Fic Comments - Tumblr Posts
Aaaaaaa!! hey if you left a giant comment on my fic last night about the ways that Eclipse could have been fixed, PLEASE COME BACK!! All I have is the email receipt of the comment, because you deleted itttttt aaaaaa please I wanna thank you for the time it must have taken you to write that!! And how clever an idea it was!! Come onnnn man, I promise I know I address the Eclipse thing and he ends up fixed and she never has to worry again, but pleeeease you had such a good idea and I wanna chat and congratulate your research even though you said you're not a big tech person!!! T^T
I read EVERY comment guys! This one was just sent while I was sleeping and by the time I went to respond it had been deleted.. just know that I saw it and aaaa it means a lot!!!
The types of comments you get on fanfiction
Bonus: any combination of the above
It takes so very little to please most authors. We are typically very needy and just elated to know you were here and enjoyed yourself. 😅
Here’s some good and easy comment ideas for those who feel shy or don’t know what to say but would like to leave something:
1. A classic: keyboard smash such as
Nrbdbsbbkigq or fhbdboejwbakwjev
2. THEM <3
(Fill in pronouns as needed or refer to a pairing)
3. Screaming, crying, throwing up, ect
Or it’s cousin:
4. Kicking my feet, giggling
5. [Block of copy-pasted text] I like/love this bit in particular; I like how you phrased this
6. I keep rotating [character/section of text] in my head
7. I read this while [insert what you were doing; ie: procrastinating a test, waiting for the bus, ect]
8. Extra Kudos!
9. Encore! Bravo! Magnificent!
10. [character name] my beloved
11. I relate to this so hard
Optional, include [line of text] or situation you relate to
12. Thank you for sharing!
13. 💖💖💖
14. I love how you’ve written [x character trait]
15. I love this kind of AU so much!!
16. I’m so excited to see what happens next! I hope [random story prediction here]
17. I will commit atrocities for this character!
18. This is some hella good soup!
19. This is my favorite [trope, paring, au]!
20. AAAAAA They are so [soft/traumatized/attractive]!!!
Feel free to mix and match these for an extra special comment!
Additionally, if you have some favorite go-to comments, feel free to share!
There's this weird vibe I've always noticed/felt in fandom, where creators aren't supposed to explicitly want/solicit comments, like it's greedy or something. Maybe it goes back to ye olden days when fic writers would sort of hold their WIPs to ransom by making updates contingent on a certain amount of comments? I'm trying to scrutinise how I feel about that in hindsight and I'm not sure. I know I hated it back then, but I was a literal kid who had never written and shared anything. Hm.
With my last fic/s, although they were complete, I posted chapters weekly, and explicitly admitted that I was doing so in hopes of seeing more engagement and more comments throughout the story instead of one comment at the end of 140,000 words (which is still wonderful and I treasure every one, don't get me the least bit wrong). Can I tell you how much I agonised over that decision, and how vulnerable I felt to criticism for it, whether anyone said anything to my face or not?
There's this real sense of shaming of creators who aren't just morally above it all somehow; who don't just create for the lofty pursuit of the craft itself; who don't simply share as an afterthought and care not for how the masses respond.
That ain't me. I write because I want to share. Sharing is at least 50% of the reason I write at all. At least. I write because I'm giddy at the thought of someone else (maybe multiple someones, holy shit!) enjoying the themes and scenes and imagery as much as I do. The thought of an excited comment (or maybe multiple comments, holy shit!) telling me I did good is why I bother taking the idea from my head and slaving it out onto digital paper at all.
So I suppose I understand that old "next chapter when I get X comments" even if that's not how I'd do it. I don't read WIPs anymore (burned too many times by abandoned fics back in the day; probably why I refuse to post unfinished works myself), but I guess it was just another way of saying what I often do: "Please comment. The author lives for comments. Validate meee!"
People used to comment on web comics.
People used to comment on fanfiction.
People used to comment on fanart.
People used to comment on OCs.
I hate "content" culture.
I hate "consuming content" and scrolling immediately to the next thing.
People used to be excited about the art that other people created.
People used to want to share that excitement with creators.
I hate this future.
My mistake is always in thinking I'll be able to stop myself at a reasonable point of tiredness, go to sleep, and continue the next day.
The lie detector test determined (over and over and over again)... that was a lie.
Also, while I'm here, to every reader, please please please comment (if you don't usually). What takes you one exhausted night to read can take an author months or even years to labour into the world, and we are SO FUCKING NEEDY FOR VALIDATION. A single comment. A single “I loved this!” Or, even if you didn't, a “thanks for sharing!”
That's where the crack is for us.
I just knocked back a 70k wincest fic over the course of an evening. You know what else is 70k words? The fucking novel on my desk I've been wanting to read for weeks that makes me go "ohh no that's a lotta pages :(" every time i look at it
Here's to you, one of the most wonderful surprises life this year brought me, and one I'll endeavour to keep for the rest of my life. Love you, keep being your amazing self every day 💖
When your silly little story you created (because you needed to see your ship sail), brings awesome people into your life who share art and culture with you. And show that your art can inspire amazing art in others.
Grateful for you too.☺️
