Fandom That Never Was @samsebefandom - Tumblr Blog

hey guys have you ever heard of THE CHARACTER. i’m thinking about THE CHARACTER. honestly can’t even get shit done because i’m thinking about THE CHARACTER. i’m listening to a song and imagining THE CHARACTER. all i know and love is THE CHARACTER

#fav chars

ikarakie

if a character means enough to me i will truly never stop thinking about them. i just retire them into a little back room in my brain and periodically bring them out to stare at them under a little light

#same #fav chars

the-bar-sinister

That fic you wrote?

The one about the ship no one else cares about, or the deeply unpopular character, or the extremely unusual AU?

The fic that got no comments or kudos when you posted it?

Months or years from now, that fic might be exactly what someone is looking for in the sea of fics about all the popular characters, ships, and AUs.

Your fic might be the only fic out there that has what someone is looking for. The only fic that scratches the itch that it turns out you and that reader share.

And that's awesome.

#fandom creators #fandom authors #inspirational

put-a-keep-are-you-foo-dell

#meme #small fandom #rare ship

quietcelt-deactivated20220617

Shout out to all the rare pair writers, artists, and other content creators. You make Tumblr worth it for me!

#gif #rare pairs

jester-lover

Going through your favorite actor’s entire filmography is so hard, like why can’t they put my boy in a good movie

glitterypin

I felt this in my fucking bones, you don't know what I've suffered through in this life

jester-lover

And the worst part is I’ll watch it too. He’ll have 2 lines in a horrible movie and I’ll still watch it just for him

taurielofmirkwood77777

Don't you hate it when you watch a really good film, only for it to be from 20 years ago, so you can't find anyone to talk to about it?

taintedmind6669

tsunderesasuke

Your Guide To Reviews

The Problem

Fic writers wonder why people don’t review. They honestly can’t understand the silence. Writers assume that readers:

usually have something to add/criticize/say

know how to articulate their own thoughts/feelings

withhold feedback because they’re lazy or apathetic

don’t appreciate how much time/effort/energy goes into writing

On the flip-side, readers assume that:

the writer already knows how ‘good’ their work is

someone else will review because this fic is ‘obviously’ awesome

if a fic is already ‘popular,’ their feedback won’t matter

if they comment, they ‘must’ leave an awesome, insightful, detailed comment that 100% reflects their love for a fic

since words aren’t adequate, it’s better to stfu and just click the kudos button/favotite/bookmark

None of these assumptions are accurate.

The reality is that:

there is no reason for a writer to post their work except to get feedback that validates their vision, helps them improve and/or gives them an outsider perspective/interpretation of their work (which can be absolutely mind-blowing)

like, you can and should write for yourself, but if that’s 100% the case, every good fic would be wasting away in a private word document

‘readers’ are not always ‘writers’

‘writers’ can naturally put their ideas and emotions into words

‘readers’ usually don’t know what to say, which words to use to express themselves, and belittle the importance of their perspective

many ‘readers’ don’t write, so they can’t empathize with the struggle of writing a fic for a silent but attentive audience

Basically, readers don’t understand writers and vice-versa. Both parties are wired differently. Readers who also write are more likely to review because they empathize with both sides of the equation.

The Solution

Writers

Be patient, understanding, and persistent

Appreciate those who do review

Don’t get bitter, discontinue a beloved story, or assume the worst of your readers

Realize that everyone is really trying their best

Readers

Be patient, supportive, honest, and empathetic

Realize that there’s no minimum! Even two words (like ‘good work!’) can have a huge impact

Review Templates

Things to say when you’re tongue-tied:

Verbs

I liked the part where/when…

I wonder why…

I smiled/laughed when…

I was confused when…

I think that…

I predict…

I was sad/happy/angry/[other emotion] when…

Nouns

[character] did/said/felt/will do [this thing]

because… (if applicable)

[insert plot point/event]

Example: I think that [this guy] ran away from [his friend] because he was trying to protect him.

And that’s it. You don’t have to say anything else. One sentence is more than enough, but you’ll notice that once you get started, you’ll have a lot to say- so say it!

