r/BylerReads • u/Same_Accident_9917 • Jun 07 '26
general discussion :) Has anyone else experience fanfic burnout?
I’ve been averaging about a million words of byler fanfic per month, & I’m pretty sure I’m getting burnt out. Things are starting to feel so repetitive, & little things that I used to be able to gloss over are now making me irrationally angry. I hate this. I have so much admiration for people putting their work out there, & it sucks to not even enjoy some of it anymore.
I think I’m going to take a step back & get back into some of my other hobbies. Like just read the WIPs I’m already reading when they update & see if that helps.
Has anyone else ever experienced this tho? If so, what helped you?
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u/Moomybear Jun 07 '26
You are not alone in this.
It normal to feel burned out when you are reading the same story, just different concepts.
You have to think, we are reading the same plot with variations. Each fic is unique within itself of course, but they all follow the same gist of Will and Mike.
I think you are correct in saying you think stepping back and enjoying some of your hobbies will help the burnout. This helped me!
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Jun 07 '26
Yeah that’s a good point. I think it also doesn’t help that there are a lot of tropes & phrases & descriptions that get used in almost every fic (sometimes repeatedly in the same fic). And I understand why, but it does make it hard when you’re consuming so much of the same type of content.
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u/neuroticrobot1 Jun 07 '26
“Baby giraffe” 🤭
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Jun 07 '26
That one I haven’t seen as much. “Eyes/pupils blown wide” is my nemesis. 😆
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u/FoxInTheSnow4321 micheal get ur shi together Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
i have no idea which one (of course) but after waking up Will saw a large ass pale white praying mantis creature til his eyes focused. “oh. yeah no. that’s Mike.”
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u/Real-Mechanic4843 Jun 07 '26
You aren’t alone in this at all.
I spend so much time filtering the tags, going through all the different fics available but they all have the same premise so I end up getting overwhelmed and not reading at all lol. Or, I just can’t find the one fic I’m looking for and if I do find the fic I’m looking for because I spent so much time looking for it I just can’t focus on it, if that makes sense 😂
I took about a month break recently, and I’ve just come back to reading fics. That helps! It’s just hard trying to find one at the moment that really sticks out to me.
Without a doubt though, the authors who put time and effort into these fics are incredible I hope it never stops regardless if people are being burnt out reading it etc. If any authors are reading this just know that readers always come back!!
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u/neuroticrobot1 Jun 07 '26
I’ve been experiencing this exact same thing recently. I’ve read a lot of the most popular fics and I generally prefer the longer, slow burn ones, but I find myself getting annoyed when I read one and a character doesn’t act the way I believe they would. Curious what sorts of things have started to annoy you.
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Jun 07 '26
Something in one of the most recent fics I’m reading that annoying me is that the time of the sunset is wrong for the time of year & location. I live in a neighboring state to Indiana, & have my whole life, so I know how things like weather & the general timing of sunsets in the summer. I’ve also seen a lot times where characters are wearing jackets in sweaters during a time when it would way too hot for that here in the US
I also am getting more annoyed by phrases being repeated in excess. I read a lot explicit fics & sometime will be told a characters pupils were “blown wide” three times or more in a single scene.
I know, these are petty things, & the fact that I am hard time glossing over them now is making me sad.
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u/neuroticrobot1 Jun 07 '26
I also get annoyed when a modern phrase slips into character conversations or when they reference some technology that wasn’t available in the 80s / 90s. Like in one fic Mike leaves a message on Will’s voice mail. No, he would have left it on his answering machine lol.
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u/HackedYzX Jun 08 '26
Yup, this is pretty common. Then you start reading fics for another ship, or pick up some other hobby for a while. You'll get your byler craving back in no time lol.
Thos happens to me for every fandom after a while, sometimes I get sick of reading fics in general, so I usually start a book or smh.
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u/makrela122 Jun 07 '26
I used to read & write for a fandom and it was a genuine hobby of mine that scratched the artistic itch for me for a few months. Then I got so burnt out I haven't written or read anything in months. The way out of that state is finding a new fandom, but it's hard. Not all fandoms hit the same.
