#comment etiquette

Some of you may be wondering why I haven’t updated any of my fics in a month. Maybe you don’t care. Frankly I might be right there with you.

I am taking a hiatus. I’m not sure how long it’s going to last, not sure if I’ll come back (I absolutely will. I have plans to post some gift fics soon but tbh that’s it)

Recently I got a comment that told me that my having typos in my writing made them want to die. When I suggested that maybe they shouldn’t read my work any longer, they told me that I made them want to kill themself.

That was really fucking heavy.

As a fanfic writer, I write because I share stories that I would be excited to read. I share them because maybe there’s someone else out there who wants to see a similar concept and they’ll enjoy it. Even if it’s just one other person.

Frankly the longer I write the more happy I am with my writing. I’m not doing it for hits or kudos, sure I love to read the comments and bookmarks and know what others think but I’m doing this for me.

Im still writing. Hell some of my fics are nearly completed. I’m just not posting them anymore. Not for now at least.

I write for myself. So that’s what I’m doing. I do it for free and for my own enjoyment. The fact that someone told me that my typos made them want to die and kill themself is too much. The fact that they tried to place that burden on me, someone who is doing all of this without a beta and for free in my spare time after working 8-9 hours day, is insane.

All I wanted to do was write fanfic and now I’m being told I’m making people want to die.

So the hiatus might go on for a while. It might end soon, I haven’t decided. I just know that comment kinda broke something in me.

Thanks for reading my works, for supporting me, for commenting and leaving kudos, I appreciate it all and hopefully I can come back soon without feeling so incredibly self conscious about everything I write.

On one hand, I understand and accept responsibility for some amount of confusion. I like to write long stories. The story in question is a longfic sequel to longfic with many OCs, idiosyncratic terms, headcanons, and sometimes hiatus between chapters. Right away, cosmic horror workplace drama with psych-thriller elements is not going to be the most accessible thing in the world. And I'm autistic! I have to be realistic and understand that most of my work asks more of readers than a one-shot where only canon characters are named, written in extremely straightforward language.

But going back to review something you missed, or pointing out specific things that confused you, are also both options for a reader. If you opened a volume of any long, stylistic book series to a random middle chapter and then proclaimed, "I don't understand anything that's going on," who would expect otherwise?

Fanfiction is free, and I'm not paid to do recaps of what information to remember before any given chapter. It's not a TV show and I don't benefit from anyone binging it or not. I'm not going to create a glossary or a wiki for my work. If someone won't review prior chapters, they won't read those either.

It's media you're getting for FREE. You're getting FREE content. If you don't like it, exit the fic and don't leave negative comments. Write your own fic or offer a prompt to a fic writer, we love prompts!

When you want to leave a comment

DON'T say stuff like 'I like the original better', 'this wouldn't happen' etc, except if the creator asked for your input. Otherwise just keep your thoughts to yourself.

DON'T try to promote yourself. This isn't about you, comments like 'wow, nice artwork, check out my stuff too' is a big no-no. Nobody gives a fuck about you, especially if you do that. Post your stuff and leave others. Even if you actually like their work, saying something like that makes you seem insincere.

DON'T say stuff like 'I'm retracting my like' (I've had this one happen before). We don't care. Nobody forced you to like the post in the first place.

DON'T be a smartass. 'Actually in canon bla bla bla', I didn't ask. Let me have my random headcanon in peace.

'This is nice but I ship xyz' or 'this is good but I like X character better' again, we don't care. This post wasn't made for your satisfaction, don't expect to like everything you see online.

Nice comments are always appreciated. It's ok to ask for clarification for something or even state your opinion. But remember, these posts aren't made for specifically you. Sometimes your opinion is completely irrelevant. Always remember you are dealing with real human beings.

That extra bit about landowner laws? The author probably researched for hours

a character motivation that keeps coming up but differently?

Cute songs, quick quips, a dog that might be the author inserting their pet.

Fuck it.

This is no longer okay.

I am in a hole of depression. I have spent a week trying to get out of this hole, but I am too tired now. I hope I will post again someday, but for now, I am done.

Prelude (Underworld Fanfiction) is on hiatus for the first time in 16 years.

And on that note, well done, FF.net Guest Reviewer #800. I call you out for your good work. You found a depressed writer who has spent sixteen years keeping their mental state afloat by writing in a dying fandom, and you set fire to my boat.

Good for you.