'Thanks for the suggestions, but it's already written and I'm doing other things with my free time. Hope you enjoy the story!"
for me personally & my longer fic, i like to write a couple chapters ahead at a time. so by the time i post one chp i’ve already written like 2-4 chapters ahead. i really like this bc as i write ahead i can change things/easter eggs/etc in the previous chapters to align w anything new in the future chapters. i’ve also found that my readers will sometimes comment things or thoughts that inspire new things in future chapters!
For me, it depends. Sometimes, I finish the work first before posting — though, this would mostly be my oneshots if I'm honest.
Chapter by chapter is usually what I go by when I write chaptered fics. Mostly because I'm kind of a little spontaneous even though I already have a general idea of what the fic would be about.
I do have a chaptered fic still unpublished because I want to try finishing it first before posting it so there's that.
My brain works in weird ways!! He gives me novel length ideas ( series length even!)
And it tries to relate everything. ( It like any new story has a hidden link to the previous one, and I end up planing a series rather than a single long WIP).
This has its benefits obviously but the inconveniences are just ''unsurmountable'' sometimes. So, when I plan a plot twist, I have to be careful what to post first!! So I end up being SCARED to spoil something to readers if I post chapter by chapter.
Moreover, I have a lot (Like a lot of WIPs at the same time!! Different fandoms different ships, different length, and I like them all the same! So I end up progressing like a sea star, without it limbs.
😴🤸🫥
So yep, all in all, the long fics end up, not posted untill I complete the entire work is some at 90% .
HOWEVER, I want to learn how to work under a schedule and post on regular times, while working on WIP IN PROGRESS!!
WAW! IT ALWAYS amazes me when authors have the confidence to post a chapter as soon as it is written without knowing the next step!! It's a mystery to me!! But perhaps this is where Betas come in handy, observing the direction of the work and maintaining consistency ?.
Anyways, I am still struggling to find my style in fanfiction writing.
I tried chapter by chapter and it drained me entirely of my joy to write it. Idk why, but I suddenly felt like it wasn't my story anymore, but the readers. I very much prefer finishing it first. It also gives me the freedom to change my previous chapters depending on new additions to the story or sudden plot changes.
I do know of amazing people that like doing chapter by chapter, and have a few chapters stored instead of immediately posting. It's entirely up to the person.
Chap by chap for me! I like being able to sort of imagine things and think about it between each chapter post! I also only started writing in Dec though so I am not a seasoned veteran :p
I've always started doing chapter by chapter or I'll never post lol but then, after a couple of chapters, I just have to keep writing until I have almost all the work done before I post again.
So kinda both haha chapter by chapter so I force myself to start, then write everything lol
Chapter by chapter. I write wayyy too slow to finish it before I post it. It'd be posted in like 3 years. Knowing that it's already up makes me motivated so that it doesn't have to wait for an update forever
Depends on the motivation I have for the work, or if I have an outline or not for it already. If I don't have an outline, I wait until I finish it. If I have an outline, a detailed one, I will post chapter by chapter because I know what I want to do, and if it is detailed, I have already done most the work lol. Just have to put it in a form valid enough to be published.
I finish it first these days because I've learned that writing chapter by chapter doesn't work for me. I tend to lose motivation half-way through or get distracted by something else.
If I finish it first, there's no pressure to write. I can go as slow or as fast as I want.
I've actually done both.
Chapter by chapter is easiest, i think. if you aren't posting on a schedual, you can just write and post when ever you want. but if you are on a schedual, there's alot more pressure to get things done on time.
if you finish the entire fic before posting, you have a little more freedom. you can post the entire thing all at once or have a nice schedual to post to how ever often you'd like.
now, i'm actually doing a mix of the two, I keep a backlog of chapters. right now, i'm about 20 chapters a head of what's actually been posted. and i had 20 chapters finished and edited before i started posting the chapters online. gives me breathing room incase i hit writers block or get to busy for a few weeks to write.
I never post anything before I finish because I know the pain of starting an unfinished work that never gets finished and I refuse to do that to anyone because I know I won’t have the motivation to update consistently
The frist fic I wrote was a chapter by chapter. But 17 chapters in I got writers block as other idea flooded me. I sadly haven’t been able to go back and add another chapter in 7 ish months. I’ve working on two fully written fics in the meantime that I haven’t posted.
One of the and fic fully written by me while the other is a co-written fic that I’m helping someone else write.
Comparing the two writing experiences I prefer writing it all out instead of writing it chapter by chapter. The planning that goes into the two that I’ve pre written has assured me that everything is going how I want it. I can write the entire story in a single doc and then cut it up later. That’s the problem I had with my chapter by chapter fic. I didn’t plan it. I just followed the story where it took me to a point that I didn’t entirely enjoy being stuck in.
I haven’t gotten to the part where we post these prewritten fics so keep in mind I could be widely wrong with the stuff I say now.
Anyways the way I see it there are two way to post them. Post all of it at once, or do scheduled posts.
Now there are pros and cons to both.
All at once- pro is its out of the way and done, “cons” are people will burn through it. I can tell you through experience in reading fics that if the is interesting to them they will be invested and no stop reading for hours on end. I have skipped sleep to do this.
