#and also people who still sometimes comment on my ff.net fic

[eoinmcgonigal]

Btw if you enjoyed reading anything I've written, I'm *always* happy to get comments. No expiry date on this.

#i also read tags added to posts reblogged on here XD #bless all comment-leavers on ao3 #and also people who still sometimes comment on my ff.net fic #obviously negative stuff isn't good i write for free as a hobby #and i don't ask for concrit #but even keysmashing lets me know someone had a reaction to the words!! #document type: memo #also being unsubtle as i'm having a hard time with writing just now #and i miss the days where people would talk more to each other about these things bc it would fuel me #i do have a little rule with ongoing fic that i only reply when i upload the next chapter #this is so that the comments don't disappear from my brain and they act as encouragement #but i will *always* be up for talking about fic #the more excited you are for it the more excited i am to write it!!! #so yeah if it seems like no one's really interested or excited it gets kinda lonely and pointless #ah i think i'm complaining now but honestly fandom should be a lot of talking to each other #these days it's mostly reduced to a click or two #and that makes me sad #talk to me!! i love the thing!! and the characters!!! and making stuff happen to them!! #and thinking about them!!

[olderthannetfic]

Re this ask, 722433031603879936 , specifically the part from below:

It literally makes no sense to me how people who will claim that "consuming disturbing/triggering erotic fiction is self harm!" Will almost never apply that logic to horror fiction (especially movies)

This isn't really what you were talking about, I know, but the ask made me think of it and got me on a mental tangent. I very much agree in broad strokes with this anon and the reply--this isn't any form of attack or disagreement, but an add on, and a slightly different, but related, comment.

I actually have used my consumption of media as a form of self harm, and know others who have likewise done with same. I never really did so with horror or erotica personally, but would seek on content I knew I found to be triggering (though at the time, I didn't know it was a trigger and hadn't even heard the term beyond 'trigger on a gun' and had no clue this was a form of self harm) and read it until I was, well, triggered. I can go on about why I did this (12-16 year old me wanted control, and reading the triggering content in fandom somehow did that, even if not in a healthy way) and how it was actually hard to stop, but wow did I ever seek it out. I looked for content with child sexual abuse, looked for characters who self harmed themselves, and looked for other content along those themes. I never really liked erotica, but did find the odd extreme underage smut and read it, but usually clicked out due to boredom. A lot of what I sought out and read in those years did hurt me, in a way. I dabbled in writing some as well. However, I always saw it as fiction and escapism, even when, in retrospect, I was actually hurting myself and using it as a weird form of self harm.

I do know this is different than anti's seeking out content (and not exactly what anon above meant, I think), and it VERY much had nothing to do with the media. At all. It was always on me for clicking on the links, which is where I think I, and those I've talked to who also have done this, differ from anti's. Even as that pretty messed up 12 year old I knew I was seeking this out, and I knew I was the one reading it. I didn't have the language for how it affected me, or why I looked for it so often even though it left me Not In A Good Place, but I did. And you know? It was still healthier than some other things I could have done, and was tempted to do. But wow my therapist has had fun with all this, poor woman.

Basically, there are definitly people who use media as a form of self harm. I never personally went to erotica for that, but knew people with similar experiences who absolutely did, and while I don't know anyone who used horror, I would assume at least a few exist. I still read and write some of that content, but in a much healthier way at 32 than I did as a teen. AO3 has been a godsend for that to be honest. I started on ff.net and it was always a bit of a trial to find (or not find) what I wanted.

Anti's are just jerks about it. I needed therapy and help as a teenager, but likewise was able to understand I was the one seeking out things that fucked with me, and that the authors had no blame. Hell, I commented a lot (generic -- loved this!!). It was never on them. I've reread some of those fics as a much better adjusted adult, and still appreciate them, even if in retrospect, they weren't the best fics lol.

A part of me can understand, or even pity, some of the anti's who seem to look for erotica they know makes them uncomfortable or worse. But overall I just think they need to sit down and shut up, and look inwards. There are a lot of complexities to the anti mindset sometimes. I'm sure some are fucked up kids who are trying to get control wherever they can and fell into an anti group, and will hopefully eventually grow the hell up. But too many anti's have chosen to be terrible to others, and for that? My understanding and pity runs out very quickly. I've been there, in a very different way, and even then knew better than to blame someone else for something that was hurting me, especially when I was the one looking for it.

This got long and rather rambly, but the ask brought it to mind!

--

Yeah, I think many of them are self-harming in a similar way. They're just in denial about who's holding the reins.

[vashti-lives]

So like, I have a lot of complicated feelings about the whole discourse around comments and how people comment so much less than they used to but one thing I think people my age have forgotten and younger people have no idea about is that in the era of LJ and the height of ff.net there were A LOT more negative comments than there are today, at least as far as I can see.

For one thing, in the mid 2000s really fucking mean negative comments were so common there was a term for them "flames" and people would regularly mention them in the authors notes of their fics. "No flames or I will delete this story" "flames will be used to roast marshmallows and which Inuyasha and I will eat while laughing at you" "this story contains SLASH! that means boykissing!!! DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! NO FLAMES!!!!!!" etc. You get the picture. It was a different time don't judge. This happened more on ff.net than it did on LJ but it definitely also still happened on LJ.

If you've ever looked into the whole Ms. Scribe thing and puzzled over why anyone believed her, this is why. She was making shit up for fame and attention but lots of authors experienced similar harassment that was actually real. I know people like to be like ~in my day people knew how to use the back button~ but let's be real. Some people weren't using the back button they were going into the comment section to be homophobic and explain all about how you'd burn in hell one day.

I'm not saying nobody gets mean comments anymore but the fact that we don't have a special word for it now and people aren't constantly talking about it in their author notes strongly suggests it's less of an issue.

Even aside from that in 2024 we have commenting etiquette that just, didn't exist in 2004. Its commonly understood now that offering unasked for critique is bad but like, that didn't come out of nowhere. "Are people allowed to send critique to the author of any fic they read?" was an absolutely HUGE fandom fight that got hashed out again and again for years before finally settling on, "mmm let's not." In 2004 this was not a settled debate and imo leaving unasked for critique was much more common, and in fact people who were coming from closed forums and things like yahoo groups felt it was *good* etiquette to always leave critique because that's how it was done in their much smaller communities, which were often more focused on improving specific skills.

