#fic etiquette

[greetings-humans]

this has already been said a million times but ig some people never got the memo so here I am.

when a fic updates and it's been a while (be that a month, a semester, a year, multiple years, a fucking decade or maybe several of those) YOU DON'T SUDDENLY GET A FREE PASS TO BE AN ASSHOLE TO THE AUTHOR

some things for your consideration:

the fic author is not paid for this creative effort and also needs to spend time actually supporting themselves financial

the fic author is not a robot that cranks out creative material. breaks are needed, sometimes people leave fandoms and come back much later. it is human and it is natural. some people can't completely obsess over one single fic consistently and also write stuff for it, and thus cannot consistently give you chapters. sometimes, "consistently" also means not as soon as you'd like. please find your brain from the lost and found and realize that if someone is updating and has not abandoned their fic, that is an absolute win and definitely not a given

the fic author is a human being that just so might wanna engage in hobbies and relationships (platonic and/or romantic), which takes time

you should keep in mind that it takes a lot of fucking brainpower to have an idea, like the idea, decide to write the idea, find the time to write the idea, find the inspiration to continue said idea, ACTUALLY FUCKING WRITE THE IDEA, and find it in yourself to publish it

you are entitled to nothing. actually, since I'm a nice, empathetic person, I'll ammend that. the only thing you might be entitled to is an edit at the tags saying 'fyi next chapter is gonna take a while'. you deserve no explanation. I deserve no explanation. if the author comes back after years to update I will go to the comments and tell them how surprised and happy I am and then talk about the fic. be a bit more like that please

if you don't like the updating frequency, consider DOING IT YOUR FUCKING SELF (and talking about it with the fic author if you got inspired by said fic, and definitely giving credit).

if you don't like the updating frequency, consider NOT READING OR COMMENTING ON THE FIC or just maybe READING A DIFFERENT FIC (don't like don't read is always in effect babes, this is fanfiction, if i started saying shit under every fic with a premise that made me grimace I'd have made so many people and myself so upset)

this is not one of those cases where you can make it other people's problem. the author has every right to take as much time as they fucking want. I don't see you writing this exact fic in their exact circumstances, so kindly shut up

okay, for real, though. you can't know. the author could be going through anything, including but not limited to childbirth, divorce, grief, mental health issues, physical health issues, schoolwork (not everyone is an academic genius samantha, let people take their time), friendship/romance drama. they could also, fyi, just wanna take a break. nothing wrong with that. it's actually the recommended course of action to avoid burnout in case you hadn't heard. literally who do you think you are to take an issue with that? their fucking publisher? do you have a deadline to meet harold? is your pay based on this? what was that? no? okay cool then shut it.

how fucking dare you complain about how fast a literal human being with an entire life outside of fanfiction can write literally so many words about something new.

btw this is what inspired all of this

one of my favorite fics updated after... well three months maybe? and I spot this in the comment section as I go to drop my own comment. literally how dare you. do you understand how discouraging and infuriating it is to see some random person say this about your brainchild?? im glad you're liking the fic berryl but if you have an issue with the time between updates, keep it to yourself, read another fic, or write your own fic.

#ao3 #ao3 etiquette #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #fan fiction #fic etiquette #fandom #deelay words #(i have a lot of those on this subject as you can see) #rant post #ranting #long post

[disappearinginq]

What do people do with unfinished fics? I have like....a dozen that I am so not moved by the fandom anymore to the point they’ll likely remained unfinished, but I do quite like them. Is it AO3 faux-pas to post something that is just snippets? Stories for adoption? Post on Tumblr only? Horde and keep to myself for ever and ever? 

#fic etiquette #I have dozens #or more #of fanfic I will likely never finish #but i do like the parts I have #they're whole scenes but just snippets of a larger story line I never got around to writing #fandom etiquette

[actual-sleeping-beauty]

Perhaps this is a hot take, but I don't think you should come into an author's comments and essentially tell them you think they misunderstood the characters they're writing about and how you think the story should go. If you feel that strongly about it, just write your own story!

This didn't happen on one of my more recent fics, which I think makes it both better and worse. Better because I'm annoyed, not hurt, at receiving that comment. Worse because the fic is four years old (by publication date, not from when I started writing it) and genuinely what was this person hoping to accomplish from this?

