#with fic engagement on my ao3 in terms of comments etc

[littlespoonevan]

#I’m always a little fascinated by this #bc see I feel like I’m really lucky in general #with fic engagement on my ao3 in terms of comments etc #but that very rarely crosses over to tumblr (save for notes on the original fic post i guess) #whereas I look at other blogs sometimes who get So Much engagement on tumblr about their writing #where they'll get dozens of asks and replies on a regular basis about their wips/new fics they've posted #but then that isn't always reflected on ao3 in comparison #anyway this isn't prompted by anything other than the fact that i started making polls and now i want to hear opinions on Everything lmao #except actually i was scrolling back in my asks tag recently to find something from years ago #and i forgot how much tumblr interaction i used to have about my skam fics #and that *definitely* wasn't translating to my ao3 for the first few i posted #but anyway yeah reblog and let me know in the tags lmao #writing adventures

[olderthannetfic]

First as a disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I'm not an anti (I'm anti death threats and am fine with incest, age-gap, abusive ships etc)

However I'm probably still a social/political enemy for various reasons but you sometime post asks from people you disagree with I think and I think you might know this answer.

Anyway onto my question I'm the kind of shipper who likes canon compliant ships and looking for hints and stuff but these days it feels like everyone boasts about how much their ships deviate and poop on canon etc. Do other shippers with my mentality still exist and I just don't notice them (Outside of anti spaces) or are we actually a dying breed?

--

Eh. I think "political enemy" has a pretty fluid definition if one is really into playing politics. If you aren't out campaigning on a white supremacy platform, we probably have some goals in common.

I usually block people for being extremely annoying on a day I'm feeling hormonal or for attacking people particularly viciously in my comments, not for nominally being in some other camp.

--

I think the more canon-adjacent fandom flavors are actually really common.

They're a little lost in the tumult of "My headcanon is actually canon!!!" stuff on tumblr that we like to laugh at on my own blog.

They're also less common in oldschool m/m-shipping spaces because those are often inherently non-canon ships. In the past, it was because homophobic censorship wouldn't let anything be made. These days, it's because the flavor of m/m a lot of people like is more easily found by adding romance to a buddy canon than by trying to add buddy-ness to a romance canon in many cases, and this can be true even if canon is original m/m aimed at fandom types.

Here's the thing: oldschool m/m shippers tend to be particularly prone to building community spaces and recording our history precisely because it's so easily erased and so often attacked. This type of shipper also tends to have more of a cohesive identity. That makes it far easier to name ourselves and set up little fiefdoms on modern social media.

I'm one of these people. Shittons of the people doing amateur fandom history work are. Much of the OTW old guard are. And lots of us know each other at least a bit, so if you're running into one of us, you're probably running into more of us.

--

However, that doesn't actually mean this type of shipping is the most common or that there have never been spaces devoted to something else.

That old Beauty and the Beast tv series with Linda Hamilton had epic canon shippers. So did Moonlight (the vampire tv series). So did and does Twilight.

A lot of these shippers had this as their first and possibly their only fandom and carried on being obsessed long after canon was over.

Lizzie/Darcy shippers put anything I have ever been a fan of to shame. No matter what the AO3 numbers show, this ship far, far exceeds the popularity of Destiel or any of the other m/m heavyweights.

--

I think the problem you're running into is that in the modern era of binging things on Netflix and regular joes being huge media geeks, analyzing canon in a nerdy way and obsessing over your canon ships is just how a big chunk of the population engages with media.

Fan theories that are closely tied to what was actually on the screen/page are the bread and butter of water cooler conversations and have been since The Sopranos and its ilk.

Yes, I know some fuck will immediately show up and go "Ahem, ahem, I am a GEEK and SPECIAL and the people around me never have intellectual conversations about media literally ever!!!!" just like every single time we have this conversation. But times have moved on, and being overinvested in canon theorizing just is a normie activity now, and that's great! Except when you want a special term and space to find your people.

The only time canon shippers really stand out from that is if they're extremely fic-focused, and then they often start straying farther from canon, especially if they stick around the same fandom for a long time. Either they start becoming more fans of some fic writer or they start wanting to diversify what they themselves are writing.

The really good close-to-canon fandom activities are at their best when lots of fans find the same currently-running canon at the same time and before canon itself passes its prime.

Even I started out on alt.tv.x-files, analyzing the shit out of season 2 and not caring much about non-canon things. (Though, admittedly, I was more NoRomo than MSR.)

--

That said, antis are not actually that canon-focused in most cases. They will do the "My headcanon is reality" thing as much as anyone. They just tend to spend a lot of time hating on explicit m/m and a lot of explicit m/m is of non-canon ships.

Honestly... anon... you might want to figure out what the latest CSI-ish franchise is and find the obviously-future-canon het ship from that. Those tend to get the 10 seasons of build up and fan theories that don't stray too far from canon.

This stuff is not only not a dying breed, but it's so common that one of the editors of NCIS delivered a deeply cringeworthy lecture at my film school about what "shippers" are and how the Tiva shippers affected the production.

People into those ships don't need tumblr: Major entertainment magazines are publishing their fan theories for them.

[divinekangaroo]

Thanks @palmviolet for tagging me!

