#my friend says i should tell you ''thank you beta editors'' but i don't know what that means

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

[bubblessunshinehoney]

Big Fan (part2)

Chapter 2: where you meet him again, but once again...not more than some coffee

don't be shy, reblog, comment, like!

Enjoy, Cloudy

not beta read, english is not my first language. all mistakes are my own

tw: none, just two people bad at flirting and getting to the main point of....a real date!

serie masterlist

chapter 1 | chapter 2

“You did what?”

“I asked for his autograph in return, was it a bad idea?”

“no,  but you could have ask him for his number too! Why didn’t you?”

You fell silent. You friend was right, you just…exchange autographs and talked until the café was closing, but none of you…asked for each other number.

“Oops?”

“OOPS?, Y/N are you kidding me!!!”

“I’m sorry okay? I’m bad at flirting! And maybe he didn’t want my number? Or he doesn’t have a phone?”

“You’re just making excuses, you’re bad at flirting, I know that, gosh I can’t believe you! But at the same time, i love you and find you just adorable and innocent when you act like that.”

“Thank you?”

“It’s a compliment, take it”

You both laugh after that, yes she was right, you were like a deer in the light when it came to flirting and dating, not knowing how to act when someone was to your liking.

You look at your laptop and see you have a new email.

Big fan

Hi,

It’s bucky, I’m sorry to bother you like that, but I wanted to…would you like to meet again?

Best regards,

JBB

You squealed, frighting your friend.

“He wrote me an email, how cute?”

“Read it to me!”

You do as told and she coos.

“Best regards, JBB…yeah maybe you’re right, he might not have a phone”, she jokes.

RE: Big fan

Hi Bucky,

It’s so nice to hear from you, I would love to meet you again, same café Thursday at 4pm?

“Oh, Y/N put her big girl pants on!”, teases your friend.

You kindly tell her to shut up with a laugh.

Thursday

Bucky is already here, looking at the place like it was the first time he was here. What did you like here, why this specific café? He wanted to know so much about you. Not in a creepy fan way, he was just amazed that a girl, no a woman like you…wrote those words and made him travel to some better places in an hundred pages. You looked so delicate, like a doll, a strong beautiful, mesmerising independent doll.

Get it back together Barnes.

You walk over to him, a sheepish smile on your face and his heart goes wild. He tries to steady his heartbeat, but then you say hi and lean in to give him a quick hug and you engulf him in your perfume, and he’s done. Why does the serum must make him smell you ten times more than he should?

“Bu-bucky, everything’s okay?” you ask a bit confused. Maybe the hug was too much? You’re not the one to engage in hugs at first but it felt so natural…

He shakes his head and send you a tight smile. “Yes, everything is okay, sorry, rough night.”

“Well, you’re welcome I didn’t ask you for coffee at 10 this morning then” you try to joke. Bucky looks at you, before letting a little grunt that seems close to a chuckle. He clears his throat after that and asks what you want to drink.

And like the other day, you don’t see the time fly. You talk and laugh together, bucky even held your hand after a joke you said. He tried not to show how surprised he was, but you saw it, because you were surprise too.

“Guys, sorry to bother, but we’re closing”, announces the waitress.

You look at the time and gasps, “Fuck! I have a meeting with my editor!”

“At 7pm?”

“Yeah…dinner’s meeting so we can talk business while enjoying some good food”, you explain, putting your jacket on.

Bucky was a bit sad, he wanted to continue to spend time with you…

“but here, take my card and maybe text me ? I’m sorry I have to go”, you kiss his cheek and rush out.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Hii! I have a few writing questions. Hopefully you can answer. PWP (porn without plot) how do you feel about it? Or is it more important to write with a plot?

I hold off on publishing work because I feel like the way I’m trying to portray something, isn’t coming off the way I want to. Maybe readers won’t care but I care. I obsess over perfection. Otherwise I refuse to publish but I feel like it’s not that important. What’s your opinion on that?

spelling? Grammatical errors?

thanks you!

