I've seen so many blogs about this issue and I just really wanted to input my opinion into this blur of comments and critics and the like. So, like everyone has been saying, silence from a reader really does affect an author when writing stories. I'm not trying to tie this into things being about me and my personal experiences, but I feel like I need to come out and say what I've also been feeling recently. When I first started writing, there was always something so magical about it because who wouldn't want to make up a completely made up world where they were the ones in control? I feel like a lot of writers write because of this fact because it helps them escape the reality they're sometimes forced to face, which isn't the case for everyone, but for me, this is why I write. Now, I don't do it for the comments and the feedback, but it's always nice when you see someone read your stories and comment that they loved it or found it amazing and would love to read more.

I remember there was an instance when I was writing one of my first stories about a year ago and I remember releasing it, feeling so proud that I had written over a thousand words with a lot of chapters and had gotten a decent story line plot. I remember smiling my off the whole entire day, but then I checked my notifs the next day. And the next. And the next. And eventually one day turned into two and that turned into three and then that turned into a week and there was still nothing. It pained me, not because I wasn't proud of what I had done, but because I had worked so hard to release something and to see all the people that have viewed the Foreword pratically triple the amount of people that had bothered to read the actually story. And then I saw that on the last chapter I had updated, it had a lot of views, but no comments, no upvotes, no nothing. I thought that people were just clicking off because they didn't like the writing or thought the story itself was a load of crap. 

You may think that reading the story would be enough, but writers, they get insecure; they look at the views and then compare them to the upvotes and ask themselves, 'have I really done enough and worked hard enough on this? Or is it just because I can't write good that they're not saying anything?'. Because, comments are supposed to be about giving feedback and how much you loved the chapter, so if no one does that, the writer thinks that nothing about the update they've written was good and their hardwork basically goes down the drain. They want to write less, do less because then all the writer feels is that they're writing the story for themselves and not for others and then they never end up finishing it. And I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but then some random person comes up like a year and a half later, seeing the story and they go 'oh, I remember this; it was really good!' and then they reread and finally comment, practically begging the author to update. But, really why should they?

Now, personally, I have a lot of friends here on AFF, that love the things I write and there have been cases when I have become friends with the people that comment frequently on my stories and that fact, I find so interesting. Just commenting on someone can make both their day and get you another friend to talk to. When I have writers block, I ask those friends for suggestions and just recently I asked a friend for advice on a Woosan fanfic I'm writing and she replied to me, happy to help. I always reply to a comment and if I don't have anything to say, I comment thank you because readers want to be seen too.

Personally, this year has just been a mess, with the virus and personal things ~ like my mental health and family issues that have arisen ~ commenting on someone's story doesn't take a lot of time and I'm doing it more recently even though I barely have the time to come on AFF. So, if I can do it and others can, then you can do it too and don't stay silent. People always get a kick out of saying they have a voice, so if you have a voice, use it to comment things on people's stories. Make them happy whilst also making yourself happy.

Stay healthly and happy, Eummie.