How many works do you have on AO3? 154

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 900k

3. What fandoms do you write for? Peaky Blinders, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Age II, The Professionals.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Interesting and not straightforward question: I've been writing since 2007 and only rebooted my fics to AO3 in 2023. I backdated them to time of writing rather than posting live into the current update stream. I was vaguely curious to see what *actually* attracts readers through the AO3 search engine. So, my current top five are all Peaky Blinders Tommy/Lizzie fics, and given my small followers list, everyone following me will probably already have read them!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do, and it’s my vain (both senses of the term) struggle with how to do it appropriately. I am conscious of how comments, particularly on an AO3 "archival" fic, can weight a reader's further interpretation/engagement of or with fic by that author, and that I'll never put so much time into comments as I do into fic.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The fics I thought of picking for these two pretty much overlapped. Perhaps this shows just how I approach happiness – it’s moments, it’s never an ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Only old Dragon Age fics. Interesting period of time where any fic author that didn't unequivocally support the moral rightness of one particular character's opinions was targeted. Like: ok to write torture/rape fics of this character, but only if it was clear the author thought this character was morally right. Such a destructive troll.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I'll write sex, mostly as part of a larger arc rather than standalone smut; often it is a partial scenario rather than linear start-to-end event written in a rhythm to support a coherent wanking rise-to-climax read. I'm pleased if people find it pushes their buttons, but I'm also not bothered if it doesn't. I do approach smut as one of many possible lenses or frames for a character, however, so smut that detaches from character confuses me.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Sometimes but they have to feel really right. I think I tend more to fusion or pastiche (I think those are the terms?) rather than crossover: I take a particular character concept/theme and port them into a particular environmental context which is not possible in the canon to see what happens. The only one I still have up is a FFXII/Dragonriders of Pern fic (incomplete) which was going to be all about the horrible knowledge of socially accepted and endorsed ritualised rape and forced feminisation of a character.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I'm not that popular to notice.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have a memory of one in FFXII but can't recall.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Taught me a lot, including the kind of writer I am - difficult to collaborate as my push to complete within a motivational urge period will always be greater than a long-haul effort, and I struggle to be available for other people. I’m either good at the front end ideas-generation, or a micro detail ‘write this particular thing/scene and fill it with goodness’, and not very good at the middle bit – the long slot of planning and plotting and aiming for consistency etc. I am so grateful fandom exists to support non-traditional prose formats which let me play with writing and thinking and engagement without needing to produce to book-style production standards.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship? I usually fixate on a character, and pairings allow means to explore that character rather than being an end game.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Oh they all carry this potential. *cries* The issue for me is loss of motivational drive/thinking; because I rarely have good structural notes etc if I lose my immediate thread of 'thinking of everything all at once' I find it hard to pick up again later. I also stop some fics because I realise how ambitious the scope really is, and I feel like I can’t do them justice.

16. What are your writing strengths? Speed-sketcher? Completionist? Tests multiple ideas rapidly and freely and never worries about something 'being wrong' because there's always another fic to try? Intuitive gut level hits on characterisation here and there?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Editing, pacing, I can't sustain long fic, I frequently move characters around like paper dolls for the sake of the cool and forget they need their own internal motivation.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I prefer the kind of cant-based/dialect-based approach which splices non-English terms fluidly into English dialogue, mostly because as a child of many migrants this has been my world experience. I do suck at writing this, hence my frequent use of cop-outs to say 'language shift here, meanwhile still writing in English'. But when it’s done well it hits so many of my sweet spots.

19. First fandom you wrote for? FFVII.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Anything in my Personal Favourites list: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3728710. (I'm still too close to Peaky Blinders to pick a fav, it'll take about five years of distance!)

#my writing

[soaps-mohawk]

I feel like you may have answered this already, I'm really sorry if you have. But how do you decide whether to write your story in 2nd person/reader insert, 3rd person/reader insert, or 3rd person/OC? I've been reading forum posts about it online, and I can't decide which I should do. (Except 1st person. People really hate 1st person fanfics apparently, which I totally get)

I don't think I've answered this one before? I know I've stated this fic started with an OC in it's very early version, but this isn't really something I've talked about.

I kind of decide based on a couple things. Obviously 2nd person/reader fics are the most popular. I'll just get that out of the way. In most fandoms, readers prefer reader-insert fics over everything else these days. So if you're wanting engagement, reader-insert is your first path to having people actually read it.

Second, I tend to just go off the vibe of the fic. Can I do it successfully as a reader-insert fic? Does it make sense as a reader-insert fic? They're much harder to write than 3rd person/OC fics and you lose a lot of creativity with them, I feel like. With an OC you can really flesh out their character, their likes and dislikes, their actions and why they're doing it, their looks, etc. You can get really specific with OCs unlike 2nd person/reader fics. You have to be purposefully vague and try not to add in too much (I've seen fics where the reader doesn't even have a backstory which kudos to those people for managing that much vagueness.) Then it gets even harder when you try to avoid using Y/N like I do (it pulls me out of the fic so bad when I see it y'all I'm sorry). You have to craft dialogue and scenes to not use any sort of name (which is why I try to use pet names/nicknames as much as possible) and that's really difficult sometimes.

So yeah, a lot of it is just your own preference and dedication to how much work is going into the fic, as well as if you want engagement. I so rarely have OC fics get popular in most fandoms these days. There's a few I know of that do still prefer OC fics over reader-inserts, but pretty much across the board, reader-inserts are gonna be what's popular. I prefer OCs (if you couldn't tell) and a lot of my fics start with an OC, but then if I decide I'm going to post them, I'll change to 2nd person and keep things vague with a reader-insert.

What's funny is I used to only write in 1st person. There's some MCU fics still on my Ao3 that were written in 1st person and no joke I get comments on them still like "I was so excited for this fic, then I saw it was in 1st person" lmaoo like yeah, babes that was still fairly popular in fanfics when I wrote them. I get why people hate it, I've grown to hate it over the years. 3rd person just offers the most in terms of development and allowing other views on characters and their actions.

#so yeah it's really up to you and your preferences and whether engagement matters to you #i've seen OC fics get popular still but not nearly as often as reader-inserts #so yeah #things to keep in mind as you decide #answered

[itwoodbeprefect]

12, 27, 42, 46 for the fic writer asks

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

i could try to pretend that it doesn't matter to me if people read my stuff or not, but that would be a lie. i think maybe it's more... by this point i've had years and years of posting fic and people being extremely sweet and kind and encouraging about it, and that has absolutely had an impact both in terms of keeping me posting more fic and the ways i view my own writing (and how i view myself, i think, especially pre-ao3. i'm pretty sure people online telling me i was funny played a not insignificant part in building any sense of self-worth as a deeply awkward kid irl in high school), and having all of that history and experience, at this point i have the luxury of not caring about the numbers that much. comments are always very awesome, but if any particular fic would end up getting ignored completely for whatever reason, that's okay. i'm not writing for max engagement (i've made some hilariously terrible decisions lately if that's what i'm going for), but that doesn't take away that people being excited about a thing i made remains a really really nice benefit to how the fandom ecosystem works.

though i will also note, i don't think there's a single thing wrong with wanting or needing feedback or support to your writing. i frequently feel extremely spoiled in that regard, because i've been around for so long and my output in that time has been so high on average that i know people know my name, and i also write pretty easily digestible uncontroversial stuff generally speaking no matter what fandom i'm in at the time, so the responses i'm getting are oftentimes not the average, and i'm very aware of that. it's much, much harder getting started in fandom.