PWPs are fun to read and write! Some readers like to get right to smut, and some like a little narrative to go with the sexy times. It's like fast food and home-cooked meals. If people don't have time for a long slow-burn build-up, they will read cut-to-the-chase PWP fics.

You should write what you want. If you want to publish a slew of PWPs, do it! There is an audience for it. I suck at it personally because I tend to get caught up in the characters big picture lives, lol!

I'm the queen of posting my first drafts only, mistakes, and all. (I do use Grammarly to do a basic spell-check run-through, but it misses a lot of errors too). Perfectionism hinders me a lot, so my way of dealing with it is to post my stuff the moment it's done. I don't use Beta readers, or edit, so what you see is how that story came out in raw form. Doing this keeps me from fixating on re-writing and trying to perfect the fic, because it would never go out if I spent all that time trying to get it just right.

The reason I write fanfiction is to enjoy the fun of writing without pressure to edit like I'm trying to submit it somewhere professionally. In my real life, I'd spend a few weeks or even months doing re-writes and line edits (with pro editors), use Story-Pro tools, and have my writer friends check it out with critiques (They all write SF/F professionally). Fanfiction is my fun outlet. I know other writers use Betas and go all out to polish their work before posting, but I choose not to do that for my creative sanity and to separate my fun writing from my trying to pro-publish/sell something writing.

Trust, I go back and see all kinds of mistakes in my work, including typos, missing letters, similar words used close together, mixing tenses, missing words, etc. As long as the stuff isn't crammed together in long block paragraphs, dialogue is separated properly, and the eye can move down the page and understand what I'm trying to convey, I'm good.

All that to say, sit down and figure out what part of the story is burning to get out. If Porn Without Plot is the best avenue for telling your tale, so be it! If a little narrative and a little smut seem to work better, awesome. There is no right or wrong way to make fanfiction. Find yourself some trusty Beta readers who can give you notes on what works in your story, that way you can see if what you wanted to convey came through. Good Beta Readers just don't point out what's not working, they should let you know what does and tell you what they enjoyed about your fic.

Hope this helps you out!

Uzumaki

[nomemories]

Would you care for a dance?

ft ⇒ K. Eijirou x Fem!reader

tw ⇒ fluff and maybe angst if you look at it from a different angle (unless I missed any do tell me)

wc ⇒ 1.4k

a/n ⇒ special thanks to my friend @MizukiIto42 on Twitter for being my beta reader / editor ♡

Kirishima Eijirou dreams of many things, what you don't know is that you’re his dream.

You arrived at Yaoyorozu’s mansion, after getting past the front door, the music swept right through you, welcoming you in. As you look around before you close the door you notice someone from the crowd already walking up to you.

“I’m so glad you could make it (Y/N)!” Momo smiles as she walks to your side and puts her hand on your shoulder to quickly leads you away from the door.

“Everyone has been waiting for you, well— especially a certain someone. We missed you, you know? You were too focused on your hero work and you didn't have time to hang out with us after your graduation at UA!” She remarked.

“I know Momo I’m sorry, but tonight I’ll make it up for you guys!” You say, holding her hand that was resting on your shoulder as you smile.

“Good, because you deserve the break! Enjoy the party!” As Momo walks away you suddenly realize what she said and you sprint to her side, quietly asking her “what you mean by ‘especially a certain someone?’”

A smile appears on her face as she whispers “you’ll see.”

You stand there, dumbfounded, trying to figure out who she’s talking about, but your train of thought’s interrupted when someone calls out your name. You look over to where the source started and you were met with Mina waving her arm inviting you to come over to the food table that she was standing next to.

“Gosh, I missed you so much!!!” Mina screams as she hugs you “I missed you too Pinky!” You smile and return the hug.

“So where are the others?” You question. Mina motions towards the group of boys who’re laughing at each other’s dumb jokes and when you look closer, you can see some of them holding half-empty beer bottles; next to them was a table that was stacked with all the empty bottles.

“Man they're drunk already?” A worried expression shows on your face. Mina nods, laughing “Yeah! but have you seen Katsuki? He is laughing like a maniac! You don't get to see that every day! Come on, let’s go talk to them!”

