Reblog If You’re Grateful For Your Commenters

Is this a problem?

Sometimes it's not even hateful criticism that hurts the most.

I've received comments on fic that's explicitly tagged as self-indulgent, fic that I've written and shared for the sole purpose of making myself happy, only to be told all the ways it's lacking.

This has never been done in an overtly rude way, but it still hurts.

To be told that a character I wrote in a specific way, simply for myself (FOR FREE), is frustrating, weak, underdeveloped, etc. is extremely hurtful.

Not because the criticisms aren't valid, but because I didn't intend to upset anyone with my interpretation, nor did I write MY INTERPRETATION with anyone else's specific tastes in mind.

I adore receiving comments but for someone who already struggles to find the time/motivation to write, that shit's depressing, disheartening, and makes me never want to type another word as long as I live.

Nah, fam. It's not about "taking" criticism. It's about the fact that unless a writer asks for it specifically, it's a dick thing to do on a website that is rooted in community.

If a writer wants critique they will ask trusted friends or professional associates (in the relevant field). When a writer shares a fic on AO3 it's not necessarily with the aim of improving their craft (there are better places for that). It's about sharing joy.

Positive comments enhance that feeling of joy and community. Negative comments do not.

Fic isn't a product to be evaluated. If it's not for you, then you can just walk away. 😁

I ran over a turtle once.

Now,

I think it may be some form of karma

that I am that turtle

stalled in my journey after I'd only just begun

never knowing what lies in wait across the road.

Life is a highway,

and I am merely the roadkill smeared upon it.

But you ultimately leave it. The writing/depression God's hath spoken!

My sister told me a story that I can't stop thinking about in the wake of all this. When she was in first grade they had an active shooter drill, only no one was informed it was drill. There was some mix up with the codes or something. Anyway the point is they all thought it was real. My sister says she remembers the teacher very quietly telling the class that there was an active shooter in the building and that this was not a drill. She says she remembers hearing screaming and crying from kids down the hall. She told me they all had to put on bright orange bullet proof vests and she remembers thinking that the color would only make it easier for the shooter to spot them. She remembers being scared. She remembers seeing someone walking up the hall through the heavily tinted glass. They kept trying to open the door and my little sister said she genuinely thought she was going to die. She was terrified she would never see me or my mom again.

It ended up being the principal coming to tell them that it was just a drill but it was a little too late in my opinion. That fear my sister and her classmates experience was real even if the threat wasn't and that memory is something she still carries with her.

We have to do better.

Republicans are more concerned with denying people bodily autonomy and keeping kids from learning prejudice exists than doing anything to keep those same kids from being shot by the guns they want everyone to have

They also seem to think that children are not mature enough to handle the existence of non cis/hetero people , but they are mature enough to live with the constant danger of a stranger busting into their classroom and ending their young lives

“Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘What do I care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ Yes, evil often seems to surpass good. But then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. One morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. And so I must still have hope.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

You again?

Damn I had no idea The Real Housewives of Michigan were so based! Get it, Susan! You take your gay son to soccer practice in your Chrysler Pacific and you hold your head up high when you pass out the rainbow sugar cookies during this month's pta meeting. What a queen🙌

More Metanoia-verse edits!

Inspired by the end of season 2/beginning of season 3 TO. One of the most interesting parts of the fic IMO