#something i've noticed following the newer generation of every blogs is that they post the whole panel?

[every-sanji]

[mochiwrites]

feel free to ignore this, but as a newer-to-Tumblr writer: how do you get up the nerve/energy to post writing here? I've been trying to get myself to post snippets and stuff, but the lack of engagement is really disheartening. is it just me being a small blog, or is it my writing, or do people here just hate writing in general? is it even worth it?

ough, yeah it’s… yeah.

engagement on here is difficult. I’ve talked about this plenty of times before, but on here? people just… don’t engage with writing the same way they do art. and it’s really rough, especially if you’re a new writer to tumblr.

it probably isn’t your writing at all anon, it could be a combination of things. I think writing blogs in general tend to get overlooked a lot, because nine times out of ten, people will see writing and leave a like and that’s it.

I’ll be 100% honest here, and please trust me when I say I’m not saying this to brag. I’m saying this because numbers puts things into perspective.

currently? I have 1,136 followers. that’s a relatively high number, right? so you’d think I get a lot of engagement from my writing but if I post a snippet, I average maybe 20 notes. if I try to do any kind of ask game related to my writing, I’ll be lucky if I get 5 people in my askbox. the engagement on here is horrible.

and it’s caused a rough slump for me back in september that went all the way until january. even now it still bugs me. I’ve gone days where I don’t write anything because of it.

I think a lot of people forget that writers share their fics for the community. like yes, we can write for ourselves, but we post and share for the fandom spaces we exist in.

it’s why I don’t really post snippets all too often? I get into moods where I want to write a drabble on here, but I really don’t expect anything from it honestly.

it’s almost like a game of luck??? where like — if you want your writing to get noticed you just have to hope that a bigger blog comes along and reblogs it and ugh. posting writing on here is so disheartening. and at times frustrating??

there have been so many times where I went to post something and just kinda sat there thinking to myself, “what’s the point? no one is going to interact with it.”

but I’m a very hopeful person, and often set myself up for disappointment anyways. I’m very stubborn and will continue to post things anyways! but the frustration really does come through at times.

is it worth it is a difficult question to answer I think. because that’s a very subjective answer depending on the person and yourself. to me, I think it is, but I also think it isn’t. it’s worth it to share with others, but I don’t think the frustration of the lack of engagement is worth it, y’know?

the only thing I can suggest to help even just a little is putting more focus on ao3. because from ao3 you can lead people to your tumblr and that might help with engagement on here. personally that’s what worked for me, but not every experience is universal :(

I’m giving you so many hugs anon :<

[unproduciblesmackdown]

so i saw your post about artists still drawing willc, and i understand the viewpoint (i am also disappointed by lack of willr content) but i felt i should maybe provide an artist's perspective! personally, while drawing characters i like, i fall into a groove with it. they obviously became fans (perhaps far) before willr was jerm and they cultivated willc in their style already. i've gotten to a point where i don't even reference characters anymore, how i draw them Is That Character for me

i don’t follow you and just peeped your blog realizing you make art and shit that sounds condescending now cause i didn’t know you were an artist! and also although i have my Main Base characters i draw, i like to branch out to explore newer actors in the roles, so it’s still kind of disappointing there’s almost a rift between jeremys. (also ps your art is very good and cute i hope you have a nice day)

i really accept no Good Faith arguments about why there’s a noticeable lack of Specifically Roland Jeremy depictions. like, this isn’t even about individual artists; i don’t need every single person who draws a conn-style jeremy to justify it or Prove that it’s not about rejecting roland jeremy. the issue is the emergent discrepancy between them + the fact that we Do see people make adjustments for visual changes and new castings seen in 2.0/3.0, even allowing for jeremy’s new costume (or voice…..) while still retaining Will Connolly’s Appearance. which in itself is not necessarily the work of the devil but we Do see that it is A Choice that people make 

