the-unpopular-opinion - Tumblr blog

[the-unpopular-opinion]

I want to thank personally everyone who takes time to engage with what I post here.

I wish I have made this blog main, and not a side one, so it will be easier to engage. But alas, my mistake. And since the last time, I try to keep my main blogs away from fanfiction and for obvious reason.

I do appologize for the inconvenience however. It just still hurts bad what happened back then.

But I really want to say THANK YOU!

I also have no idea how to reblog tags properly, but there are tags under the posts that are right on spot and I do agree wholeheartedly with all of them

And I hope it will help the people who still write to keep writing.

I know what it means to be inspired to write and share.

I  appreciate every comment and engagement with my whole heart, and everyone who gives me the gift of their time.

Despite the fact I personally don’t write fics anymore, when people do care it warms my heart.

Thank you from my whole heart!

[the-unpopular-opinion]

Thank you @fizzyxcustard and @tangledredstringsoffate !

I want to tell you how much appreciate you taking the time to comment under the posts and in tags. I also have no idea how to reblog tags properly, but I do agree with all you say in the tags and in posts!

Thank you! And I hope it will help the people who still write.

I know I appreciate it with my whole heart, despite the fact I don’t write fics anymore.

^_^ Thank you!

Fandom elitists ruined my desire to write and joy of writing ._.

I was so excited to share my writing with like minded people.

But I gave up after it became nightmare and not the fun it was supposed to be.

Everyone  ignoring my writing, only because I was not from their friend groups,  while the people belonging there were showered with, compliments and  that all.

It  was so sad, and lonely that it poisoned my writing and I gave the fan fic up.

I gave up trying and that was the best decision ever.

But it sure didn’t felt best . ._. I still have depression and I don’t want to do anything and everything is….bland..

And I don’t know what do because no one cares cause “it’s only fanfic”.

But for me that was the one joy I had.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

*takes every fic writer's face gently in my hands* the popularity of your fic or lack thereof often has nothing to do with your skills as a writer. ily

[the-unpopular-opinion]

[the-unpopular-opinion]

From my private meme collection. Since I also work as an editor I often have to remind myself there aren’t actually any rules in writing. I’m happiest when I let myself follow my obsessions, my interests, my fancies and caprices–even if that means it doesn’t “make sense,” or the results are weird, or I never finish it, or no one ever wants to read it or publish it, or it’s 5 words long, or it’s written on toilet paper, or whatever. Sharing for whoever needs to hear this today <3

[the-unpopular-opinion]

I stopped writing completely [not LOTR though], because obviously I was no one’s favourite and people couldn’t care less if I quit, disappear or stop.

As a result I got severely depressed - for real; Got PTSD and needed counseling.

I still don’t feel good. And I do not write fanfiction anymore because that experience ruined me and my desire to write fanfiction and engage in groups writing fanfiction. I still try to be an advocate for engagement though.

Therefore I wish to paraphrase ( credits to the original POST author!!!! )

Dear READERS of fanfics and WRITERS of fanfics who read this:

Please reblog and engage with fiction. Especially the one with less notes. Over and over.

The FICS that haven’t gotten  much engagement - for one reason or another.

Maybe THEY just needs several chances to find the right audience.

It's sad that many fanfic writers like myself get hit with inspiration for a story that they love and really want to write, but they are stopped by the thought: "But no one will read this. If it's only going to get zero reactions, it won't be worth writing." And that story just never gets written.

Dear LOTR writer reading this: Please reblog that LOTR fic that means the most to you. Over and over. The one that hasn't gotten as much engagement as you wish it did. Maybe it just needs several chances to find the right audience.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

time to make another post about this because i’m genuinely getting irritated.

i’m getting really bothered by the fact that people keep begging me for sequels or another part of my fics, but do absolutely nothing but like or comment on the post. zero reblogs, nothing.

i’m sorry but it just doesn’t make sense. it doesn’t make me feel appreciated as a writer, and i’m so tired of sounding like a broken record but this has become an issue that doesn’t seem to end. how can you comment or send an ask about adding another part to a fic but do absolutely nothing to contribute?? the least you can do is reblog the post. idk why people just stick to liking things and not reblogging, but this doesn’t help writers whatsoever. this isn’t Twitter. likes don’t mean shit on here.