-

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

ooooh. i mean, most favorite is easy, and probably a fairly universal answer, which is that moment when the writing flows nicely and it feels right and i get to put down at least a few paragraphs in a row (maybe even more!) without it feeling like any effort at all. least favorite is probably the opposite - when it just Won't Work, and every sentence feels clunky and awkward and overwrought, like there's just no way to bridge whatever tiny gap in a story i'm probably trying to fill at the time. the goofiest thing about that is that when reading things back later there's often not too much actual difference between the quality of the writing when it feels good vs. when it feels bad, because the problem is in my head, but it's also my head that needs to do the writing, so that doesn't make it less of an obstacle.

-

42. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Centrefolds / Distal Breaks by @redgoldblue, which i read because @redgoldblue wrote it, because i would absolutely recommend anything written by @redgoldblue.

-

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

ha, anything but action- or plot-driven, i think. characters, emotions, characters having emotions, emotions to explore characters - that's my wheelhouse.

and on the topic of writing style: i've gotten a comment a few times (as a compliment! nothing bad about this) that said something to the effect that my writing is pleasantly economical or sparse, which frankly baffled me for a while, because right from the very very start i was writing mostly about relationships (whether friendship, romance, family), and not very much really happens in my stories (the traditional way, action or plotwise), so from my point of view almost everything was fluff and just sort of... not superfluous, and definitely not meaningless (there's a lot of meaning to feelings!), but a sort of deleted scene extra part to canon. those are some of the first responses i got to my work: i can't believe i read this many words about almost nothing happening, and i really liked it! so filler, i guess, might be the best word for it, and obviously "all of this is filler" and "this is a very economical use of words" is inherently contradictory, except, well. is it? it took me a while to, i guess, internalize, that when the goal is feelings and exploring characters, doing that in an effective way is going straight to the point.

-

Get to know your fic writer! 🔎

#thank you!! 💖 #* #ask #ask game

[marrfixated]

Pinned post/My info:

Last updated May 4, 2024

TL;DR: Marr, he/she/they/any, neurodivergent, Total Drama (Alenoah, Priyemma, etc), fanfiction, sideblog @priyemma

Sooo busy lately but TD is always on my mind

My name is Marr! I use He/She/They and any pronouns. I’m Omni, Bigender, and Aspec. Or something. I’m cool with any gendered terms, and I pretty much use them interchangeably myself. Gal, guy, neither, whatever!

I have ADHD and anxiety (both diagnosed) along with other things, but those are the ones I’ll probably talk about on here the most. I’m mixed White and Latina (plus Native) but fairly white passing. I speak English and want to learn Spanish, but I’m definitely not fluent. American and more “country” than I realize lol

Right now im really into Total Drama. It’s one of my longest lasting hyperfixations so far! I also post about a few other things, like House M.D and Dungeon Meshi. (More likely reblogging those things though.)

Specifically in Total Drama I mostly post about Alenoah and Priyemma. Recently been talking about the newest Reboot season (and my complaints with it). I talk the most about World Tour and TDI 2023 because it’s been a while since I’ve watched all the seasons and those are the ones I remember the best. I plan to rewatch them all… someday. I haven’t even finished watching reboot s2 because it’s painful!

I love shipping! I can’t even list them all because there’s so many tbh. I am very much a multi shipper and I constantly am finding new things to ship! I try to not engage in ship hate ever, but sometimes I slip up lol. I post some less-than-positive content about Nemma on occasion or Juliayne… everything that could be considered ship hate is tagged as such and never tagged with the ship that is being slandered.

I can’t really draw, so if I ever post my beginner drawings please be nice lol 😭 I’m still developing a style and learning. I have many, many WIPs that I might share here and there. I do really want to be able to draw confidently and make art for the things I love!

I’ve started writing fanfiction again lately! It’s a struggle for a lot of reasons. Props to everyone who writes fics because it’s hard. It takes me hella long too! I usually get out at least one a month. My user is Marrfixated on AO3, feel free to leave comments or kudos!

I’ve written four Alenoah oneshots so far. Most recently posted Contra Entendre, so go read that! I have 3 other oneshots that are somewhat written and I’ll post someday, but I’ve shifted my focus to planning some longer fics. I currently have an Alenoah AU and a Priyemma post-canon fic in the works! The latter is my main focus as I plan out the entire thing.

I also have tiktok @Marrfixated. I post on tumblr more than TikTok because it’s easier, but I started off there. I don’t really use anything else yet (except ao3). I also have a Priyemma centric sideblog on here (@priyemma), where I’ll sometimes reblog content from and vice versa.

You’re on thin ice if you engage in ship discourse, constantly hate on ship I like (it makes me sad 💔), or are a dsmp fan/an enjoyer of any of Vivziepop’s works (I don’t like you).

Proshippers DNI. Zionists DNI. Vivziepop defenders DNI. Dream supporters DNI. Dsmp supporters also DNI. Do some damn research.

I might post suggestive things here sometimes, but I don’t think I ever have or will post any extremely nsfw content. I don’t plan to EVER post nsfw or suggestive related content related to td, it makes me uncomfortable as most of the characters are minors. I do curse a lot, and reclaim the f slur on occasion. Please don’t engage in ship discourse on my account for no reason! That’s no fun.

I usually take like 3 years to answer asks or dms or whatnot for various reasons… but I swear I don’t mean any offense! I just um forget sometimes 😇 Or I post it to drafts instead… or I get nervous 😶 and sometimes idk if you just sent it or want me to actually respond so I just guess? Ummm yeah. Also they go missing a lot. Probably have to figure that out. Oops!

I reblog a lot so right now I’m trying to tag all my original posts as #original post. Lazy posts are usually tagged with #shitpost. Random posts are usually tagged as #nonfandom post. My td fics are tagged as #my fanfiction.

That’s it!

#original post

[jen-with-a-pen]

If people aren't comfortable reblogging fics to their blog (which I am not, due to a personal history of being doxxed and humiliated to my irl friends and family), are comments sufficient enough engagement or would you rather that reader not engage with your work at all?

I feel like that came out sounding passive aggressive but I truly mean it as a genuine question and am just not sure how to rework it to sound less snarky! I see this discourse on and off from different fic writers and respect both opinions and think everyone should be able to curate interaction with their fics as they see fit.

Hi, anon.

I've been thinking carefully on how to respond to this. I can tell you're not trying to come off as snarky– which i say as someone who can't read tone for shit most of the time and whose own tone can come off aggressive or bitchy when I don't mean it to be.