there’s never any reason someone is Actually Incapable of learning how to draw anything differently. god knows we all wish that we really Could settle into a routine with the way that we draw and feel comfortable at home base but even if you do draw the exact same characters all of the time, your style evolves and your abilities improve and you really Can’t not adjust the way you draw. and inevitably we have something new we have to learn how to draw and yes it’s frustrating not feeling like you “know” how to draw it but like. if you try to learn you can. and artists will keep pulling out the “well i don’t have as much experience drawing _____ so i’m never going to draw that way” to justify some kind of nonsense about why they can’t possibly depict a fat person and it’s so totally reasonable to just imply they can’t even Make An Effort……like, not drawing some Unusual Perspective or not putting realistic folds in clothing b/c you don’t have much practice / don’t really feel like it isn’t the same as “i shouldn’t have to learn how to draw people with characteristics i’m not already used to drawing” b/c obviously a Lot of issues crop up with this that aren’t relevant with stuff like “i’m not used to drawing shoes so i’ll draw them the exact same way always”

in this case there is the way too pervasive issue that people have honest contempt for will roland because he does not look or sound a way they consider adequately Cute / attractive and that is the entire nuance of it. we’ve got people out here imagining justifications and making up objectively false arguments about why actually It’s Bad And They Dislike Him /(As Jeremy) Because ___ but then you really do have people flat-out owning it that they don’t like him b/c of how he looks. this is the Entire Issue. if this wasn’t a factor then we’d see a more balanced ratio in terms of The Way People Are Willing To Imagine This Character. there’s only two guys to have played this role (and only very recently several appearances by alternates) and while the fanbase exploded on the connolly look and sound, there’s been like. a whole Year of will roland jeremy and if the only issue was “it’s difficult to learn how to draw a new person” then, well, there’s been time to practice. 

again i accept no arguments that so many people are refusing to draw will roland jeremy In Good Faith. this isn’t about individual artists; the Trend or Pattern inherently requires looking at a whole group to be discernible

like, i don’t really search out bmc fanart, so what i come across is a pretty random selection of recent-er works, and i’ve very very rarely seen Only 1.0 Cast fanart, yet i’ve also very rarely seen Clearly Roland Jeremy fanart. people are willing to learn to draw characters in a new / multiple ways, but there is this unwillingness to imagine jeremy the way he looks as played by will roland because yknow. god forbid you compromise the mental image of a willowy conventionally prettier jeremy

honestly and it also feels like a rare occasion when i see a jared that looks all that much like will roland in particular. obviously there’s a lot more options re: people who’ve played the role and so like, okay. but at the same time it’s wild that like, the Collectively Imagined Usual Depiction Of Jared does not share that much in common with will roland besides being a white short-haired brunette in glasses. it’s like, wonder of wonders when someone’s fanart of jared is clearly based on Either of the two principle broadway actors for the role. stuck between a rock (non conventionally attractive white guy) and a hard place (he’s totally skinny! but he’s black, too!) on that one i guess

also i have one resounding complaint to make about people drawing Ostensibly-Will-Roland

the roles he’s played which receive the most fanart are obv jared kleinman and jeremy heere………….these are both canonically jewish characters……..would it absolutely kill people to ever ever ever draw a nose like how will roland’s nose actually looks Especially in these cases. sometimes we Do get examples of people drawing not-will-connolly jeremy but The Nose Looks Nothing Like Will Roland’s and it’s like oh. well that’s fantastic. we’re just defaulting to generic white brunette with “acceptably Cute small narrow upturned nose” some more then, okay, i cannot condone this

gods sake when i see a would-be 2.0 / 3.0 jeremy like

that honestly hurt me to make btw…..look noses are a challenge to draw and basically all of us simplify them but if your Shorthand Nose For Absolutely Everyone looks like the above please think about this. noses that are deemed Too Wide / Flat / Big / Hooked / Downturned are also deemed bad / ugly and like, get over that and don’t subscribe to it or propagate it. there’s no such real thing as ugliness or Objective Attractiveness and the concepts are Not at all apolitical liiiike

please everyone be conscious and analytical towards how you draw people and whether you think you have to “censor” certain physical traits and don’t use the justification of “it’s hard to learn how to depict ____” like yeah it’s hard drawing is always hard we’re all trapped in hell together, learning how to be better drawing something that we didn’t use to have any practice drawing is how anyone ever draws anything at all ever so like. it’s not an argument about why someone Can’t draw something. you only Won’t draw something and you can have good / neutral reasons behind this or terrible reasons and plenty of people won’t draw will roland looking like will roland because they think don’t think he looks cute and that’s it.