Hey guys, I've just finished writing a new story, and I'm working on another one that's for a friend (she had asked me to write it, so it is her idea not mine). Since I've been pretty active in Twitter nowadays, I read a lot of things from it and I want to give my opinion. I have wanted to write this blog post for a while, but I also took some time to gather my thoughts, and here they are. 

Firstly, fanfictions, in my opinion, are for fun and for pleasure. It shouldn't be so serious. Most authors in AFF have a life, and their lives keep them so busy that there's barely anytime for them to sit down and write. They, by the way, write fanfics for free and because they want to write. They have generous hearts, they want people to enjoy stories. Their stories give us so much joy in the fandom, they give us so much inspiration, and they can cheer us up with their beautiful words. 

I've seen some authors express their sadness that readers have been rude to them, pressuring them to update, etc. I know it's hard, waiting for a fic that has not been updated for months, but it is also hard to conjure up words while you're busy running around, trying to keep your life together. These authors are working so hard, in and out of AFF, they deserve a lot of respect. 

Second, when an author updates, a simple thank you might just be something that will cheer them up. We don't have to leave long comments, but they really benefit from it. Some readers, I get that they mostly read a story and comment at the end, or just comment on a chapter that garners reaction-and that is perfectly fine, we don't always have to say something ALL the time, but when an author who has not updated in a while updates, we need to thank them for their dedication. It's hard completing a story. 

Third, authors have a lot of pride in their work. Authors may read something and get offended by it, so we also need to be careful on how we give our comments. However, authors also need to be able to take constructive criticism (and note: good and plausible criticism NOT hate or any kind of pushy intent) because those insights will help grow their writing. Some authors probably did not like one of the comments and lashed out at a reader, so that reader was discouraged from giving out opinions. 

It gets toxic really quickly, but we all need to keep an open mind. It is hard, we all have feelings, but all of this just proves how words hold so much power. It is beautiful when worded correctly, but it can also damage and hurt. 

I'm not talking about anyone in particular, nor am I trying to start a fight, but just my general observations from what I've been seeing.

In conclusion: don't be an .