After Mina brings you to them, you exchange a few conversations here and there and also laugh with them, but one thing you never notice is that there’re a pair of eyes glancing your way.

As time passes you were starting to get tired, you excuse yourself to go to the balcony to get some fresh air.

While you’re looking at the shining stars in the night sky your ears pick up the sound of the door to the balcony opening, and you look behind you to see who it is.

Eijirou smiles and rubs the back of his neck apologetically “Sorry! didn't mean to startle you!” He says as he gently walks up to you and rests his elbows on the railing.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be enjoying the party?” You join him in leaning against the balcony's railing as you take a closer look at him, from his gently matured features to his long red hair that he has been growing out since you both were first-years that as it flows in the wind, as though being caressed lovingly by the evening breeze.

“Well... I just wanted to check on you, that’s all, I could leave if I’m invading your space!” He babbles, to which you grin and pat his back “No it’s ok I don't mind your presence.”

“So Uhm... how’s hero work going for you?”

“Oh, you know... it’s hard, but seeing people you helped smile make everything better,” You reply.

And as the conversation continues, he watches your expression as you speak, listening carefully to every word you say- unfortunately, your beauty attracts all his attention and makes him space out.

“Yeah and—” you stop as you notice Eijirou spacing out again “Hey are you okay? should we get back inside? you’ve been spacing out a lot.”

“Wha- oh! No, it ok I’m sorry, it’s just you're so mesmerizing... I can't take my eyes off of you” He stammers, to which your face begins to heat up; after seeing your reaction he realizes as well and you both look away to hide your face.

A moment of silence passes, and you decide to break the awkwardness in the air “I never realized you liked me...” you mumble, Eijirou stares back at you in shock as his face reddens, and he whisper-shouted “I thought I was obvious! no wonder you never said anything about it!” he buries his face into the palm of his hands as he groans.

“Well...I thought I was obvious too, I’ve had a crush on you since I first saw you, but I never said anything because I thought you were out of my league.” Eijirou looks up from his palms and focuses his eyes on you “You liked me too...?”

As you both watch each other’s expressions in silence, Momo’s voice can be heard through a speaker as she announces, grabbing your attention away “Thank you for showing up everyone! This last song will be your opportunity to have a dance with someone! Enjoy!”

By the time you realize what she meant by a ‘special someone,’ a slow song has already started, Eijirou looks back at you as he holds out his hand “Would you care for a dance?”

You smile as you grasp his warm hand and your other gracefully rests on his shoulder, and his arm embraces your back.

You are both lost in each other’s embrace as you sway to the music; the scenery becomes a blur, it was only you and him now, alone.

Butterflies fill his stomach as he speaks “I never got the courage to ask you out all those years, it took me too long to realize that if I don't step up and be a man I might lose you forever, and every day I can't stop thinking about you. Your smile, your laugh and how beautiful you are, how you would stop in your track immediately whenever you notice an animal is in need of help, and how you were always there for me... It every little thing that you do that makes me fall in love with you more and more.”

Everything seems to be frozen, tears threatening to spill from your eyes as you listen to his words, you both come to a stop, hands still clasped to each other, and you can feel him tightening his grip.

Tears fall from his crimson eyes as he looks down “When I saw you talk and laugh with us, it reminded me of how in love I am with you.” His expression pains you as you move the hand that was on his shoulder up to his face and stroke his dampened cheek, using your thumb to wipe his tears away.

He leans further into your touch and pulls back the arm embracing you to hold onto your hand. Moonlight shining on both of you as he asks “This might be sudden but I can't handle not being with you anymore so... would you be so kind... as to be in my future?”

Your own tears begin to slip as you answer “yes!” You jump up to hug him tightly, he catches you immediately and embraces you.

After a while of nothing but sobbing being heard from both of you he pulls away to lift your chin up “Can I kiss you?” He pleads and looks into your eyes for confirmation.

You simply nod, watching Eijirou’s face light up “You have no idea how much I wanted to do this!” As he caresses your face with both his hands and his lips connect with yours, kissing you slowly, savoring the moment.

