“i Write For Myself,” I Said, Casually Refreshing To See If My Fanfics Had Reached The Audience I

giving “unsolicited criticism” on someone’s fanfic doesn’t make you cool and your “suggestion” is definitely not helping the author lol

what fanfic is is 1.) free, 2.) something an artist writes for fun, 3.) their source of comfort and joy.

unless specifically asked, fanfic writers are not looking forward to hearing your unsolicited criticism, even if you do so “politely”. by reading someone’s fic, you ask the author to let you in their house and they let you in. if you end up not liking their place, you quietly leave. you don’t start telling them things you don’t like about their house.

“but I was being polite when I tell them their bed should be bigger” “I was saying it so nicely when I let them know pink did not suit their couch” no. you’re not helping. you’re just telling them they should adjust their place in order to fit your personal liking. it’s their house. not yours. build your own house instead of telling strangers how their houses should be.

if authors didn’t ask for your opinions and if you don’t have anything nice to say, be quiet.

agreed, fans should not be afraid to interact with the author of a fic they like because in the end we all like that thing and its what brings us together, lol

plus, as an author, comments and kudos give me motivation and fuel me to write. a lot of the times i do talk about fics to other people, but i do kudos all the fics i like

i dont get why people are so afraid to show their appreciation to an author when in the end we’re all loser enough to write and read about fictional characters. plus, kudos exists for a reason, and even if youre too scared to kudos something on your account, you could do it on a guest or something idk

i definitely agree with this entirely btw

So recently I've noticed a lot of discussion in fandom spaces regarding how readers discuss fics in private Discord servers without the author present, and as a fanfic writer myself, I'm... kind of conflicted.

On one hand, I believe that readers have the right to a space away from the author where they can freely share their thoughts on the fic with one another, especially when those thoughts are not 100% positive nor otherwise appropriate to share with the author directly. Discussing a fic with your friends is a very different social situation to leaving a comment directly on the fic where you'd expect the author to see it, so I can understand why some readers choose to do one but not the other, especially since many authors don't want any constructive criticism nor anything perceived as negative in their fic comments. I will admit, I do sometimes wonder if, or how often, people talk about my writing in private spaces, but it's only an idle curiosity, not a thought that keeps me up at night.

On the other hand, if a bunch of people talk about a particular fanfic in a private server, but none of them comment on the fic directly, or worse, leave kudos, then that's kind of weird, IMO. I've read anecdotes from fellow writers detailing how they got little to no feedback on their fic and thought nobody was reading it, only to discover that a bunch of people were reading it, but only sharing their thoughts in a private space the author wasn't privy to. That's fucked up. Fanfiction authors should not be seen as above their readers, even if their fics are on Heat Waves levels of notoriety. We're fans just like you, and we'd love to have the opportunity to discuss our work with fellow fans. If our work means so much to you that you stay up all night reading it, that you can't stop thinking about it, that you're driven to gush about it with your friends – we want to hear about it! If you're going to talk about a fic in a private space, the very least you could do is leave kudos, just to let the author know that yes, someone is out there reading and enjoying their stuff. Again, readers have the right to that private space, and to be honest I personally don't mind if they don't also comment directly on my fics; that's absolutely fine, I consider comments to be a lovely bonus rather than an expectation. But I know how hurtful and isolating it can be to think that nobody even cares enough to say "thank you, I liked this!" in response to a piece of writing you've poured your heart and soul into.

Idk, that's just my two cents on the matter.

oh damn yea i kinda just gave up on that too what were they thinking giving us an assignment to do towards the end of the term

me to people online: rest and take ur time, don’t burn yourself out <3

me to my friends: it’s ok, one fail is not the end of the world <3

me to this one specific person secret third thing friends-lovers thing: you’re amazing and deserve better <3

me to myself:

“work your ass off until you win. until you’ve surpassed all of them. tired? HA! the others are getting ahead. keep working, dumb bitch.”

“do you see how close that grade is to failing? you passed? wow, how cool! it’s still really fucking far from perfect.”

“you’re absolutely horrible to everyone. they’re just sticking around. they never loved you. you don’t deserve all this. get better and you might. emphasis on might.”

its literally free and there are already warnings, when you see something you don't like its not like you wasted idk $5 and 10 minutes reading something you wont like, the back button exists for a reason !!!

the no algorithm thing actually makes it better, that means you're actively searching for things and you choose which to read. so the people who read to complain are there by their own free will

Ao3 does not need an algorithm, you're just lazy

Ao3 does not need a 1-5 star rating system, you just want to bring down authors writing for FREE

Ao3 does not need automatic censorship, it is an archive, therefore anything can be posted

Writing or reading about something illegal does not mean the author nor the reader condones it, if that were true, you could never read a story involving anything negative

Purity culture is ruining fan culture and you all are fucking annoying

Illustration by Colorful Palette staff

he would not fucking say that but it would be funny if he did

Writers are scary because we’ll take personal trauma and think, "Hmm… what if this happened to my fictional characters but worse?"

Tropes, Clichés, Themes, Archetypes

A writer’s guide to tropes, clichés, themes, archetypes, and stereotypes.

Trope, Theme, Cliché, Motif, Archetype A post that provides detailed definitions of each of these terms.

Stereotypes, Archetypes, Tropes, Clichés A lengthy guide that provides detailed explanations of these terms, along with examples. Also offers advice and suggestions for how to use them in your writing, and suggests things to consider when using them. Many of the additional resources are broken links. Only about half of the referenced links work.

Tropes vs. Clichés Explains the difference between tropes and clichés. Explains why using a trope that has been used before doesn’t matter, but rather how you use it.

All Stories Have Themes Briefly explains what a theme is, and how every story has themes in it.

Reusing an Idea Too Much A tumblr thread that explains why you don’t have to worry about using the same themes or ideas in your story that have been used before.

How You Tell the Story Matters Explains that different people can do different things with the same basic plot, concept, or trope by using their own voice and style choices.

+

I’m a writer, poet, and editor. I share writing resources that I’ve collected over the years and found helpful for my own writing. If you like my blog, follow me for more resources! ♡

day 12

last day!! eternal bout gacha already out

crystals: 24k (i had 27k but i did a 10 pull to complete my stamp missions. i’m saving the 24k since my friend asked me to call her when i pull)

day 8

I ALMOST FORGOT BUT DAILY REKKA AN IS HERE

crystals: 24k

unrelated but it’s 6PM and i’m still in the car otw from school 🫠