Read on Twitter
a thread for fanfiction readers:
If you like a work, after leaving kudos, PLEASE comment. Because it's so easy to see kudos as a number that doesn't mean anything, but a comment is someone's words that they set aside time to write and it gives authors so much to power through.
If you like a work, after leaving kudos, PLEASE comment. Because it's so easy to see kudos as a number that doesn't mean anything, but a comment is someone's words that they set aside time to write and it gives authors so much to power through.
when you comment, if you have the energy to do so, please write what you liked about the fic. don't just scream about the plot and what the characters did; the author of course came up with the plot, but there are SO MUCH MORE they did. comment on their word choices,
their language usage, their empty space usage (line breaks), their pacing, timing or characterization. there is so much going on in a piece of literature than just the plot. please appreciate them, acknowledge them, and write them to the author for them to feel /seen/.
you can even thank them for (if it's multi-chapter) their update. please be kind, please remind yourself that all authors do this as a hobby while their lives go on in god knows what level of chaos. we do this to share what we want to see in the world with others.
and let me say it again: kudos is just a number. we don't see people's individual thoughts about it; out of the 20 people who left kudos on a work, maybe only 2 or 3 got the meaning we tried to relay. so please self-reflect, ask yourself how it made you /feel/ and share it.
being a good reader is hard. but i swear, at some points i write for the readers who take my writing apart, who take the time to notice all the little details i put in with my style or symbolism, who thank me for making them feel and smile. seeing someone getting excited for
something you write on your desk, completely unaware of how it may affect other people means so much. it reminds an author that they're reaching out and touching people in the world. so if you read something and it touches you, please PLEASE give it back to the author.
also, as much as i have a smile on my face when i see comments mostly consisting of keysmashes, please take your time to form coherent thoughts and sentences so that the author knows how you felt. you can tip them on ko-fi and all of course, but words mean SO MUCH. Use them!
and if you change after reading this, please don't judge yourself. i hadn't understood HOW MUCH commenting meant before i myself started writing. on the left, a comment before i wrote fics, and on the right, one after i started writing.
you don't have to go aalllll literary analysis like I did (i loved that piece truly so much) BUT BASE LINE: WRITE TO THE AUTHOR!! THANK THEM!! MAKE THEM FEEL LOVED!!! Nobody can serve from an empty vessel -- help them get their vessels filled with love!!!!