If it is true that people leave fewer comments now* we might be experiencing the reality that you can't have your cake and eat it too. The more rules we have about what kind of comments you can and can't make the more people at the fringes are going to decide its safer to just not comment because what if they do the wrong thing and make someone mad? Several years ago my dash was just awash with artists begging people to reblog their art and also awash with artists complaining about the tags people left on the art they were reblogging, it was extremely clear to me that this was a choose one situation. EITHER your art gets reblogged a lot and sometimes people say dumb shit or you shield yourself from bad tags and get a lot fewer reblogs.

There are a number of posts going around right now about how don't you know authors can SEE the comments you leave on bookmarks!! And I've often thought that the end result of this campaign is going to be even less engagement than people are already getting. It's not going to result in nicer comments in the bookmarks its only going to result in less bookmarks.

TBH I actually think getting less negativity in your inbox might be worth fewer comments? Like, I'm not sure fandom made the wrong choice here but I do think continuing to police the kinds of comments people leave is going to continue this cycle so if you really really want your readers to engage with your fic you are going to have to accept that some of those comments will be shit like "UPDATE PLZ" or whatever. I don't think there's a way to get less of the bad comments without getting fewer comments period.

*In addition to everything I've written above there is a part of me that thinks the biggest problem is just that AO3 has a hit counter and LJ didn't and so when people were primarily using LJ they just didn't know how many people read their work without ever interacting. Combine that with the fact that everyone is functionally writing for much smaller fandoms because there aren't mega fandoms like there used to be and you get authors who feel like they're getting less engagement without actually meaningfully getting less engagement, because their OFMD fic isn't getting the number of comments that their 2010s era SGA fic got. Even when they understand OFMD is tiny compared to SGA they don't have the hit counter for their SGA fic to see just how many lurkers there were. the ratio might actually not have been as far off as you think!

#fandom culture #TL;DR hey fandom olds remember flames??? maybe there's a reason we have less of them now #maybe getting less flames and less unasked for critique means getting less comments #haha we all know my feelings on the whole 'authors can see your bookmarks' thing #i also think all the posts demanding people read WIPs are at best futile and misguided #and at worst going to drive even more people away #you can't shame people into liking your writing more #sorry guys

[mycupofrum]

Fic writer questions

Thank you for the tag @lovelymasks! Once again I’m really late with my replies but I really enjoyed doing this one. 😊

🍓 How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I was a teenager and started writing HP fics with a friend of mine who first introduced me to fanfiction. We would send fics to each other and commented on each other’s stories and gave each other writing prompts. I think I did that for about a year until I had the courage to post anything online. I started on a Finnish HP forum and returned there after a long break from fandom, though I’m more active on Tumblr/AO3 these days. I think I did post one or two fics in English on ff.net back in the day but they were very short gen fics. I posted One of these days on Tumblr at the end of 2022 and that was the first piece of creative writing in English that I did in a long time and I was shit scared for whatever reason, but people were very nice to me about it. :D

🍇How many fandoms have you written in?

I’ve written for Harry Potter and Star Wars fandoms and a few cringe rpf crack fics about celebrities I shall not name back in the day, but that’s something I’m ready to put behind me.

🍈 How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Around 7 years with a long break in between.

🍎 Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Lately I’ve been reading more than writing. It goes in phases...sometimes I write more and at other times read more.

🍌 What is one way you've improved as a writer?

I think I’ve learned to be aware of filler words and improved in "show don’t tell", though that one is something I’m still working on.

🍑 Do you have any bad habits as a writer?

I need the stars to align to get into a writing mood. I don’t practise it every day. I know writing is a like exercising a muscle etc. etc. but you know, this is a hobby for me, so I only do it whenever I feel like it (and yet feel guilty for not doing it more. Fun times. 😅).

🍍 What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

The last one has been the Catholic church, just the whole vocabulary of it and anything related to it. I don’t know if it’s weird per se, but I find it so funny I’m researching prayers and the confession process when ultimately I just want the characters to end up having sex. 😄

I’ve also researched train announcements in the UK, business buildings in London in the 1990s, British police ranks, instructions on how to play pool, and shamanism to name a few.

🍉What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

All comments, short and long! I appreciate a keysmash, emojis or if someone points out their favourite parts from the fic. Sometimes a reader can find foreshadowing or connections to something that I never even realised myself, which is amazing! It’s like someone pointing out your own subconscious thoughts to you. It helps to go back to reading comments if I have a bad day, writing-wise or just in general. <3

🍐What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I don't really know. I write about whatever pleases me. :)

🥭What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Toxic relationships, emotional abuse. Sometimes I enjoy reading stories like that but I don’t think I have it in me to pull off that kind of dynamic in my writing. At least not easily, but I haven’t really tried it either. I write from the place of "wouldn’t it be really funny if…" That’s legit how most of my fics are born.

🍏What is the easiest type?

Romance with a little bit of humour. And so much tension. All the tension. I want tension. Did I mention tension? Hot and funny. I have accepted that that’s what my brain likes to come up with most often. Occasionally I enjoy dabbling into angst.

🍑Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my laptop or mobile phone at home. I usually get my ideas when I’m trying to fall asleep so I’m like the meme of a writer whose brain starts to work out solutions when I should be sleeping, and then it’s just me and the pale light of my phone in the darkness of my bedroom. Also in general I tend to write in the evening. I use both LibreOffice (which allows me to use Word format) and the free online Word because I can access my files on OneDrive on both laptop and phone.

🍋What is something you've been too nervous/ intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

A longfic with a proper plot. I have some longer WIP fics in the making but that’s just the thing...they’re still WIPs. I’m just genuinely terrible at finishing longer fics. So, here’s to improving in that.

🍇What made you choose your username?

At first I kept thinking of mycupoftea and then decided nah that’s too basic, so I came up with mycupofrum because I liked my rum-based drinks. That was 10 years ago and I haven’t changed the username since then. As for Satine which has been my pen name for a longer time, it’s from Moulin Rouge.