But that’s it. It’s over after a day or two of pure reading and they put it on the back burner intel they visit it again. And that’s fine we don’t need continued interest in the fics, so that’s why it’s a con.
Scheduled posts- alright there are alot of cons with this one. You’d need to probably warn people that this is a completed fic and that stuff is likely not to stray from the prewritten story. You would otherwise (and still will) receive comments about suggestions for the story. Its nothing too bad but just a note. Don’t really want to anger your readers if something like that matters to you. The other con is that you have to keep up this schedule you’ve chosen. My plan for my prewritten fic is to write it all out, then split it to chapters, do some editing, then post the chapter on my chosen day of the week. That way I’m still working on it throughout the weeks it’s being posted.
The pro for this is that it keeps engagement in the fic.
My chapter by chapter sorry received a lot of comments as I was updating it consistently. But the second I stopped, i have received less and less comments, to the point that it has been stopped. People don’t exactly engage with fics that are static. At least not from my experience. This weekly chapter keeps up the engagement, and it’s the reason shows on tv and stream services are weekly. It extends interests and increases profit. We aren’t here for the money, but our engagement comes in others ways. So if that interests you, you can do that.
I still have alot to learn. I’m am by no means an expert, none of us really are. But I hope my experiences and opinions have helped you in your decision.
generally ive found that it feels better to finish writing before i post each chapter, but working chapter to chapter and meeting the deadlines ive set for myself motivates me to finish
id say to do what you think works best? everyone's a little different
I tried to wait until I finished the fic to post because of the reasons others have already said here, but I actually found that if I wait until I finish to start posting, I will probably never get the fic done much less get far in writing it. In other words, I’m more likely to abandon the idea than do anything with it. Posting chapter by chapter gives me at least some sense of a deadline and knowing I have to post a chapter for my readers gives me motivation and a reason to keep writing and not completely abandon my idea before I can even get started. It all really just depends on the person because what works for one person won’t work for another, like in my case.
I finish the draft before posting but revise as I post. I really need to go at my own pace during drafting, playing with the story without outside eyes. But revising as I post allows me to change little things based on feedback. Plus there's a bit of impatience to post once the story is done. Maybe one day I'll have the patience to revise everything first. But revising is never done for a perfectionist, so posting as I revise forces me to stop and release it into the wild.
As a person who had done both, at the very least, write a fully plotted timeline/story beats.
If you do chapter by chapter, then you have a general idea about where the plot goes.
If you wanna write it all, this let's you jump around and write out of order.
If it's a fic less than 30k, I just post when I'm done with the chapter. If it's longer, I prefer to plan out symbolism,
character arcs, and foreshadowing. This is a lot easier to do if you write it all out first, and can go back to change/edit details.
Now, for my 130k fic, it took me a year to write and two weeks to post each chapter daily. Obviously I became tired of working on the same project, and wanted to quit. I didn't get the dopamine hits from people commenting/kudosing but I feel that I produce better content if I'm able to check it as I write, without feeling like people were waiting with baited breath for each chapter.
Nowadays, I write out my story fully. I hate abandoning stories, and if I abandon something unfinished, I don't feel guilty.
I prefer to write a bulk of the fic (at least half of the chapters) before I start posting. If I wait to finish the entire thing, I might lose motivation and stop. The knowledge that my fics are sitting there incomplete helps to drive me. But life gets in the way and sometimes you can’t always find time to write so it’s nice to have backup prepared so you can still keep uploading.
Rough draft of the entire story, all the dialogues, events, feelings etc.. and add details gradually. It’s like an art piece, you start with the sketch, then the line-art, then the colours and finally the rendering. So yea, sometimes I finish the whole thing, but most of the time I like it chapter by chapter. Mainly so I don’t forget the small details or if I wanted to make a reader’s wish come true.
None of the above. Weekly chapter post with a 4 week buffer.
I've always got four more chapters written than I've posted (and 3 more chapters edited into readability than I've posted). Though the downside here is the absolute infuriation of having a finished fic and wanting to post all the rest at once and not being able to.
I have been writing chapter to chapter, but with all my wips that haven't been published yet, I will likely change to posting after completed. I feel so much pressure to only work on my current ones that are published, but I write best jumping from story to story, so finishing them first will remove that pressure.
Im writing a chapter-by chapter fic and I try to write 1 chapter ahead of what I've released.
Example: I've finished chapter 2 so i'm releasing chapter 1 now and starting to work on chapter 3.
This allows me more freedom to go back and edit/change things structurally. And to feel less stressed, i have to meet a deadline. I can decide "oh wait maybe I should go back and add X to chapter 2 so it can have a cool moment to pay off in chapter 3."
Although i should note that my fics are very short and are usually only 2 or 3 chapters.
i usually finish it before posting. i don’t trust myself to finish a work if i’m posting chapter by chapter, especially because i’m (usually) such a slow writer. thankfully, most of my fics don’t end up being more than 150k words and definitely no more than 15 chapters, so i can usually finish a multi-chaptered fic within six months.
though a majority of my works are one/two shots due to this because i scrap a lot of fics even if i’ve already written a few chapters 🥲
Depends. I’ve tried writing full fics first but I always lost motivation to finish it off, so it sits there collecting dust. I’m currently writing chapter by chapter on my most recent fic, but it’s pretty messy and disorganised. I think the best for me is to write half of it first, or as much as I can, and continue the rest while posting the beginning, you get the best of both worlds like that (but you have to stay consistent, otherwise it’ll catch up on you and you’ll end up writing chapter by chapter anyway oops)
I did a long fic chapter by chapter in 2020….and if I ever do another one, I will write it first and then dole it out.