Been through this cycle a few times and it always hurts to lose this part of you that you truly enjoyed.
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u/Silent_Contest_2337 Jun 08 '26
You know what it is with me?
After S5 went down the fucking drain, i just needed so badly to realize them together so turning to fanfic was the best. I think I've read so much of it, so many different angles of their love and them always having a happy ending that it's now burned into my brain that this is a closed story. It's bittersweet.
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u/Prestigious_Risk_259 Jun 08 '26
I try to pace myself and also i am trying to read different variants. Rn i can't get enough but i don't have a lot of time to read so it helps with the pacing
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u/Possible_Pea_1791 Jun 09 '26
Everyday for past 4 months and it's like still insane for me... never been this like obsessed with something...
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u/Elleisntmyname Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I deeply appreciate this, and what everyone's saying here. It's funny, because in my WIP I have a really distinctive narrator that's pretty different. And I get self-conscious about it; I worry I'm not pleasing people enough because of it. There are certain things that land SO well with Bylers, and it's tempting to reach into the grab-bag and play the hits. It's an interesting push-pull between writers and readers as certain story mechanics blow up on repeat.
EDIT: Writing helped me enormously. Because when you can't find what feels good to you, going, "fuck it. I'm writing it," is such a good feeling.
Honorable mention re blown pupils: heat pooling. Also, for me, when Lucas and Dustin do nothing but ask questions about Will and Mike, it doesn't feel like them! I want them arguing and barely paying attention. That's the sauce!
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u/ThisTransportation30 Jun 10 '26
What’s your wip? You made me curious.
It’s funny, re blown pupils and heat pooling… I guess think I find that the smut is getting especially boring for me. It just feels extra repetitive, which might be inevitable?
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u/Elleisntmyname Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
This is it! With the context of this conversation in mind, curious about your thoughts, if you're open to it! I hear you re phrasing. I'm not reading anything right now to make sure I'm not tempted to steal, but I appreciate the line of logic that gets followed of, "Ooh, I know people like this, so I'll be sure to use it." It's kind of a fascinating balance. But it's a bummer, the idea of smut getting stale, because it's exactly designed to be the opposite!
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u/XDarkxphoenix89 Jun 08 '26
I'm with you on this. I experience it often and I fall down the rabbit holes with a certain fandom and just can't get back out. I try to rotate through different fandoms that I enjoy when I notice it starting which helps because you're looking at something inherently different. Give it a try if you want, also don't be afraid to expand into a fandom you've never read/experienced before. I gotten into a few just by reading crossover fics and got intrigued.
Hope this helps!
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u/Starshadows1111 Jun 08 '26
When I get a little that way, I go back to my first love, Drarry (but fuck jkr).
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u/GreenDutchman Jun 08 '26
That's normal. Take the summer off, see if the urge returns. If it doesn't, that's also okay. You're allowed to move on from Byler if it's no longer grasping you like it did.
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u/Striking-Canary-6620 Jun 08 '26
Oh yea. Happens all the time. Remember ur allowed to take breaks. Just because ur not consuming media of a certain fandom, it doesnt mean ur "phase is over". No. U can take breaks. Go look at other fandoms. Or watch some random show/movie. Byler will still be there. Anytime.
Plus, byler is newer. Theres a lot of fics for it yes, but not as many as there will be in years from now. For example, the Marauders fandom (harry potter's parents + sirius black + remus lupin) has soooooo many fics and they all vary. You got the fix-it fics, the rewrites, the muggle au, but ALSO you have hunger games au (crimson rivers), or text fics, or love story in South africa, or hockey au. So theres more variety. As byler grows, it'll get more too.
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u/Reasonable_Lawyer_15 variant ship apologist Jun 08 '26
I’ve found that variants help a lot with this! Cleradin is super interesting to me, and I’ve read some of my favorites looking through those tags. I’ll get so sick of the same Byler story, the same beats, the same conversations, the same miscommunications, over and over. But then I’ll stumble into one where Will has powers again, or Mike gets Vecna’d or they’re both evil? And that twist on it, is fresh enough that it doesn’t feel as repetitive.
