the :) AO3 gives you after telling you you’ve already left kudos on a particular fic is my archenemy because what do you mean :) ? what do you mean I’ve already left kudos here? have you read my favorite author’s work? look me in the eyes and tell me one kudos is enough. I’d give them a thousand kudos and my kidney plus my firstborn. what do you mean I can only give them one kudos??????
You are not here to compete. You are not here to keep up with a trend. You are here to share your art with people who really want to enjoy it and interact with it. You are here to ramble about your special interests with people really interested in your special interest. You might even be here to make a friend or two. Most importantly, you're here.
10 Subtle Ways to Show Love Without Saying “I Love You”
Subtle gestures can convey deep affection and understanding without the need for words. Here are 10 subtle ways to reveal just how much your character cares, without using words:
- Surprising Them with Their Favorite Snack
- Character A notices Character B eyeing their favorite treat at a store/party, and later surprises them with it, showing they're paying attention to the little things.
- Fixing Something Without Being Asked
- When Character B's favorite [object] breaks, Character A quietly repairs it and leaves it for them to find.
- Leaving a Hidden Note
- Character A slips a small note into Character B's bag or coat pocket, something sweet or funny; could be good after a minor fight.
- Covering Them with a Blanket
- Character B falls asleep on the couch, and Character A drapes a blanket over them gently. Again, cute if it's after a fight.
- Warming Their Hands with Theirs
- On a chilly day, Character A takes Character B’s cold hands into their own without a word, offering warmth and comfort.
- Offering Their Jacket
- As Character B shivers in the cold, Character A instinctively hands over their jacket without waiting to be asked. Post-fight cuteness x3
- Cleaning Up After a Tough Day
- Character B comes home exhausted, and Character A has already tidied up the space. Great if they're married with kids.
- Brushing Something Off Their Face
- When Character B has a strand of hair or speck of dust on their face, Character A gently brushes it away; a classic, intimate action.
- Waiting Up for Them to Get Home
- Character A stays up late just to make sure Character B gets home safely, greeting them with a warm smile or a cup of tea when they walk in.
- Running an Errand They Dislike
- Knowing Character B dreads a particular chore or errand, Character A does it for them without making a big deal, or when they’re stressed/sad.
Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?
“While many people think fanfiction is about inserting sex into texts (like Tolkien’s) where it doesn’t belong, Brancher sees it differently: “I was desperate to read about sex that included great friendship; I was repurposing Tolkien’s text in order to do that. It wasn’t that friendship needed to be sexualized, it was that erotica needed to be … friendship-ized.” Many fanfiction writers write about sex in conjunction with beloved texts and characters not because they think those texts are incomplete, but because they’re looking for stories where sex is profound and meaningful. This is part of what makes fan fiction different from pornography: unlike pornography, fanfic features characters we already care deeply about, and who tend to already have long-standing and complex relationships with each other. It’s a genre of sexual subjectification: the very opposite of objectification. It’s benefits with friendship.”
— Francesca Coppa, “Introduction to The Dwarf’s Tale,” The Fanfiction Reader (via francescacoppa)
Someone put it into words. I gotta sit down
(Why does this belong on my decidedly not-fan-fiction-related blog, you ask? Because this quote illustrates very well how assuming that anything where people put sex in it is debasing it, objectifying it, or simply ‘sexualizing’ it, etc. often misses a lot of the real picture of why people do that thing.)
How it feels to finish the first draft of a chapter to sth you have been struggling with for over two months:
When you realize you still have to beat it into shape:
You can do it! I believe in you 🥰💙
How it feels to finish the first draft of a chapter to sth you have been struggling with for over two months:
When you realize you still have to beat it into shape:
Victoria Schwab Tweets:
“This just in: you can love writing and also find it hard.
“I was once on a panel and another author essentially said, ‘if you don't enjoy every moment, then why are you here?’ and I was...exasperated. Creativity is a complicated beast. You don't have to love every second to be a valid participant.
“I love the ideas. I love brainstorming, and problem-solving, and I love making this better, fine-tuning language.
“I also hate drafting, claw my way through self-doubt, crawl on my hands and knees through the frustration of the unrealized.
“I'm not here because I love every second.