Anyway. If you enjoyed a fic, tell the author that. Write your own version of it if you think some things were out of character. But don't tell someone their work isn't right. As we all learned in kindergarten, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

#ao3 #fic etiquette #the thing is i dont necessarily disagree with what they said #bc i wrote this 4/5 years ago while I was a sophomore in high school #but just say you liked the writing style and move on! bc what you did wasn't good comment etiquette #i'm this annoyed about a comment on a fic i agree could be much better written for a fandom i no longer engage with in any way #imagine how upset i'd be if this were one of my more recent works

[waffle-sorter]

See, that's one reason I compose my comments in a separate program while I'm reading the chapter: because if I have to manually c&p, I'm more likely to notice when I've put something that's going to come across as passive-aggressive or rude or not what I actually meant, compared to if I press a button or two and done. Or, in this case, an unsolicited correction to something that's not actually a big deal.

#waffle reads #and responds #or doesn't as the case may be #fic etiquette

[speckledfiction]

Bearing in mind that no matter what the whole fic would be readable at once with no waiting

#Fanfiction #archive of our own #Ao3 #Fic etiquette #Writing

[ravenelyx]

And somehow I'm both

#raven;rants #fic writing #writing memes #fic writing meme #ao3 writer #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writing #ao3 etiquette #ao3

[avephelis]

if you like silly gay people in love read @phantom-does-a-thing's They Ain't Casing Out Weddings the clothing descriptions have me in a chokehold

#NOT REALLY SURE ABOUT ETIQUETTE WITH FANART FOR BANG FICS SO LMK IF I'VE MADE A FAUX PAS 🙏🙏 #jrwi #jrwi riptide #gillion tidestrider #jrwi chip #jay ferin #polypirates #albatrio #avepharts #genuinely finished the fic and my brain was haunted by the outfits for like two days until i blacked out and drew something #and if there is one thing about me it's that i'm always fucking drawing characters in clothes. #but they are my WORLD. do you understand. anyway hi phantom i'm obsessed with your fics forever and ever they're incredible.

[whomst-the-hell]

The babysitters’ club, as the older members of the upside down crew have dubbed themselves, meet at least once a week. Sometimes it’s only a few hours, just long enough to watch a movie together, to confirm that everyone is still alive and coping. Sometimes it’s all night, and Argyle plies them all with good California weed while they attempt to work through their collective truckloads of trauma.

Sometimes, like tonight, they spend it goofing off and having fun like the dumb kids many of them couldn’t afford to be.

They’re gathered in a circle at the Harrington mansion, deserted as always, playing truth or dare. Nancy has just admitted to smoking weed in her freshman year, in the drama room with Barbara Holland, and she has set her know it all, meddling, journalist eyes on Eddie.

“Truth or dare,” she asks, a challenge clear on her face.

Eddie knows that, with most people, picking truth may be seen as the cowardly option. With Nancy, that couldn’t be more wrong. If he picks dare, he will be safe, but he will be mocked relentlessly by every single person in the room.

…

“Truth,” he sighs reluctantly.

“Who-” she pauses dramatically for effect, a theatrical detail that Eddie honestly respects, even if it fills him with dread, “-was your most embarrassing crush! And it has to be a person we know, no celebrities allowed!”

Shit.

He feels his eyes dart to Steve. Nancy smirks. Bitch. He can’t even lie about it then.

Time to face the music, he supposes mournfully.

“I would like to say, for the record, that I was in junior year, ok. And, in retrospect, with the knowledge I have now, it’s not even that bad, but at the time-“

“Spit it out, Munson,” says Robin, the fucking traitor.

“IhadacrushonSteve,” he says, all in one breath.

“What was that, dude, I didn’t catch it?” Argyle says, voice mellow. Eddie honestly doesn’t know if he’s in on this or not, but he glowers all the same.

Face red, he repeats, “I had a crush on Steve.” He resolutely does not look at Steve.

“No you didn’t!” Steve responds, immediately, aghast.

Eddie can feel his heart tearing in two.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Harrington, this was years ag-“

“You literally rejected me!”

Fucking what.

He knows he must look ridiculous right now, mouth hanging open, cheeks still red with embarrassment, but he does not have the capacity to care.

“Wh- what do you- huh?” he finally manages.

“When you were in junior year, and I was a sophomore? We were lab partners-“

And ohhh, hadn’t that just been sweet, sweet torture. Pretty, perfect Harrington had had to sit next to him all semester, where Eddie could see his freckles and smell his cologne, but-

“You spent the whole semester making fun of me!”