I'm gonna address your ask as thoroughly as I can, if that's cool. Sorry if it's a long response. I'll put a cut in so I don't interrupt feeds ✂️

First, I want to pose a question to your question, which I mean genuinely with no spite whatsoever: why are you on Tumblr if you're not reblogging or don't even reblog?

As I've stated in other replies to the post I made a few weeks back, from the way I see it, Tumblr is literally built upon the foundation of sharing creations and content. There is no dead-set algorithm here like there is for Instagram or TikTok. Sharing is, quite fucking literally, caring here. We are able to form communities of all sizes because we share things. Reblogging is essential to the upkeep, and quite frankly the existence, of fandom and communities. Without sharing, our communities crumble and become ruins. We are actively seeing this as we speak: many mutuals and authors I follow are starting to quit writing due to passive, demanding consumption patterns and 0 engagement.

I know you probably know this, but I thought I'd restate it for answer's sake.

To answer the meat of your ask, I will pull from both personal experience and mutuals' experiences and input.

In my own personal opinion, if you are solely commenting on fics and are not engaging in anything else (no likes, no reblogs, etc.) then I personally think that Tumblr is not the site you should be on and, frankly, you should go sign up for AO3 if that's all you're going to do.

And I mean this earnestly. If all you want to do for engagement is commenting, then AO3 needs you because sharing does NOT affect authors nearly as much over there as it does here. In fact comments on AO3 are the literal equivalent to reblog on Tumblr: we don't get any and when we do it's like finding an oasis in a never ending desert.

Now in terms of what mutuals and other authors have said on the matter, it seems the consensus is that commenting without reblogging is a case-by-case basis. I'm going to quote a mutual of mine here:

"...if someone is commenting on my work but not reblogging… I'd say it's case by case. If it's just MY fics they aren’t reblogging, then it'd be a problem, but if they don’t reblog ANY [fics] I'd be more okay."

Another mutuals also put it this way:

"... I feel like there *is* both sides in this sense; yes comments are nice and engaging even though they aren't the preferred and most helpful way to boost writers..."

I feel like both of them put it into words where I struggled to. I will also say that I do agree with the point being that if you're not gonna reblog ANYTHING– no art, no content, no photos, no other fics, nothing– AND your profile adheres to the guidelines set forth in basic Tumblr etiquette (not looking like a bot and not a minor) then sure, comment away.

The verdict, in summary with my opinion and mutuals': it depends on your behavior and your interactions with other works and content.

I hate the word content but I couldn't think of another one.

But, my question still stands: why are you on Tumblr when you don't even participate in the basic fundamental function of this site?

I also wanted to take the time to address the other part of your ask regarding the doxxing and people finding out your identity.

It has been very widely known for (close to) two decades now that Tumblr is the place where you can have an anonymous identity. Truly. I've been on here for the collective half of the last decade and have been on the Internet for a little more than half my life, now, and Tumblr and fandom are literally the biggest and best places where you can be someone else. You can be completely anonymous.

The common denominator, however, is you.

The amount of information you have on your blog is what you choose to put on it. If you state your real name, your state and city, have one of those (imo stupid) carrd things or whatever, then honey– and I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly– that is on you. I know for a fact (from good and bad experiences) that you have all of the power in the world to annonymize yourself while still maintaining yourself on the Internet. That make sense?

A couple of mutuals made very excellent points regarding this:

"...I have a best friend irl who has Tumblr and is so close to the fandoms I'm in, and she doesn't know I write here. I am anonymous on here. I'm suprised she hasnt connected the dots because my aesthetics are the same in real life..."

"...I personally think its pretty easy to be anonymous on tumblr. Especially since usually all we ask is you have that you aren’t a minor at the top of your blog..."

"...it's really easy to be anonymous on the internet [...] you can be an ENTIRELY different person on the internet..."

From that last mutual, I'll paraphrase and go off of another point they made: the fact that you do want to participate and comment negates your ENTIRE arguement because someone– anyone– can find you and your blog through said comment(s).

Your digital footprint is what you leave behind. So if you have your city and state and grade and real name and all this other shit in your blog or carrd or whatever, then you are the only one who is responsible for having put said information out there.

Hell, I've been mutuals with some people going on 2-3 YEARS at this point and the only other things they know about me is my state, general city vicinity, my cat, and what I do for a living. That's it. And we span from early twenties to married with a kid or two.

We are in charge of what we share and I implore you– as someone with a certification in legal information technology– to please educate yourself on your Internet privacy and digital footprint. Please take the time to think about your actions and the information you have online. I STILL do this to this day, even after getting certified and being on the Internet for half my life.

I am sorry that you've gotten doxxed in the past. Truly, I am. It's a horrible act and I hope you never have to experience that again. Please know I am not being dismissive of that nor trying to blame you for said acts.

But it all comes down to you at the end of the day. In general, it's you, your actions, and the consequences of your actions. And if you happen to be a minor, then I strongly urge you to rethink your decisions and maybe step away from social media and utilize critical thinking in order to asses your situation and who you surround yourself with, both online and offline. I wish I had someone to tell me that when I was 14– fuck, even when I was 18.

And I mean it when I say AO3 might suit you more than Tumblr. If any fandom site has more capabilities to be anonymous than Tumblr itself, it's AO3.

Anyways, I think that's all I have to say for you. My DMs and ask box are always open and I am open to more commentary on the matter and related ones so long as it is civil and respectful. I refuse to stop having this conversation.

Thank you for listening ❤️

#jen speaks #commentary #ask #answer #long post #long response #i hope i addressed this enough for you anon #and others who kight have similar questions #this conversation is LONG overdue and i want to spearhead the effort to try snd build back fandom and engagement between reader and writer #anyways #i read this a million times and even had my boyfriend's input lmaooo #he doesnt have a clue about fandom but he assured me i wasnt coming off as an asshole 😅 #im hoping i can continue the conversation with yall bc once im passionate theres no turning back #and idk about yall #but it fucking sucks seeing your friends lose interest in their hobbies and you look up to them and i hate seeing them so defeated #its an epidemic

[fir3-and-bl00d]

fanfic writer questions

(answered 01/21/24)

How many works do you have on AO3?

My page says 16, but 2 of those got combined into 1 fic, so it's really 14.

What's your total AO3 word count?

