Maximum number of self-created fanworks for an unpopular fandom/ship

[g_uava]

What's the upper limit of fanworks you've created as a self-sustaining fan? That means relying on yourself primarily to sustain your own interest to complete your creative projects since your fandom/ship/favourite is so obscure that feedback and other fanworks to inspire you are hard to come by.

Also, would you have wished to have created more for the same unpopular fandom/ship, even if there remains few others who are just as invested?


The most I've created is around 30,000 words of fics and fewer than 10 non-writing fanworks (icons, gifsets, fanvideos) for a rare pair from an old fandom. It's so rare that there were (and still are) no other English language fanworks for the ship aside from what I've created.

I'm satisfied with what I've created and am glad to move on to another canon that involved tackling a new challenge in my fanworks. But if I were to write for the ship again, I'd more deliberately include a larger variety of fun fanfic tropes in my fics.

Comments

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I started writing fic because there were very few people writing the ship I fell for, even though it was a fairly big fandom (Smallville). I wrote over 70 fics, though I don't know the total word count, but I have written a couple that were 70k so well over 200k total. More people started to pick up on the ship but it was still definitely on the rare side and I definitely appreciated anyone who did. If I hadn't gotten away from fandom and writing for a good chunk of time, I do think I would've just kept writing them, and there are some days I wish I hadn't lost interest but I probably needed the time away (that I thought was permanent back then).

I have some ships in the same fandom that are more rare that I do wish I had written more of. I still have a lot of ideas - it's just the motivation and the willpower that is the issue. :D

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I've heard about Smallville and its fandom but haven't watched the show. Does your ship happen to involve Clark Kent? The only Smallville ships I've heard of are Clark/Lex and Clark/Lois, and I imagine fanworks would be scarce for a ship which doesn't involve the main character.

The total amount of your fics gives me the impression that you've got a good mix of short and longfics :D That seems rare these days to have an author who can put out numerous novel-length works and shorter ones, especially for rare pairs.

'I do think I would've just kept writing them, and there are some days I wish I hadn't lost interest' -- Same with me and my own ships. Finishing one story leads to getting ideas for 1-2 more, and it's bittersweet to think of the potential lost from not having much of an audience to 'outsource' motivation to.

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It actually does, but it is Clark Kent/Oliver Queen. Oliver was a recurring character in the first half of s6, was in one episode in s7 and became a series regular from s8-10. Clark/Lex was of course by far the juggeranut and the preference of most slash shippers in the fandom while the het side of fandom was pretty mixed between the Clark/Lois, Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan (a character created for the show, who was the best friend/reporter character) and there were some Clark Kent/Lana Lang shippers (his main canon love interest for a lot of the show). Actually, Oliver was more popular on the het side, especially with Chloe Sullivan fans. They did end up together and I think part of the reason the writers put them together in the first place was because they knew there was a backing.

Haha you would be right! I do have fics that are less than 500 words, the oneshots that range from 1-10k and the multi chapter ones that are a little longer. I wrote a lot of them between s6 and s7 when I believed we would never see Oliver on the show again and I was just happy filling the gap. It helped that I found a beta who shared the ship and we used to encourage one another.

Oh, I know what that is like! I drifted away from writing and fandom once the show ended, but yes, I feel you on the ideas. And if you don't write them down, sometimes, they're just forgotten and you will never remember what they were.

[g_uava]

Maybe the fics you wrote had a hand in willing Oliver to become a series regular in the later seasons 😆 I only know of the Green Arrow iteration of the character and it's interesting to imagine him in a ship with Superman!

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LOL It is an unexpected combo! Unlike Clark who was developing his identity, he was already Green Arrow on the show (though his alter ego did get his name in the first few episodes). I think the showrunners wanted Batman, but couldn't get him so they settled for the other billionaire playboy who fights crime! Justin Hartley (actor who played him) was initially cast as Arthur Curry for this Aquaman show by the same showrunners but it wasn't picked up so they brought him in as Oliver. Two of the original cast members (Lex & Lana) left after s7 so they needed to fill a gap and well, it worked out for me. I think Oliver being popular on Smallville was the reason "Arrow" as a show came to be. :D