#positiveblr

You should write comments because fandom needs to support our creators. But it's not that easy, and a lot, statistically, most of the readers don't do it.

I asked around, and fandom people have common reasons not to leave comments on fics. Some of the reasons are valid, some not so much, but if you want, you can overcome them.

Let’s examine the most popular of those reasons and look for solutions.

What if the author doesn’t want it?

I’m in fandoms for more than a decade. I write fics myself. I talk with authors, and no one, not a single author, had ever told me that they don’t like (appropriate) comments.

Everyone with whom I discussed it agreed that they adore comments, and getting comments notifications highlights their day.

There might be authors who disagree with that, but for them, ao3 has useful features — “turn off comment” and “moderate comments”.

I’m shy / socially anxious

I know, me too. I was scared so much that my first comments full of love and gratitude I left anonymously.

As with most of the things, you can start small. If you are afraid, just leave emojis - 💖  or 😍 works nice. Alternatively, you can search for kawaii emojis.

I got a string of hearts a few times and was thrilled.

Another non-verbal way is to leave img or gif instead of a comment. For that, you need to add HTML snipped <img src="ling-to-your-img-or-gif">

To overcome your fear, set a goal and increase it: Leave just one word — Thanks! or Great! Leave just one phrase - Wonderful chapter ;) Write at least 10 nice words — Thank you for this {nice/interesting/hot/excited} {chapter/work}. I had a great time reading it. — That’s it.

Start small and move at your own speed.

I don’t know what to say

Just say politely, what you liked about the fic.

Did you like the plot?

Say, “I like the plot. The story was {unexpected/thrilling/emotional}”

Did you like the characters?

“I like how you depicted character A. They were very {in character/relatable/realistic/hot/romantic/}

Did you like smut?

Well, say that too “The story was hot/passionate/kinky”

Describe how the fic makes you feel.

Were you sad? Happy? Scared?

Maybe you enjoyed the wording, how the author describes that one particular tree, the atmosphere, or style?

Mention everything you admire about that work.

Has this been done?

and I miss these threads:

Tag someone or a few people who make you smile! (if this thread gets too long, please start a new post or go to the first one♥) I’ll go first:

@angelheart-ftw - I see you around, often! Reblogging people’s posts, being encouraging and active! I see you and am grateful for your engagement!!

@livvywrites - Your works are amazing, you have all of these incredible ideas that I’m happy to follow closely. And you’re just sweet all around.

@klywrites - Klyyy my friend. Creative, lovely. Generous. You’re a pillar in this community, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.

@gideonshay - I love you. Just. Gideon, you’re a delight and I love talking to you every chance I get.

@pierulestheworld - My friiieeend. Your art, your writing, your determination. Always a pleasure to get to see your WIPs. Always blessed to see your art.

@harrowingwords - Harrow!! You’re a fabulous person, and fun to talk to! I’m so glad we’re friends!! Your graphics are just *chefs kiss*

Well, mostly! 

(Also, hi tag list! I missed you!)

I finished my first year of graduate school last week (hooray!) so I’ll be starting to post again real soon! I have free time now! What a concept!

Congrats to all the college and high school and grad school and PhD graduates! You’ve done amazing work! And you conquered Hell Semester! WOO!

A little list of personal updates from your formerly hiatused writing pal, because sometimes we gotta share the joy:

My friend got me into plants. Right now I have 5 in my house (plus 4 lemon tree seeds I just planted) and 2 stuck in New York because of the lockdown, which my roommate has adopted. I have named them all after rad writers and stories.

I will be posting/updating my fanfic soon (continuing TND and debuting The Knight and the Rose!), since I finally have time to write now! And maybe I’ll even make some progress on Heart to Heart! It feels more important to write that one right now because it’s soft and low stakes and warm. And I don’t know about y’all, but I could really go for some of that right about now.

I have done all of the quarantine hobbies like I’m checking off a bingo card. My hair is now purple. I am knitting a scarf. I have a mile high pile of to-read books. I baked some cookies. I got super into even more podcasts. I have houseplants. I’m gonna garden. I am become your lesbian aunt.

I got a very competitive fellowship in my program! I start this summer! It’s rad as heck! I’m super excited!! I’m doing a summer internship, too, which is neat.

Speaking of school, I found out there’s a book coming out that is perfect for my thesis topic and I will be vibrating with excitement until I can get my hands on it.

I love Stardew Valley now. 

