You ever hear that old chestnut about how most people neglect the part of the story of Icarus where he also had to avoid flying too low, lest the spray of the sea soak his feathers and cause him to fall and drown? You ever think about how different the world would be if Icarus died that way instead? If the idiom was to Fly To Close To The Sea? A warning against playing it far too safe, about not stretching your wings and soaring properly? You ever think about how Icarus died because he was happy?

I feel like the phrase 'write for yourself' is starting to be used too rigidly these days or treated like the only valid approach, when in reality, writing can be for yourself and others. I enjoy writing, but I also enjoy sharing and getting comments! Is it really that horrible that I enjoy both? Why should I feel guilty about my own excitement over sharing a new chapter and eagerness to know what readers will think about it?

Of course, you should write for yourself, fanfiction especially, first and foremost, but being excited to share it with the others isn't something to be ashamed of either.

If we all wrote just for ourselves, Ao3 and similar websites wouldn't exist.

— Sherihan Gamal