1,382,274

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In order from most to least it's: The Night We Met, A Marriage of Convenience, A Little Help From Your Family, Dragons Across The Sea, & A Song For Dragons

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best to because I think it's important to interact with my readers and to explain the writing choices I make. I've gotten really bad at responding lately, but I promise I read every single comment. Getting a really detailed comment saying why/what you liked about a certain chapter always makes my day ❤️

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

None because I only write happy endings for jonerys and also all of my long-term fics are still ongoing!

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I mean The Chamber of the Painted Table had a happy ending in that jonerys ends up engaged lol. But like I said above, all my fics will have happy endings for Jon & Dany and all their targlings.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've ever written?

I don't write crossovers! Only GoT/HoTD/TWOIAF for me!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Unfortunately, yes on both Dragons Across The Sea and A Little Help From Your Family. Most of the time it's people bashing a specific character (usually Jon or Dany).

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

When I first started writing fanfic, no. But now ... definitely lol. Is it even one of my fics if we don't have some dominant Jon, the Targaryen breeding kink, and an aunt/nephew kink?

As for the kind, M/F with a focus on dirty talk since I think that's hot. I'm not the biggest fan of reading smut that's just big long blocks of description with no dialogue, so I try to avoid that.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so. I'm open to it as long as I'm credited as the author!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

NO but that should change (hopefully) sometime later this year! Robbaery & Jonerys nation keep an eye out ... 👀

What's your all time favorite ship?

JON SNOW/DAENERYS TARGARYEN and they have no other competition in my mind.

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hmm, that's a good one. I think Dragons Across The Sea simply because of where the story is right now. (jon and dany are still very far away in Essos - Yunkai to be exact - and with everything I have planned for that story, it's going to take a longggggg time to write all of it)

What are your writing strengths?

I personally think dialogue and inner monologue come easily to me, specifically with Jon and Dany. It's also very easy for me to write romantic scenes for my ships, I love writing my babies being in love!

What are you writing weaknesses?

Definitely describing clothing and locations. Also battle scenes make me want to throw my laptop out a window. I have such respect for the authors out there that can really write a good battle sequence without losing the audience's interest. Same with people who can describe clothing so well that I can picture it in my mind.

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

Well if y'all have read my stuff, you know the only other language I use is Valyrian. I think it's natural for characters like Dany, Rhaenyra, Daemon, Maester Aemon, Aemon the Dragonknight, Naerys, etc to speak it since they grew up learning it. I especially adore taking terms of endearment in English and translating them into Valyrian. Examples include ñuha jorrāelagon (my love) and ñuha prūmia (my heart).

You'll usually see me writing Jon picking up on Valyrian since Dany uses it with him. I just think it's super adorable for jonerys to call each other pet names in both the Common Tongue and Valyrian (the language of their ancestors). And of course, there's times where I write them speaking it in nsfw situations hehe.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Game of Thrones/ASOIAF and it's the only fandom I've written for so far.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

I'll say my favorite fic I've written/currently writing is The Night We Met. The progression of jonerys' relationship in that fic is everything to me, and I got super emotional when I wrote their wedding on Dragonstone. There's so many moments in that fic where I show how devoted they are to each other <3

here's my AO3!

#myfics #ao3 writer #this was longer than i thought it would be

[silvercap]

Do you have any tips for new writers?

Also is there a way to not get too caught up in engagement and stats? I'm kinda having this problem and it is taking the motivation out of things a bit 😭

That's a good question! This post got a little long, so I'm implementing a break lol

I don't exactly have specific rules, but I think my biggest tip for someone writing for the first time is to go easy on yourself and give yourself time to get better. I struggle a lot with perfectionism and the nasty habit of being harder on myself than anyone else ever will be, but it's important to acknowledge that we are our own worst critics and that improvement is only measurable by practicing through the early stuff. I encourage a lot of experimenting, especially when you're starting out--try new things and ways of writing and slowly collect the ones that work for you. I've taken plenty of classes on the logistics of writing and technical tips, but those aren't necessarily helpful for everyone to focus on when they're starting out. I think in first drafts and initial writing, it's better to write from whatever urge possesses you to do so and not get caught up in the technicalities. Those are often more helpful when editing, but it really depends on the way your brain works!

Over time, you'll start to build up a sense of flow and style and the general rhythm of writing engaging paragraphs, which brings me to my next point--reading. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: Reading is one of the best ways to develop a sense of rhythm and effective imagery/idiom/etc. I've also spent plenty of classes analyzing the effectiveness of (I forget the exact word) elements like metaphor or allegory or symbolism or anaphora or any other technical term you can think of that is commonly used to convey specific literary concepts. Reading, on its own, is a great tool for subconsciously noticing the flow of writing and getting a sense for it, but sometimes just taking notice of certain paragraphs that feel right to you or just hit in the right way can allow you to analyze them more deeply and find out what exactly it is about the words that works. Everyone has their own preferences! That might seem daunting, but often the best resources we as writers have is each other, and everyone is inspired by someone else at some point. I'm totally here to take asks and answer any questions I may have brought up because I'm rambling a little bit and like I said: technical aspects aren't necessarily helpful to focus on all at once, and I recommend trying one out at a time to see how it works for you. If that makes sense!

My biggest piece of advice is to have fun with it! Experiment. Put in that weird little thing you think nobody else will like, because often those are the best parts of writing. Do what you feel sounds right! Not to Wayne Gretzky you, but you can only get better or 'succeed' by trying it out and seeing where it takes you. We write because we have ideas we want to share or explore for ourselves, and trying to force yourself to write something you're not passionate about is rarely lucrative.

As for engagement and stats--now, that's a whole other beast. We all want to be noticed and appreciated and commented on, and it's hard sometimes to post a fic and have less engagement than you hoped, but I have a couple things I like to keep in mind for this. It's discouraging, for sure, but people on ao3 or similar sites don't always show their appreciation even if they read and liked your fic. The only way we can fix this as a collective community is to lead by example and comment/kudos/share the fics we read in the hopes that it will catch on and to spread the love to everyone else. I also find it helpful to think about the people who do leave kudos--even if there are only one or two of them--as not just random usernames, but actual living, breathing people who read your fic and enjoyed it. There's that post somewhere about ten likes not seeming like much in the scheme of social media and the influence that virality has had on the internet in recent years, but to have ten people standing in a room with you giving you a thumbs up? That's a lot of people. Even if you get very little engagement, that is not a reflection of you as a person or even necessarily your skill. I know that this can be draining, but the only way to try and build an audience is to post. Sometimes it takes a long time for fics to be noticed. Sometimes things fail. It's up to you how you want to take that, and I can't tell you any of this for certain. I just know from my personal experience that finding a community is only accomplishable by interacting and posting and sharing and existing, and often someone will come along when you don't expect it.