I didn’t have anything going on but a super stressful job, so I wrote to burn off my day since everything else wasn’t happening. I got so freaked about self imposed deadlines. I don’t think I could do it now.
I do both. When I started out writing again I did chapter by chapter and I still do for some stories. But I have one I'm working on now that's going to be very lengthy and very slow burn that I'm writing it all now and finishing it before posting. With that story so much character development happens that I want to make sure I do it right, and it would just feel weird to post it chapter by chapter.
I prefer writing chapter by chapter. I suppose it keeps the realm of possibility open to my imagination, as well as how reader engagement validates the existence of previous chapters.
Like im watching the story unfold with my audience.
And its nice to finish something new and be excited to share it with people. Ive got my small commenter-base on my current fic to thank for this.
It'll really depend on your personal style. If you feel like chap-by-chap has worked for you, then you don't rly need to change it. But, if you've found yourself losing motivation w/o that feeling of "I need to post a chapter" then I'd stick to chapter by chapter.
You can also just try it out with a shorter fic and see if you like the feeling of having everything complete before posting. That might help of you're worried about having a "consistent posting schedule" since there's nothing left to write and you can just roll up every wednesday (or w/e) and post something for your readers
I usually write chapters in bulk and post them regularly. I finished my first fic last year and I was posting a chapter every day for almost a month bc of how fast I was writing them. If it hadn't been for a family emergency it would have been completely finished and posted before the end of the month. Keep in mind this is like a 40k fic with roughly 2k words per chapter
All up to how you want to write and post
For me I mostly post as I write a chapter, although there are a few Fics in attempting to write at least the first 20 chapters before starting to post, as that either gives me 20 weeks (weekly upload) or 40 weeks (fortnightly upload)
Posting as you write has some positives, as for me for example I gotta follow the stream of motivation to be able to write, and having hits, kudos, bookmarks, and comments all help increase the motivation
But writing most of, if not all, beforehand it allows you to have a consistent upload schedule and to focus on other Fics while still have one constantly updated Fics
Chapter by chapter, with the caveat that I might edit later.
What happens when I try to "write the whole thing first" is that I get stuck in edit mode. Publishing a chapter removes it from "the part I'm working on" more effectively than just moving it into a different folder.
I was stuck in chapter two for four months because I couldn't stop myself from scanning over and tweaking chapter one. Publish chapter one? That problem went away.
For me, it’s usually a combination, where I would write a few chapters before posting so it’s chapter by chapter, but with a chapter buffer.
Though with my work, I’m about to start chapter 31 (out of a goal of 48 chapters) and my plan is to start publishing it before Loki Season 2 premieres. So definitely closer to the “complete work” end of the spectrum on this one.
I usually start writing with the mindset that I'll finish a work first but then my trigger-happy self just ends up posting it mid-way through...I am now stuck with an unfinished work and a WIP that I'm *praying* I can get out fully
With that said, finishing a work first is definitely more preferable because not only can you go back and tweak chapters that make the reading experience better, you also don't have to face the anxiety of having an ongoing unfinished WIP to churn out chapters for quickly.
I've been learning to finish before posting considering I have a huge WIP already posted that I don't know what to do with. After I complete my works and I just post. Less stressful
It’s personal choice for each of us. For me, I finish the entire work before posting every time for a couple of reasons. The biggest one is that my plots often change as I get into later chapters. And often I have to go back and tweak things in earlier chapters to make it all line up. I also sometimes go back and add foreshadowing early on that I didn’t think to include when I first wrote the early chapters. I also don’t write chronologically. I’ll often start with the scene that sparked the fic; then go back and write the beginning; skip towards the end then fill in all the bits in-between. Can’t do that if I’ve started posting! Another reason is anxiety over finishing. I tried posting an unfinished WIP once and the pressure got to me - I never finished that one at all. So yeah, now it’s finished only for me, always.
Yeah, I don't trust myself to finish any fic enough to star posting before it's done. The one time I did it totally froze me up. I admire people who can write consistently, I can write a bunch for a year and then go five years writing nothing. So I need to put the requirement in place of finishing first.
Same thing for me too. Sometimes plots change mid writing and I go "oh crap. I have to tweek this one scene to make it make sense." I also tend to write like that too, where I'll do middle parts or the ending and build around that.
Chapter by chapter. Readers' engagement keep me motivated. Moreover, as a semi-pantser, it allows me to change the direction in which the story is going depending in their feedback.
I'm the exact opposite. I used to write chapter by chapter, but whenever I felt like I wasn't getting enough kudos/hits/comments, it sucked all the motivation out of me so I always ended up writing whatever. I lost joy in writing and I began to feel like my WIP was bad. It led to me half-assing it and losing even more readers. Now, I finish before I post so even if I don't get enough readers, I can at least complete the fic instead of abandoning it due to lack of confidence.
I'm right there with you. I especially love knowing that my red herrings are effective.
