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alright, so i have a ton more under this cut, so be excited for that i guess. i just think commenting is a lot of fun, so i have a lot of suggestions of things you can consider when leaving comments. if you can take away just one or two tips from this, i'll be happy!

first, here is how i decide when i have Enough details, and how i go about the actual act of writing and formatting my comments:

for chapters or oneshots with multiple scenes, i try to hit on at least one detail i liked per scene. it's nice to do more, of course, but just one detail is enough. something as simple as "i loved the humor in the second scene! the joke about the cake batter especially made me laugh! it really sounded like something she would say!" doing it like this helps me keep the comment i guess "proportional" to how long the piece i'm reading is.

when i'm writing my comment, i do a new section per every Thing, so like. praise for A's characterization in the first scene, then a new line for B and C's interaction in the first scene. this is more for readability than anything, but it also makes the comment look longer--something i know an author will appreciate, since i'm also someone who writes fic lmao.

i do lots of jumping around when im writing my comment. i often bullet out a bunch of stuff i wanna hit with one sentence, and then double back to elaborate. i think it's easier to do this and get out all my gut reactions and helps me make sure i dont forget any of the details i like, then i can get into my elaborations without worrying im going to lose any of the details i liked. plus, its easier to sort out what i'm feeling once i've got my list!

next, how to decide what details to pick.

first, the Intro To Details, here's stuff you can look out for

thoughtful characterization--sometimes you read a fic and you see an author just gets a character. let them know! do you think his dialogue sounds like something he would really say? do you think her actions at a tense scene made sense for her character? do you like the arc that a character is going on? these are things to look out for and note!

enjoyable dynamics between characters--what's better than one character? two! if i had a nickel for every time ive commented on how much the dialogue between two friends in a fic i'm reading sounds cozy/comfortable i would be a millionaire. comment on stuff like how a dynamic changes throughout a fic too, esp if you're reading ship fic

beautiful prose--did some description of a setting take your breath away? could you picture the place oh-so clearly? tell them!

prose which is NOT beautiful--i read plenty of horror fic, so sometimes the prose isn't pretty. sometimes it's graphic detail about worms in someone's flesh, or someone being crushed to death, or what have you. did it make me cringe? did it make my skin crawl? did it make me want to crawl into a hole and never come out? great!

interesting or affecting descriptions--did the way an author laid out a certain's character's feelings on an event/person/action knock you off your feet? if describing a character's resolve in a tense scene as a raging storm blows you away, note that! this is a good place to pick specific quotes.

action scenes--this might just be me talking as a writer, but action is so fucking hard to write. when i read a good action/fight scene i always point it out. if its exciting/engaging, has you on the edge of your seat, if you cant put the fic down and look away... all of that is stuff you want to point out!

another genre specific ones, but if you're reading something with an element of mystery, try pointing out details you think are important. maybe you can't solve the mystery, but if you say "i noticed [name] take something from the table--what did he take? why did he need it? did [name2] notice?" then you at least know you're paying attention. this also helps you remember those details, which can help you later in any ongoing story!

jokes that made me laugh--bonus points if you can point out what's funny about it. is it clever? dry humor you like? just silly and stupid and made you smile? say so!

if you're reading an AU fic, it's always good to point out details about the adaption. if you enjoy the worldbuilding in the fantasy au you're reading, or you think the powers the author picked for the superhero au are really fitting, or you just think the job of this side character in the coffee shop au is funny, say so!

demonstrations of technical skill--sometimes you see a sentence and you know if it was worded any other way it just wouldn't hit as hard. sentences that make nice use of alliteration, for example, or effective use of parallelism or repetition. if the way a sentence is structured compels you, point it out! it's nice to hear! this is ALSO a good place to pick specific quotes. (this one is especially fun to note if you're a writer, because it can help you out! if you like the way an author writes, being able to identify and explain what you like about it will help you in your own writing!)

every time you laugh, every time you gasp, every time your eyes water. cite specific lines and details if you can. i've read a fic that stressed me out so bad i had to repeatedly put my phone down and take breathers, and the author LOVED that i kept a list of every part that made me have to go take a walk.

all in all, just find what makes you like a fic. why are you reading this fic instead of a different one? what makes this fic special? identify that and show it!

now, the less-obvious details i like to watch for

if i wrote this chapter, what would i be proud of? what would i most what to see people comment on? one of my favorite things is when i read a specific bit of wordplay or clever phrasing that i know, if i had wrote it, would have been my favorite parts. i try to note those when i can.

