What if all fanfiction writers had the same attitudes that so many readers do? What if we treated our stories like content?

Readers: I won’t read WIPs, only completed work and LONG fics.

Writers: I will only post finished works once a year, you will never see 90% of my ideas and have no part of the creative process.

Readers: I will only read works that have tons of views/kudos/bookmarks.

Writers: I won’t update unless I have interest in my story. I’ll post a new chapter for every 100 kudos, 10 comments, and 5 bookmarks.

Readers: I can do whatever I want with fanfics, sell bound copies and criticise them publicly.

Writers: I will delete my fics without warning and never share more.

This is how you end fandom culture. This is how you lose AO3 and access to so many incredible stories for FREE.

✨Fanfiction is NOT content to be consumed! It is community and creative expression. ✨

I’ve noticed this change in interactions between writers and readers over the years turning more impersonal and I hate it. Writers are not some soulless writing machine that produces “content”. They are people and have a life out of fandom and their stories are art, not content to be consumed. Writing takes time and effort and is often very personal.

Every year there are less and less comments and interaction in fics. With fandom happening on certain platforms affected by algorithms, every year, writers act and are treated more and more like they’re some sort of unapproachable pseudo-celebrity that’s getting paid full time to deliver “content” on demand and instantly to remain relevant, otherwise their stories will be lost into the void and nobody will ever see them. Because very few care to actively search for stories anymore, but simply read whatever they’ve been told to read. Which is a shame, because every time I search fics by tags and summary, I guarantee you there is always one that ticks all the boxes for me.

And the thing is, nobody owes anything to anyone. Writers don’t owe regular updates to readers, because they’re doing this for free. Just as much as readers don’t owe writers comments or kudos. But it sure as hell helps to keep the fandom going on both ends.

We’re all doing this for free and for fun or comfort or because it makes us feel a certain way. Now imagine if you pour your heart into something, spent hours and hours of your time, and share it with the world, only receive nothing but silence. It is very likely you won’t be wanting to try that again very often. Just imagine the amount of potential fics that were left unfinished because of discouragement, or the ones that are already out there to be discovered, and all the ones that have been deleted.

At the end of the day, we write for ourselves, but share our stories for others, to connect with them in some way.

How I feel forcing myself to finish writing the chapter when it's already 1am

Don't think about writing as just the act of getting words down on a page.

Brainstorming ideas. Daydreaming about the characters. Researching the world they inhabit. Trying to come up with a fucking title.

If you only count the time you spend sitting at a keyboard, you're not giving yourself credit for all of the work you did leading up to the moment when the story is finally clear enough in your mind that you can start putting it into actual words.

Commenting By The Numbers

I have always said I am lucky when it comes to comments, even now when I have archive locked my fics. But I saw a thread on another blog and my brain went that cannot be right so I decided to check it out.

People always are begging for comments, that they make a writer feel like they matter, that they keep going/feel motivated because of comments. People respond, they are tired, scared, they have no spoons, don't know what to say, it already has so many comments does what I say matter.

But I think we all need some perspective on this.

There are 12.2 MILLION FICs on AO3.

Now lets sort by comments, lowering the number each time:

Fics with 1000+ comments - 17,041

Fics with 500+ comments - 50,223

Fics with 100+ comments - 361,390

Fics with 50+ comments - 742,970

Fics with 25+ comments - 1,488,302

Fics with 10+ comments - 3,297, 072

Fics with 5+ comments - 5,149,438

SO THAT MEANS ABOUT 7 MILLION FICS HAVE LESS THAN 5 COMMENTS ON THE ARCHIVE.

I exist in all these columns, because I had luckily timing on a few of fics. But looking at the hard numbers was a real eye opener for me as a fic reader. When people say they don't get comments THEY ARE SERIOUS.

Please, for the love of fandom and community give a writer a keyboard smash, a 'loved this', 'awesome fic'. You will honestly be making a difference in someone's life, when they have already made a difference in yours.

And I reply to every single comment I get, so at least half of them are my own replies.

My fic with the most comments (301) currently has a hit count of 8835 (not my highest hit count). If you divide that by 2 (150) and then divide that by the number of hits, that is a comment rate of 0.17%. My fanfic with the most hits (26,462) has 38 comments. When I divide that by 2 (19) and then divide that by the number of hits, I get an error on the calculator.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND NOT FAIR TO FANFIC AUTHORS WHO ARE PROVIDING CONTENT TO YOU FOR FREE

OP mentioned excuses that readers have for not commenting.

"I don't know what to say" - say "Great chapter" or even just a simple ❤️ That's it. That's all we need to feel encouraged and that our efforts are worth it.

"I'm too shy." - Fanfic writers aren't all extroverts FYI. Probably a majority of us are introverts and just as shy as you are. We're really not that scary. You can do it.

"I don't have time." - We don't expect a comment within seconds of posting/updating a fic (even though we will always refresh every 5 minutes anyway because you never know). If you are reading a chapter with a 10K word count and aren't able to leave a comment right then and there, that's fine! Just PLEASE comment when you can, because it means more to an author that you took the time to read their work and share how it made you feel than you can imagine.

"I'm too tired." - You know the stereotype that writers are sleep-deprived and live on caffeine? Fanfic writers do not write fanfic for a living. Many have day jobs or are in school. Writing fanfic is a hobby, and writers set aside what little free time they have for it. Some writers can crank out a one-shot in a couple of hours. Some writers need more time. It usually takes me between 1-3 weeks to finish a chapter if my health is good (if I'm sick or suffering from migraines or having to work overtime, it will take longer). By the time we're done writing our draft and editing, we're exhausted, too. If you have enough energy to read a fanfic, you can take 2 seconds to leave a comment.