As the seconds seem to have bled into eternity, you can still feel the fluttering feeling lingering in your stomach as he pulls away and smiles at you, resting his forehead on yours.

“I have many dreams (y/n) and I’m happy that this one finally became a reality,” He admits as he gives your nose a small peck.

“This must be your favorite dream then.” You let a soft chuckle slip.

“Yes but it’s nothing compared to the dream of making you my wife.”

────────────────────────

[writingquestionsanswered]

What to feel when a friend with who you shared your writing rewrites what you sent in their style, as if fixing what's wrong with your writing, and then send it back to you like that saying you can replace your writing with theirs? I feel like someone slapped me backhanded and lost all my motivation. It felt like they were showing how much better they are, how much I suck, and I don't know what to do. I would have preferred an outright critic that at least told me more than all my writing is bad

Guide: Negative Feedback

I’m going to answer your question, but I want to take this opportunity to do a little guide on negative feedback and what to do with it.

Negative Feedback Doesn’t Mean Your Writing is Bad

I want to start here, because this is a common misconception among newer writers–that only positive feedback is good and negative feedback means you’ve failed, and that’s just simply not true. Negative feedback is an important part of the feedback process. In fact, it’s the most important part of the feedback process, because while it’s nice to hear that your description is good and your characters are strong, you can’t do anything with that. You can’t make your story better with that feedback, and that’s the whole point of seeking feedback in the first place–to learn what people like and don’t like so you can make your story better.

Even the Best Authors Get Negative Feedback

There’s no such thing as a story that everyone loves. It’s not possible to please everyone. So even the best, most highly acclaimed authors receive negative feedback. These are actual snippets of one-star reviews on Amazon:

Emma by Jane Austen

“I don’t like Jane’s writing.”

“This story was quite boring to me.”

“There was no plot.”

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“It’s an awful and depressing story with no redeeming qualities.”

“Why is this a classic?”

“Waste of time. Predictable and boring.”

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

“This is a tedious and repetitive read.”“Simple, silly story with forgettable characters.”“Doesn’t even deserve one star.”

So, Don’t Take Negative Feedback to Heart

Any type of feedback is just one person’s opinion, and just because they have that opinion doesn’t mean they’re right. And opinion can be affected by everything from personal tastes and experiences, to personality and mood. That’s why it’s so important not to take it personally or let it destroy your motivation.

What to Discard and What to Take Seriously

First and foremost, the weight of any bit of feedback should depend on how many people you’re getting feedback from. If you only have two people giving you feedback and one person tells you, “the main character is annoying,” that’s 50% of your audience at that point. Which is why it’s super helpful to get feedback from as many people as possible. But, also, if you have at total of ten beta readers and three people think your main character is boring, that’s only 30%, so you probably don’t need to worry about it too much. The majority didn’t seem to have that problem. I personally tend to disregard any feedback not shared by at least 30% of the people giving me feedback.

And, just because one person says, “I think your protagonist is an unlikable jerk,” doesn’t mean anyone else would feel that way. Again, that’s why it’s important to weigh that opinion against what others say. If most of your other readers seemed to like the protagonist, you probably don’t need to worry.

When multiple people have the same complaint, however, it’s definitely worth taking seriously and finding a way to fix the issue.

Unspecified Feedback Sucks–Its Ok to Ask for Clarification!

If a bit of feedback really gets under your skin, whether it’s from one person or several, but it’s really broad or completely unspecified, like “I hated some of your characters!” or “I hated all of your characters!” PLEASE know that it’s okay to ask for clarification. You obviously don’t want to needle your beta readers with questions, but if something they said really strikes you as important but you’re not sure what they mean or what they’re specifically referring to, just ask.

Also, when inviting people to give you feedback, whether an alpha reader, critique partner, or beta readers, it’s often helpful to let them know what you’re looking for in feedback, including asking them to be specific.

When You Get a Rewrite Instead of Feedback

It’s one thing when someone offers a rewording of a particularly tricky sentence or paragraph–I’ve had people do that for me occasionally and have done it for others–but when someone does this habitually and ends up rewriting huge chunks of your story, that’s just not okay. That’s not what you were asking for, and it’s important for you to know the problem lies with them, not you. First and foremost, just discard that crap. This is your story, not theirs. If they want to write a story, they’re welcome to, but they shouldn’t try to commandeer your work.