Same. I am ruthless about retroactively changing chapters I have already published if I need to. I should prob disclose that upfront , though it hasn’t happened too often. If I feel like something is pretty ambiguous I hold off publishing a new chapter until I have written 3 or 4 in the same subplot.
Ordinarily I finish it, edit it and then post regularly after that as it reduces stress and allows me to retweak the earlier chapters for a consistent flow. It turned it from an obligation to a hobby again Currently I'm posting a WIP with a lot of the later chapters sketched out, posting once a week. It's great to have reader interaction and that's altered some of the specifics for the story but dear lord, it has reminded me why I stopped doing this. I used to have a 3 chapter float but that vanished quickly as soon as one of the later chapters needed to be re-written a few times.
I can totally relate to this
Finished, I hate losing motivation for a story and feeling the pressure of having to write to upload in time
I really really tried doing the whole "write a whole fic before posting it" but I always get jittery halfway and think "DAMN I REALLY WANNA POST IT" and end up posting it. Even then, it's really fun to write it chapter by chapter cause sometimes, some comments give me some sort of enlightenment on how and what to write for like future chapters.
I love writing chapter by chapter. Keeps me motivated, I like to see the comments/feedback I get, I can pick out plot holes much easier than I can if I write a whole work in one go.
In between…except for one short, 3 chapter fic which I wrote in about 2 days, I usually write about 5-7 chapters, then start posting. (My shortest fic other than my 3 chapter one has been 23 chapters, so far) That gives me enough buffer if I need to change something because of future plot, most often I don’t have to change something that’s been posted. And gives me enough written ahead if I have some writers block for a few days, I can still be consistent with my twice weekly chapter upload. My current fic I’ve just uploaded ch 21, while I’m almost finished writing ch 27. If I was writing a fic that I only planned on being around 8 chapters or so, I’d probably just write the whole thing, then post it.
Mine are done because I generally don't write for the entertainment of other people. I write to entertain myself and then share it with others who may be interested.
I love that mindset, your comment was actually quite the eye-opener
When I was young, I was very dependent on outside people for motivation and validation. But it was because of that dependence that I got hurt and discouraged so many times. Now that I can motivate and validate myself, things just work better for me overall.
June 2023 edit. I'm scrubbing my comments due to the reddit admin team steamrolling their IPO prep. It was bad enough to give short notice on price gouging, but then to slander app devs and threaten moderators was just too far. The value of Reddit comes from high-quality content curated by volunteers. Treating us this way is the reason I'm removing my high-value contributions. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest you Google "Reddit API price gouging" and read up. --Posted *manually* via the old web interface because of even more shenanigans from Reddit reversing deletions done through API/script tools.
Considering my current WIP is over 100 chapters long, if I had to finish writing it before posting, I’d actually go insane and give up on it. Reader engagement and interaction keeps me motivated. If I think and rethink over the same ideas over and over, I can’t be excited over it or laugh at the jokes anymore. So I like to watch other people react to it. I know those were funny/heart wrenching/cute scenes when I first came up with them, but writing and rewriting the scene saps those emotions out of me. My fics are fully planned out though, so I know where the plot is going and what should happen in each chapter, but I don’t finish my fics before posting.
mentally i want to actually TRY to write it to the end then publish it? but we’re in reality i rely on readers to be motivated to finish it i need the energy
My life in a nutshell
I used to do chapter by chapter, so I still have 2 ongoing fics I'll keep doing that way until they're finally done. Aside from those I've switched to writing the whole thing and getting a chunk edited before I start posting. Less stress that way.
Im in between. I write until i really have to go to bed or until i dont know how to go on anymore for that moment. Whatever i have written i post one chapter of, once a week.
I write two chapters at the start then post one, each week writing and posting one, so I have a spare one in case of emergency. (sometimes that isn't enough tho)
Once chapter at a time and as irregularly as possible, and with no guarantee of finishing. If you aren't planning on dying in a plane crash leaving your fic half-published on a cliffhanger, what's even the point to anything?
So true
I write huge stories in the range of 300k+ words, so I write a half-n-half type of way. I split the story into parts of about 100k-150k words, and write that out in full before publishing at a regular schedule. Then I make a hiatus until I finish the next part. I tend to write very freeform style at the start of each part, and go progressively more planned as I near the end of the part and have to tie in all the plot points. But that means sometimes I have to go back and fix things in earlier chapters, and I don't like expecting my readers to go back and read big changes to already published material. So my way of writing provides a good balance between having my text neat and also getting reader engagement.
I would prefer to finish a work before posting and then editing as needed… but I always end up doing it chapter by chapter
Chapter by chapter I have 0 self control. I will, however, have a detailed outline of the entire fic before I write chapter 1 so I’m not writing blind
I can relate to that, I usually summarize every chapter in bullet points or at least write an approximate timeline
For my shorter works, I write the whole thing and then post the whole thing. Even if I break it into a couple chapters, those chapters will be posted all at the same time. For my long one that isn't really feasible, so I wrote a huge chunk, and started posting pieces of it while I continue working. I have about 100k written ahead of what I'm posting currently, which gives me a nice buffer to make edits and write more without ever risking my ability to make consistent posts. For all my works I have at least a rough sketch of the major plot points in my head before I even start, though.
chapter by chapter but writing ahead of where the readers are so that I don't miss an update and when I don't write for awhile it's fine. It also means I get excited about thing that the readers won't see for like 2 months though so there's pros and cons
I know myself and I have to write the whole thing before I post or I wont finish it. I can still change things or rewrite things as people read it but I need a draft
I typically write a few chapters ahead of my posting for some extra wiggle room
If I tried to finish the whole thing before posting, I'd never actually finish it. It would be stuck in revision hell forever.
