The Elephant in the Room
I know, another author weighing in on the issue of anons harassing authors but some of these thoughts have been weighing on me for a while now. If you so desire you can read more under the cut.
Now, before I even really start if you would like to discuss anything below further my inbox is open. Anon will be turned on just know that if you are abusive in your language? I will recognize you are not engaging with me in good faith and you will be blocked. Cause let me be completely frank, if you are only able to spew hate and abuse because you are behind a blank face? I really have no respect for that and under zero obligation to engage with you.
I am also not here to debate what fics are "the best" because I believe that no matter what you should be treating others with kindness and dignity. This is not a tear down about RD or the sweet author who wrote it or even the many many fans of the fic who are nothing but kind and supportive people excited for a fic they love. This is purely about the small but vocal group in the RD fandom who seem to find glee in harassing others potentially right out of the fandom.
I will also not be putting in specific instances of messages other authors have gotten. Those are not mine to share and I don't want to further pull someone into this discussion without their input. Again, if you have issues with what I'm saying please come at me and not someone else.
Let's begin with some important life reminders. Not everyone is going to like the same things. Not everyone who likes the same things will like it for the same reasons or even the same amount that you might. Someone not liking something you enjoy doesn't invalidate your experience. Someone hating something you like also shouldn't change what you get out of it. This goes for your whole life, not just fanfic. If I hate pickles that doesn't mean your love of pickles doesn't somehow mean less and the same goes for fanfics.
If you are feeling personally attacked by others just not being into the same thing you are? Please examine how you are interacting with media, just because you resonate with something doesn't mean you should feel the need to tear others down for not also jiving.
The nature of stories and fiction and fanfiction lend themselves to many people being able to bring their own perspectives and ideas and share them. By that logic, not everyone is going to like everything out there.
Now, it seems to me that there is a section of the RD fandom that cannot handle others disagreeing with their assertions and thus have resorted to the only other avenue that they could think of. Namely, sending anon hate and harassment to what they view are "competition" (other fanfic authors).
The kind of messages I have seen include but are not limited to:
your fic reminds me of x, are you referencing RD?
why dont you do x to be more like RD?
you should be grateful Im even willing to read your work
why are you still writing when you'll never be writing RD?
If you don't see the issue with these kinds of comments, let me break it down. Fandom doesn't revolve around one fic. It doesn't matter how much you enjoy said fic, others are going to make their own art, share their own stories, and do it their own way. Even if we sometimes use the same tropes or au ideas most of the authors I know pride themselves on doing their own spin on things because part of creative writing is to, you guessed it, be creative.
Another "accusation" I've seen just thrown at other writers is "you're just jealous". Firstly, this is a derailing tactic being used by the anons to not actually have to talk about the issue at hand (ie: the mean comments and harassment), again showing a lack of either understanding or just intentionally trying to change the narrative into something it isnt. But let's entertain this for a moment. While I personally cannot speak for every other writer out there, I would like to posit a question back. Would I be jealous of having people who say they like my work as a creative going around tearing other creatives down? The answer is a solid "No". Honestly, having such a large fanbase and having a very little buffer between a giant group of eyes and yourself? It honestly sounds horrible, I totally see why the author would choose to literally drop their work and log off. Literally, if I ever had fans acting in their way? I would be horrified and disappointed to think that something I wrote would cause others to be disrespectful and hateful to other creators.
Fanfiction is an interesting and different medium from a lot of other story-based media. You can make a comment about a show, book, or movie, and it more than likely isn't going to directly impact the creators. Fanfiction on the other hand? You have a direct form of communication between you and the author. This is something that can be both extremely rewarding but can also be taken advantage of as showcased by anons being rather... pointed in their attacks of authors who they know are being vulnerable by sharing their work online.
In conclusion, be thoughtful about what you are putting out into the world. Your actions are a reflection of you and you are the one in control over if that reflection is going to be hateful or loving. If you have to say something from behind anon? Chances are you already knew that you shouldn't be saying it anyways.
