I leave a comment on every single fic I read. Sometimes when I read published books I go and leave a comment somewhere the author can find it. Granted, I literally majored in âleaving comments on ficsâ (English Education), but once you start doing it it just becomes second nature. Now youâre gonna go to the Ozymandias school of leaving comments:Â
Problem: I canât leave kudos again.
Beginner: This is a second/third/fourth Kudos
Advanced: This is my second/third/fortieth time reading this, I still love it so much. Here are a few new things I noticed. I like the way you personally do x, y, z compared to other authors Iâve read (in this ship/genre/fandom).
Problem: I donât know what to say :(
Beginner: Just list what you did to read this fic. âI stayed up late reading thisâ, âI read this on a crowded trainâ, âthis kept me company while sickâ.Â
Advanced: X,Y,Z parts made me get butterflies, and I had a physical reaction to this part of the story, I squealed outloud when characters did x,y,z. I blushed at this part. I laughed out loud here. Whatever.Â
Problem: Iâm embarrassed to leave a comment (what if I annoy the author?)
Beginner: Short answer: you wonât EVER annoy the author (unless youâre needlessly mean) But to start, be generic, you donât have to spill your soul in the comments section. âI liked thisâ âI enjoyed reading thisâ ânice ficâ.
Advanced: This really meant a lot to me that you wrote this. This is something I feel like Iâve always wanted to read. This fic hit me in all the right places. Etc.Â
Problem: I donât know how to express myself/my experienceÂ
Beginner: My beginners go to is to highlight a line, put that in your comment and say âi liked thisâ or to identify basic emotions you had while reading and comment those âthis made me happyâ âthis part made me sadâ âi almost criedâ âyou made me laughâÂ
Advanced: âHighlighted lineâ This line made me smile because it has to do with character development/itâs really romantic/itâs so unique/itâs moving. Sometimes I donât highlight a line at all, I just talk about the stuff Iâve noticed were unique to the fic. âI love the way you did this particular thing with this characterâ.Â