None of this is guaranteed. Hell, take everything I say with a critical eye and more than a few grains of salt, because this is only my experience and god am I still learning. These are things that help me, and I hope some of this is helpful to you, too! What I can tell you for certain is that I encourage you to write and pursue it as far as you want to, and even farther than that. It takes hard work. It can feel like nobody is listening. And ughhhhh the writer's block suuuuuucks. But, you're not alone in this. Anything you've felt is something another writer has felt before, and I think, at least, that there's comfort in knowing you're following in the footsteps of even the writers we consider to be great in both their success and flaws. Maybe I'm being a little lofty ahaha, but it comes down to whether or not you want to write. You can only decide how this goes, and it takes time to work through the barriers of both skill and the anxious fear of not being seen. I see you! And I'm here in the asks anytime you want :)

And even if you fail and give up--you're no less of a writer for it, because you tried, and I think that matters. The lovely thing about being alive and being writers is that we can change and grow, and there will always be a place for you among creators if you choose to join them, no matter how amateur you feel or how long you do it for.

#idk if this answers your question lmao #asks #I could also maybe find more practical resources for physically writing if that's what you were hoping for ahaha

[palmviolet]

5 and 12 for the fic writer ask game?

5. do you like constructive criticism?

absolutely not lmao. issues with my fanfiction are between me and god and i guess my reader and their groupchat! i write original work as well and in that it's going to be a much more collaborative process with agent, editor, publisher etc so fanfiction is my refuge from having to worry about if it's objectively 'good' or not. i appreciate people often come with the best of intentions but it would get draining if my hobby came with the possibility of criticism.

12. how does receiving/not receiving feedback/support impact you?

and now on the flipside, i absolutely live for reactions/commentary/feedback that aren't coming from a critical 'trying to improve my writing' angle. i live and die by my comment emails like most writers on ao3 and my absolute favourite thing right now is waking up after posting a new chapter of better by you (since i post them around midnight my time) and scrolling through my inbox to see the responses. it's so rewarding to have people engage with my work, often on a very richly detailed level, picking out themes and recurring ideas i'm only subconsciously aware of inputting. i love having a dialogue with my readers and i'm really committed to responding to comments before posting the next chapter, if only to say thank you, since i appreciate them so much!

it was quite difficult writing in smaller fandoms, since just in terms of sheer numbers i wouldn't get the same response, but it did make me learn to appreciate every single little bit of support i receive. and then writing for steddie and suddenly having this huge audience, all of whom are so lovely, has really reaffirmed my love for writing fic and engaging in fandom in this way.

and in general i am just a very positive feedback-driven person lmao it's what drove me into the academic path i took and continues to be a major motivator in my original work - i'm sharing bits of what i'm working on with friends, not for critical feedback but just for a bit of cheerleading. all of this to say, if you like my work please tell me about it! and if you hate it don't tell me ahaha

thank you for the ask!

fic writer asks

#asks #my fic

[anamatics]

Personally I prefer kudos to comments on my fics. I don’t really have the time or the mental energy to reply to every single comment, and if I don’t do that I feel guilty. When I read a fic I only really comment if I have something important to say, or something specific I liked abt the fic. When every single app, website, etc uses the ‘like’ over ‘comment’ algorithm, you can’t expect people to suddenly not do that just bc it wasn’t an original feature of ao3. Expecting people to leave a comment to stroke your ego bc you wrote something kinda ain’t it for me dude. Knowing people read it, and liked it, should be enough if you yourself are content with your work and its quality. Not everybody is a critic who wants to leave a paragraph review. Some people just want a silly story and to move on. I’d rather have 500 kudos than 500 comments, and I’d rather read a fic with 500 kudos over 500 comments.

It must be a pretty grim view you have of me if you think I need my ego stroked by fanfic, a thing I do in my extremely limited spare time as a social thing for friends. I’m sorry you feel this way about me. Please just unfollow if you’ve got this much of an issue with me.

I want to unpack this for a minute, though.

“Personally I prefer kudos to comments on my fics.”

I don’t. It’s okay to have different opinions on what we want in terms of engagement from our friends, peers, and random internet strangers over our work.

“When every single app, website, etc uses the ‘like’ over ‘comment’ algorithm, you can’t expect people to suddenly not do that just bc it wasn’t an original feature of ao3.”

1) archive of our own does not use a “comment” or “like” algorithm. There is no fanfic serving algorithm on archive of our own because it is an archive, not a social platform. Content recommendation algorithms like you see on TikTok or YouTube are designed to keep you engaged, watching ads, and generating ad revenue for the company, oftentimes while, again, using user generated content that was produced FOR FREE to drive eyeballs and engagement to these ads.

2) Like buttons were created for advertisers. Archive of our own is not for profit, which means it doesn’t have advertising on its website. Why have a like button if it is, essentially, meaningless to the platform. The feature doesn’t do anything for Ao3.

“Expecting people to leave a comment to stroke your ego bc you wrote something kinda ain’t it for me dude. Knowing people read it, and liked it, should be enough if you yourself are content with your work and its quality.”

Creative energy, thought, and process are labor. People who do free labor out of their want to share a story they wrote and are proud of are allowed to want and desire praise. Let’s put it another way: you’re working in a big project at your job, you do a great job, absolutely knock the project out of the park - do you want praise? Do you want to feel like your hard work will be acknowledged? I’m assuming yes.

Now imagine that your boss doesn’t say anything to you. Imagine that no one does. Imagine that there’s some sort of company newsletter that briefly mentions your project under a heading: “kudos” where you’re lumped in with 25 other people. Your hard work is cheapened because no one bothered to tell you they cared, no one bothered to speak to you directly and honor your hard work. Yes, you’re content with the work you did on the project, but when you do work and you’re proud of it, others around you should honor that work. Not cheapen it by sticking you in a group with 25 other people. It wouldn’t seem really fair, I’m assuming.