Author’s style

Your writing is:

Detailed/descriptive

Vivid

Concise (to the point)

Funny

Serious

Surreal

Unique

Compelling

Provocative

Leaves me wondering about a lot of things, and I’m curious about what happens next

Confused me a little at times (talk about what confused you! The author will be more than happy to clear things up!)

Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t

Worry about grammar/typos in your review

Suggest a direction for the story (most writers know what they’re doing and you just gotta trust them)

Think that clicking the kudos button is all you can do! Your opinion is important!

Tell the author to do more of [this] and less of [that]

Ask them to update without leaving any other feedback

Leave short comments if you can’t think of anything else to say (“I like this” is more than acceptable, seriously)

Inform the author of typos (be specific)- many fics are un-beta’d. The writer will appreciate your attention to detail.

Express your own perspective even if it isn’t ‘correct-’ I think [character] did this because she was jealous, which explains why…

Understand that your unique interpretation of motives/symbolism/foreshadowing/anything is extremely valuable

Be honest, but diplomatic

Bookmark/rec works if you enjoy them, esp to help lesser-known writers

You can copy/paste from this post into your reviews. It’s hard to find the right words sometimes, but for writers, anything is better than silence.

longlivefeedback

This is great! I have a few things to add.

Writers

Be patient with your readers, yes. Commenting is a skill, and even when it seems like something easy, it isn’t - not for everyone, at every time. However. It is okay to be disappointed that a story didn’t get much of a response. This is normal, and it doesn’t make you entitled or ungrateful. It makes you a person.

If a fic isn’t getting much feedback, and you decide to discontinue it for that reason - that’s okay too. No matter how much you want to tell a story, the motivation to put in so, so much effort and make it happen comes from a lot of sources, and comments can be a vital component.

Post on multiple sites (ao3, FFN, wattpad, tumblr, etc). You want that audience? Go get ‘em!!

Readers

Don’t get mad at an author for requesting feedback, or discontinuing a story due to lack of it. It’s easy to feel guilty, and it’s often more pleasant to turn guilt into anger and push it outwards, but it’s unfair. The author’s statement isn’t targeting you and only you, and the vast majority of the time, they’re not angry either - they’re scared that they’re pouring their energy into something that no one else cares about.

You don’t have to go from never commenting, or commenting very rarely, to commenting on every single thing you read. You don’t have to comment at all. But, if you want to comment more, don’t start out with the goal of going from 0 to 100. Instead, tell yourself “I’m going to comment on at least one fic today,” or “The next time I bookmark a fic, I’m going to tag it with a description of how it made me feel.”

Using a template isn’t cheating!! “It’s not completely original,” well, who cares. Most of what we say has been said countless times before, but that doesn’t make it meaningless - it’s been said so many times because it’s been meant.

If you’re worried about commenting because you’re not a native speaker, it’s okay! However, when authors get a comment from someone who says that they’re reading this in a second language, that you’re still learning, we go “oh my god Dedication I love you so much.”

To those readers who are also writers - commenting is different than writing. They might as well be different languages (and depending on what languages you read/write in, they might actually be different languages). The fact that you write stories might not make commenting any easier, and that, again, is normal. I’ve said several times that “I can only say what I mean when I can put the words into a character’s mouth.”

If you don’t want to leave a short comment but you don’t know what to say? Talk to a friend about the story while you’re reading, if you have fandom friends. Make them read it too. When you’re done, copy the best parts of the chat log (including keyboard smashes) into the comment box and post it. Authors love that.

- Mod Rose

#feedback

longlivefeedback

A Brief Guide to Supporting Authors

As a minor change of pace, I’d like to share some information about how to support fanfiction authors. Many readers don’t believe that their comments, kudos, or bookmarks are important to authors, but they are.

So, great! Now, let’s talk about the various ways to give feedback - including those other than comments and kudos - as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each method.

(Note: this guide is focused on ao3, but many parts apply to other platforms.)

Bookmarks

Summary

Bookmarks let you keep track of a story for reference, re-reading, or just because.

Public bookmarks are displayed on the story’s main bookmark count, and private bookmarks are not.

