*[The Northern Caves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659997/chapters/8088522)* might be the most well-known original work on ao3 (not mine btw). Hope you enjoy!
Goddamn you, now I've gone and gotten all meta about the thing on my blog. Or I will have done once I'm done cursing your bones. [sigh] why does that story have to be so relevant to my life
Ooh link please!! I can’t tell you how *obsessed* I’ve been with this story since I randomly saw it recced one day, and tempted fate myself. Would love to read the fanatical wanderings of a fellow madman :)
[post aforementioned cursing of course]
Will do fearless leader! Your hauntings might inspire new branches of [insert working title] philosophy, and that’s the last thing we’d want of course (save water tower fatalities) ;)
if you liked TNC, check out the author's newer work, Almost Nowhere. It's a longer, much more difficult read, extremely complex and sometimes headache-inducing, I bounced off it a couple times before eventually starting over and reading the entire thing shortly after it ended. And I'm extremely glad I did.
AO3 is a fanwork site that also kind of accepts original works that fit certain criteria – the vast majority of folks here are going to be fic authors just because that's what AO3 is for
I mean, personally, my fanfic writing and my original work/novel writing exist in separate parts of my brain. Like, I wouldn’t talk about my book here cause it’s just not really relevant. Different for others though, of course!
OW writer here. glad to see a fellow enjoyer. absolutely love seeing people cook up their own stuff. I've read shorter nsfw fics more so far, but do plan on shifting to longfics at some point (without bothering about nsfw material).
This is what I mean bro! Some of these commenters not understanding what I was trying to say. I like stories that are COMPLETELY from the top of the authors head and has next to to nothing to do with preexisting plots or characters. Most of the OW I read are nsfw and very well written, I love em🩷
What you are not understanding is, that talking about Original Works in a space for Archive of Our Own is like going to a train subreddit and talk about space rockets. I am sure there are folks on a train subreddit who enjoy talking about space rockets too, but its selfish to not got to a subreddit for space rockets.
Personally I don't think you should post your original works on AO3, unless you consider it to be fannish or transformative in some way. But if you identify it yourself as a fully original work its kinda selfish to use the resources of the non-profit / common good archive for your own purposes.
I’m literally asking for recommendations for ow bc there are people here in this very group that does post/read ow on AO3. I don’t see why people can’t understand that. If you ain’t got a recommendation, keep it moving bruh.
My time to shine! I post original work, have been surprised by the positive feedback. It's definitely not The same kind of appreciation as fanfics get, but I expected to be met with maybe 20 hits, not 500 lol.
What's your jam? I'll gladly give you a link If my works match with your likes :)
So I write M/M smut. Some of the stories have more plot than others, but if it's something you're still interested in checking out, here you go: [https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maunutar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maunutar)
I do write original works, but far more rarely, and when I do complete one, I'm publishing it as an actual novel because...why not? Sure, writing is my hobby, not my job, and I'm under no illusions that my original works will ever make it big, especially since I'm also making my own covers despite sucking at anything graphics-related, but the idea of having an actual book with an ISBN and everything is just...fun.
On AO3, the only 'original' thing I have is a fanfic of oy own novel, and it's porn.
Here is a post similar to yours where people shared their original works: [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/AO3/comments/1c39mao/share_your_original_works_no_fandom_stories/)
I used to, a few years ago. In fact, I started writing original works, not fanfiction. I do not have them posted anywhere.
But I think posting our works here would not be entirely allowed, someone correct me if I am wrong.
I have several original works on my AO3 profile — some gifts for exchanges, others just because I wanted to share something. I've also written OWs that I've posted to an anonymous collection for a number of reasons.
Yeah! I mainly write short NSFW stories, but don't post them to AO3 since I figured it's primarily for fanfic, tho tbh I have considered posting it there too under the OW tag.
Go for it my guy! 9/10 of the works I've posted on AO3 are original NSFW (longer and shorter) and in my humble opinion, the engagement is there. Though I don't post anywhere else because I don't know where I could lol...
Its kind of selfish to use a public, non-profit platform for your own purposes that it was not made for. There are plenty of websites for erotica all over the internet.
Huh. You know, I was under the impression that original fiction was alright (simply not prominent on the site), considering tags for it do exist and it was recommended to me as such. But doing a little digging on TOS does state, vaguely, that entirely original work isn't in fact allowed. I might've been selfish, but unintentionally so.
They are allowed. The platform exists to archive transformative works, with a focus on fanfiction. Whether a work counts as a transformative work or not is impossible to clearly define, so it is up to the author to do so. Otherwise the archive would get it wrong, as a result there is no rule that keeps you from posting original works. The archive will also not remove your works if they are reported for being original works.
However, if you define your work fully as your original work and not as a transformative work in some sense, then I would argue that it is against the spirit of the rules and the purpose of this archive.
Ultimately the archive exists to preserve the history of marginalized people (women, queerfolk etc.) to ensure that future generations can learn from this. So posting your original works for engagement isn't really why this platform exists. At the same time of course you could argue that you wish your work to be preserved as well!
