squid-inspiration:

tanoraqui:

lvtvr:

okay just got done typing up a Long Ass Comment for a fic that i love and bc writers Live™ for comments but a lot of ppl seem to find it difficult/scary to write them, here are some tips from me, who has been on both sides of the fence:

• we will nut over literally any context for how u read our fics, nothing is too specific or embarrassing
• i once received a long ass essay about the exact circumstances under which someone read the new chapter including action and dialogue and i still treasure that comment to this day
• if u read the fic a few days ago and are still thinking about it, open that bitch up and tell the author “i read this fic a few days ago and i’m still thinking about it”
• THAT SHIT KILLS US I SWEAR
• do not worry about being annoying!!!!! oh my god i can’t overstate this enough you are NEVER being annoying by leaving comments. examples of situations in which comments are Not Annoying:
• commenting on every chapter
• this is honestly our fav thing, those regular commenters are the real MVPs and i’d die for them. it doesn’t seem thirsty or obnoxious to us it’s our lifeblood i pr omi s e u
• also this is guaranteed the #1 best way to get senpai to notice u, if that’s what ur after
• adding an extra comment w a thought/detail u missed
• adding an extra comment w a thought/detail u remembered from 4 chapters ago
• commenting during a reread (this is only ever flattering!!!)
• commenting an 800-word essay that takes several solid minutes to read
• this seriously never comes across as irritating, time-consuming, or trying too hard; the author is the one who wrote thousands upon thousands of words in the first place and we eat that shit up
• (ok i lied, there is one exception to this. the one thing that is annoying is demanding updates, especially if u do it on the same day as an update was published. this makes us sad, avoid this :c)
• but aside from that: comments, great, always!!!
• acknowledge how hard writers work. every time someone tips their hat to me for the effort i put in, it’s like the 12 hour binges, inability to think about anything else even while sleeping, longggg inspiration walks, and constant self doubt become worth it!!!!
• let us know u talk about our fics w ur friends…. this is like, the ultimate compliment……… i’m still lowkey waiting for the day someone pastes an excerpt from a chat log they’ve had about one of my fics because i Know it has happened and i wanna see it……………i wanna know what has been yelled……………..
• just say thank u!!! a simple thank you means so much more bc it shows us we have actual readers and not just numbers on a screen sfjdgslksg

as someone who reflexively Analyzes everything I read, and often feels awkward about commenting to an author that I noticed this lowkey symbolic thing in their fic, let me tell you what I, also an author, tell myself: LEAVE THE LITERARY ANALYSIS, OH GOD, PLEASE. NOTHING will make a writer happier than that you noticed the minor parallel or metaphor or whatever that they painstakingly and subtly crafted. NOTHING will make them happier than to hear that you feel kind of “obsessed” with their writing.

i’ve been on a bit of a commenting spree recently, and i think it’s good to remember that comments rly are fuel in a writer’s engine. i got more than one response that someone cried bc i left a nice comment. 

srsly, be good to the writers in your fandom, appreciate them, and if you like what they’re doing, let them know. it’s only natural to want some sort of feedback on what we’re doing, and these days ppl seem to be commenting much less (bc dropping kudos takes much less time, is my theory) and i think getting back into the feedback mindset would do us all some good ❤

and comment on old fics that were published way before you entered the fandom, drop a line or two when a new chapter in your fave fic is up, check for fics that have v few comments and if you like it, make sure to let that author know. there are some incredible gems that i’ve seen w hardly any love shown to the writer, which i don’t understand, but let’s cultivate a more active reading culture.

reccing fic on tumblr is also good. (or do all of these things! :D)

i know that there’s a small handful of ppl that write incredible comments on almost everything i write, and it makes me so much more productive, wibbling in anticipation all, “oof i wrote rly fast and tried to make it good, i hope X likes it, i wonder what their reaction to plot point Y will be”. nobody owes me a comment, of course, but interacting w ppl is so nice, you get to know them, it feels like a community. it’s much more fun than flinging things into the void.