Tagging @heartofspells @squintclover @in-flvx @annabtg if you want to do this. And anyone else who is up for this tag game. :)

#tag game #fic writer questions

[yuniemaki]

tagged by @cadriona you have all my love and undying support, even should i become an undead i will come back to bang on your doors so you'll finish your UNFINISHED WORKS.

how many works do you have on ao3?

39, I don't know what are anon'ed works, lalala

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

492,719

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Genshin... once upon a time in the ff.net days I wrote for Dragon Age, Claymore, Air Gear and Skyrim/Oblivion too, but these days a certain lesbian couple from Genshin lives rent-free in my head, y'know?

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

BY KUDOS??? 😭 1. Dancing in circles 2. Trust in the stars 3. a gift from the stars 4. Welcome back, my Captain 5. Even if it's selfish, I still want you to stay

5. do you respond to comments?

Yes I love all comments they make me squeal because wow someone found my shit in a sea of food and went, "damn I'm gonna talk to the person who pooped this shit out!" I'm honoured. Work sometimes makes me slow but I read every comment and spend way too long thinking about how I should respond HELP

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I... I don't do angsty endings... there is a fic with one, but it's currently locked because it's for a zine. I'll share when it's out :P

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

THAT'S EVERYTHING HELLO. ANGST WITH HAPPY ENDING MY BELOVED

8. do you get hate on fics?

probably, but I don't see it, so eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

you do not ask yunie what smut she writes.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

i hardly write crossovers... it's enough trouble to make sure my ideas are potentially canon-compliant, nevermind making sure they could be accepted as canon for TWO universes. I wrote one for Skyrim x Genshin though. beiguang but dark brotherhood x pirate. :D

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

naur i'm not that amazing

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

sadly nope tho i would be honoured

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope, i've done that plenty in classes and am honestly not a fan, but i'm sure it works for people who are very in-tune!

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

beiguang. my beloved. they pulled out 500k words from me and still counting after a 10-year hiatus. amazing

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

one that's been sitting in the pile for a while... about ningguang faking her death and beidou finding out like a year later. no, i don't have anything beyond that line :(

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i write dialogue pretty well

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

i'm often too lazy to edit, and i slack a lot on descriptions because... yeah, i'm too lazy for my own good. :/ i can also get really impatient with longer fics like i'll get angry that i'm not at the scene i really want to write, count the number of chapters i still have to do to reach there, then close the doc in rage.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't really like it, because it's kinda immersion-breaking for me. i prefer to write it all in english but state that the character is speaking in xxx language instead

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Claymore, with OCs!

20. favorite fic you've written?

beiguang mafia au with their version of a happy ending. I love my beiguang twisted, obsessive and somewhat toxic

tagging @canonical-transformation, @aurilium, @mireillexy, @dreamerinsilico @asharinhun, @narcoticwriter and anyone else who wants to answer! OPEN TAG!

#writing games

[ach-sss-no]

I've been tagged by @pazithigallifreya ! There's no one I can think of offhand to tag so just do it if you want to

1 How many works do you have on AO3? Aaahhh, well, the official number appears to be 5. I have some scattered orphans out there somewhere.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 262,523. Officially. If you were to track down everything I've orphaned it might go up a bit.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Good sir, I only have written five fanfictions, so I'll just stick to the top one

Schrodinger's Hobbit

Ah yes, the one that was posted on a regular schedule and has characters people care about in the tags, giving readers a ghost of a chance to discover it and give it a 'well it's about gollum but I'm desperate for pippin' click

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

In theory, yes. In practice, if I don't reply to a comment as soon as I see it, I sometimes forget to go back and reply because I've tricked myself into thinking I already have. Because I usually reply right away, you see.

Fortunately I do eventually see the comment as unreplied to in my inbox and circle back to it.

However, sometimes if there's no question posed and a simple 'thank you' doesn't seem to apply I honestly can't think of an answer and will just appreciate the person in silence.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Uh, well, there's... oh, there's this one that's orphaned somewhere on AO3! it ends with Gollum learning how to eat people

I think I also wrote something once where it ended on a guy going 'oh no I am going to go insane just like my mother' but I don't know if it still exists anywhere.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Maybe Schrodinger's Hobbit? It ends with Aragorn saying 'Gollum isn't going to jail and we're just going to keep him' which is a happy ending from one point of view (Gollum's)

I usually just stop writing stories at the point where they stop being interesting.

7. Do you write crossovers?

The answer is no except for the time I did a crossover webcomic between two games no one cares about.

The first really ambitious fanfiction project I did was some kind of three way crossover with tons of canon/oc shipping and it was so bad.

Also there's a thing on my account that's technically a crossover but it's between Disney properties, which are already just one big lump.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

There's a TVTropes page out there with people railing about how bad my ambitious fanfiction project with tons of canon/oc shipping was. I am not going to find it for you.

In terms of comments, no, except for the one time I wrote a shipfic in a particularly eccentric fandom. People got bad about that. Oddly enough the people who liked the ship were the ones that got mad. Failed step one.

I've never gotten hate on AO3. (Not yet! 👀) Only the wild west of fanfiction.net and TVtropes.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do not.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so. I don't monitor for that, though.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had some people get permission from me to do translations, but they never told me if they posted anything.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Ahhhh I used to years and years ago. I think one co-written thing is still floating about somewhere on ff.net.

I wouldn't be opposed to trying it again one day if I met someone with a compatible writing style and the circumstances were right, but it's not something I'm seeking out.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I guess I'm not really that into shipping. Sometimes a ship will catch my interest enough to produce content but there are none I currently find interesting enough to claim as a favorite.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

If I haven't finished it by now, I don't want to ;)

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don't feel well-equipped to judge my own work, so I will go off of what other people have said about me, which is always a great method for determining your self-concept.

A bunch of different people have said independently of each other that I'm good at characterization and dialog, so it's probably at least partially true.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh I don't know how to write a plot.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

There are so many different ways that could be done that this question feels too general to answer.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Lilo & Stitch. Almost 20 years ago now! The Internet has changed a LOT since then.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I'd like to try writing original fiction- wait, come back! Come back!