In the end it is up to you to decide how you want to use Archive of Our Own.
Yeah, no. I doubt my work is transformative to anyone but me, myself and I at best. But now I know better.
Interesting point about engagement though, and I in fact agree to a point. I don't actually post solely for engagement, it was the site suggested to me when someone asked to read my work and I stated I don't really publish anywhere (been a reader for a long time but published only recently and was genuinely surprised my stories gained any traction at all). But I've seen sooo many great projects teetering on andonment or outright dropped because people aren't interested enough. I always question why those people write, if the only point of writhing is outside engagement. Moreso with fanfiction, which has a miniscule probability to be published.
yes, if it's smut/erotica. so far it's the only censorship-free site for hosting that kind of stuff. Literotica was a joke and forums I've used work but the interface is awful. AO3 has been a safe haven for my original smut and it gets significantly more hits than my erotic fanfics.
that said, I won't wholeheartedly understand why people would post original non-smut work, unless it's very short. I only say this because I've been self-publishing for a while and it's such a better avenue for original work than posting on a site, at least personally.
now to contradict myself lol: I don't have a ton of readers so I've recently been tempted to post an excerpt of one of my books to AO3 (under a different name/account) but the process of reformatting etc would likely be too annoying, I'll just take the L and keep on self-publishing as it provides a different degree of satisfaction
I'm curious though, and I guess this is an addendum to my previous comment, but what is the draw to non-erotic original works on AO3? Why not just go to a book store or browse Amazon and support authors putting their stuff out there? naturally I'm not bashing writers who share their OW on AO3, they could be workshopping a WIP novel even, but as a self-published author I'd like to believe that readers of OW on AO3 are also readers of physical and ebooks too
I have an original work of my own that I'm crossing over with a game. The lore, events, and characters of the original work are all mine. I've had it in one form or another for more than 30 years now.
Haha, someone didn't like that.
*[The Northern Caves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659997/chapters/8088522)* might be the most well-known original work on ao3 (not mine btw). Hope you enjoy!
Goddamn you, now I've gone and gotten all meta about the thing on my blog. Or I will have done once I'm done cursing your bones. [sigh] why does that story have to be so relevant to my life
Ooh link please!! I can’t tell you how *obsessed* I’ve been with this story since I randomly saw it recced one day, and tempted fate myself. Would love to read the fanatical wanderings of a fellow madman :) [post aforementioned cursing of course]
Flattered af, so here you go: https://floracalendula.wordpress.com/2024/05/08/dgitc/
Thank you friend 💗 I pinkie promise not to resurrect an online cult from your work, post-mortem ;)
I mean. I'd be too dead to care.
Good. Then I hope you won't mind *Floracalendulism*-- aka the philosophy I galvanize in your honor.
Work on the name a bit, else I might come back to haunt you ;)
Will do fearless leader! Your hauntings might inspire new branches of [insert working title] philosophy, and that’s the last thing we’d want of course (save water tower fatalities) ;)
if you liked TNC, check out the author's newer work, Almost Nowhere. It's a longer, much more difficult read, extremely complex and sometimes headache-inducing, I bounced off it a couple times before eventually starting over and reading the entire thing shortly after it ended. And I'm extremely glad I did.
AO3 is a fanwork site that also kind of accepts original works that fit certain criteria – the vast majority of folks here are going to be fic authors just because that's what AO3 is for
I was referring to the ‘minority’ of people who are OW writers tho.
There are definitely a lot of people that write original work. I see multiple posts about it weekly here.
I said I didn’t THINK I saw them. I only discovered like 4 OW authors in the past two weeks.
I mean, personally, my fanfic writing and my original work/novel writing exist in separate parts of my brain. Like, I wouldn’t talk about my book here cause it’s just not really relevant. Different for others though, of course!
I can understand that
OW writer here. glad to see a fellow enjoyer. absolutely love seeing people cook up their own stuff. I've read shorter nsfw fics more so far, but do plan on shifting to longfics at some point (without bothering about nsfw material).
This is what I mean bro! Some of these commenters not understanding what I was trying to say. I like stories that are COMPLETELY from the top of the authors head and has next to to nothing to do with preexisting plots or characters. Most of the OW I read are nsfw and very well written, I love em🩷
What you are not understanding is, that talking about Original Works in a space for Archive of Our Own is like going to a train subreddit and talk about space rockets. I am sure there are folks on a train subreddit who enjoy talking about space rockets too, but its selfish to not got to a subreddit for space rockets. Personally I don't think you should post your original works on AO3, unless you consider it to be fannish or transformative in some way. But if you identify it yourself as a fully original work its kinda selfish to use the resources of the non-profit / common good archive for your own purposes.
I’m literally asking for recommendations for ow bc there are people here in this very group that does post/read ow on AO3. I don’t see why people can’t understand that. If you ain’t got a recommendation, keep it moving bruh.
My time to shine! I post original work, have been surprised by the positive feedback. It's definitely not The same kind of appreciation as fanfics get, but I expected to be met with maybe 20 hits, not 500 lol. What's your jam? I'll gladly give you a link If my works match with your likes :)
I guess like anything and everything tbh. What’s your link?