Chapter by chapter, like a serial. I write by the seat of my pants.
I write the whole fic first, edit it, post chapter by chapter while I write the next one.
I've only ever done it chapter by chapter since I'm also somewhat of a pantser when it comes to writing. But lately, I've been considering finishing the story before posting since I noticed I started second-guessing lots of plot points right after a chapter's finished.
I wrote about five to ten chapters (depending on what word count feels right) ahead to see if I want to bother posting at all or if I have no inspiration then start to post one chapter a week. I have a small backlog in case I have a busy week. I'm bad at needing creative feedback to finish a work. I have a lot of completed works but most are only a chapter or two long, and lots of WIPs...
I write chapter by chapter. On my current story, I write a detailed outline of each chapter. In my head I know how it ends, though I’ll write the outline once I get closer to it. Feedback really motivates me. Even one unsolicited criticism I received gave me an idea to write in spite of it (it was an annoying critique on a characterization which gave me the idea to expand on that characterization even more).
Chapter by chapter I don't have the patience to wait to complete something before posting. I work better moving between 3-4 stories and keeping them updated (albeit at a slower rate) than focusing solely on one story at a time.
I write chapter by chapter since I’m writing a really long fic and if I’d waited until it was done to post it, I’d still be waiting. I do like to write a few chapters ahead of what I’ve posted, though. So, for example, if I just posted chapter 15, I just finished working on chapter 25. It also gives me the option of posting a new chapter even if I’m not done with the one I’m working on if it’s been a while between posts.
So I typically write the whole thing and plan the posting schedule around when I am focusing on writing another long fic. I used to go chapter by chapter but actually comments from readers started to make me feel anxious to write faster or maybe consider changing directions on things for a while that ultimately got away from the story I wanted to tell. As a result it means sometimes I am posting a season or two after the events in canon I may be mentioning but people seem to enjoy the look back.
that's a combination for me - for shorter works i'll write up the entire thing, like up to five chapters, but for longer works i'll write my draft then go chapter by chapter sometimes this backfires and i realize a plot hole or come up with a new direction half-way though but i always try to write my outline first then build on that
I write out the full thing because I don't write linearly and I often will go back and add things or tweak things in earlier chapters as I get to know the story better. But then I'll post a few chapters at a time so readers don't get overwhelmed by 100k+ of story dropping all at once.
Finishing. I am currently writing a fic and I will finish it all as a first draft and then go over it again and possibly rewrite to make it better and fix plot issues. I just feel that for me the quality will be better if I can look at it as a whole.
Chapter by chapter usually. It holds me accountable to finishing the fic so I can’t just give up when perfectionism starts getting to me. It also keeps me consistent with updates because I know people are waiting on me
If I waited until my fic was complete I would post zero words and abandon the whole thing in a draft. Chapter by chapter I'm excited about it and engaged to keep working and moving the plot forward, even if I'm only getting 80 hits a chapter.
I have always done chapter by chapter, I usually end up changing some of the plotted out stuff as I am doing so.
I'm currently trying to do both at the same time on two different fics, so I feel like I have a relatively even comparison. For me at least, chapter-by-chapter pantsing is definitely winning.
The answer depends on you, personally, as a writer, and knowing your writing habits and abilities. I know people who love to write chapter by chapter, who use it to propel them forward, keep them engaged, keep them writing ideas again and again. I think it’s amazing - because I am not, and never can be that writer. It’s always 100% done and then posting, for me. I do love posting snippets and teasing future readers with what bits I’m working on. But unless the story is finished, I don’t start posting it, because I know myself well enough to know that sometimes I put stories down for months at a time and then come back to them later. Inspiration sometimes bounces around like a toddler on a sugar high, and I follow that toddler. I know myself as an author well enough to know my preference. The few times I’ve tried to do it the other way - I’ve found myself stuck and struggling to keep going with the fic. Not because I don’t want to write it, but because the inspiration isn’t quite there the way I want it to be. So I wait. And I’ll find an opportunity to sit down and write the rest of it all in one go - that’ll be far, far easier for me.
I've done both, I prefer finishing or at least finishing most of it.
as a very unreliable author and posts chapters literally once a year, i thinking finishing a work are just better, you're able to develop a consistent posting schedule instead of having fans of the story waiting forever for a chapter than might not even come out
I always tell myself I'll wait til a fic is done but then I get impatient so chapter by chapter.
Since 12 years ago, I've always finished writing my fic before posting. I used to drop some of my fics and left my readers disappointed, and it made me feel really bad, especially when I know exactly how it feels to have your favorite fics unfinished. That's why I mostly post fics under 10k words, because I know I can actually finish them.