I dislike your framing that desiring engagement with the product of unpaired creative labor to produce a creative work that others are consuming for free as ego stroking. That is incredibly dismissive of how people who do creative work feel about their work, and absolutely neglects to consider people where they’re at. A comment can make someone’s entire day. A kudos email about 5 people hitting kudos? Yes, it’s nice, but it isn’t nice in the same way as a comment.

“Not everybody is a critic who wants to leave a paragraph review. Some people just want a silly story and to move on.”

Nowhere did I say a person had to write a paragraph review. I suggested if you’re rereading something to type “reread kudos” into the comment box.

But also: that silly story took the author how many hours to write? How many hours to edit? To plan? This says to me that fic is a commodity whose production costs (time and effort to produce, skill, expertise) you don’t value very much. I’m sorry this is the case. Some of us have been writing fic for a long time and this is a very discouraging attitude to encounter. Because what’s the point of writing then? This is why people stop writing, they feel their unpaid creative labor isn’t valued.

#this really isn’t that hard to get #I’m glad you like kudos #not everyone does #and that’s okay!

[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

[blackbird-brewster]

I am usually really good about not worrying about stats on AO3 (hits, kudos, comments). I do well not to compare myself to others because (logically) I know numbers don't actually mean anything, but social media brainrot makes us all obsess over numbers and 'engagement', etc.

It SUCKS to pour your heart into something, FOR FREE, and then get zero comments or whatever. But I usually at least do well with not comparing numbers to other fics.

Usually.

For whatever reason, sometimes a fic will come round from another author and it will do really well in terms of numbers and my brain gets so laser-focused on 'why them?'. Anyway, I dunno what makes readers want to read one fic over another, I mean I do -- because I'm an extremely picky reader lol But yeah, there's no point to this rant other than to try and explain the feeling of when my brain decides one random fic is now my nemesis for absolutely no coherent reason. Thank goodness for the mute button! Takes it off my search results, gives me peace of mind.

#random thoughts #about me 2k23 #fanfic writing #autism gremlin really has no rhyme or reason folks

[mostlymaudlin]

🧿🕯️💥!!! (@stabbyfoxandrew's main)

omg HOW DID I NOT REALIZE YOU WERE YOU... this makes so much sense hahahha. ty for ur ask!!

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

ok i talk a big game abt writing for myself and ITS TRUE but im also a sensitive baby. and tbh what actually happens most often is that i get IRATE when people leave comments that i feel bridge too far into feedback that i dont want to hear -- and i don't want to hear it bc the damage is already done! like, i published the thing, i wiped my hands of it, i don't want to hear anything bad abt it because i learned what i wanted to learn from it and i want to be happy with it as it stands. DONT TELL ME if you're not happy i dont careeee!!! hahaha. so basically it's a lot of me giving myself that exact lecture & remembering why i shouldnt care abt negative feedback.

in terms of "not doing well" i can usually clock when something wont do the numbers on AO3, and i don't really mind it. my fics with the most hits etc are not the ones im most proud of, but i totally get why theyre the ones w those stats -- theyre simple, accessible, and quick. and you know what ?? im glad ppl are getting on ao3 and just kinda reading & resting. i also read a lot of fics just to escape into something easy. and so if a fic isnt doing well statistically, but im proud of it, im usually pretty good at reminding myself why most people go to ao3, and why the thing that ive written doesnt really align with that.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

well first off i am lucky in that i am not shy at all hahaha. clearly i love talking to people/talking about my wriitng. i think all of this is fun!! im actually really bad at taking compliments, so i dont reply to many ao3 comments unless ppl are opening a conversation somehow. but i love asking questions and answering questions and all the fun sharing we do. i think a lot about writing original fiction, and the main thing that holds me back is that its just SO FUN to share characters. im such an Andrew Minyard Enjoyer, and whenever i write him, i feel like im in conversation with everyone else who loves him and writes him and reads him! and that's such an incredible experience.

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

this is a cute one omg. my least kudosed fic is a Simon Snow/Shepard Love fic, which makes sense, because the audience for them as a true romantic pairing is VERY small haha. closer to the sun is one of the coolest things ive written tho, tbh. i think i did something fun with the dragon lore with the series, and i also gave Shepard a lot of my own personal experiences/skills as he went dragon hunting. there's also dragon fliritng. and dragon sex! idk man LOL it's really weird for a fanfic, i know this, but i think it's pretty good FICTION? theyre pretty removed from the canon in this, i was just kinda doing my own thing.

#my writing

[vesperewrites]

"but I can't see any difference in quality" anon..Please be honest with yourself. Either you don't read much or I think you may be pretty deeply in denial. Just purely going off the fact that the lucemond ao3 feed is currently filled with twitter fics, google translated fics (and that's not an insult, the A/N will say, 'I put this through google translate') and people's first attempts at fanfic is a pretty clear indication that the objective quality has dropped. You are still allowed to enjoy these things and support these authors, but it's very much not the same as it was in the NOV-FEB period where we had very seasoned authors (if you don't like the term popular - fine. But these authors were much more experienced in world building, prose, character building etc) writing more than one shots for lucemond.

And like, I'm sad about it too? I want the fandom to prosper and to have fic variety and long, complicated fics but it's also normal for those kind of authors to move on because they are used to a certain level of engagement from their readers that Lucemond cannot provide at the moment. Because Lucemond and HOTD fandom is in a lull. Which again, totally expected and normal.

What i don't understand, is the point of this fandom's head-in-the-sand approach to nearly everything. Not just this, but when we talk about certain tropes, or character popularity or toxic comment culture - so many people think the best thing to do is pretend nothing is wrong or it doesn't exist. As though that'll make it go away somehow.

Hi anon, can you pick an emoji so I can differentiate between you and the other anons?

Special thanks to @jojodacrow for helping me word this succinctly and for letting me use your words to explain some stuff.

To start: There's so many talented arts, cool twt threads, and fics being made/updated. If it's not your cuppa, then I don't know what else I can say that I have not already said in previous asks.

I disagree that the "objective quality" dropped considering the bevy of talented folks here. If you're referring to the people that left, along with their fics (the quantity and quality of it), then yeah, shame. There's nothing we can do about it, and it's not my kink to beg.

There seems to be plenty of amazing writers (new and old) still here since the beginning, and I'm having a good time.

As far as the other "quality has been good" anon goes: it's not fair to say that they're in deep denial when that is their own fandom experience and opinion. Just like you're entitled to yours.

Anon, I feel like you are conflating two separate things here.