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh, now, that's hardly fair. You expect me to READ these things?

#long post #ramble

[this-is-krikkit]

So… Fanfiction Writer Bingo. Do you still use/ever read your old stuff on Fanfiction.net? Did you prefer this platform to Tumblr/AO3 or do you find writinf and publishing is better on these?

Love you 💜

to answer your first question, dear titans in paths, no i fucking don't!! i did check it out again when i did that bingo thing (cringe intensifies) and the last time i posted on there was 6 fucking years ago 😱🤯 full disclosure, i get the urge to delete my account every once in a while, basically anytime i'm reminded of ff.net's existence, but i try not to give in. it's a part of who i was, yk? besides, opening my inbox on there just reminded me of the absolute pleasure it was to get my first ever feedback on my writing so.... yeah. i'm never rereading any of that shit though, i used to be even worse at writing than i am now BIG YIKES

as for the platform itself, the interface was terrible (still is) and imo counter-intuitive to use, so i don't miss that. also the option to read comments (aka reviews on there) directly from your profile would only appear, in RED ITALIC LETTERS DIRECTLY NEXT TO YOUR FIC'S TITLE, if someone left you a review. so in whatever interval of time before someone did, it would be glaringly absent, which always felt like a stab to my lil sensitive writer's heart (i was a teenager, gimme a break 😳). oh, and the search system is subpar, minus one million over ten, never would recommend even to my worst enemy, run for your life and give up trying to find whatever you were after on there shudders

i did love, however, that replies to comments were private and therefore couldn't count as another comment!! which is something i loathe on AO3, because it fucks up the stats and forces me to reply publicly, which i'm not a fan of. plus, it would open a direct, private line of communication between writer/reader, and that was a great way to meet like-minded people, to make friends, to elaborate future fics together, to discuss headcanons... there was a real sense of a writing community, i feel, that might be lacking a little on ao3 (which is why i link all my ao3 fics to here, though it's still not the same).

ao3 is definitely more modern and practical, but sometimes i miss the good ol' ff days. and i don't actually like posting my fics on tumblr, but i feel like i have to so they get what little visibility they can get x)

#i mean i once posted poetry in my native language terra CAN YOU BELIEVE #BIG YIKES INDEED #writing things #personal #fanfiction #ff.net #mutuals asks #bestie #dont f with moogles #long post #this doesn't count as a weird ask bc it's just very sweet #as are you ♥️♥️ #ao3 #fanfiction.net

[kedreeva]

What do you make of people who comment on a fic, but only to point out spelling or grammar mistakes? I had this happen today, got a comment from someone who's never commented before, on the 72nd chapter of a fic that's now 450k long, just to point out I'd used the wrong verb tense. I don't know what to make of that. How can people stay quiet for 14 months, silently consuming what I produce, but suddenly feel the need to speak up, just because I wrote 'lay' instead of 'laid'? Help me understand?

If I don't just outright delete their comment and never think of them again in my life, I attempt education on the matter and, failing that, make fools of them.

When I receive comments like this, I politely but firmly tell them I didn't ask for, and do not want, criticism on something I am doing for fun and that I either have or do not want a beta reader. I may link them to some of the posts I have made on the subject of commenting on fanfiction and how it's viewed. And then advise them that unless someone explicitly asks for help, it's best not to offer it on fanfiction because the majority of people are here doing this for fun, in their spare time, for love of the subject matter. Nitpicking can ruin that fun for a lot of people and cause them to not want to share anymore.

The ones that honestly just want to help swiftly apologize, often saying it wasn't their intention to cause harm. There are people who genuinely do think it makes writers happy to receive crit on fanfiction, without realizing that it's usually circumstantial to solicitation. Once they see another perspective, they will go forward trying to respect writers. We can still be friends, these people are excellent members of fandom, and we don't want to chase them away, which is why I try to be polite first. It's okay to not know etiquette! Etiquette can be learned. Etiquette also changes over time and between locations- sometimes people remember being on places like ff.net where the response area was labeled "review" and carried a different expectation- but honestly, no less harm was done then, which I think is part of why AO3's response section is called "comment" instead.

The ones that just wanted a power trip by showing off They Know Better Than You get super defensive and often nasty. You can handle that however you please. If they can't behave themselves in my spaces, I immediately stop being nice about it until I've made sure they understand I'm not prey worth their time. As a bonus, if I make the experience unpleasant enough, they may even think twice about doing it to anyone else, either.

#commenting #asks #anon asks #fanfiction #I'm excellent at being unpleasant to unpleasant people

[needle-noggins]

[20 Question Fic Writer Game]

I'm so so sooo sleepy but @madnessmadness tagged me and <3

How many works do you have on AO3? 6!

What is your AO3 word count? 26,652

What fandoms do you write for? Trigun only so far, who know where the wind will take me if/when that dies down (at this rate... Trigun is forever)

What are your top five fics by kudos? Bluebells, Funeral Rites, Learn to Count on You, Cigarettes and Saints, and Freaks of Nurture

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to! I love talking to people about my work!

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Tie between Freaks of Nurture where Vash wonders if getting vivisected maybe was a for the greater good, and Funeral Rites, which is... just canon Vol 10.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Meet in the Middle is so far the happiest. Bluebells will hopefully be happier later, but uh. it's all angst right now.

Do you get hate on fics? This one comment on Bluebells wrecked me. Way to misinterpret the text and be an asshole. Blocked.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yeah! It's uh. I've only written a little because it's difficult. But it's fun. So far I've only written vashmeryl and mashwood, but we'll see if i ever branch out.

Do you write crossovers? Nope! Not really my vibe/I'm too anxious about Sticking to Canon for that kind of thing. But I love reading a good crossover.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No????

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Not exactly, but @frappeflamingo and @scoundrels-in-love wrote companion pieces to Ch 7 of Bluebells, and it was a ton of fun to compare our works and wtrite hem alongside each other.

What's your all-time favourite ship? Look at my longfic and take a wild guess.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? My Knives + "The Scarlet Ibis"-inspired character study. It's got great angst potential but Knives POV may be too powerful for my tiny emotional brain.