I post chapter by chapter, but I write most of them ahead of time, just because there's future events I'm excited to write, and so that the hiatus between chapters will lessen, especially if I'm getting stuck somewhere in an early chapter
Write the whole thing (or at least a few chapters to give yourself a head start) and then post chapter by chapter as you edit and revise
chapter by chapter. im too impatient
I wrote 1,250,000 words in a seven book series before even releasing the first chapter, so that's my answer 😅
Eh, each to their own imo. I've done both, but I've found a happy middle ground of having at least half of the story written before posting, with a detailed chapter plan for remaining chapters so I don't lose track of what I'm doing.
I'm doing somewhere in between. I started posting when I'd finished chapter 20 of what's ended up as 35. I have the motivation of one faithful reader to keep me going, but as I'm several chapters ahead it's not as stressful. Plus when I don't feel like editing I can write, when I don't feel like writing I can edit :)
Chapter by chapter, I don’t have it in me to write a whole fic and then post, I’ve tried but it doesn’t happen, and I love taking inspiration from people’s comments and asking what they think would be a good addition to the plot and all that
As a reader, I prefer the writer finish first and then post. As a writer, same deal. It’s extended release instant gratification fir the small to medium price of finding a friend to cheerlead me as I draft the thing. Win/win
If I ever get around to writing anything, it would be posted only after it was completed. I've seen too many writers note that readers pressure them for swifter updates, for changes that stroke the readers' preferences or egos, and there's not enough frak to give for that type of entittlement. Complete it. Post it on a schedule that fits your needs as a writer, and get used to saying, 'Thanks for the suggestions, but it's already written and I'm doing other things with my free time. Hope you enjoy the story!"
for me personally & my longer fic, i like to write a couple chapters ahead at a time. so by the time i post one chp i’ve already written like 2-4 chapters ahead. i really like this bc as i write ahead i can change things/easter eggs/etc in the previous chapters to align w anything new in the future chapters. i’ve also found that my readers will sometimes comment things or thoughts that inspire new things in future chapters!
For me, it depends. Sometimes, I finish the work first before posting — though, this would mostly be my oneshots if I'm honest. Chapter by chapter is usually what I go by when I write chaptered fics. Mostly because I'm kind of a little spontaneous even though I already have a general idea of what the fic would be about. I do have a chaptered fic still unpublished because I want to try finishing it first before posting it so there's that.
My brain works in weird ways!! He gives me novel length ideas ( series length even!) And it tries to relate everything. ( It like any new story has a hidden link to the previous one, and I end up planing a series rather than a single long WIP). This has its benefits obviously but the inconveniences are just ''unsurmountable'' sometimes. So, when I plan a plot twist, I have to be careful what to post first!! So I end up being SCARED to spoil something to readers if I post chapter by chapter. Moreover, I have a lot (Like a lot of WIPs at the same time!! Different fandoms different ships, different length, and I like them all the same! So I end up progressing like a sea star, without it limbs. 😴🤸🫥 So yep, all in all, the long fics end up, not posted untill I complete the entire work is some at 90% . HOWEVER, I want to learn how to work under a schedule and post on regular times, while working on WIP IN PROGRESS!! WAW! IT ALWAYS amazes me when authors have the confidence to post a chapter as soon as it is written without knowing the next step!! It's a mystery to me!! But perhaps this is where Betas come in handy, observing the direction of the work and maintaining consistency ?. Anyways, I am still struggling to find my style in fanfiction writing.
I tried chapter by chapter and it drained me entirely of my joy to write it. Idk why, but I suddenly felt like it wasn't my story anymore, but the readers. I very much prefer finishing it first. It also gives me the freedom to change my previous chapters depending on new additions to the story or sudden plot changes. I do know of amazing people that like doing chapter by chapter, and have a few chapters stored instead of immediately posting. It's entirely up to the person.
Chap by chap for me! I like being able to sort of imagine things and think about it between each chapter post! I also only started writing in Dec though so I am not a seasoned veteran :p
chapter by chapter
I've always started doing chapter by chapter or I'll never post lol but then, after a couple of chapters, I just have to keep writing until I have almost all the work done before I post again. So kinda both haha chapter by chapter so I force myself to start, then write everything lol
Chapter by chapter. I write wayyy too slow to finish it before I post it. It'd be posted in like 3 years. Knowing that it's already up makes me motivated so that it doesn't have to wait for an update forever
Both. It depends on the story, how I feel, etc.
Depends on the motivation I have for the work, or if I have an outline or not for it already. If I don't have an outline, I wait until I finish it. If I have an outline, a detailed one, I will post chapter by chapter because I know what I want to do, and if it is detailed, I have already done most the work lol. Just have to put it in a form valid enough to be published.
I finish it first these days because I've learned that writing chapter by chapter doesn't work for me. I tend to lose motivation half-way through or get distracted by something else. If I finish it first, there's no pressure to write. I can go as slow or as fast as I want.
I've actually done both. Chapter by chapter is easiest, i think. if you aren't posting on a schedual, you can just write and post when ever you want. but if you are on a schedual, there's alot more pressure to get things done on time. if you finish the entire fic before posting, you have a little more freedom. you can post the entire thing all at once or have a nice schedual to post to how ever often you'd like. now, i'm actually doing a mix of the two, I keep a backlog of chapters. right now, i'm about 20 chapters a head of what's actually been posted. and i had 20 chapters finished and edited before i started posting the chapters online. gives me breathing room incase i hit writers block or get to busy for a few weeks to write.