i will preface this again, there is no reason why a 500 note fic should have only 18 reblogs.

call me greedy, call me whatever you want, but it’s genuinely so annoying. reblogs matter on this platform and it bothers me to no end when people don’t do a single thing to add on their part. if you want people to make more content, reblog their work! give them feedback! send asks and stuff like that! it is not that fucking difficult. i should not have to BEG for these kinds of things, but here i am again. you cannot ask for a part 2 or 3 of a fic, but then do absolutely nothing with the post. i’m sorry but that’s not how it works here.

support content creators. it’s not that hard to give them feedback and reblog their works. please and thank you.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

It's sad that many fanfic writers like myself get hit with inspiration for a story that they love and really want to write, but they are stopped by the thought: "But no one will read this. If it's only going to get zero reactions, it won't be worth writing." And that story just never gets written.

Dear LOTR writer reading this: Please reblog that LOTR fic that means the most to you. Over and over. The one that hasn't gotten as much engagement as you wish it did. Maybe it just needs several chances to find the right audience.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

[the-unpopular-opinion]

“Showing your emotions to people is like bleeding next to a shark.”

[the-unpopular-opinion]

[the-unpopular-opinion]

Can we ditch this whole "write for yourself" bullshit narrative already???? Like yes, it's important to write what you love and to love what you write and to be proud of it. But it's so fucking crucial to know who your audience are & who your target audience is & to know how they'll react to your writing & what will alienate them versus what will make them feel empathy for your characters and your tropes and your plotline. Knowing your audience will help so fucking much to help you improve your writing.

Also, readers: step the fuck up. Interact. Leave kudos. Comment. Share. Writers write things - fics and og work - for you. We need to know if you enjoy it, we need to know what you love or don't love or what you hate. We need to know what was boring and what made you feel. Because while this "writers write for themselves" attitude is only partially accurate in the sense that we shouldn't be writing things that make us bored or feel like shit, it's so toxic to readers because it makes you think that you don't need to interact with anything.

Interactions give us life. They give us proof we're not writing into a void or an echo chamber. They give us serotonin. They make us smile. They let us see that other people are enjoying this. They let us know our writing is actually fucking good enough to interest others, and that our characters are human enough to elicit emotions and that our plotlines are good enough to engage other people and that our smut / erotica is hot enough or fluffy enough or affectionate enough for other people to read it and our domestic stuff is cute and that our angst is actually angst and not boring and that our comedy is actually funny.

Frankly, this whole "write for yourself" bullshit stinks of Marvel & Disney. That's the real "Create for yourself, don't worry about your audience". That's the prime example of creatives not listening to their audience and not caring about a target audience and just creating for profit and for nothing beyond "This is what I want so this is what's happening".

It's consumerism in creative form. It's turning fans into consumers and it's making people think that extends to fandomwork, too. You're consuming fanworks with 0 interaction and 0 thought of the creator beyond "Huh cool.... anyway". There's no "wow, another human being took time and energy out of their daily life to create this for me, I should let them know it was actually worth it."

It's consumerism and it fucking reeks of Big Hollywood.

It's killing creativity because no one appreciates the artistry and the energy and the life and spirit and soul that goes into creating something.

It's cold and heartless and soulless.

It's mass marketing.

It's not engaging or inspiring.

In case you've forgotten, we hate all of those narratives here.

So can we just fucking stop telling normal creatives to "write for ourselves" instead of an audience, because we thrive on audience interactions and knowing our audience and listening to them and reacting to them helps us create more and to create better.

Art is created to be seen.

Writing is created to be read.

Film is created to be watched.

Creations are created to be enjoyed.

And we need to fucking start remembering that, because apparently a lot of us have forgotten that.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

I think one problem I've had in fandoms, especially the ML one is how mean girls cliquey "friendship" groups can be. Artists in particular.