What are your writing strengths? I take my writing very seriously, lmao. I also love writing characters' inner thoughts and dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses? Right now, tapping into how a character feels/writing dialogue with enough around it to make the text still flow. Also internal consistency is hard with complicated characters.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Did it for Wolfwood a little bit. My Wolfwood has got some Mexican heritage in honor of a dear friend of mine. Also I HC that Vash is a menace in French sometimes - it came up in Freaks of Nurture and it'll come up again in Bluebells.

First fandom you wrote for? LOL Pirates of the Caribbean in 2008. On FF.net.

Favourite fic you've ever written? Bluebells may be my baby, but I'm sorry... it's Freaks of Nurture. It's unlike anything I've written before and I got to lean into the weirdness and flex my irl knowledge. It came together mostly in one night and was so so so much fun and a huge confidence booster to write and publish completely by myself with no beta/other input.

okay I'll tag @scoundrels-in-love, @ladymaliwan, @frappeflamingo, and @mydetheturk have fun! or don't, i'm not your mom.

This was fun!

#my fics #bluebellposting

[2btheanswertothequestion]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @stevethehairington and @hotluncheddie. Thank you! 🖤 🖤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35, spread over two accounts.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

345 730

3. What fandoms do you write for?

A bunch. Currently it's Stranger Things and the Spiderverse films, although I'm starting to have Arcane thoughts too.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

November Paramedic (Stranger Things)

Unraveled (Spiderverse)

your eyes on me (i think i'll cause a scene) (Stranger Things)

Lesson/Plan (Stranger Things)

this might mean something (Stranger Things)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, eventually. It might take a few years but I do it! I promise I enjoy replying – I'm just slow and forgetful.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do angsty endings, or angst at all. On my second (secret!) AO3 account one of my fics ends with the main character "dying" and getting mutilated, but in a kinda hopeful and poetic way?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them end on an equally happy note.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. When I still posted on ff.net I sometimes got harsh comments, but they tried to be constructive and helpful, plus I asked for critical feedback, so I don't count it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, and the good kind? I hope? 😆 I think I'm pretty flexible when it comes to kink and such, though usually in a light way. So far I've only posted gay smut (but I have lesbian and straight stored away on my laptop. Maybe I'll finish it and show you one day).

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't even read crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

See above answer.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but it seems like it'd be fun!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Impossible to answer as my favorite ship is the one I'm currently obsessed with. I'm not more attached to any of them. When I was in the midst of the ST obsession it was Steddie and Lumax, and later Buckingham. Nowadays I'm more focused on Punkflower and Timebomb. Who knows what'll come next.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My big Mortal Kombat fic 😔 It's almost 7 years since I last updated and my standards have gotten so much higher; I'd have to rewrite the entire thing before I could continue.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think my strength is that I don't have one big strength or weakness? I'm rather good at everything. Not the best at characterization, dialogue, prose, etc. but competent enough at everything to create some good, balanced stories. A jack of all trades, as they say.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Adding meaning to my writing. Writing just for fun is, well, fun, but sometimes I'd like to actually say something with my writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Only after rigorous research.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First written was Naruto; first published was Romeo and Juliet. That's right, I'm versatile!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'll list a few, because I cannot choose just one:

November Paramedic, because of how fun it was to write and the wonderful reception it received. This fic convinced me I can be funny.

Uniquely Mine (Stranger Things), because I think I did say something with it. It's very pretty and heartfelt. Also, Stobin 4ever.

synchronicity (cut me open, cut you down) (MCR), because my beta (ily Andréa, wherever you are) and I did such a good job putting it together. Most coherent fic I've ever written. It just works so well, and I really feel my vision came through.

Unraveled, because of basically the same reasons I gave for synchronicity. This one isn't finished yet but I just know I'm going to love the end result.

There! That was fun. Now I'll try to tag people I think haven't already done this (but no pressure): @throughthevale, @madaboutmunson, @riality-check, @hilarychuff, @its-just-a-glitch

#tag game

[sleepy-lil-kit-kat]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @agerefandom (hi! hello!!! thank you for the tag!!!!)

1) How many stories do you have on AO3?

33, on my agere account!

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

59,316. waow

3) What fandoms do you write for?

i have a list in my pinned post! :) though I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable enough with all of them to post fic to ao3

4) Top 5 fics by kudos?

these little words–they're changing us (Five Nights at Freddy's (Movie 2023), Five Nights at Freddy's) (1,139 words) calm, fledgling. (Star Wars Prequel Trilogy) (2,974 words) can i borrow you for a moment? (Five Nights at Freddy's) (946 words) scared of the dark (i need a nightlight) (Star Wars Prequel Trilogy) (1,019 words) to be cared for (Star Wars Prequel Trilogy) (1,540 words)

5) Do you respond to comments?

every single one, haha

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

mouthfuls of blood. incidentally, its one of my favourites (its pretty dark!) the ending is ambiguous, but, well... it might be agere, but its still abigail hobbs, implied to be going the canon way

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

similar to prev, most of my fics are pretty happy, but if we're going by tone shift throughout the fic then I think that has to be my most recent fic, a forecast of sun, after the rain. jon gets a hug!!!

8) Do you get hate on fics?

nope! possibly cause most of my fics are locked to only people with ao3 accounts, and the rest don't allow guest comments

9) Do you write smut?

not here! (or rly at all)

10) Craziest crossover?

um. i don't think I want to specify, since it was on a ff.net that I don't have the login details for anymore and my 12 year old self kind of doxxed himself. so. second craziest would have to be i think. uhh. hm. a persona/tma thing i have in my Google docs that isn't agere

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I know of!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13) Have you co-written a fic before?

kinda yeah. but it's probably never getting posted cause the pov character won't ignore something that he also doesn't want to acknowledge and it's making it difficult to write

14) All-time favourite ship?

might have to be jonelias. but also my secret weird bizarre ship eye4i (no I'm not explaining what that is)

15) What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

oh! my hannibal littles are known au that's Not fluffy at all. it's evil and horrible and the regressors aren't all soft babies. sometimes the babies... Kill People.

