Self Pep Talk - Tumblr Posts

So.... Just had a bonding moment with a new mutual (I think we're mutuals now) about how awesome crazy antagonists are (like Joker), and I provided a vague example based on a fanfic that I collaborated on ages ago, and they asked what the fic was, and then I had to explain my 120k+ unfinished monstrosity and then I had to wade back into it to find where the juicy POV actually started, and I just...

If you've written fanfic and are now starting OC, it's ok to be terrified that your OC will never be as good as your fanfic. That fanfic was a collaboration, whether you realize it or not. Bare minimum, you were working with the original artist (without them knowing) to create your fanfic. Best case scenario, you colab'd with a whole fandom, soaking in ideas and perspectives and head cannons that molded how you perceived these fictional folks - and if you're super lucky, you got to write that story with a dear friend.

With your OC, it all comes from you - that's why you've got to start sharing it! Find a friend, tell your mutuals, shout to the void. Bc you wrote that way once - so real that these characters that don't even exist felt more vivid and alive to you than some of your favorite memories. You did that, with help, but you were putting the words together, you were at the helm. And they weren't just that alive to you - everyone who followed your journey writing that fanfic, reading it, waiting on pins and needles for the next post? It was real to them, too.

So keep pushing, keep writing, keep sharing. Bc one day your OC will be just as real, just as vivid - it just feels harder bc there's fewer folks helping right now.