“I'm here because the parts I love are worth the rest.”
“How’s your WIP going?”
"Have you made any progress?”
“How close are you to being done?”
2 genres of fanfiction:
1) put that guy into situations
2) take that guy OUT of situations for the love of GOD let them REST
Dude it is SO FUN and EXCITING to see a reoccurring reader. If you've commented a handful of times on an author's work, I guarantee that they recognize you. You can't imagine how many times I've excitedly informed my friends "the person with the funny cat image commented!" "- anon is back!!!!" and the friends've recognized who I was talking about because I talk about my commenters so often LOL. We love you all!!!
Fan fic authors are not professional writers.
Expecting them to be perfect and never make mistakes is setting yourself up to be an asshole.
Do you know how long it takes to write and publish a 60k novel for most published authors? Years. Plural.
That includes time spent writing multiple drafts and doing research and multiple rounds of edits. Access to a professional editor, and the ability to hire sensitivity readers. The list goes on and on and on.
Fan fic authors owe you nothing. They are churning out multiple novel length fics (or the equivalent in one shots) a year while still holding down school/jobs.
And you’re gonna jump down their throats because they wrote a pairing differently than you prefer??
Shut the fuck up.
Tags exists for a reason. Read them and move on if the fic is not for you.
I mean really. We all just lived through fucking 2020. Let people enjoy their FAKE gay porn in peace.
Jfc.
This is so real. I saw a post going around about how “fanfic authors don’t accept critique anymore” And it’s like? Imagine you bake a batch of cookies and you take it to the office to share with your co-workers. And then someone just sits down and it’s like “Ah, the flavour profile is not quite proper. See, you should have added the brown sugar *after* the flour, and” And it’s like? Just eat the fucking cookie, Mike, and shut the fuck up. lmao A hobby doesn’t need critique. You don’t even need to be good at it. Let people have fun on the internet, for god’s sake.
Always re-blog
And the truth shall set you free!!!
20 Low effort meaningful comments to leave on fics when you can’t think of anything to say that most authors love and appreciate (and you will too).
1.) Thank you for writing this!
2.) This really helped distract me from the horrors of reality, thank you for writing it!
3.) I really really really loved this.
4.) <3
5.) Literal keyboard mash q3kjt2uh0erjiurjfnejkrgnkejoiiueirnf!!!!
6.) My favorite part was when they ____.
7.) I laughed at ____.
8.) How dare you! /affectionate.
9.) I am very excited to read this story in its entirety!
10.) I really enjoyed the first __ chapters, I cannot wait for more!
11.) This gave me everything I was hoping for!
12.) 10/10 fic, thanks for writing!
13.) I am going to be thinking about this fic for a long time, thank you for writing!
14.) This made me feel a lot of emotions and I cannot describe them, so thank you for that. I really enjoyed this.
15.) This was the best ride I haven taken in a long time, wow! Thank you for writing this.
16.) If I had the ability to bind this as a real book I would, I loved it so much.
17.) I'm not good with words but I just loved this so much.
18.) This is complete perfection.
19.) I am in awe of how you described ____.
20.) This means so much to me that you wrote this. Thank you.
The more you comment, the better you will get at it and the more enjoyment and fulfillment you will received out of saying thank you.
"should we tell authors on ao3 when we have discord conversations about their fics" i don't speak for everyone here but if y'all ever find a group chat discussing my fics you can should must and WILL send me screenshots of the whole damn thing. inflate my ego. gimme
this whole thing with people discussing a fic in secret, on closed discord servers, instead of leaving a nice comment, is such a loss for fandom. we're losing fic writers with every fic with hundreds of hits and barely a comment.
writers publish to be read. fanfic is meant to be a conversation.
Writers when fellow writers who are super talented compliment or recommend our fics:
Except we aren't actors so the shock/amazement/joy is 100% genuine.
oh no my pornography is turning into an angst-filled character study
Oh no my angst-filled character study is turning into pornography
Pros of re-reading your own fic
- a good time;
- Has exactly the tropes you like and the characterization you want to read;
- Gratification: yes you did finish a thing and yes you did do good;
- just a very fun time all around.
Cons of re-reading your own fic:
- Is that another TYpO