“What the fuck are you talking about, man?” says Steve, eyebrows furrowed in that way he does that makes Eddie want to kiss his forehead and- Fucking focus, Munson.

“You always used to make passive aggressive comments about my clothes, or my hair, or my books or whatever!”

Steve buries his face in his hands and groans.

“I wasn’t being passive aggressive.”

“You- what the fuck do you mean, you weren’t being passive aggressive! Why else would you have said any of that shit?”

“Because I meant it?”

Because he- what? Eddie played back as many of their interactions from that year as he could remember. I like your jacket, Steve had said when Eddie had started putting patches on his denim vest. Your hair looks nice today, he had said when Eddie had tied it back to beat the heat. Oh, that sounds interesting, when Eddie described the plot of the book he was reading.

“Oh my god, you were flirting with me.”

“No shit! I once told you you had really pretty eyes!“

“I thought you were bullying me!”

“How on Earth could ‘I think you have really pretty eyes’ be bullying?”

“I don’t know! It made more sense than it being flirting!”

“I asked you to go to the drive in with me! That is the most classic first date in the book!”

Holy shit, Steve Harrington had asked him out. Steve Harrington had asked him out and he’d said no. This was the worst day of Eddie’s life.

His face must have looked some kind of way, because Steve just groaned again. He sat there for a second before peeking up from behind his hands, a move that should not have been as cute as it was, what the fuck.

“If I tried again now, would you still think I was bullying you.”

Holy shit did Steve Harrington want to date him? This had to be a trick or a prank or something, right?

Except that he’d thought that in junior year as well, and apparently it had cost him a boyfriend, so.

“No- nope, I would definitely pick up on it, uh huh. Definitely,” he said in a rush. God, he was normally so good with words, fuck.

Steve emerged fully from his hands, face pink but expression determined.

“Eddie Munson, would you like to go to the drive in with me? They’re playing Jaws next saturday and I’d love to watch it with you.”

“Absolutely, Stevie. It’s a date.”

There are groans from the rest of their friends as they rifle through their pockets, each passing money to a very smug looking Nancy.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #my writing #i dont know the character tagging etiquette on tumblr #should i tag nancy or is that rude

[beescake]

Sorry for the spam (^o^;) I just really like your blog

no need to apologize ayy!

in this corner we welcome all forms of enjoyment, regardless of whether you're a

happy to have yall here w me,

headin into homestuck 2024 :^)

#was debating if sollux truly was lurker type but then i rmbr'd him quietly reading all of karkat's memos for a good laugh HAHAHAHAAH #ask #aleemie #homestuck #karkat vantas #sollux captor #solkat #2024 #vioart #but o. regarding the etiquette learned frm other socmed #spamming here is safe+good! it does not harm the op by shadowbanning like instagram #and its not 💀 like twitter where ur likes/following are permanently set to public #ur tumblr experience is within ur control it can be as free/empty/curated as u want!! #((tho ofc i do encourage rbing for ppl who've been hoping to start that habit!! #s'cool to slowly work ur way up from the extra special posts that hv lingered longest in ur heart and quietly build ur cache trove :-) #for example back when i was struggling to rt on a new twt acc i just started setting nonsense criteria for myself LOL #like “breaking this void is scary holy fuck ok i shall start by rting posts w brownish/reddish clrs bcs its inspo vibes for my art” #and gradually after a while of deliberate sharing i gained more confidence to share a larger variety of posts that make me feel things!!!! #no more training wheels i may be scared but i love loving more!!!! #same goes for engaging w fics too it takes energy to think of how to comment and thats ok‚ do ur best to explore what works for u!!!! #take screenshots of ur fave paragraphs & start annotating in gallery/notes app if that helps!!!! #also tumblr's customizable queue means u can stack posts and bolt hgehehe. my preferred form of existing on the net))

[frownyalfred]

gently grabs you by the chin hey. if an author selects “chose not to use archive warnings” on a fic, they’re allowed. even if you don’t like it or disagree.

#tired of seeing people mad at authors for correctly using the tagging system #if you the reader don’t want to risk seeing a tag that wasn’t warned for #then filter out those fics or use your best judgment #do not yell at the authors #please #as seen on tiktok several times this week #ao3 #ao3 etiquette #don’t like don’t read #archive of our own

[apprenticeofdoyle]

Helpful reminder now that ao3 is up again: your bookmarks are PUBLIC unless you private them manually, and the author can read what you write!

