WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 29 -- Wednesday

[linaewen]

Hello on Wednesday! I hope it's a great day for you, whether writing happens or not.

Have you had a good week of writing so far?  Do you feel like you are on track for what you wanted to accomplish this month?  Did any of the following happen today or yesterday:

• writing?
• research?
• planning and outlining?
• editing?
• posting?
• totally ignoring writing in order to do something else?

Here's a Flamingo-influenced discussion post for the day:

 

How do you feel about lack of comments on a story you've posted?  At archive sites where kudos is given, is this good enough feedback for you or would you prefer comments?

Comments

[linaewen]

I'm very pleased to get comments on a story, but I'm okay if I don't. I get sufficient comments to keep me encouraged to continue writing. I do appreciate kudos and find it to be "good enough" because it does show that people are reading and like it enough to say so, even if it isn't with words.

[sharpiefan]

I prefer comments but kudos are easier to give - especially in situations where you don't know the author of a fic. I don't know if it's coming from an LJ/DW background or not that does that for me. I like the kudos thing as a way of being able to give feedback when I might not otherwise because of not knowing the author, but prefer to receive comments - and therefore I need to change my habits and stretch myself to leave comments for others because I can't be the only one for whom this is true.

It's just really easy to leave kudos, though, know what I mean?

[samuraiter]

A lack of comments (or reviews, if you're thinking FFN) has killed more than one of my stories. I don't mind it so much on AO3, but that's largely because I only do one-shots and shorts there. Back on FFN, when I used to do longer, chaptered works and epics, well, getting one review for 50,000 words of story was a real downer. Especially since that one review was usually "make shorter chapters" or "make a more interesting summary so more people read". (Or trolls blaming me for the mods taking down one of their stories. Have I mentioned that I hate FFN?)

[shamanicshaymin]

I got a load of bullshit like that on FFN too, which is why I never post anything there anymore. AO3 generally has a way less shallow audience and you're less likely to get one-word "reviews" such as "kewl" or "gud job r/r my fic plz."

[silailo]

I am--and should be--grateful for the comments I have received from my small fandom, because for a long time I thought it was dead. I would prefer comments more often, because I crave fandom conversation, not just "I liked your story" as kudos or faves tend to convey. Knowing that people have read my fics and are still reading them from time to time, I feel a little less annoyed about not receiving comments on some of them.

Just today I got a kudos on a fic I never thought anyone would care to read because it's a rare pair. Although I would've loved to hear from the reader, I just had to accept that they might've not known what to say.

[shamanicshaymin]

I love comments as much as everybody else, but I've really come to appreciate kudos as well. I can have a hard time expressing my thoughts and feelings about a story, so it's nice that the kudos option exists so I can let the writer know how much I like their work. I got a lot of anon kudos for a smutfic I wrote for an obscure pairings in a small fandom, like it's a safe way for them to admit they like my story while still keeping their privacy.