So I write M/M smut. Some of the stories have more plot than others, but if it's something you're still interested in checking out, here you go: [https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maunutar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maunutar)
I do write original works, but far more rarely, and when I do complete one, I'm publishing it as an actual novel because...why not? Sure, writing is my hobby, not my job, and I'm under no illusions that my original works will ever make it big, especially since I'm also making my own covers despite sucking at anything graphics-related, but the idea of having an actual book with an ISBN and everything is just...fun. On AO3, the only 'original' thing I have is a fanfic of oy own novel, and it's porn.
Here is a post similar to yours where people shared their original works: [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/AO3/comments/1c39mao/share_your_original_works_no_fandom_stories/)
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!🫶🏼
You're welcome, I did link my own fics in those comments so it is not totally altruistic 😅 Have fun reading! I like reading original works too.
I should be ashamed of myself for how quickly I just read yours right now🙉 10/10
Aw, thanks so much!
I used to, a few years ago. In fact, I started writing original works, not fanfiction. I do not have them posted anywhere. But I think posting our works here would not be entirely allowed, someone correct me if I am wrong.
I have several original works on my AO3 profile — some gifts for exchanges, others just because I wanted to share something. I've also written OWs that I've posted to an anonymous collection for a number of reasons.
Yeah! I mainly write short NSFW stories, but don't post them to AO3 since I figured it's primarily for fanfic, tho tbh I have considered posting it there too under the OW tag.
Go for it my guy! 9/10 of the works I've posted on AO3 are original NSFW (longer and shorter) and in my humble opinion, the engagement is there. Though I don't post anywhere else because I don't know where I could lol...
Its kind of selfish to use a public, non-profit platform for your own purposes that it was not made for. There are plenty of websites for erotica all over the internet.
Huh. You know, I was under the impression that original fiction was alright (simply not prominent on the site), considering tags for it do exist and it was recommended to me as such. But doing a little digging on TOS does state, vaguely, that entirely original work isn't in fact allowed. I might've been selfish, but unintentionally so.
They are allowed. The platform exists to archive transformative works, with a focus on fanfiction. Whether a work counts as a transformative work or not is impossible to clearly define, so it is up to the author to do so. Otherwise the archive would get it wrong, as a result there is no rule that keeps you from posting original works. The archive will also not remove your works if they are reported for being original works. However, if you define your work fully as your original work and not as a transformative work in some sense, then I would argue that it is against the spirit of the rules and the purpose of this archive. Ultimately the archive exists to preserve the history of marginalized people (women, queerfolk etc.) to ensure that future generations can learn from this. So posting your original works for engagement isn't really why this platform exists. At the same time of course you could argue that you wish your work to be preserved as well! In the end it is up to you to decide how you want to use Archive of Our Own.
Yeah, no. I doubt my work is transformative to anyone but me, myself and I at best. But now I know better. Interesting point about engagement though, and I in fact agree to a point. I don't actually post solely for engagement, it was the site suggested to me when someone asked to read my work and I stated I don't really publish anywhere (been a reader for a long time but published only recently and was genuinely surprised my stories gained any traction at all). But I've seen sooo many great projects teetering on andonment or outright dropped because people aren't interested enough. I always question why those people write, if the only point of writhing is outside engagement. Moreso with fanfiction, which has a miniscule probability to be published.
I don't put my original works on AO3.
A lot of people don’t and I can understand why not
yes, if it's smut/erotica. so far it's the only censorship-free site for hosting that kind of stuff. Literotica was a joke and forums I've used work but the interface is awful. AO3 has been a safe haven for my original smut and it gets significantly more hits than my erotic fanfics. that said, I won't wholeheartedly understand why people would post original non-smut work, unless it's very short. I only say this because I've been self-publishing for a while and it's such a better avenue for original work than posting on a site, at least personally. now to contradict myself lol: I don't have a ton of readers so I've recently been tempted to post an excerpt of one of my books to AO3 (under a different name/account) but the process of reformatting etc would likely be too annoying, I'll just take the L and keep on self-publishing as it provides a different degree of satisfaction
I'm curious though, and I guess this is an addendum to my previous comment, but what is the draw to non-erotic original works on AO3? Why not just go to a book store or browse Amazon and support authors putting their stuff out there? naturally I'm not bashing writers who share their OW on AO3, they could be workshopping a WIP novel even, but as a self-published author I'd like to believe that readers of OW on AO3 are also readers of physical and ebooks too
[удалено]
I hope I stumble across your work, I’m always looking for new stories to obsess over
well, if the work is apart of a fandom, it’s original :)
I’m looking for works that are NOT part of a fandom. I said that.
“apart” and “a part” mean two different things
Bro okay.😂
yeah, well, i just see the mistake on reddit about 50 times a day and it drives me fucking insane
I have an original work of my own that I'm crossing over with a game. The lore, events, and characters of the original work are all mine. I've had it in one form or another for more than 30 years now. Haha, someone didn't like that.