includedisco

[includedisco]

don’t know who needs to hear this but AO3 comments section is not Letterboxd. giving unsolicited criticism to a fanfic writer does not make you a “fanfic critic” because there’s no. such. thing.

giving unsolicited criticism to a fanfic writer just makes you a spoiled, rude, entitled asshole at best, makes the author stop posting their works altogether at worst.

a reminder that it’s always okay to just stop reading and quietly click away from a fic if at any point you feel like you don’t like it for whatever reasons. unless specifically asked, there’s no need to tell the author, whose work you read for free, how you dislike something they wrote for themself for fun.

[includedisco]

Again, your writing matters because nobody can do it like you. Nobody

Please don't look down on your writing just because there's stuff you feel you're not that good at writing.

The internet has made us see many posts(on various subjects) that made us go like "OMG me too. I'm not alone. Others are like me. Others get me".

Things that made us feel like less of a weido.

But having things in common with others doesn't make you any less unique as a person. Still there's only one you on earth, and only you can express your art the way you do.

Don't feel that there's anything less magical about your writing just because others can do three pages of dialogue and you can only do half a page.

We all write differently and there's magic in whatever way we do it.

I'll give an example of this: I've read some nice, long and beautifully written smutty pieces of fiction, but there's a fanfic I once read years ago where the author wrote their smut in one sentence. Just one. And to this day I still remember it because it was just as impactful, emotional and beautiful to me.

Just do your thing and believe in your own writing. Trust me, somebody will love and appreciate it. The you in it is what makes it special.

[includedisco]

I assure you: somebody, somewhere, is on the exact same wavelength as you are.

[includedisco]

dear lord, please take all life problems and responsibilities away from fanfic writers but also make them financially stable and happy with nothing to worry about so they can happily focus on writing and posting fanfiction. amen

[includedisco]

You wanna know the real difference between someone who just talks about writing and someone who actually is a writer? Well, it’s not talent, nor some magical lightning bolt of inspiration from the heavens. It’s just sitting your ass down and doing the damn writing. Consistently. That’s the whole big, unsexy secret.

[includedisco]

Your story is still worth writing even if it veers off from what you planned originally.

It’s still worth writing even if you aren’t feeling it right now.

It’s still worth writing even if it’s fanfiction.

It’s still worth writing even if you don’t think anyone else would ever want to read it.

It’s still worth writing even if it doesn’t get published.

It’s still worth writing even if it doesn’t get adapted into a huge blockbuster movie.

It’s still worth writing even if you can’t have fancy illustrations at the beginning of chapters or a map of the world at the beginning.

It’s still worth writing even if someone you trusted told you to stop.

It’s still worth writing if you just rolled your eyes at me.

It’s still worth writing, SO WRITE IT.

[includedisco]

"yeah i'm a writer and i enjoy doing it as a hobby"

[includedisco]

Reading fanfics counts as reading and, yes, it's okay to be a fanfic writer who only reads fanfics.

By definition, reading is the act of decoding written symbols to extract meaning or gain knowledge. Being a reader is engaging with text.

I've heard a lot of people say "I don't read" and yet they consume several fanfics every day. Yes, reading fanfics is reading too. You read and you're a reader.

In the same way, if you're a fanfic writer who only reads fanfics, it's okay. You don't need to read fancy literature anymore to learn how to write well or to improve your grammar/spellings/vocabulary.

I'm not only saying this because I'm a fanfic writer, but there are some actually amazingly written fanfics out there these days that readers can learn from.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; if you want to write perfect fanfics, you're allowed to do so, but there's no gun to your head about it.

Fanfic culture is supposed to be a fun, enjoyable, light-hearted and playful thing. Write whatever you want write, whenever, however and in whatever way wanna write it.

You don't need to be well read to qualify to be a fanfic writer

[includedisco]

Was scrolling through AO3 and found this gem

Enemy to parent is a trope we have to popularise lmao

[includedisco]

About unnecessarily harsh comments on fanfics(& I don't mean those dumbass AI ones)

What happened to reading the fucking tags so that you decide if a story is for you or not?

What happened to respecting the, "don't like don't read" tag?

What happened to respectfully pushing the fucking "back" button?

This recent habit of serial complainers bitching about people's stories in the comment section is just disgusting.

They have enough education to read the entire fanfic and write a bossy ass, demanding ass, discouraging ass comment but their stupid asses can't read the tags? How?

Unless a story has no tags, it was your choice to stay and read a story you knew you would trigger you. Don't complain afterwards. The habit of going out of your way to let the author know that you thought 'their story is badly written' or that 'their story wasn't for you' just makes you a jerk.

Before you make any comments on people's art, educate yourself on the difference between constructive critiscm and just being flat out mean.

This year I've gotten a lot of stupid comments on my fanfic works, and I tried to be polite, but enough is enough. If anyone says anything mean about my work or tries to tell me how to write my own story, I won't even bother to defend my work or explain anything. I'll just insult you back.

Being a jerk is not reserved for certain people on earth. We can all be jerks. It's on now

[includedisco]

This week, I read a fic that was around 20 years old, which had originally been posted on the author's personal website and which she added to AO3 a few years ago. She listed her email address with the fic, so after I finished reading, I sent her an email saying how much I enjoyed the story, how much I appreciated the work and effort she obviously put into it, and thanked her for uploading it to AO3. She responded the next day and thanked me for my message, then said she had a few more stories in the same series that she hadn't gotten around to uploading. I checked this morning--she added a 35,000 word novella and thanked me in the summary.

👏 comment 👏 on 👏 old 👏 fics 👏

[includedisco]

Fun Story to Share.

I got my (now 18-year-old) daughter into Ao3 back in 2021. I taught her she should always comment - even if the fic looks old or abandoned or whatever. She did.

Well - she got this email this morning:

The fic was written in 2014 and essentially abandoned.

Bethy read and reviewed in 2021 (and was actually the only person who had commented at all).

Today in 2025 - the final chapter was posted by the author and this was her reply to Bethy’s comment.

———

Never question whether a fic is too old to comment on.

[includedisco]

[includedisco]

whispering to myself: it just has to exist it just has to exist it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to exist

[includedisco]

Reminder to all my fellow AO3 writers out there

If you tend to compare your work to others: please don’t.

I know, easier said than done. I’m personally always comparing myself to others as well, but perspective is important.

Remember, you don’t know who’s on the other side of the screen, writing those fanfictions you are comparing your own works to.

This could be the 15th fanfiction they’ve written. They could have 10+ years of writing experience. They could have taken creative writing at school/college. They could simply be a lot older than you and have all this life experience that helps with creating complex plot and characters. They could be writing in their first language, when you’re not. They could have beta readers.

And most importantly remember this: the person you are comparing yourself to has almost certainly screamed into their pillow because they hate their writing or story.

Your work is your own. Your words are your own.

And they’re wonderful.

Please, do not compare yourself. We all start somewhere, we all grow and learn. And we all hate our writing sometimes.

You’re doing amazing and the simple fact that you are trying and creating those stories is so damn cool and impressive <3

[includedisco]

said “i’ll just write a little before bed” and woke up in a different chapter. textbook case of oopsie daisy narrative possession

[includedisco]

once i figure out how to block demanding “more now” commenters from being able to read that specific fic ever again it’s over for you hoes