But also, take their beta experience into account, because it’s possible they just haven’t beta read before or haven’t done it a lot and genuinely didn’t know what else to do. This is another reason why it’s helpful to let people know what you expect from them when inviting them to give you feedback. Sometimes people just don’t know what you’re looking for, so they do something totally unexpected like rewrite half your story. And there are also people who confuse beta reading with editing, though even editors shouldn’t be completely rewriting your story like that.

You may decide to not work with that particular person again. Or, if you do, next time you invite them to give you feedback, just say something like, “I’m just looking for overall impressions and general feedback, not any sort of editing or revision. Thanks!”

No matter what, just don’t take that kind of thing to heart. Because I could hand twenty people the first chapter of any critically acclaimed book and they could all find ways to put their own spin on it. That isn’t a statement about the writer. It’s just a testament to the versatility of storytelling. No sweat! It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. :)

————————————————————————————————-Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check through my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

[longlivefeedback]

hey! so, i'm sure this is something that's been discussed, but i can't find any discourse on your blog. i'm a fic writer and NOTHING annoys me more than the "don't say anything negative" attitude toward fanfiction. if someone leaves a comment that says "i loved your fic but i'm curious as to why character didn't do [x] since it seems a little inconsistent..." or "loved it! just wanted to point out a couple small inaccuracies that most people won't notice but since i work in this field..." (1/?)

it shows me that the commentor was paying attention and thinking about my writing, and isn’t that the ENTIRE point of posting your writing online? i’ve run across quite a few writers who will criticise any criticism or less-than-effusive comments, and it just really, really annoys me. the main reason i think is bc i legitimately LOVE fanfiction—it’s my preferred thing to write/read over original fiction bc it allows me to focus on just exploring the characters since people are already(2/?)

familiar with them/the canon verse. it’s why i hate that it isn’t taken as seriously as original fic, and i really think this culture of “don’t engage unless you only have good things to say” is one of the reasons it just isn’t taken seriously. ofc, not saying that you should just point out all the flaws, but some polite, helpful concrit or probing questions in addition to praise?? makes me really happy tbh. idk maybe i just take it too seriously but (¾)

it REALLY bothers me, and so i wanted to read some debate on this matter from both sides — not just writers, not just readers. this my extremely long-winded way of asking: do you guys have any posts like this?? (4/4)

LLF response: Hi Anon! We do have some posts about commenting culture and a brief guide to supporting authors, as well as reblogs on a guide to reviews and an overview of fandom commenting. Assuming you’ve looked through those posts, the reason why you cannot find anything that addresses your specific concern (i.e. questions in comments bringing up inconsistencies or trying to understand why a character appears to be acting OOC) is probably because LLF has been primarily concerned with broad structural changes and feedback initiatives thus far and the topic you raise, while valid and important to feedback culture, is a bit too nuanced for the current focus of this blog.That being said, I think that your ask brings up some interesting assumptions and perceptions that are critical for fandom health and which I can give my personal opinion on under the jump.

Full disclaimer, the following is my (mod dragonling’s) personal opinion and interpretation of the ask.

1. i’m a fic writer and NOTHING annoys me more than the “don’t say anything negative” attitude toward fanfiction.

This to me is indicative of differing expectations for fandom. Let’s say that instead of fic writing, we’re all chefs (or people who make food) here. We each make a dish and now we want to share it with the world. Do you (A) take it to your friend’s house where they are holding a potluck celebration; (B) set up a stall at the state fair; or © enter it into a cooking/baking competition ala Chopped where 5 star judges and food critics will sample your food? Depending on where you take you food, you would expect very different reactions.

Generally speaking, you would probably want your friends at the potluck to thank you for bringing something and compliment you for how delicious your dish is. If you were still fine tuning your recipe, you could let them know and maybe they would be able to say one or two things they liked or didn’t like about it which you would file away for the evening, to be looked at for the next time you made something.