"There are already a bunch of comments, so would one more really matter/would what I have to say really matter?" - Yes. Yes, it would, and I am sorry that you feel that your voice doesn't deserve to be heard. And you know what? Your two-word comment or heart emoji could be the one that encourages the author to continue rather than give up.

For the love of whatever deity or cosmic entity you may or may not believe in, PLEASE COMMENT

Some of you would not survive waiting months to years for a WIP to update.

Look at me, listen to me: A couple of months is way too early to think a fic is abandoned or dead. A year is often too early. Internalize this.

What is "too early" or how to you judge something as "abandoned"?

Unless the Writer explicitly declared it so (and who says a writer can't change their mind; do you know how fickle we are??), I think every stalled, unfinished fic remains a WIP.

My LOTR/Legolas fic, Greenleaf's Day Out, is a small 15k, 6-chapter fluff piece. Not an epic by any means, and still not very popular. I started it in 2014 (Hobbit movies, yas), and "abandoned" it halfway at 3 chapters. I restarted it 8 years later and finished it in 2022.

This fic is the reason I came to Tumblr, the reason my blog was created, and the reason I returned to the Tolkien world--stronger and with more and better written work than my last time in the fandom back in 2003.

Drop comments on those "old", "abandoned" fics that you love. You never know what fics you might resuscitate or writer you might pull back into the fandom. It happens ALL THE TIME.

I started my first LOTR fic "Hebo Estel (Have Hope)" in 2012 and posted 6 chapters before abandoning it for 5 years. Then I read Fellowship of the Ring for the first time and saw that Boromir says the words "Have hope" and I took that as a sign to continue my fic. I posted 3 more chapters, then abandoned it for another 3 years. Then, I realized that it was a hot mess and I could do better, so in 2021 I began the rewrite "Garo Estel (Have Hope)" which is now the longest Boromir/OC fic on AO3 at 310K words and 55 chapters -- and not only am I still working on it but I have a sequel planned!

This past weekend I updated my ACOTAR fic for the first time in 6 months.

Life happens and sometimes it prevents us from creating. A couple years ago, my job had us work mandatory overtime and I spend my entire workday staring at a computer screen. This lasted for 8 months straight, and after staring at a computer for 50 hrs/week for 8 months, my eyes needed a rest, and I was so tired that I didn't write anything for about 6 months.

My "muse" (fixation) changes. One day, I'll become obsessed with one fandom/fic and will only work on that one for a few months. Then I will grow bored of it and will turn to a different one for a while, and I may not get back to the first one for a year or more.

Fanfic writers do not write fanfiction for a living. We do it as a hobby. We try to squeeze in as much time for writing as we can, so it may take us a while to update a fic or post something new. Have patience with us and keep reminding us how much you love our work, no matter how old the story is or how long it's been since we worked on it. Unless an author tags a fic as abandoned or explicitly states that a fic will not be continued, you can hold onto hope that one day that story you loved several years ago will be revived. It just may take some time.

PSA!

a lot of you love reading fics. a lot of authors are expressing their yearning for feedback but aren’t receiving them. i realize that i have a fairly big following so i wanted to make this post to amplify their point.

i guarantee you, it is not that hard to:

• reblog someone’s story if you liked it.

• leave a comment. leave two comments. verbally express how you feel!

• put stuff in the tags if you wanna.

this encourages writers to continue publishing. i’m fortunate that i get feedback from my stories but that comes with the advantage of the following i’ve built over the past two years. support newer blogs/writers. support people who want feedback and ask for it. if you want more stories from them, reblog and comment. knowing authors have the support of readers makes them want to publish more.

someone apologized for commenting late… 2 months after the fic was posted 😭😭 girl that’s EARLY thats fresh

times it’s appropriate to comment on a fic:

- if it was written sometime between 10000 years ago and 3 seconds ago

times it’s NOT appropriate to comment on a fic:

-if you’re gonna be mean 🥺

As a fanfic writer, I see a lot of people say "Sorry for the long comment." I can't speak for all writers, but I personally LOVE long comments. I like to engage with readers and discuss details they noticed in the chapter. Even if you leave a comment that is 3 sentences long, my reply will be a novella.

Please feel free to leave long comments (on my fics). Please feel free to leave short comments. Just PLEASE give us SOMETHING. We fanfic writers are desperate for scraps.

Honestly, ever since becoming a fanfic writer myself I’ve become like 500% more understanding and patient about other authors’ update schedules. An author takes 6+ months to post their next chapter? Yeah, totally get that real life can get in the way. An author abandons a fic? Disappointing, but it happens- sometimes inspiration for a story just dies. An author apologizes about taking so long to post a 10k word chapter? Dude, that’s like 18-20 pages on Word single-spaced. It takes me at least a week to write an essay for school a quarter the length of that, and that’s with a deadline. 

It’s probably the most important thing writing fanfic has taught me, tbh. How to fully appreciate the hard work someone else has put into their story. How important the role of the audience is to an author. And that no matter what, you are never entitled to demand more of a story that you are getting for free. 

If the ASOIAF fandom can excuse George for being 12 years “late” in delivering The Winds of Winter, while profiting greatly from the loyalty of his fan base, then yes.

You should have some patience and understanding for the fanfic writer who is still valiantly trying to push out free content in their spare time while trying to eke out a living working their real jobs.

All very true. We are doing our best and are using what sliver of free time we have outside our jobs and other life commitments to write. If we feel rushed to update then you're going to get quality that reflects that.

Writers when readers comment but they only demand updates:

Writers when no one comments: