Do You Show your Stuff or Not?

[aeriedraconia.livejournal.com]

Do you show anyone your writing while you're working on it or do you wait until you've finished? Do you share immediately upon finishing or do you wait until you've been able to give it a second going over or final polish?

Comments

[jediknightmuse.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think that unless I was writing a story that was short on purpose, I would never have anything to show. I really...have a hard time actually finishing novels/novel attempts. I usually get a new idea, which ends up making me work on that instead of my current WIP, or I just get stuck and give up.

For me, I feel like I have to show people, especially online, my writing in order to get feedback. I don't have any friends in real life that enjoy writing like I do (well, I sort of do...but they're starting college and whatnot this year, so it's a little harder for me to meet up with them or anything, though we're going to try), so having people online read my writing and giving critiques it pretty much the only way I can get readers that are interested in what I write.

I've become a little more cautious when it comes to posting my writing online, but other than that I don't mind posting it, really. There are some message boards and one community on LJ that I made for myself that I post my thoughts and chapters and whatnot in, but other than that I don't post it too many places unless I find a place I'd really like to post it. Fictionpress, for example, is not a place I would post my writing (that I plan on publishing) unless it's a short story that I'm just posting for fun or something. The reviews I've gotten there from people haven't been the greatest and have sometimes been insulting (although they were given when my writing really wasn't that great, and I believe I've improved a hell of a lot more since then). Plus, it can be ridiculously hard to actually get a decent review that isn't "zomg I liked this, keep posting more!!!!!!!" on that site. Same goes with Fanfiction.net (which is far worse for the fandom I write in), but that's a different subject. XD