actually @ every fanfiction writer whether you wrote something that got thousands of reblogs and comments and became a staple in your fandom, or you wrote one fic and deleted it, or you write mutilchaptered fics that never get a final update, or write short fics, or long fics, or used to write and now you don’t, or you deleted/orphaned your works, or you only share with friends:
thank you.
sharing your writing is hard. and sometimes it’s thankless. sometimes it’s such a negative experience that I wonder how anyone does it at all. but you are needed; you are wanted. whether or not we properly acknowledge it, you are a vital part of fandom culture. thanks for sharing.
most of my fandom thoughts these days present themselves in what has been affectionately dubbed “green room chatter” (see also: fanfic dot net in the early oughts) while I try to (VERY SLOWLY) create content.
for instance:
me: 3k words and the other grandpa is getting jealous I’m like YOU AREN’T EVEN IN THIS GET OUT OF MY BRAIN GET OUT OF HERE
me: ok a cuddling oneshot. just fluff. just character study emotions— Emet, sipping tea: and deep, sensual kissing me: and deep, sensual kissing— Emet: and an embrace that becomes hot and heavy— me: no!!!!!! I absolutely have to draw a line! Exarch, hem hemming: pardon me but this is completely unacceptable, I have been waiting for a yearfor any modicum of relief, and Emet: oh please just because your balls are possibly quite literally blue doesn’t mean mine are figuratively any less so me:OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! COULD SOMEBODY— Estinien, distantly: oh hell no I have nothing to do with this disaster
if you’re ever about to comment on a writer’s work and think, oh, they probably know how good they are, you’re definitely wrong. every time a writer posts or publishes anything, no matter how many years they’ve been doing it and no matter how many readers they have, they are struck with the idea that perhaps they aren’t very good at all.
if you think you’re annoying for commenting, or that we won’t see your comments anyway, you’re wrong. we see your comments. we actively look for them. we are starved for them no matter how many we get. we remember them and they fuel us. leave comments, even if it’s just saying “oh i like this”. i see an “oh i like this” and my heart grows three times its size and i am seized with an urge to provide you more writing just to hear you say “oh i like this” again.
I got a piece of feedback once on a Spirk fanfic and all it said was ‘OH I LOVE SPOCK’ It wasn’t even talking about my fic at all but I loved that feedback so, so much. I love that somebody loved the character enough to loudly proclaim it to any rando on the internet who writes about him. I was like ‘F YEAH SO DO I’ I was so pumped
(never feel bad about doing this whether it’s to deepen the character, have fun, or build interesting headcanons! Even shit about what their favorite type of jelly bean is makes them feel more complex to you and that’s fun! GO NUTS!)