"Friends" that force you to follow their ideals and headcanons and beliefs and yell at you for following or being friends with people they don't like. "Friends" that look down on other artists and people because of a skills difference or shipping or favourite characters. "Friends" that try to cosy up with you because you have a big following and won't hesitate to make you feel like shit.

From my experience in the fandom (and I've been here from the beginning, once being just a lurker), other than rampant cyberbullying, catty behaviour and dumb idiots trying to force their purity culture, there really shouldn't be a reason to force your friends follow who you say they should follow. That they should like what you say they should like. This is so disgustingly controlling and insane. (And of course, I understand there are exceptions but I'm talking about people putting down others for dumb shit).

So what I'm trying to say is to think critically, don't fall for peer pressure and don't let the "popular" people make you do things you don't want to do. You can have contrasting opinions and like different things and hate different things and still be friends or be civil. It isn't that hard.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

The fan fiction and The Toxic writers groups

Obviously that is how it works.

It’s not about how good you are.

It’s about who your ”friends” are, and if you are you willing to sell your soul TO gain toxic “popularity”.

it’s about if are you willing to give up your style, and what you want to write about, in order to gain people, who are only loyal until a writer produces what they crave, and until their next dose.

Mention: A style does NOT mean a mistakes ridden piece of work, that  lacks general quality.

AUTHORS SHOULDN'T BE FORCED TO DO THIS HOWEVER.

Also, the fiction needs diversity and types, as any other type of writing.

Which at the current time is NOT present.

More than 90 % includes x some type of “reader”, and when it contains smut it’s mostly all the time a bdsm lifestyle. Especially when it comes to characters that the fandom labeled as such no matter how they were presented. That’s NOT a diversity.

AUTHORS SHOULDN'T BE FORCED TO DO THIS also.

It’s does not matter how good you write, it only matters how good you market your writing, and if you are a people person and whether you do or do not know the ...”right“ people....

And if you were at the right place, at the right time.

And if you wonder what the problem is - the problem is that fan fiction writing is about having FUN, not about business, or marketing, or establishing FAKE CONNECTIONS in order to be seen.

Because if it becomes that, there will be competition, and your “rivals” will try to move you “out of the way”, and it’s not FUN at all.

There is enough readers for everyone and every type of fiction.

If only the mass reader would stop to behave as they do now - Gathering around what’s “cool” and popular, and around certain people, and leaving all  the other authors unseen and feeling horrible.

Those authors give their time to write fiction for free, and for everyone to enjoy, at which they only expect some attention and feedback in return and from who is interested.

THEY DO NOT DESERVE to be overlooked and not seen because the general reader couldn't care less.

And they may be great authors, but if they don’t have exposure how good you are does not matter at all.

All you need is popular blogs and people which gained some “status”in the fandom not to reblog and interact with you and your fic, and you will not be seen.

THAT’S SHIT BEHAVIOR.

And it’s one, that the fandoms as a whole not only tolerate but enable.

Because why would someone who has fans, attention on their own fics, and followers who care, would care at all to change a system that works this good for them?

Why would they care if someone else struggle?

That’s right. They had no reason to.

Except if they care for the others as human beings.

Which apparently and based on the demonstrated behaviour they do not.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

Gentle reminder that fandom is only what you make it. If you love the characters, love the characters. If you want to write stories for it, write stories for it.

If you love the streamers and characters but don’t want to interact with the rest of the fandom, do what you gotta do.

Whatever it takes to survive and thrive.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

why did you leave sttwt?

welp, to start with, sttwt really started slowing down after august and it practically died after st day. sometimes the flame is reignited when favourable interviews drop or big events occur (like noah's coming out), but for the most part a lot of the people moved on to different interests and fandoms (and i,,, didn't x.x)

that said, i mostly left because it was just super toxic. everyone was always fighting and partaking in dumb ship wars,,, there was constant witch hunting and negative rumours would spread like wildfire, with no one ever bothering to fact-check before cancelling someone,,, there was also a somewhat competitive atmosphere, with people being obsessed over numbers and borderline worshipping big accounts (with their mean behaviour being praised and encouraged),,,

plus, content creators (writers in particular, but fan artists too) were infinitely underappreciated and subjected to the highest, most nonsensical standards of morality that resulted in a lot of unnecessary stress for creators who were just having fun making stuff for the rest of the fandom.

