eviesbfdylan:

tips on leaving comments on fic

1. thank the author for writing and sharing. examples:

• thanks so much for writing this! i’ve always wanted to see character-x and character-x in this trope 🙂
• show-x has been on hiatus for a few months now, and i’m so glad to be able to revisit my fav characters even without new episodes, so thanks!
• this was such a great read, thanks so much for sharing!

2. let the author know specifics about their fic in relation to the source material that you enjoyed:

• was their characterization on point?
• if it’s an au, did it still feel like it was in keeping with the tone of the source material?
• did they nail down what it is about a ship that you like so much?**
• is their interpretation of the source material really cool?**
• things to look out for: when an author gives time and consideration to rarepairs, femslash, minor/side characters, non-white characters that have been screwed over in canon, women characters that are demonized in fandom
• did they write something that you always wanted to see in canon?
• did they write something you never want to see in canon, but that you find interesting anyway?

3. let the author know what it is about their writing you enjoyed

• things that are difficult to pull off in writing: action scenes, being funny, dialogue that isn’t cumbersome or overly self aware, sex — if the author does any of these in a way you like, let them know
• was the language really beautiful? any metaphors that stood out to you? any sentences you really liked?**

4. going above and beyond

• if the author is open to being contacted on tumblr or twitter or wherever else: liveblog their fic, add their fic to curated rec lists and @ them, start a convo with them about their fic**
• if you find out they write original fiction after you’ve already read their fic, read that too and comment on it
• if you like the stuff they write for a fandom you share and they also write for another fandom you’re not a part of, check out their other fic and let them know you’re reading their work even though you’re not a part of that fandom
• if it’s a multi chapter fic: comment on more than one chapter, ask questions about where the story is going, encourage them to keep writing (examples: can’t wait to read more, so excited to see what’s next, i’m always so excited to read whenever you update, i’ve been looking forward to your update all week (remember this is encouragement, not shaming them for not updating) etc.), leave a comment that lets them know you’re paying attention (like if they reference something from a previous chapter)
• offer to beta
• create illustrations or a mix based on their fic; or write an actual review of their fic

5. additional cute things you can do/things to keep in mind:

• is this the author’s first fic for the fandom? if it is, welcome them!
• did someone rec the fic to you? let the author know
• is english not your first language? that’s awesome! leave a comment in your first language, or in any other language you speak**
• let the author know if you’ve read and liked any other of their fic**
• if you read the fic more than once or return to it often, leave more than one comment, or let the author know you like re-reading it**
• read the fic with a friend and have a convo with them (about what you liked) in the comments

6. really quick and simple comments like “this was so cute!” or “i loved this” or “this made me cry wtf” are also really awesome 🙂

**things that are starred are things i love a lot