Reflection and Analysis

Fanfic Requests - We're Not There to Write Your Epic For You (3/7/2022)

I'm open to taking on fanfic requests.

Does that mean I'll take on any request which comes my way?

Hell no.

Yet some individuals think fanfic writers who are open to requests are there to write their great epic for them.

Like, no, we're not.

And thinking that is like total disrespect to those of us who take on requests.

As for the reason for bringing this up--

Someone approached me thinking they could use me to write their "idea" idea for them, but they went about asking me to write a story for them in all the wrong ways. Here are the mistakes they made.

The first problem with their pitch was the unreasonable word count, but effectively they went into making their request completely expecting me to churn out at least 8k for them, yet there was absolutely no indicator of a max word count. And yet, there was nothing to indicate that the story they wanted even warranted 8k or if there was the potential for it to be yet another project which takes up a lot of my time and effort.

Which, the second problem was the fact they expected me to say yes or no based on simply knowing the fandom and main characters. There were absolutely no details regarding the plot, beyond the fact they wanted it to be detailed and such. Yet, I've also had people who wanted me to beta for them which this skimpy of detail and it's like, no. You've got to be able to pitch your idea at the writer/beta and not expect them to just hand you a yes or no answer based on flimsy details.

The third problem was their claim that they had all the details and plot thought out yet couldn't be bothered to tell me anything beyond minimum word count and main characters. There's no getting around the fact I've heard this before, individuals who claim they have things planned out but they don't. There's no telling if there's plot holes, or Mary Sue issues, or pairings I would rather not tackle. I'm expected to say yes or no based on flimsy information, or I have to ask for "more details" before I make the decision without knowing whether I'll get the details I want.

Fourth problem was that when I looked at their account, I discovered they'd been around less than a month, but in less than a month they were already approaching someone with their "idea" and expecting someone else to write it for them without even making an attempt to try and write that 8k themselves and so my response—my initial response was no, that they should actually try writing it themselves first rather than asking me.

Problem five—they're not a writer, so why can't I?

Yeah. That was their response back pretty much. Less than a month isn't enough time to decide ones a writer unless one decides that one isn't because they don't' want to put an effort in, yet they were under the mistaken impression that someone else would be thrilled to put in the time and effort in for them and I was like, no—you've got to respect the writers and understand they're not there to write your epic story for you, and I brought up the above issues regarding why I would not be taking their request on.

Effectively, their pitch was all wrong, but they came into it thinking that all they had to do was ask, given their basic demands and get a yes answer, then they could pitch the idea. Um, no—you've got to pitch the idea from the get go, giving any detail that might turn the writer off, yet the fact someone avoids giving such details sends warning bells that there is something in their pitch another writer (or even Beta) might not be wanting to work with.

Yet—problem number six.

I'd told them no two times already and their response after me pointing out the fact they needed to learn to respect the writers they're was making a request of effectively what that meant in regards to me taking on their request. And I was like, hell—no. You don't keep trying for a yes answer when someone has clearly called you out for being rude in how you've requested something!

Of course, the reason they singled me out is problem seven. I just so happened to update in the fandom they wanted a story in, posting a brand new story, the second in a series, so they thought they'd hit me up without bothering to check out any of my other work to see if we were even remotely a match. I mean, it was within minutes of me posting.

Which, the actual reason for requests is a whole lot more complicated than writing another person's story—it actually stops being that other person's story once you write the idea out. In fact, toss this gracious idea that a request is meant to pitch an actual full story to another writer. And this isn't to say that the writer won't take on longer projects if it perks their interest, but more of longer and/or more complex stories are more likely to remain an unfulfilled request.

Direct request are done because you like the writer's work and want to see something, say a spin-off of something they've already written, or something they've not yet tackled. Indirect requests are challenges that the writer takes up because they like the basic premise you've pitched as will other writers, but the idea for that one is that the writers will be exploring the different takes on what was asked for.

This idea it's to write stories for you, so you can shirk the time and effort of doing it yourself. Like, no. It's not.

And there was no getting around the fact I knew that was this person's goal—to get me to write their grand idea for them rather than them putting the time and effort in.

Sure. I admit that their attempt at their idea might end in failure, but at least they would have tried. But no, they didn't want to put the effort in and expected someone else to. That's not the purpose of fanfic reuqests. Not at all.

Thankfully, those that think this way—that the fanfic request is for someone else to do the grunt work—they're only a small handful in fandom.