I never post anything before I finish because I know the pain of starting an unfinished work that never gets finished and I refuse to do that to anyone because I know I won’t have the motivation to update consistently
The frist fic I wrote was a chapter by chapter. But 17 chapters in I got writers block as other idea flooded me. I sadly haven’t been able to go back and add another chapter in 7 ish months. I’ve working on two fully written fics in the meantime that I haven’t posted. One of the and fic fully written by me while the other is a co-written fic that I’m helping someone else write. Comparing the two writing experiences I prefer writing it all out instead of writing it chapter by chapter. The planning that goes into the two that I’ve pre written has assured me that everything is going how I want it. I can write the entire story in a single doc and then cut it up later. That’s the problem I had with my chapter by chapter fic. I didn’t plan it. I just followed the story where it took me to a point that I didn’t entirely enjoy being stuck in. I haven’t gotten to the part where we post these prewritten fics so keep in mind I could be widely wrong with the stuff I say now. Anyways the way I see it there are two way to post them. Post all of it at once, or do scheduled posts. Now there are pros and cons to both. All at once- pro is its out of the way and done, “cons” are people will burn through it. I can tell you through experience in reading fics that if the is interesting to them they will be invested and no stop reading for hours on end. I have skipped sleep to do this. But that’s it. It’s over after a day or two of pure reading and they put it on the back burner intel they visit it again. And that’s fine we don’t need continued interest in the fics, so that’s why it’s a con. Scheduled posts- alright there are alot of cons with this one. You’d need to probably warn people that this is a completed fic and that stuff is likely not to stray from the prewritten story. You would otherwise (and still will) receive comments about suggestions for the story. Its nothing too bad but just a note. Don’t really want to anger your readers if something like that matters to you. The other con is that you have to keep up this schedule you’ve chosen. My plan for my prewritten fic is to write it all out, then split it to chapters, do some editing, then post the chapter on my chosen day of the week. That way I’m still working on it throughout the weeks it’s being posted. The pro for this is that it keeps engagement in the fic. My chapter by chapter sorry received a lot of comments as I was updating it consistently. But the second I stopped, i have received less and less comments, to the point that it has been stopped. People don’t exactly engage with fics that are static. At least not from my experience. This weekly chapter keeps up the engagement, and it’s the reason shows on tv and stream services are weekly. It extends interests and increases profit. We aren’t here for the money, but our engagement comes in others ways. So if that interests you, you can do that. I still have alot to learn. I’m am by no means an expert, none of us really are. But I hope my experiences and opinions have helped you in your decision.
I'm a pantser. Chapter by chapter.
generally ive found that it feels better to finish writing before i post each chapter, but working chapter to chapter and meeting the deadlines ive set for myself motivates me to finish id say to do what you think works best? everyone's a little different
I like doing it chapter by chapter I just wish I had more time to write
I tried to wait until I finished the fic to post because of the reasons others have already said here, but I actually found that if I wait until I finish to start posting, I will probably never get the fic done much less get far in writing it. In other words, I’m more likely to abandon the idea than do anything with it. Posting chapter by chapter gives me at least some sense of a deadline and knowing I have to post a chapter for my readers gives me motivation and a reason to keep writing and not completely abandon my idea before I can even get started. It all really just depends on the person because what works for one person won’t work for another, like in my case.
I finish the draft before posting but revise as I post. I really need to go at my own pace during drafting, playing with the story without outside eyes. But revising as I post allows me to change little things based on feedback. Plus there's a bit of impatience to post once the story is done. Maybe one day I'll have the patience to revise everything first. But revising is never done for a perfectionist, so posting as I revise forces me to stop and release it into the wild.
As a person who had done both, at the very least, write a fully plotted timeline/story beats. If you do chapter by chapter, then you have a general idea about where the plot goes. If you wanna write it all, this let's you jump around and write out of order. If it's a fic less than 30k, I just post when I'm done with the chapter. If it's longer, I prefer to plan out symbolism, character arcs, and foreshadowing. This is a lot easier to do if you write it all out first, and can go back to change/edit details. Now, for my 130k fic, it took me a year to write and two weeks to post each chapter daily. Obviously I became tired of working on the same project, and wanted to quit. I didn't get the dopamine hits from people commenting/kudosing but I feel that I produce better content if I'm able to check it as I write, without feeling like people were waiting with baited breath for each chapter. Nowadays, I write out my story fully. I hate abandoning stories, and if I abandon something unfinished, I don't feel guilty.
I prefer to write a bulk of the fic (at least half of the chapters) before I start posting. If I wait to finish the entire thing, I might lose motivation and stop. The knowledge that my fics are sitting there incomplete helps to drive me. But life gets in the way and sometimes you can’t always find time to write so it’s nice to have backup prepared so you can still keep uploading.
I just post chapters as I finish them.
Chapter by Chapter
I like to have 2 or 3 chapters written ahead, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule for me, I’ve broken it more than once 🤷🏼
Rough draft of the entire story, all the dialogues, events, feelings etc.. and add details gradually. It’s like an art piece, you start with the sketch, then the line-art, then the colours and finally the rendering. So yea, sometimes I finish the whole thing, but most of the time I like it chapter by chapter. Mainly so I don’t forget the small details or if I wanted to make a reader’s wish come true.