And if anyone is interested, here’s my To-Be-Read Pile of Books:

Satellite by Nick Lake

Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (also Her Body and Other Parties)

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

A Tree or a Person or a Wall by Matt Bell

Loki by Mackenzie Lee

The Wicked Deep by Ernshaw

Krik? Krak! by Edwige Danticat

Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (it’s been sitting on my nightstand for like a whole year. I pick it up and read a few pages every once in a while for the #feels but I haven’t read all the way through it yet)

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

How to Be Both by Ali Smith

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings - Anthology

Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patti Yumi Cottrell

How is everyone doing????? I’ve missed you all! 

Tell me about the bright spots in your life! Let’s dwell on some joy!

[Tag Lists under the cut:]

Ahaha! You thought I just gathered all the info on your wips for fun?

No no my friends, I also wanted to show them to THE WORLD!

Here’s a list of wips and peeps that needs to be mentioned as grand writers, lovely people, and creators of killer stories!

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First Fall by @cirianne

Genre: fantasy and a murder mystery

MCs: Benedict Coldwell, Crown Prince Rufus, asshole and rival; Nathan Westen, admiral and love interest ; Oliver Swann, secretary and badass; Princess Catherine, a friend with benefits

Plot: Benedict Coldwell is a powerful and arrogant sorcerer needs to investigate a streak of murders conducted by magic. And on that course, his beliefs and values will be thoroughly shaken.

Through The Ashes by @blindandpassionate

Genre: New Adult dark fantasy/drama

MCs: Alma, Kali, Lotus, Freya, Terrence, and Stefano.

Plot: Slueth Alma continues to work undercover. While her broken found family tries to stick together and heal. Witches, warlocks, and magical creatures are vanishing. They never expected danger to be so close to home.

Howl of the Blood by @kainablue

Genre: Visual novel /17+/ slavic / dark fantasy / romance/ drama

MCs: Tayena Viogor and her Romantic Interests: Lalik, Elemir, Ino, Sabbeha and ?????

Plot: Tayena’s sister gets kidnapped and she sets off to rescue her. On that journey, she will meet Wolcheks, a race of half-humans, half-wolves that are very, very angry. Tayena will learn why and that will kinda turn her world upside down (and not in a good way). You play as Tayena, you can romance 5 characters and you will encounter witches, monsters, vampires, pagan rituals, family secrets and all kind of twisted shit.

A Year At The Opera by @james-stark-the-writer

Genre: urban fantasy murder mystery with soap opera/sci fi/thriller vibes

MCs: There’s quite a few pov characters but the main one is Aaron. The entire story revolves around him.

Plot: Aaron is a writer. All he wants is to have a happy life. But, it all comes falling apart when Aaron’s dad dies in a tragic accident. And Aaron makes a wish that the world was a soap opera and that his dad wasn’t really dead. It comes true. And now there’s a murderer on the loose. Aaron and his friends have to stop the murderer, and, Aaron has to find a way to undo his wish while his other friends deal with their own drama.

Lies and Death (working title) by @adie-dee

Genre: Modern Fantasy

MC: Bethany Norton

Plot: Bethany has been cursed to die on her 25th birthday, a curse which links her to a doomsday prophecy that’ll destroy the world. Until the day comes through, the curse is protecting her from all harm, and she uses that to try find a way to save her own life. Her parents would prefer she come home so they can say goodbye, but she doesn’t want to do that while she feels she still has options. Unfortunately, Bethany is a mess - she’s a slob, probably an alcoholic, and has zero self-preservation skills - and ends up falling for Blake, an attractive jerk who’s been sent to kidnap her and who always seems to know where she is. Along the way she also meets Marcus & Imogen, a battle couple who get struck by lightning if the try to tell a lie, but who are still hiding many secrets, and Kenneth, an older man working for an anti-magic organization who is strangely convincing and insists he knows how to break the curse. Aside from her best friend, Faith, Bethany has no idea who to trust. Can she survive? Who wants her dead? And why, of all people, was she the one cursed?

The Colors of War by @oceanwriter

Genre: Historical Fiction

MCs: Marjorie Borchert, Daniel Reynard, Nikita Savas

Plot: Marjorie Borchert was sent to America after the London Blitz in 1941. What happens to her there? Nobody knows anymore!

Sin Eater by @adenhamcreations

Genre: Young adult fiction

MCs: Jayde (main protagonist and narrator), her best friend Jenny, her crush/friend Parker, Jak (Jayde’s mysterious boss), Aiden & Amber (siblings that Jayde meets and befriends).

