It does. I always like to do a last check before posting, because that's when I find the typos I missed every other time I read through, and all the bits that don't quite make sense or are badly phrased. When the fics have been left alone for a while, mistakes become easier to spot.
I don't usually use a beta unless the challenge requires one. I'm working on so many things all the time, battling challenge deadlines, nothing would ever get posted if I tried to get things betaed, and I'm always changing things anyway, lol! Most of my fics are short one-shots though.
One of my friends looks things over for me sometimes, so not quite a beta more of a typo, repetetion, spellings and I'm dyslexic so I don't always spot the mistakes as easily. Most of mine are drabbles to around 2000 words depending on what challenge it's for or if it's just something that I have to write to get it out of my head.
It can do but I've got a few strategies for managing it especially on the frustrating days.
I think my longest fic is just shy of 20k and that was years ago in a fandom of one, longest meta is close to 25k but unfinished because I ran out of steam with it and that particular fandom too.
That's good, having strategies that work for you and help you keep doing something you enjoy.
I've written a few fics over 10k but under 20k, and one over 80k that took me over a year to write and post - not going to try anything that ambitious again, but I was proud of the fic. Still am, I never dreamed I could write something that long, still surprises me that I did it. I do have a few longer unfinished fics, but I'm trying to get one finished at a time. I'm really, deeply invested in the one I'm working on, and determined to finish, even though I'm traumatising two of my favourite characters. I'll make it up to them at some point.
Much of my time was spent re-reading what I'd written in the hopes that I might avoid contradicting myself. I kept forgetting what I'd already written.
As long as it worked! With my long one, I had no idea what would happen, just that the main character needed to have adventures before an eventual reunion with his lover, so I used fan_flashworks prompts to inspire each chapter. Not all the prompts were suitable though, so sometimes I had to skip a few waiting for one that worked. It was a fun way to write a story.
I imagine it would be. I shuffle scenes around even when I'm writing something short, and I get in a tangle more often than not. With a longer fic, that would be a more complex jigsaw puzzle,
I think doing a multi-chapter from a bingo card would be harder, because you have to use the prompts you've got, you can't pick and choose. I did do a series using a few prompts on a bingo card once, but I think I only used 5 or 6. I wrote other things for the rest of the card.
I do that too but I also have handwritten notes that I can't always work out what I wrote, they're great when they're readable though.
It was hard and I approached as one chapter = one month starting with a canon divergence then going full post canon au with it but running out of steam with it and moving away from the fandom meant abandoning it.
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Date: 2026-04-03 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2026-04-03 06:18 pm (UTC)Yes, that's about my usual too, although I have a WiP in progress that's over 18k and nowhere near done.
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Date: 2026-04-03 06:55 pm (UTC)I think my longest fic is just shy of 20k and that was years ago in a fandom of one, longest meta is close to 25k but unfinished because I ran out of steam with it and that particular fandom too.
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Date: 2026-04-03 07:07 pm (UTC)I've written a few fics over 10k but under 20k, and one over 80k that took me over a year to write and post - not going to try anything that ambitious again, but I was proud of the fic. Still am, I never dreamed I could write something that long, still surprises me that I did it. I do have a few longer unfinished fics, but I'm trying to get one finished at a time. I'm really, deeply invested in the one I'm working on, and determined to finish, even though I'm traumatising two of my favourite characters. I'll make it up to them at some point.
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Date: 2026-04-03 07:26 pm (UTC)My 20k fic took me a year because I'm so slow but it also had tons of research and this when it wasn't as easy to find everything online.
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Date: 2026-04-03 07:31 pm (UTC)Much of my time was spent re-reading what I'd written in the hopes that I might avoid contradicting myself. I kept forgetting what I'd already written.
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Date: 2026-04-03 09:54 pm (UTC)I ended up having multiple word documents with various sections and a main one to put the whole thing together.
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Date: 2026-04-03 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-03 10:04 pm (UTC)I once tried doing a multi-chapter using all of the prompts on a bingo card and ended up abandoning it around chapter 11 because I ran out of steam.
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Date: 2026-04-03 10:28 pm (UTC)I think doing a multi-chapter from a bingo card would be harder, because you have to use the prompts you've got, you can't pick and choose. I did do a series using a few prompts on a bingo card once, but I think I only used 5 or 6. I wrote other things for the rest of the card.
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Date: 2026-04-03 10:45 pm (UTC)It was hard and I approached as one chapter = one month starting with a canon divergence then going full post canon au with it but running out of steam with it and moving away from the fandom meant abandoning it.