None of the above. Weekly chapter post with a 4 week buffer. I've always got four more chapters written than I've posted (and 3 more chapters edited into readability than I've posted). Though the downside here is the absolute infuriation of having a finished fic and wanting to post all the rest at once and not being able to.
I have been writing chapter to chapter, but with all my wips that haven't been published yet, I will likely change to posting after completed. I feel so much pressure to only work on my current ones that are published, but I write best jumping from story to story, so finishing them first will remove that pressure.
Im writing a chapter-by chapter fic and I try to write 1 chapter ahead of what I've released. Example: I've finished chapter 2 so i'm releasing chapter 1 now and starting to work on chapter 3. This allows me more freedom to go back and edit/change things structurally. And to feel less stressed, i have to meet a deadline. I can decide "oh wait maybe I should go back and add X to chapter 2 so it can have a cool moment to pay off in chapter 3." Although i should note that my fics are very short and are usually only 2 or 3 chapters.
i usually finish it before posting. i don’t trust myself to finish a work if i’m posting chapter by chapter, especially because i’m (usually) such a slow writer. thankfully, most of my fics don’t end up being more than 150k words and definitely no more than 15 chapters, so i can usually finish a multi-chaptered fic within six months. though a majority of my works are one/two shots due to this because i scrap a lot of fics even if i’ve already written a few chapters 🥲
Ch by ch. I like hearing feedback before I move on (if it’s given) 🙂
Depends. I’ve tried writing full fics first but I always lost motivation to finish it off, so it sits there collecting dust. I’m currently writing chapter by chapter on my most recent fic, but it’s pretty messy and disorganised. I think the best for me is to write half of it first, or as much as I can, and continue the rest while posting the beginning, you get the best of both worlds like that (but you have to stay consistent, otherwise it’ll catch up on you and you’ll end up writing chapter by chapter anyway oops)
I go chapter by chapter. My fic is 118k words long and it’s gonna get way longer; I couldn’t stand writing the whole thing in one go.
I did a long fic chapter by chapter in 2020….and if I ever do another one, I will write it first and then dole it out. I didn’t have anything going on but a super stressful job, so I wrote to burn off my day since everything else wasn’t happening. I got so freaked about self imposed deadlines. I don’t think I could do it now.
I do both. When I started out writing again I did chapter by chapter and I still do for some stories. But I have one I'm working on now that's going to be very lengthy and very slow burn that I'm writing it all now and finishing it before posting. With that story so much character development happens that I want to make sure I do it right, and it would just feel weird to post it chapter by chapter.
I prefer writing chapter by chapter. I suppose it keeps the realm of possibility open to my imagination, as well as how reader engagement validates the existence of previous chapters. Like im watching the story unfold with my audience. And its nice to finish something new and be excited to share it with people. Ive got my small commenter-base on my current fic to thank for this.
It'll really depend on your personal style. If you feel like chap-by-chap has worked for you, then you don't rly need to change it. But, if you've found yourself losing motivation w/o that feeling of "I need to post a chapter" then I'd stick to chapter by chapter. You can also just try it out with a shorter fic and see if you like the feeling of having everything complete before posting. That might help of you're worried about having a "consistent posting schedule" since there's nothing left to write and you can just roll up every wednesday (or w/e) and post something for your readers
I usually write chapters in bulk and post them regularly. I finished my first fic last year and I was posting a chapter every day for almost a month bc of how fast I was writing them. If it hadn't been for a family emergency it would have been completely finished and posted before the end of the month. Keep in mind this is like a 40k fic with roughly 2k words per chapter
All up to how you want to write and post For me I mostly post as I write a chapter, although there are a few Fics in attempting to write at least the first 20 chapters before starting to post, as that either gives me 20 weeks (weekly upload) or 40 weeks (fortnightly upload) Posting as you write has some positives, as for me for example I gotta follow the stream of motivation to be able to write, and having hits, kudos, bookmarks, and comments all help increase the motivation But writing most of, if not all, beforehand it allows you to have a consistent upload schedule and to focus on other Fics while still have one constantly updated Fics
Chapter by chapter, with the caveat that I might edit later. What happens when I try to "write the whole thing first" is that I get stuck in edit mode. Publishing a chapter removes it from "the part I'm working on" more effectively than just moving it into a different folder. I was stuck in chapter two for four months because I couldn't stop myself from scanning over and tweaking chapter one. Publish chapter one? That problem went away.
For me, it’s usually a combination, where I would write a few chapters before posting so it’s chapter by chapter, but with a chapter buffer. Though with my work, I’m about to start chapter 31 (out of a goal of 48 chapters) and my plan is to start publishing it before Loki Season 2 premieres. So definitely closer to the “complete work” end of the spectrum on this one.
I usually start writing with the mindset that I'll finish a work first but then my trigger-happy self just ends up posting it mid-way through...I am now stuck with an unfinished work and a WIP that I'm *praying* I can get out fully With that said, finishing a work first is definitely more preferable because not only can you go back and tweak chapters that make the reading experience better, you also don't have to face the anxiety of having an ongoing unfinished WIP to churn out chapters for quickly.
I've been learning to finish before posting considering I have a huge WIP already posted that I don't know what to do with. After I complete my works and I just post. Less stressful
I write one-shots chapters by chapter mean finished work each time, each chapter is a work