a large part of sttwt seem to have fun condemning people for writing teenagers (often aged-up, sometimes even into adulthood) acting like teenagers when they're in a relationship. the smallest mention of certain words, or detailed descriptions of certain activities (like making out) will often lead to harassment and to innocent people being grouped with far more "problematic" individuals (who, mind you, are mostly just vibing on their side of the internet too). mentions of mature topics like mental health issues also bore similar reactions.

(would you believe it if i told you that my story about hop being a bit of a paternal figure to mike has led to four people calling me a pr0shipper? all because i've tagged it (appropriately) as "mike & hopper" x.x)

of course, the aforementioned competitive nature doesn't help. rating fics and fic writers has never done anyone any good; it just raises expectations (of content quality and morality) for those who garner attention, and it discourages those who will probably never be mentioned in these polls because our stuff is not popular for whatever reason.

(also, they hate au's and that's just sad)

so yeah, i left because it wasn't fun being in that negative environment. it was always there, but i spent months curating my twt experience and at some point all the bad stuff ended up reaching me regardless so i just,,, left. you can still reach me to talk there and i will continue to post recs there so the stories have as big of a reach as possible, but i don't spend much time on twitter anymore because it's way too stressful for being a fandom space.

[the-unpopular-opinion]

“So……I stopped writing fanfiction because writing fanfiction on Tumblr is a biggest dick contest where you’re just competing for likes, and a simple “I really liked this. Thanks for sharing!” feels like the biggest prize in the world. Cause unless you get a reblog — there’s like a 97% chance you won’t unless you already have a following — and your fic goes viral, that’s probably the only comment you’re gonna get. “

“....And depending on your day, being ignored can sometimes feel even worse because, hey, we all need validation sometimes, right?“

“I stopped writing fanfiction and now I feel like I can’t write anything.

Because this platform has completely destroyed my confidence and self-esteem. And my writing was the only thing I ever had any confidence in.“

THIS ^

That’s what I’ve seen too ._. And that’s why I stopped witting fanfiction too. But at the end I realized that I just met the wrong type of  readers/people.

And after additional research I found that TUMBLR IS THE WORST PLACE FOR (FAN) FICTION anyways.....

If writing is what you love, DON’T LET THEM discourage you!

I have heard other similar stories and there was that one person and that long post, saying that they abandoned fanfiction, because they were treated like that on tumblr.

Then they started writing own novel, some place else. And the people they found after, were congratulating them on how good their writing is!

So……I stopped writing fanfiction because writing fanfiction on Tumblr is a biggest dick contest where you’re just competing for likes, and a simple “I really liked this. Thanks for sharing!” feels like the biggest prize in the world. Cause unless you get a reblog — there’s like a 97% chance you won’t unless you already have a following — and your fic goes viral, that’s probably the only comment you’re gonna get.

And people expect you to have scheduled updates. Rather than, you know, just letting you take your time to work out the plot and write it out and make revisions — yeah, that’s a thing; its also called editing — for however long you need. So that you can it make as well written and grammatically correct as possible. If you don’t post the next chapter within like 24-48 hours, you’re done. No one cares — even if they’re on the taglist.

Thank you, streaming services👍🏻

And because people go batshit crazy if you even think about writing a MLM romance if the characters aren’t cannonically queer. Unless they’re homophobes who fetishize queer men — if you don’t know why that’s homophobic that’s even worse fyi. Like you either get death threats or ignored completely. And depending on your day, being ignored can sometimes feel even worse because, hey, we all need validation sometimes, right?

Not just writers or artists or whoever — EVERYONE. Why else do you post pictures on FB or share your every thought on social media, hmm?

I stopped writing fanfiction and now I feel like I can’t write anything. Because this platform has completely destroyed my confidence and self-esteem. And my writing was the only thing I ever had any confidence in.