Authors can see the total number of bookmarks on a story, both private and public, from their stats page. They cannot see who has left a private bookmark, or when it was made.

Works can be sorted/filtered by the number of bookmarks.

Bookmarks can be tagged, annotated, etc.

The bookmark feature also as a “recommendation” option

Pros and cons

Pro: a bookmark serves as a more specific form of feedback than kudos, because it also means the reader likely wants to come back to the story later, and/or that they recommend this story to others.

Pro: if a bookmark is public, authors will probably see it (we check those!).

Pro: because notes/tags/annotations on bookmarks are optional and not intended for the author, readers feel less pressure to have a specific depth or format - anything goes.

Tips and tricks

how to use the bookmark tool to create a rec

how to tag bookmarks

Kudos

Summary

Kudos are the easiest way to let an author know you like their story.

You can only give kudos once per account, or once per IP address if you’re logged out. You cannot remove kudos.

If authors have enabled this notification, they will get one email per day that lists who has given kudos on which works. These emails are magic.

Kudos serve as a method to sort/filter fics, and readers often use the number of kudos or the kudos/hits ratio to determine whether or not to start a story.

Pros and cons

Pro: quick and easy

Pro: more kudos make other readers more likely to read the story

Pro: authors do tend to see kudos, whether via email, their stats page, or the story page itself.

Con: kudos are a one-time thing, so if you leave them early in a multi-chapter story, the author has no way of knowing if you’re still reading. If you wait until the fic is complete (since kudos can’t be removed), the author won’t know you’re reading/that you enjoy the story until after it’s complete - and a perceived lack of reader interest is a leading cause for abandoned WIPs.

Con: authors tend to interpret kudos less positively than readers. Therefore, if you leave kudos and mean “I love this story so much!!” the author doesn’t know that, because people leave kudos for many different reasons.

Con: they’re not specific. The impact of praise tends to increase with specificity. For example, “this fic is great” is nice to hear, but “your dialogue and characterizations in this story are great” is more specific and will generally inspire more emotion in the author. Because kudos are both the lowest effort and lowest specificity form of feedback, they don’t have the same impact as other methods.

Tips and tricks

If, for some reason, you don’t want to leave kudos on your username, you can quickly leave guest kudos without logging out by copying the address, opening a private browser session, and leaving kudos as a guest.

You can also do this if you want to leave multiple kudos

Subscriptions

authors can see how many users are subscribed to a story from their stats page

authors cannot see who is subscribed to their story

authors do not know if a subscriber is still reading, or if they are inactive/not checking updates

subscriptions to authors do not show up in the story subscriptions count

subscriptions can give an author a general indication of their audience for a multi-chapter story, but it’s almost exclusively a tool for readers rather than a feedback mechanism.

Comments

This has been covered in depth before - check the links for more info.

Your Guide to Reviews

Appreciation Without Anxiety: Commenting 101

How to Write A Good Review on FFN (most of this also applies to ao3)

tips and tricks for commenting on mobile

Why People Don’t Comment

“Can I Say This?” Culture, Comments, and Concern

101 Comment Starters

Recommending and Sharing Fics

Simply posting a link to a fic on tumblr is a great form of feedback, if the author sees it - it’s fine to leave a comment on the fic saying “I recommended this story!” with a link to the post, or to tag them on tumblr if you can find their account.

If an author shares their tumblr account, liking and reblogging their story-related posts is a great way to show support, because it means that you enjoy their story enough that you want other people to read it.

Authors on tumblr will often check both their notes and the tags people add, and tagging it with something along the lines of “I love this story” or “please read this” will make an author cry happy tears.

An easy way to create rec lists is to bookmark fics or use the mark for later feature as you read them, and once per week, make a list via tumblr post. Generally, you’ll want to list the title, author (tag them if you can find them on tumblr!), fandom, pairing(s), and character(s). A brief description is nice but not necessary; if you want to add more but you’re not sure what, simply copy-paste the author’s summary from ao3. Then, if you haven’t tagged the author, leave a comment on the story with a link to your rec list.