16) What are your writing strengths?

i think im pretty solid at getting the like, narrative voice, to not feel too adult? but it's hard to tell, given the autism. uhhh. hmm. im not sure, I'm not great at assessing my own strengths

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

i think I could be better with descriptions, and a lot of my stuff doesn't feel in-character to me

18) Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

unless the point is that the pov character doesn't understand what's being said, don't like it

19) First fandom you wrote in?

very technically.... mcyt, i was writing about stampy cat. first fandom I posted in was splatoon, though

20) Favourite fic you've written?

ohh this one is hard! I have different favourites for different reasons. i like some of my more self-indulgent stuff on a personal level, but on like a technical level.... oof. it is I think not an agere fic, on account of the friends it made me, but unfortunately its too weird for me to want to link it here

oh I. I don't know who to tag. anyone feel comfortable trying to tag on this isn't an age regressor. if you want to do this consider yourself tagged!!!!

[doggernaut]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you to @cricketnationrise and @the-lincyclopedia for the tags! I'm not sure if many of my answers have changed since the last time I did one of these, but it's been a while, so.

How many works do you have on ao3?

54

What's your total ao3 word count?

613,109

What fandoms do you write for?

I only have works for Check, Please! on ao3, but I have also written for Parks and Recreation and Baby-Sitters Club.

Top five fics by kudos:

All I Want is You 

Just Jack

Here Comes the Sun

I Only Have Pies for You  (honestly surprised this one is in the top 5!)

And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?

Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to every comment, but sometimes I fall short. I do appreciate every single one, though!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm pretty sure that anybody who's read my stories knows I only write happy endings. Even if there is angst at some point in the fic, you can count on that "angst with a happy ending" tag.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

lol, see above. Though I will maintain that And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? and And you may say to yourself, my god, what have I done? might be the happiest simply because they each have (spoiler alert) three happy endings.

Do you get hate on fics?

I'm sure there are people who don't love my writing for whatever reason, but fortunately they've kept it to themselves.

Do you write smut?

Any attempts have probably fallen short of being actual smut. It's not my favorite thing to write (so many body parts to describe and keep track of!) but sometimes the storyline dictates it.

Craziest crossover:

I'm not generally a fan of crossovers (though I've read some great ones in various fandoms!) and have never written a true crossover, but Pucks and Recreation was inspired by Parks and Recreation.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A BSC fic with a bunch of people from the old FameTracker (I am showing my age) forums. It is (or was, last time I looked a few years ago) on FF.net. Once I randomly saw somebody somewhere online describing the fic in question but thinking it was a real BSC book they'd read, so that was pretty cool.

All time favorite ship?

Jack/Bitty, Ben/Leslie, and let's go way back to my formative grumpy/sunshine ship: Jack and Jennifer from Days of Our Lives. It imprinted on me when I was 11 and I'm probably remembering it as being better than it was, but it was a good time.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

At this point, I really don't know. I have a lot of "WIPs" that consist of a couple of paragraphs of dialogue or bullet-point lists or whatever and who knows if I'll ever dust them off. But I'm currently making an effort to finish everything I've put serious time into.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Description.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

As a reader I don't have a problem with it if it makes sense for the story. As a writer I probably wouldn't, simply because I don't speak another language well enough to incorporate it.

First fandom you wrote in?

That I actually published online? The Baby-Sitters Club, in like 2005. Ever? I went through this phase of writing self-insert fics when I was in sixth grade. Usually they involved me dating whichever character was played by an actor I had a crush on. I was not aware I was writing fanfic at this time. I'm pretty sure I wrote a fic in which I was in a band with Doogie Howser, MD and he asked me to be his girlfriend? THANK GOODNESS this was in an era before I had access to a computer with internet.

(A year or so later, I was still writing, but it was very bad romance fiction modeled after all the Harlequin romance novels I was reading at the time. Still just as cringe. My middle school BFF used to read them and write praise/critiques in the margins and I still remember this one long back-and-forth where we argued about how long a first kiss should last, because neither of us had experience in that department.)

Favorite fic you've written?

I don't know! I love all my children. Truthfully it's probably one of my multi-chapter fics, but I tend to favor whichever I'm in the mood to read at the moment. Maybe today it's Home Like Apple Pie.

#20 questions #fic

[asteraceae-blue]

20 questions for writers

Tagged by @bourbon-ontherocks, thank you friend!! ✒️📜

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

466,050, who the hell lets me talk that much?!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

GLOW, Sherlock, Stranger Things has made it in there, I was also diving into the Jurassic World fandom but got derailed. Older fandoms over on FF.net included Castle, Bones, and Crossing Jordan way back in the day

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Pull of My Heart to Yours

Five

Paragon

Be Prepared (co-written with the lovely @mizjoely)

Silk

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to answer everyone! Sometimes I'll get busy and forget to respond, but I do my best to at least say thank you to everyone who comments

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The angstiest? Probably Watching the World Burn

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think most of my fics have overall happy endings, but the two that are borderline saccharine are That's Life and Golden Repair. I basically ended them with a joyful, romcom soundtrack 🤮

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have had some, unfortunately. It used to get to me a lot more, because, you know, we all do this for fun and for free. Now I just delete the comments and move on with my day 🤙

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yeah. Ohhhhhh yeah. Typically romantic, sometimes angsty, occasionally plot-what-plot explicit. I let the story tell me what it needs, if you will.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Have not, but I still have a prompt in my Inbox for a GLOW/Sherlock crossover that I would like to get to at some point

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Sort of - years ago I had someone leave a comment on a fic telling me I was doing a bad job with a good idea, and then they took my idea and wrote their own fic (totally fine) and blasted me in the notes (not at all fine), so... that was fun.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Ooh yes, @mizjoely and I have collaborated on Be Prepared and Furo and we had a blast with both. There is a (maybe?) abandoned fic with @miabicicletta that I would still love to finish if the world allows us... 🥺

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I like them all for different reasons, but I think Mulder and Scully will always be my OTP. And I haven't even written anything for them yet! I'm scared, they intimidate me 😬

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I would really really like to finish Shelter From the Storm at some point, even though the franchise is basically done! The idea I had for it was waaaaay different than what they ended up doing in the last movie, and much, much darker. Maybe someday.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Too many ideas in my head and the audacity to think that people want to hear about them 😁

I do a decent job with keeping things in character, and having a plan for where the story is going so I can actually set things up properly. I think I have a pretty good eye for detail as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

If I'm having a hard time getting from one plot point to another, I get lazy and things get stilted. I'll bullshit my way through boring bits to get to the bits I really want to write.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I try, guys. I really do. I do as much homework as I can with Google Translate, but I know it's not enough to get it right. I avoid other languages if I can.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First ever ever? Hahaha Xena: Warrior Princess. First online published I think was Crossing Jordan

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh geez, that's tough - I honestly think it's a tie between Paragon and That's Life. I had the most fun writing both of those.

