Concerns (Read at your own risk)

I've been on a hiatus from AFF for a year. I wasn't intending to come back, but then my love for Soulgyu won over apprehension.

There are certain personal reasons for the hiatus and there is also the reason of annoyance.

I've ranted this before and it still bothers me /and sometimes irritate me if I think about it long enough/. One of the reasons why I'm never been fond of this site is because it allows spam comments and nonsense.

I post things here because it's easier, accessible and I wanted to share.But if I look at it through a writer's perspective, I won't grow as I writer here. It bothers me that most of us think more of getting an update than getting an actual feedback.

The random 'hwaiting' messages are an ego-booster but if you see most of the comments just telling you to update after you've already updated, you kinda get de-motivated.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels this way but I'd rather get a feedback about my writing /regardless if it's good or bad as long as it's constructive and is not meant to demean or mock me as a writer/ than getting random hearts and the usual overuse of emoticons.

Emoticons are nice don't get me wrong. But it won't help me as a writer. I appreciate my readers so I want to give them the best, asking me to update /I'm glad you're that excited for the next chapter though/ won't get me anywhere as a fanfic writer.

/end and last rant for the century/

Comments

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infinfic #1 Sep 2, 2015 11:50:56

I think this is a good advice for commenters like me but I kinda feel a bit bad after reading this too.

Cephei #2 Sep 2, 2015 11:03:33

I've taken to asking my readers specific questions about the piece I write. For example in my latest fic, I asked them what they thought about my use of first person (since I know that 1st person can be a suffocating reading experience and as a reader, I personally prefer 3rd person). Sometimes I'll ask them to comment with their favourite scene, or a scene that didn't work for them. I usually get a few responses... More than I would not asking the question at all, I think

Cephei #3 Sep 2, 2015 11:00:08

I agree... Readers that are willing to be honest with your writing are hard to come by. Most people don't want to hurt your feelings, and if there's something that doesn't sit well with them, they typically just stop reading without saying why. Which is totally understandable - I am the same. Some people on AFF just don't take concrit well... I've had friends who left thoughtful criticism only to have their comment deleted or to be verbally chewed out. Heck, I once pointed out a plothole/inconsistency and the author said to me, "if people can have super powers in stories, then (plothole) can happen in my fic". I got turned off by that comment and didnt bother explain myself since the author didn't seem very receptive to concrit lol.

JonesyKyah #4 Sep 2, 2015 09:13:30

I couldn't agree with you more. When people just say to update right after I have, though I'm glad they want to read my story, it becomes irritatin fb because you just did. You kind of hope that they savor that chapter enough to give you some thoughtful feedback so that you can use that to write the next chapter. Or at least that's how I think about it.