I don’t actually have words to describe how amazing it is to find that someone has recced my fics, but wow. I have literally cried.

Misc.

if you can find an author on tumblr, feel free to tag them in posts (for example, “this photo makes me think of your story, @author!”) or send asks about their fics.

If you’ve written or drawn something inspired by their stories, let them know! Don’t worry about whether it’s “good enough,” because I promise they will love and appreciate it (and you!).

If you’ve made playlists, moodboards, metas, etc, also let them know!

If you see someone else recommending or mentioning their fic, tag the author - they likely haven’t seen it. I’ve only found out about several things like this after a friend saw the post and sent it to me.

If you see someone posting negatively about their fic, don’t let the author know - it’s stressful, upsetting, and they can’t do anything about it.

This guide is not exhaustive, but I hope it’s given readers a bit more information regarding how authors receive and interpret feedback!

- Mod Rose

#fandom authors #feedback

carduelis-carduelis

Fandom PSAs

Dont’ Like, Don’t Read

or DL; DR

You are responsible for curating your own online experience.

If something upsets you, makes you angry or queasy or triggers you, stop reading/looking at it. Avoid things that might make you feel that way.

Learn to use the Sort and Filter function on AO3, especially the Exclude tools.

On social media, block and mute accounts / tags / words when necessary.

If you hated something, you don’t need to tell that to the creator or start pointing fingers at them publicly.

The Back button is free. Use it.

Addendum:

Yes, for this to work, creators need to tag their works accordingly, so that people know what sort of content they are about to engage with and can nope out if necessary.

I will probably make another PSA about the importance of proper tagging later.

Ship And Let Ship

or SALS

You are allowed to ship whatever you want.

Everyone else is also allowed to ship whatever they want.

You are entitled to dislike or even hate a ship. If you want to do this online, in public, don’t use the ship tags for hate posts.

If you see someone posting about a ship they like and you don’t, there is no need for you to start arguing with them in their replies / comments / QRTs / reblogs. Don’t throw your hate in their face.

Do not harass fan creators or fans for shipping something you disapprove.

All of this also applies to liking / disliking an individual character.

Addendum:

”I agree with this, except when…”

No, then you are NOT agreeing with this.

Let me make this VERY clear. There are NO exceptions. None.

You don’t EVER harass real people over pixels.

If you disagree with this, kindly block and move on.

Your Kink Is Not My Kink

or YKINMK / YKINMKATO

The longer version is ”Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That’s Okay”.

People have different tastes. Not everything is for everybody.

Even if you don’t like a specific kink, other people are still allowed to use it in their creations.

You are entitled to dislike kinky content and think that it’s ”weird”.

Don’t kink shame or judge people based on their kinks.

This goes both ways: your kink is not someone else’s kink, so don’t push it onto those who are not into it.

Be Kind

or Don’t Be An Asshole

Focus on the things you like instead of the things you hate.

Create and unite instead of destroying and dividing.

Don’t harass real people over fictional things.

Stop stirring up petty drama just to get some attention on social media.

Stop trying to ”win”. Fandom is not a competition.

Remember that your own experiences aren’t universally shared. Your perception of things can differ from someone else’s, but that doesn’t mean either of you is necessarily wrong.

multihitherto

one of my favourite things about my OTPs is the homosexual overtone™ : an unveiled mask, the both obscure and categorical tension, ...the subtext, the uncertainty, the vagueness, which is the only thing disclosed, are captivating like HELL, like everyone knows what the initial intents of the writers/ producers are, "oh let's make those two very close to each other, but not too much, like a kind of HEALTHY, harmless bonhomie slowly develops into a deep unspoken bond between two... but still very HEALTHY and in NO way suggests a homoerotic relationship" yet (some of)the fans and shippers yell "THEY SCREWED EACH OTHER" well the point is whether those two are real or not doesnt matter at all, it is the constant struggle over whether they are real or not matters

#OTP

boethiah

it boggles my mind that some people go through this life without being singularly unreasonably obsessed with a very niche subject of no relevance to anything that matters. what do you even think about

#fandoms #small fandoms #rare ships