on the other end, i also like to point out stuff i don't think the writer would expect. i read a fic this morning which, after a long, tense, dangerous plot, had a scene in the last chapter about making cake. in it was a detail, delivered almost as an aside, about how much of a sweet tooth one of the more tough, stoic characters had. after everything that had happened in the story, that detail really got me, and i made sure to note how much i loved it

this one's really silly but if they use a song lyric for their title and you know/like that song say so. there's someone who does that for one of my fics when they know the song and i feel so fuckin vindicated every time

now i will admit this one is kind of an unhinged thing to do, however it's one i do a lot: i try to think about what other readers would mention, and make sure i'm NOT picking that. after all, i want the author to get recognition for the whole chapter, not just the Big Thing that happened. if a long chapter ends with someone pulling out a gun, you know every single comment is gonna be something like "[name] has a gun!!!", so say literally anything else. for example, if there's a big plot twist at the end of the chapter....

i know that half the comments are gonna be "[BIG PLOT TWIST]!!!!" and, often, nothing else. so ill look for something else to mention (esp in that scene!). it can be a little disheartening as a writer to do a lot in one chapter, and then have it all be outshined by an offhand joke or a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter, so i try to do what i can to cover the rest

im probably not immune to hypothetical big plot twist, so when i touch on it, i try to go into more detail than "omg plot twist" and talk about something that's effective about it. did i see it coming? can i look back now and see the signs? how does this effect what i thought was going to happen? what do i think will happen next?

now that you've got how to note down details that ARE in the fic, i'm going to note some details that AREN'T. a lot of this is stuff that can help you think more deeply about the fic you're reading, which is good for you developing your critical thinking skills as both a writer and a reader, as well as improving your ability to remember the piece you're reading

(obviously, this doesn't need to be on every fic, but if a fic engages you enough to get these kinds of thoughts going, you should say so!)

theorize! it proves you're paying attention and thinking about the piece! guess what is going to happen next! use evidence, and cite those specific details. "[name] said this and did that, those were both suspicious. does this mean he was the killer?"

theorizing is fun, too, even if you're wrong--one of my favorite reviews ive ever received was a long theory where the commenter was very blatantly wrong. i loved it because, even if they didnt come to the conclusion id intended, they pointed out a lot of details id been careful about including to back their theory up, and it was nice to see those things noticed!

related: if you don't have evidence-based theories, then speculate! wonder about how characters are going to react to the events of the chapter, talk about what the protagonist might do next, express concern or excitement about a potential direction the plot might go. "some of these details look like they're pointing to [name]'s escape failing... does his captor already know what he's planning?" or "she got the letter... i don't think she's going to read it, but if she does, i hope she'll realize he's lying."

(and, here's a secret: sometimes saying something like "I wonder how [name] is going to react to [event]? i think she might do [action] or feel [emotion]" can also help the writer out! because maybe they hadn't thought of it like that, and now that you've raised this point, it can help them when they're writing the next part. maybe you're right, she will react a certain way--but only because you pointed it out!)

(theories and speculation can ALSO help an author who hasn't yet totally decided on their fic's ending, lmao)

now, my final, more miscellaneous tips:

abandon shame. gush a ton. say stupid shit. be excited. flattery (when genuine) will get you everywhere, lmao.

mention how you got to this fic, and/or if you're thinking about it when you're not reading it. "i'm rereading this," "i'm reading this because my friend recommended it to me," "i was just thinking/talking about this yesterday so i'm so excited to see it update now," "every time you update i drop everything to read this"... these are all great! i once left a comment which included a count of every time my roommate looked over at my expression/reactions when reading and asked me if i was okay. all these details serve to remind the author "there's a real person reading your work and enjoying it," and i know that when i write, i love to know people are excited about my work or that it lingers with them even when theyre not reading it

im constantly studying and remembering comments i get on my fic that made me happy, analyzing what i liked about those comments, and trying to do the same for other people. many of these tips are things i noticed in my own comment section that i enjoyed!

NOW, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS. i'm sure you can tell by the size of this post that i'm already prone to talking a lot, but I don't even do everything here all at once in every review i write. but, still, i hope that this helps in showing things you can think about when you write a comment!

EDIT 05/13/22: this post got a little uptick in notes, and there’s really only one thing i just want to add.

thoughtful commenting is, in my opinion, a skill, just like anything else! to do really well at it, you’ll need to practice! so leave lots of comments doing just one or two of these things at a time. soon you’ll end up with a toolbox like the one i’ve laid out!