However, if you were at a state fair, even getting your dish looked at by the crowds of people milling around would be an achievement. If someone bought some of your food, that would be fantastic! If they bought it, took a bite, and then told you how tasty it was, even better! Those people that bought your food, went away, and then came back to tell you how much they enjoyed it or came back to buy some more and brought all their friends with them are heaven sent angels. You probably wouldn’t expect anyone to say anything negative about your food because even if you were still fine tuning the recipe, a state fair is neither the time or place where any sort of meaningful culinary discussion can really take place on a consistent basis.

The situation would be different if you were at a cooking competition. There, you would expect these food experts to pick apart your food. Maybe not steamroll and chew you out ala Gordon Ramsey, but even then if that’s what you were expecting and the kind of feedback you respond best to, then sign up for a competition he is judging at. Perhaps you don’t want to just be yelled at, but would actually like to be coached, then maybe enter a competition with more of a mentoring element versus cutthroat competition.

This all really boils down to knowing who your audience is and your expectations for them. I would say that posting to ao3 is closest to the state fair, and is why the “don’t say anything negative” attitude is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged. The fact that this annoys you indicates that there is some disconnect between what you really want and where you’re going in order to get it. I think that we can all agree that going to the state fair and expecting Gordon Ramsey to show up and tell you why your dish sucks is just…not going to happen. Even more, it’s something that shouldn’t happen. What if you were at the state fair to raise money for charity? No well meaning person is going to tell you that your food sucks and that you should do better and if they do, they don’t mean you well.

So, rather than get hung up on the “don’t say anything negative” attitude in fandom (which, I may add, is there and has been cultivated for a reason), take another look at your audience and your expectations. If you want criticism that is helpful and of good quality, go to an editor or join a writing group. If you want to give criticism, find someone to beta for where you can cultivate a relationship that is mutually beneficial. Don’t be a Gordon Ramsey walking around at the charity fair of home baked goods giving tips to the local families trying to raise funds to repair their schools. Be conscious of the fact that people write for different reasons, and that while some may be okay with great advice being shouted at them, for others, it is a nightmare. Be kind and don’t show up at the wrong party.

2. “i loved your fic but i’m curious as to why character didn’t do [x] since it seems a little inconsistent…” or “loved it! just wanted to point out a couple small inaccuracies that most people won’t notice but since i work in this field…”

I understand where you’re coming from, Anon, and the two examples you mentioned evoke an important point of why it is so difficult to give criticism online. Your questions attempt to illustrate how one might leave a comment that shows that the reader was paying attention and thinking about your writing, and from your ask, I can only assume that you would be thrilled to personally receive either of those comments. To assume that others would be similarly thrilled, however, is fallacious and a dangerous assumption. What works for you, may be hurtful to others. You pointing out “a couple [of] small inaccuracies” may be you being genuinely helpful, but to the author, it may come off as a reader assuming that they didn’t do their research, a reader being a know-it-all, or a reader missing the forest for the trees, especially if this is your one and only comment in a long multi-chaptered work.

Of course, things get even more nuanced when we consider context. Your comment about inaccuracies may be the best thing ever if the author specifically asked for guidance on this matter, or if you have a long standing relationship with this author and somehow commenting in ao3 is the way you beta for each other, or maybe this small inaccuracy is actually a big inaccuracy and you’re just trying to be super tactful about it… I could go on an on and on about it, but how you say things is often just as important as what you say, and in writing, where we do not have the benefit of verbal and visual cues, expressing what you mean becomes even more complicated.

Which is another reason why “don’t say anything negative” is the default. It’s harder to ruin someone’s day with only positive statements, especially when you don’t have the time or platform to really explain yourself and have a meaningful conversation with the author. This Anon’s view on concrit is worth pondering. If you don’t understand or agree with this sentiment, then the conversation we should be having is not “why doesn’t anyone leave concrit” but rather “what is concrit?” 

3. i’ve run across quite a few writers who will criticise any criticism or less-than-effusive comments, and it just really, really annoys me.