Stop leaving awful reviews on fics you don't like. That includes in public bookmarks. I've seen shit that would make me stop writing forever written on bookmarks for fics for dozens of fandoms. Just stop.

#ive been lucky mostly but some REALLY haven’t with cruel comments. #learn online etiquette for fandom spaces or leave #ao3 #archive of our own #fic #bookmarking

[feedthefandomfest]

Just out of curiosity. I think once or twice I've tagged fic with "reblogs appreciated" or something like that, but usually I'm afraid of coming off as pushy or needy or... afraid I'll trigger someone's inner contrarian?? (speaking as someone with contrarian tendencies 😅 it's fine i'm working on it)

Feel free to share your take on the subject in the tags.

#i'm genuinely curious #also if people want to share why they reblog certain fic/art that they've liked and not others #curious about that too #fandom culture #fandom etiquette

[tightjeansjavi]

Whether the accounts that are stealing and plagiarizing fics from MULTIPLE writers in the community are doing it to be trolls, gain clout, and whatever the fuck else they have on their agenda, it is deeply disturbing and disappointing to see.

Preemptively block and report @kiwiispunk & @pedroslakersshirt (if more accounts are found to be plagiarizing and stealing fics, I will update this post accordingly.)

#tw discourse #plagiarizing #stealing fics #fandom etiquette #block and report #pedro pascal fandom #signal boost!

[writingwife-83]

Bouncing off this post because I’ve seen a lot of people adding this thought in the reblogs.

Don’t ever be afraid to read way back in time (I’m talking many years!) through someone’s AO3 works, and leave kudos and positive comments along the way. I promise it’s not weird or creepy or any of the things people sometimes worry about! This should be your rule of thumb-

If an author chose to leave a fic on AO3, no matter how old, they want it to be read and they want to know when you’ve enjoyed it! 👌

#writing things #fic feedback #ao3 #ao3 comments #ao3 etiquette

[muffinlance]

I really do love your writing and Salvage gets me through when I am sad or depressed. However, I was wondering, how do you cope when someone who wrote a review didn’t like your writing? If you’ve had this before… I had one today and I am dejected. I’m working through my perfectionism and I keep telling myself, “my writing isn’t for everyone and it’s okay.” Any advice?

If it was unsolicited, especially on a fanfic? Delete it, block the person if you feel like, then go do your rage activity of choice before forgetting about it forever. That person is rude and doesn't deserve your time anymore than someone bumping into you on the street.

I've also found it useful to actively think of my fanfic as writing practice, and not even my brain expects perfection from writing practice. It also frees you do Try Cool Things.

Now take this digital blanket and cup of hot chocolate and go reread your nice comments.

#most readers are absolutely lovely #But yeah I've gotten these too because there is always someone on the internet who thinks they are Right and Smart and that those things #Are more important than being kind and polite #Fic Reader Etiquette 101: the only writers looking for crits on a fic are the ones that explicitly asked for it #The only potential exception is for typos that impact reading clarity and even then varies by author #I love having any and all typos pointed out but I know some writers Don't Want To Hear It #My worst comment was the person who wrote essentially: #Wow I remember loving this story it had a huge impact on my life but now I reread years later and it's shit #...Honey. HONEY. #please realize that your personal growth and resulting resonance or lack thereof with a story's themes #have literally nothing to do with me #and I hope your next bit of character growth involves internalizing your self-reflection instead of outsourcing it to fanfiction

[janjan-the-ninth]

To fanfiction authors: Please learn what Dead Dove means. There has been a trend, especially will all the new people who have joined over the last few years, to tag fics which are no where close to Dead Dove as Dead Dove. Just cause the fic contains topics which aren't allowed on tiktok or which they think are bad, like Major Character Death, Violence and so one. Which exists as seperate warnings on ao3. A fic is not automatically Dead Dove just cause it deals with those topics.

The overuse of the Dead Dove tag will make the tag utterly useless in the long run and will lead to an increase of censoring from the outside as new people and everyone else will think that everything they do not like is Dead Dove and therefore bad.

#fanfiction #ao3 #dead dove do not eat #wattpad #dead dove fic #fanfic #fandoms #author #listen when i read fic about the witcher which show and games include a heavy amount of violence and torture #do not dare to tag your fic dead dove just cause a character is getting beaten up a bit and tortured #this is not what the tag is for #obviously dead dove applies differently for every fandom #but the ao3 warnings exists for a reason #ao3 etiquette