Tagging @miabicicletta, @mizjoely, @jomiddlemarch, and anyone else who wants to jump on this

#writing Qs

[boltlightning]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by the wonderful @starsuncounted; thank you muchly <3

1. how many total works do you have on ao3? 54!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 362,814. oy vey

3. what fandoms do you write for? these days, potc and final fantasy and assassin's creed now and then, though i generally write for whatever grabs my attention. remember when i wrote a fallout fic? wild

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? oh dear. let’s see:

a house, a hearth, a (s)holmes — the great ace attorney, 6k. a collection of missing scenes about iris watson and her silly little family.

good company — fullmetal alchemist, 9k. pre-canon, roy mustang recruits people for his team. (i wrote this when i was 19 and there's still a lot i like about it, but boy is it humbling to reread.)

benchfellows — final fantasy vii remake, >1k. a drabble about cloud and aerith fighting in the wall market colosseum.

heart & home — fullmetal alchemist, 5k. roy and riza visits roy's home both pre-ishval and post-canon.

sun hits the water — potc, 8k. james and elizabeth get married after the fact, and fall in love some. at the time of writing this post it's got these beautiful round numbers i am SO pleased

5. do you respond to comments? almost certainly. sometimes i won't on really old pieces or comments that don't really necessitate a reply, but i do my best :—)

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i trend more bittersweet than angsty; o sleeper (ff7, cloud/aerith) is one of the only ones i'd classify as TRULY angsty, everything else ends much higher.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? showing their versatility: slowly (ff7, also cloud/aerith) ends a little bittersweetly but the climax of this fic remains the sappiest, gushiest thing i've ever written

8. do you get hate on fics? i don't think i've gotten hate since the ff.net days and i'm grateful for it

9. do you write smut? a little, but nothing wild or worth posting. otherwise we're always fading to black or describing sex vaguely babey

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written? it's not my forte, per se, but the potc/temeraire universe is over 50k words and still will not let me go, so you could say i've dabbled.

11. have you had a fic stolen? / 12. have you had a fic translated? / 13. have you ever co-written a fic? no to all the above 🤪 (or...at least i hope, in the case of 11)

14. what's your all-time favorite ship? 8-year-old me was really onto something when she latched onto cloud/aerith with passion unrivaled to be honest. there is no use denying it

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i have been working on a written version of the trespasser DLC for one of my dragon age characters for like.............three years now and it will never evolved past the five scenes i have scribbled down i'm afraid. the quarantine brainrot was real but it did not last

16. what are your writing strengths? i like to fancy myself good at description! and i'm very particular about flow and tone. there's nothing i won't do to maintain tone, even if it hurts to cut segments that don't fit

17. what are your writing weaknesses? alas, describing shit well means that i am terrible at stepping back and letting a scene breathe. i feel the need to explain stuff that doesn't need it, to my own detriment. and lately i just Cannot thread the needle with any transitions between scenes. someone come cure my yips it's extremely annoying balking at this

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? it CAN work but the only time i'm ever using it is if 1) i know someone who speaks the language, so i'm not making an ass of myself, or 2) it adds to the confusion of a scene in a meaningful way. rarely does it come up and rarely do i employ it

19. first fandom you wrote for? i'm sure it was kingdom hearts. the more things change, etc.

20. favorite fic you've written? the aforementioned potc/temeraire crossover aside...i could play coy here, but you KNOW it's steadfast & dependable (6k, potc, norribeth. but. it's complicated). she is my beautiful girlfriend and the concept continues to compel me on rereads

tagging @johnbly @thesumdancekid @graysongraysoff @antique-romantic if you're feelin it??? and also 🫵 you, the girl reading this

#thank you bud!!! i love this one <3 #tag game #i want it to be clear i wrote benchfellows in like 30 minutes at 2am and posted it on a whim without editing #that is still like. THE most exponential and baffling response i've ever received on a fic. truly right place/right time type shit

[ravencincaide]

hi, i don’t normally comment on things like this— kind of nervous it’ll make you uncomfy but i hope you know how genuinely phenomenal your writing is. i read the anon ask that was like “where are the fics” and like i recognize it’s cause they’re excited to read what you want but some part of me is sad when people treat writers like that. idk… i don’t want to step on any boundaries, i don’t know you as a person, i have no right to decide what’s hurtful for you. i just hope you don’t feel pressured into writing anything, i would hate to witness someone’s hobby become more of a job. once again, i don't know you personally so i could be blowing things out of proportion 😭😭