Plot: Jayde Holloway discovers that she has the ability to erase memories when she accidentally wipes her best friend’s at the end of their senior year. Full of guilt and a desire to escape, she flees and tells no one where she went. However, she is found and blackmailed into starting a business with her powers by the mysterious Jak, and she’s soon erasing memories for any client who wishes to forget every misdeed or bad thing that’s happened to them. While Jayde struggles with loneliness and her past, she is eventually forced to travel back to her hometown for new clients. There she meets siblings Amber and Aiden, two siblings with some secrets of their own. Once she befriends them, Jayde’s memories begin to overwhelm her, and she must decide what’s truly right not just for her old friends, her new ones, or Jak…but for herself as well.

On my Heart by @corishadowfang

Genre: Urban Fantasy

MC’s: Aiden Cooley, Kiru, Gertrude Ferry, Jackie Williams

Plot: In an alternate version of earth, humans have created Familiars from the remnants of dragons. These creatures allow them to use magic, as well as transform their owners unto dragons –though the latter is illegal because of the damage it does to the user. When Aiden is knocked into the river by an unknown assailant, Kiru –his Familiar– forces him to transform into a dragon in order to save his life. Now on the run from the law, he enlists the help of a former police officer –Jackie– and a hermit with an unusual amount of knowledge on dragons –Gertrude– in order both to help him avoid arrest and to understand why the transformation hasn’t harmed him like it has others.

Shift by @vhum

Genre: Dark YA Fantasy with themes of identity and revolution.

MCs: Flint, Shanna, Buck, Margot

Plot: In the prosperous seaport city of Oversea, a hidden society of shapeshifters recruits four young adults to their cause: infiltrating and influencing the corrupt rule of the Governors. But shifters have been outlawed for two hundred years, with good reason. In spite of the risks, the new recruits submit themselves to the magic of shifting, quickly learning that faces and allegiances are equally deceptive in this shadowy underworld.

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More to come!!

For Positiveblr.......I am making..............drumroll please..............A tag game!

But what sort of tag game do you ask?

Silly writer, a MYTH ONE OF COURSE

Share and send to as many writblrs as you please! Learn all your favorite character’s deepest darkest secrets (Mwahahaha!) Or if you want cutesy stuff, there’s some of that too! (If you have a question you’d like to ask someone that isn’t mentioned here, feel free to add onto this or just make stuff up)

This is gonna be a long one, you ready, peeps?

Icarus: What is your character’s main goal? (either plot goal or life goal)

Daedalus: Name something your character is REALLY good at.

Athena: Who is the smartest character in your wip? 

Pirithous: Character’s stupidest life decision?

Zeus: Who is the crappiest parent/parent figure in your wip?

Anansi: Who is the most cunning character in your wip? 

Mwindo: Favorite Magical weapon? (or desired magical weapon)

Eshu: Best prank ever pulled?

Sekhmet: Most bloodthirsty character?

Horus: Weirdest parental relationship moment? 

Susanoo-no-Mikoto: If your character has siblings, who/what begins an argument?

Amaterasu: What gets your character out of their shell/comfort zone?

Fionn Mac Cumhaill: Songs with lyrics that best represent your wip. 

Cu Chulainn: Friend Betrayal! 

Pwyll: Favorite magical experience?

Rhiannon: A wide spread rumor about your character.

Momotorō: Favorite road trip experiences, friends and/or snacks?

Sun Wukong: Most impulsive and/or Badass character that ISN’T human.

Jade Emperor: Which character holds the strongest grudges?

Loki: Character that (proverbially or literally) shoots himself in the foot with their big mouth. 

Odin: Character that would do ANYTHING for knowledge.

Freya: Who is the most BAMF female character you have and why.

Huitzilopochtli: Most messed up sibling relationship?

Hunahpu and Xbalanque: Ride or die sibling relationship?

Manco Cápac: Do any of your characters have a magical parent?

Cain: Family betrayal!

Joseph: Favorite kid in the family?

Job:  Character’s worst day ever?

Rama: Best new friends met on a road trip/quest?

Sita: Character willing to LITERALLY (or figuratively, no judging here) walk through fire for their love interest.

Ereshkegal: Biggest buzzkill/party pooper?

Ishtar: Character that kicks butt and looks good while doing it.