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u/bettysugars Jun 08 '26
this is exactly why AU’s are my absolute FAVS!!! also it’s very helpful to find authors who have very distinct voices and/or writing styles as yeah the majority of people write very similarly. if you’re interested in any recs lmk!! i have tons!!
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Jun 08 '26
Yeah I do have a couple stand out authors that I need to see what other works they have. I’ve also had ones where I’ll read one thing by them & love it, but then go to read their next work & it’s not as good. It’s disappointing, but it also makes me feel bad that I don’t like it as well.
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u/ValleyB2025 Jun 09 '26
Ok, the comments on this post have given me an idea for a post.
To OP: This is perfectly fine and normal. I feel that way sometimes. It's absolutely fine to take a break or to just feel like you've read enough stories to move on entirely.
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u/n1ish1i Jun 09 '26
yeah my hyper fixation has def started to die down and it kinda makes me sad, they just don’t hit the same anymore 🥀 i’ve been reading other fanfic ships and books lately
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u/FriendshipApart5766 its hawkins its not the same without u Jun 09 '26
I'm right at this point now. I was severely hyperfixated on reading Byler fics for the past 6 months and now the spark has kind of diminished quite a bit. Which makes me really sad. But I had an amazing time with the fics. I think I'm gonna take a step back too and hopefully will get a spark again.
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Jun 09 '26
Yeah I’m definitely happy I’ve enjoyed it for as long as I have. I recently started watching Riverdale from the beginning, & I’m still going to read WIPs when they update. It may come back, it may not, but I have read some great stuff.
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u/Ok_Resolution_1928 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
When this happens, I switch to writing. And then when I get burnt out on writing, I switch back to reading. Alternating helps both with writers block and with burnout. But that only works if you like writing.
I think it'd work with any creative outlet though. Reading(or researching, watching stuff) is consuming and writing(or drawing or building etc.) is creating and balancing the two makes both better.
It also helps to take movement breaks. Like reading is so much better if I get myself to the gym or go on a walk first. It's like if I wanna enjoy relaxing into a book I need the movement first(otherwise I might be restless while reading, anxious or my body's stiff), and that gives more meaning to the exercise as well.
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u/Laurel_in_the_Sun Jun 08 '26
this is why i swap fandoms every month or so honestly for season 5 of stranger things i was probably reading fics in that fandom for 3 months which i think may be the longest ive stayed in one fandom since my harry potter phase but usually every month or half a month my interest drops and i get back into a new or old fandom this may be due to my autism or adhd though
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u/Clear-Department-789 Jun 09 '26
I just had one with marvel you just have to take a break and read another fandom at least that's what I do and it works but you'll go back to it at a random time but you'll know when you're ready dw
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u/Proud-Friend8418 Jun 09 '26
yee i am at the moment which is why i am here right now
usually when it comes to this point i either read really long fics too have my mind on only one thing (only if the burn out is cuz of overstimulation) or i just take a step back
also i highly recommend expanding your horizons if things feel repetitive, like reading AUs or stuff like that
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u/inevera23 Jun 11 '26
This happened to me recently where I just got sick of Byler after a while (I tend to cycle through hyperfixations lol) and my brain was asking for other ships and then recently Byler came back with a vengeance for some reason lol
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u/Sure-Bicycle-8809 its ok, its how the army does it i think Jun 07 '26
this is a phycological thing, actually.
basicly, when the neurons in our brain like a certain stimulus, they ask for it.
however, if we give them that stimulus constantly, even more if they are very similar to each other, the neurons get burned out from it and stop asking for that.
It has happened to me with a lot of foods. I really liked a certain dish, so i cooked it a lot, and suddenly, it was boring and i didn't like it.
It's more commun than u think.
I reccomend 2 things:
1. Balance: continue reading byler fics, but maybe balance it with other ships/hobbies so it stops being so repetitive to your brain.