Going back to expectations and audiences; remember which party you’re going to. Also, what may seem like just a less-than-effusive comment to you, an outsider who stumbled upon this one comment thread, may actually be a long antagonistic war of words between author and commenter spanning many years, fandoms, and fics. I don’t know. It could happen. Maybe you just have a higher tolerance of trolls and criticism than the rest of us.

It’s certainly happened to me and Rose here on the LLF blog. Either we read the same ask differently or just have different reactions and ways of responding to things that tick us off. Even if we have a shared goal and have known each other for awhile, we’re both different people. It’s not reasonable for me to try to change Rose’s responses to match my own exactly. Just because you care about fanfiction so much doesn’t mean that everyone else does or should as well. If this is something that really truly annoys you and you are trying to see both sides of this issue, I think that you’re on the right track and want to encourage you to keep learning and thinking about it.

4. it isn’t taken as seriously as original fic, i really think this culture of “don’t engage unless you only have good things to say” is one of the reasons it just isn’t taken seriously.

I am not a literary expert, and cannot really opine on how fanfiction is viewed by traditional literature or whether a fantasy AU is better/worse than a published fantasy book or how they relate to the writings of Homer. I also am not sure what you mean by fanfiction not being taken “as seriously as original fic.” Certainly you take it seriously. I take it seriously enough to spend my free time on it, and I take fandom seriously enough that I am spending time I could be using to write fanfiction to help run this blog. If you mean that publishing houses will not pay any attention to a fanfiction story, I would agree because why would they? Fanfiction is, by definition, derived from original fiction. Publishing houses are after new and original content because copyright is a real thing.

Even then, let’s look at Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s Twilight fan fiction. Is it taken more seriously than Twilight? Why or why not? How does it compare to Harry Potter, or Pride or Prejudice? Reading and writing are such personal experiences that I hesitate to say that one piece of writing is inherently better than the other. Hence, I do not think that fan fiction’s audience who “don’t engage unless you only have good things to say” is a problem. To me, that’s like saying “anime isn’t as good as non-anime cartoons because people who watch anime don’t speak English.”

5. not saying that you should just point out all the flaws, but some polite, helpful concrit or probing questions in addition to praise…

Yes, agreed; and if this is what the author has asked for, please go ahead! However, please also remember that not everyone knows how to ask probing questions, give helpful concrit, or even be polite. Sometimes, they aren’t even trying to be rude. It just comes off as such. Maybe the commenter is having a bad day and can’t word right. Maybe the author is having a bad day and can’t read anything without their own personal negative bias clouding their perceptions.

It’s one of the things that we are trying to address at LLF so that these barriers are lower. It’s one of the reasons why some things (native comment templates) just will not work for AO3, because tone is hard to convey, nevermind that your audience probably numbers in the millions, each with their own personal biases and understanding of language. We know that even with giving kudos, people mean different things. Think about how difficult it is to convey sarcasm in writing. AO3 already receives flack for their kudos message, which is the way it is because can you come up with something better that will not tick off anyone? Maybe people want to be polite, maybe they want to be helpful, maybe they just don’t know how. We’re trying to change that and trying to give people the tools to help them comment: LLF Comment Builder, LLF Comment Project, in-line commenting (these tools are mostly focused on how to give positive comments because from the feedback we’ve gotten, people have a hard enough time doing that as is.)

But hey, if you want something for concrit or how to ask probing questions, don’t wait for us. Look up a good guide and reblog it. Encourage your followers to ask you questions about your writing. Write your own guide to commenting. Go. Be the change you want to see.

6. do you guys have any posts like this

So, after all that, LLF may not be the blog for you if you are interested in hearing as many opinions as possible about this topic. However, I would highly encourage you to check out @ao3commentoftheday, which has already hosted quite a few asks about this:

sometimes-i-dont-comment-because-im-a

actually-i-have-a-question-about-commenting

do-writers-like-constructive-criticism-in-reviews

about-the-leaving-only-glowing-praise-comments

about-concrit-i-dont-explicitly-discourage-it

its-not-about-wanting-concrit-its-about-wanting

1-with-concrit-i-think-the-question-is-not

Don’t forget to check the notes on those threads!