#update requests

[haikyuuwaifu]

General Consensus 🥰

What updates would you like to see in the next week or so 🥰🥰🥰

[haikyuuwaifu]

DON’T FORGET, YOU’VE GOT ONE MORE DAY TO GET YOUR REQUESTS IN<3 

-If you’ve sent me anything from yesterday afternoon to this morning, I will be going through those and responding to them later today.

[scribomaniac]

Any fic prompts or update requests?

[ozhawkauthor]

I really like your rules of the Fandom, they helped me feel more comfortable writing comments to writers. On the same note I had a question about asking writers when they will update something. I never want to make an author feel rushed or stressed about that and when I ask I just want to know if they took a break or what. I was wondering if it was ok to ask this and if it is a way that would express the above sentiment. Many thanks and I love your writing!

This is a very ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. Some writers don’t mind; some feel incredible pressure start to mount as soon as they get a question like that asked.

Here’s a few of the do’s and don’t’s in my opinion, and perhaps some other writers would consider adding their suggestions for the kind of update queries they’re OK with?

DON’T; put a ‘please update’ comment as soon as a new chapter has been posted. Especially if the writer has an update schedule they are obviously sticking to. While any comment is nice to receive - this one makes even me grit my teeth.

DON’T; ask ‘why have you abandoned this story?’ It might not be abandoned. The muse might have just buggered off on holiday for a while. Seriously, you never know when you’re going to wake up in the middle of the night with the rest of the plot just exploding in your head.

DON’T; ask ‘why does it take you so long to update?’. I once got a comment on the Soulmate Shorts asking why my update schedule had dropped back to once a week or so. ‘A thousand words doesn’t take that long to write!’ the comment said. Well, sometimes it does. I can write a thousand words in half an hour if I’m on a roll. Or it might take me a month. Or six months. Fanfic authors have lives, jobs, some have children. We’re not getting paid for this stuff. Some of us are more prolific than others, too. Be gentle with your authors.

DO; read the notes at beginning and end of chapters, and on Ao3, read the other comments and responses the author has made. If the story’s been paused for a while, chances are that someone else has already asked the question that’s burning you up.

DO; check out the author’s other work. It’s very possible that they’ve moved into another fandom, or even out of fandom entirely. In which case... well, you might be out of luck. Same if they’re the kind of writer who has 20 fics posted and all of them run out of steam at chapter 4.

DO; tell the author how much you love the story. Tell them how often you’ve re-read it. Say something like “I’m so curious as to what’s going to happen next!” You can even ask questions; “Will Steve realise in time that x is a traitor?” You’d be surprised. Your question might spark the story muse back to life again. You could get into a discussion with the author in the comments thread that leads to the exact result you want; a long-hoped-for update. Possibly even taking the story in the direction you’re hoping for it to go. Congratulations; you just successfully plot bunnied your favourite author.

DO; wish the author well. You can say “I haven’t seen any updates from you in a while, I hope it’s just that real life is busy for you at the moment and that you’re keeping well!” This is a) a nice thing to say, and b) about as low pressure as a request for an update can get.

Any other authors got any more suggestions for do’s and don’t’s when begging for updates?