Every fandom has its peak, a time where everyday is just shiny and new--everyone is creating content, meta, art, inside jokes are created. The fandom feels the most alive for that extended period of time and everyday brings something exciting.

But that time never lasts.

Fandoms go through lulls, they ebb and flow like you have said. Some fandoms fizzle out very quickly. I think, that as a writer, I can imagine that there's disappointment with fic engagement going down. Most of my friends (DNF fandom) are writing for the love and enjoyment of writing, and not for the engagement they get. That's not to say that it's not okay to wish to have good feedback, kudos, or a nice comment. As humans, we naturally seek some validation. But there are authors who are only seeking those engagement numbers and interactions like a drug. There's nothing wrong with jumping to different fandoms/writing for new ships just to get that high again.

However, it's not an obligation for the reader to comment/interact every single time. Just like how we are not obligated to write/draw/create for this fandom.

Side note: That being said, it doesn't give a good excuse to harass authors or give entitled comments. :/ I'll reblog a post from a friend that nails this extremely well when it comes to comment culture and etiquette (thanks @jojodacrow!)

Like yeah, NOV-FEB seemed to have been poppin', cool, yeah. But uh, there's nothing we can do about it. We might see a resurgence for S2, but probably never to the levels we saw again. That is something you are going to have to accept. Even when the new season starts... it's not going to be like it was where we see those crazy amounts of fics again.

It's not that I don't like the term "popular"; that was only mentioned because you brought it up in another ask. But as I've said before: popular ≠ good. There is a certain level of experience that comes with someone's work being good, yeah. Again, I can't covet what I've never known to have lost. Whoever left, I don't think I got a chance to read, but I'm currently drowning in damn good recs.

I have no clue why they left the fandom. And unless you're friends with them, I don't know you are fixated on it. I'm getting the sense that you harbor a lot of resentment or frustration over this.

You say that you want the fandom to prosper, but I personally think it's been nice and peaceful on my end. I came when everything was on fire as I was updating SDP. There was drama everywhere and there is valid criticisms about commenting stuff.

But right now? As a a person here for less than six months? I'm good with what we have so far! Re: last asks and the linked authors.

So we can complain about it, we can move on to other fandoms, or we can find ways to enjoy what we have. There are lots of ways to do that. The fans that are still here can find ways to encourage activity. There's a fandom event going on!! We can comment on the stories we do like to encourage those authors. We can create fan events. We can foster writing/art challenges that center on the kinds of tropes we do love. If you think some of the younger/newer writers need help, then offer to beta read to help them improve.

At the end of the day this fandom is only as good as the work the fans put into it and complaining on tumblr isn't going to accomplish anything for this fandom if you aren't willing to do something to change it. But you said you were a writer? Then, it sounds like you're already doing your best, providing for the fandom.

As for your last paragraph, I think the commenting culture is well known by this point (I was so confused when I first joined the fandom too), luckily the comments on my fic have been lovely, so thank you readers 🥺❤️ I don't know anything about the tropes thing or character popularity thing, I'll admit. Is this regarding specifically the lu_cem*nd fandom? I have no clue what you mean about head-in-the-sand approach.

#author asks #lcmd discourse #im so sry everyone that this so long

[punchdrunkdoc]

Hi honey how are you? I read your Battinson story and I am completely in love with the way you write. the details, the dialogues, the way you show each character's personality is incredible. I wanted to ask if you have any tips for new writers? English is not my native language and I find it very difficult to write references, information that makes sense (like everyday things that make sense to happen in a city in the United States, medical terms, slang and such) even if I read a little of the comics and the movies deliver some information, when we are going to write our own history it is so difficult to build a universe

Thank you for your lovely comments about Just Breathe, and I'm so glad you liked it!

My imposter syndrome always goes into overdrive whenever I get asked about writing, because I don't really consider myself a proper writer - I just do this for fun and I'm fumbling through the process as best I can.

But here's what I did to get to the point of writing Just Breathe - I hope it helps you in some way:

I started out small.

When I first started writing my own stories (after literally decades of reading other people's fanfic) I started really small. There was no way I could have tackled a 90000 word novel with plot and characters and backstory and all the references you mentioned straight off the bat. So I wrote an 800-word fic which was basically one character's inner thoughts.

No dialogue. No action. No setting the scene. Just thoughts.

In my next fic, I tried some dialogue. And a single setting - nothing complicated that needed research, just a beach.

Then I wrote a story with a couple of scenes, each in a different setting. Nothing complicated, but I got some practice creating locations with words.

And on it went. You can go on AO3 and see the progression - building up to writing Just Breathe was gradual. I challenged myself with each new fic to try something new - plot, fight choreography, creating original characters, etc.

My first attempt at a big sprawling original story with an original character and some world building wasn't all that successful (in terms of reader engagement, but also in how much I was happy with the product). So I tried again with Just Breathe - and I'm really proud of how it turned out.

But I cheated a bit. I'm a pathologist, so I made Beth a pathologist. It was easy to write someone who has a similar job to me. If she was an aerospace engineer, I would have really struggled! But I did what all writers are advised, and which I'll advise you as well - write what you know. Create a character that has your job. Set your story in your home town. Practice with the familiar, before moving on to the unfamiliar.

Which I've done for my latest fic Tabula Rasa. The OFC has a life and job that is VERY different from mine, so its taking a lot more research. A LOT!. I google everything! Probably more than I need to. Things like, what does a beach house in Maine look like; what do you call the metal thing you use in abseiling, what bus routes go through Danbury, Connecticut. I watched you tube videos of MMA fights and Aikido tutorials and tried to describe the movement of their limbs. I looked up chemical names so things sound scientific and correct even when I'm talking pseudoscientific nonsense. I took virtual walkthroughs on google maps to look at buildings in Hell's Kitchen so I could describe them in the fic.

My search history is varied and weird and LONG!

And once this fic is finished, I have my next challenge already lined up (in fact I've already written the first few chapters): It'll be an epic story set partly on a completely fictional planet, where all the world building will be up to me and my imagination.

I'm terrified, but excited!

So in summary (if you're still reading this long ramble!), my 3 pieces of advice are:

Start small, and gradually challenge yourself to go bigger

Write what you know, before moving on to what you don't

Google everything!

#Thanks again for getting in touch #it was fun trying to distill my writing process #such as it is! #fanfic writing #tabula rasa #just breathe