Hey Anon! Goodness you're so sweet and I would just love to give you a hug and say thank you so much and just show you how appreciated your words are. Honestly you remind me of the old fanfic community and its a breath of fresh air! You did not make me uncomfortable or cross any boundaries what-so-ever (if anything I think you've read me and my self-estreem issues very well haha XD)! That being said I think, unfortunately, that's kinda the way fanfic community is at the moment; not only on tumblr but on other bigger sites (FF.net, AO3..). Fics are taken, translated, read aloud, unique writers styles, prompts and expressions shamelessly copied. There's also a demand from writers to share, produce, provide, be efficient, have a schedule, take requests etc etc while they get threatened with AI, hate, insults, trolls, demands, being reported, get buried/not have any engagement at all and I could go on. Fact of the matter is, there's very little wiggle room as a writer for what you can do 'back' so to speak. Sure you can create a DNI. Or more precisely a " All fics are unique works by ©ravencincaide 2024. Do not copy/repost/translate or spread my work(s) without my explicit permission. If you see any of my work(s) reposted/copied anywhere else without my consent, please inform me! " text to every fic- but does anyone listen? Not really. Sometimes it's still nice to see it though so I'm definitely starting with that even if it is essentiella pointless. You can spend valuable time on playing 'monitor police' on all those who take your work for granted and manually block spam-like, monitoring age/minors & bot-like blogs etc etc while repeatedly reminding about reblogs, comments and such. But ultimately it's not a fun activity; it would entail me blocking basically 90% of my followers. It would also take what little time i have to spare away from writing. And finally, I could just put this blog on hiatus and keep my writing to myself or find a site where I can hide it behind paywalls. Seeing as I write for anime/small fandoms/BSD rather than big fandoms such as Supernatural, Harry Potter etc the chances of doing that and making a name are rather.. well limited to say the least.

So fact of the matter is, independently whether I get hurt or writing becomes a job, if I want my fics out there. And if I want 'Raven Cincaide' to become a penname- a trademark that I could one day use for when I publish an original buyable book, then all the shit that comes with writing- it's just something I have to take with a smile on my face.

Thank you so much for reaching out to me and giving me a small space to vent. <3 Much love Raven

#raven cincaide #raven cincaide asks #writer asks #ask away #asks answered #ask answered #honestly being a writer is an ungrateful task #and I must really hate myself to still keep doing it XD #but hey at least a handful of people enjoy my stuff #and I get a chance to share my thoughts every now and then with an amazing ask!

[fizzingwizard]

Since I just finished replying to comments...

The other day I saw a post talking about AO3, and one of its points was that if writers don't reply to comments, they shouldn't complain about lack of reader engagement.

Which I thought was interesting, because I never really knew how people feel in general about comment replies. I have always enjoyed replying, even just to say thank you.

But I started out writing fanfiction on fanfiction.net when I was 11 years old, way back when. On ff.net, the way you replied to comments ("reviews") was through basically a private messenger. No one saw your reply except the person who received it, and if the conversation continued it would also be through private messenger.

That meant that replies to comments weren't included in the overall comment count for the fic. If the fic stats said "50 reviews," then all 50 come from unique readers. But on AO3, when you reply to a comment it continues the public comment thread, and is counted as a new comment. You can still find out how many reader comments you have in the Statistics breakdown, but afaik that is only viewable by the fic author. What readers see is the total comment count including replies, similar to how the count of bookmarks in the fic descrip is different than in your Statistics because it doesn't include private ones.

That's why, when I started using AO3 more regularly a couple years ago, I wasn't sure whether it was OK to reply to comments. Obvs the feature exists, but I wondered if in terms of etiquette, an author replying to each individual comment would be seen as padding the comment count - intentionally trying to make 50 reviews look like 100 to impress or entice more readers. At the same time, not saying anything to thank a reader who consistently leaves comments feels like ignoring them. It's funny because although I replied to reviews on ff.net, I didn't often get replies to my own reviews, and it never bothered me. It never occurred to me back then to expect replies, and not getting them never discouraged me from continuing to review. "Padding review count" there was like leaving a bunch of anon reviews of your own fic etc and I think that was the sort of bad behavior in writers which was frowned upon.

So what I've done on AO3 is pretty much reply to every commenter, but not to every comment. If I post a new chapter, I reply to every comment it gets. But if someone goes through my fic and comments on ten chapters en masse, I usually only reply to the most recent one, not all ten. I'm always happy to see someone enjoyed themself enough to want to comment each time they reach the end of a chapter, but I also don't want to annoy them by sending ten variations of "Thank you" at once lol.

Which brings me to another point, and that's the content of comment replies. I often see posts about people being unsure about what to say in a fic comment, and that they feel bad only saying "I like it." As a writer I definitely love both long, in depth comments AND short and sweet ones - they both totally make my day. But what about the content of the comment replies? haha. That's where I get embarrassed sometimes lol. I'm typing "Thank you so much!" so many times that I wonder how many people would prefer to not get a reply if it's going to be the same each time. And then I look back and go crap, I said the same exact phrase to this person the LAST time they commented... or that I left a reply to one reader that is unintentionally almost a carbon copy of one I left someone else...

Detailed comments are much easier to reply to, because there's material to work with. I'm not even talking long comments - just one single detail, like "This chapter was fun, I especially enjoyed the picnic scene" is easier to think up a unique reply to than "I like it." But I equally love both comments - just with the latter how witty I'll manage to be depends on my energy level xP

None of this is anything that keeps me up at night! It's just fanfiction: both in commenting and replies to comments, there should be no pressure and no rules beyond the Golden Rule. The number one thing which threw me was author comments included in the full comment count on AO3. But the thing about ff.net is, we didn't have kudos - the number of comments on a fic was the only metric besides hits which could signal that a fic was well-liked, and considered more reliable than hits because hits were easier to inflate. But on AO3, you have the addition of kudos. Kudos to me is the equivalent of getting a like on a post on tumblr - it's really not very meaningful unless you're getting tons of them, but it's better than getting nothing. And now I realize that being used to judging fics by comment count is something I carried over from ff.net, and maybe not something AO3 users ever think much about - they probably think about kudos. Which does make sense. (ETA: I think I didn't make it clear, but my thoughts on kudos and comments relate to not wanting to run afoul of how they may be perceived by the majority, not because I believe they're actual proof of a fic's value. I think it's better not to consider number of comments, or at least not consider it very highly, and certainly not in comparison to how interesting the fic seems to you. Just read and find out!)

So this long-winded post is just me expressing surprise at the differences I'm still experiencing switching from ff.net to AO3 even all these years later. I always thought of replies to comments as something I like to do, not necessarily something readers look forward to receiving. And I still don't know if they do overall, like the post I referenced at the beginning suggested. But I'm so grateful to all my readers and commenters. And if anyone asks me to stop replying to their individual comments, maybe because they're a prolific commenter on many fics and get deluged with "Thank yous" too often, that should be easy to manage xD

#fanfiction