#and fail to recognize that even the most sugary sprinkle-laden donut still takes a real human person effort and heart to produce

[alwaysbethewest]

I tend to find the “write the fics you want to see” argument pretty weak unless it’s directed at people who try to coerce their favorite writers into fulfilling their specific and usually very detailed ideas. I’m a horrible writer and wouldn’t even consider myself one. It genuinely pains me to do it. I’m just a reader seeking an eclair in a world full of donuts. Just point me in the direction of a patisserie and I’ll be happy. But all I currently see is a Dunkin on every corner. That’s fine. No hate to DD if that’s what you want. I go there myself sometimes. I lost my train of thought because I love all pastries. Anyway. I hate that there’s the constant need to add a disclaimer.

Hmm, well I think you and I will probably never look at this in quite the same way since I am a writer. There's a part of me that feels like, if I am putting up a critique about what's out there I should probably also be able and willing to at least articulate, if not actually write, what kind of fic I do want to see existing. (Which—I have dipped my toes in with a couple of drabbles! But I think it would be about a hundred times easier for me to go bake an actual batch of eclairs from scratch than to write a full length Joel fic right now lol.) But I get what you mean that readers should be able to express a desire for what they'd love to see more of even if they don't have the ability to create it themselves. If it's being done nicely that's totally fair.

I think the reason I keep feeling like I need to add disclaimers around this is... There's a lot of vulnerability in writing and posting for others to read. And when you're already in a vulnerable position it's very easy to get discouraged by negative feedback (or even just a lack of feedback at all; it sucks feeling like you're posting into the void). I know that a lot of writers in this fandom are young and/or fairly new to writing or sharing their work and if they're following me I want those writers to know that they do not need to listen to what I've been saying here if what I'm saying makes them feel targeted or discouraged about their fics. All I want for them is to keep going and growing and finding their voice and creating the things that feel right and fun and delicious to THEM. Even if that means that some hungry readers never do get their eclairs. So be it 🤷‍♀️