#but /posting/ it for no traction is so disheartening…

[crystalbeastsquidney]

I’m at my fucking limit

[eddiemunsonsmum]

Just saw this comment on a story posted a month ago.

*cries in Eddie Munson Solo Series no one wanted to read, interact with or request for*

No shade to the person that commented this on their own fic if you recognize it. It's not their fault. I'm not mad at them. More crying in the tags.

[lorelune]

biggest L of lorelune is for sure the diluc fic 😔 oh beloved one day i'll work on you again

[ivyloveheart]

Yeah idk I guess I’m just gonna go back to just reblogging things idk. Not really too in the UTMV fandom anymore and I still can’t get many interactions.

[extra-joker-mush]

!! READ IN FULL BEFORE YOU SCROLL !!

Hello my friends, this is the third time I'm posting about my Gazan friend @mazenmanal, as his campaign has seen little traction as of late. This campaign is being organized by Feras Al-Mansi for his family in Gaza, who are suffering under inhumane living conditions.

As you know, his cousins are suffering the effects of serious illness, and lack access to appropriate treatment. Feras’ gofundme has raised only €3,627 at the time of posting this, which amounts to just over 3% of his goal. This money will go towards not only evacuating all of his extended family members from Gaza, but also covering the medical expenses for the children, who are in poor health due to dehydration in particular. It will ensure their nutritional needs are met and that they have regular medical visits.

This campaign has been vetted by @apollos-olives, however, Feras’ account is continually getting banned for no discernible reason which is hurting the campaigns credibility and slowing the rate of donations, so it’s important to emphasize and boost this campaign in particular. I'm reaching out to ask you all to please join me in donating to this fundraiser because it's seen so little attention and they are so far from their goal. It's extremely disheartening. If you can't donate I implore you to share and post his gofundme; please don't stop talking about it. Thank you all

[saintavangeline]

I just feel so hopeless. My music gaining traction and drawing in so many ears and the more people listen, the more terrified I'm becoming. The general level of accepted bullying and hatred online and the expectation that all artists are supposed to brush it all off is just so disheartening.. and the overall lack of empathy, understanding, and respect toward art only continues to diminish.

I feel like it's all just corrupting my mind. It feels like my art is repeatedly defiled, that no matter how much hate and how much these people hurt me, I am supposed to take it all with a smile.. or else I'm a bitch or "rude" for being upset or defending the things that are so sacred to me. My words are purposely misinterpreted, reworked, or changed to fit someone's own narrative of me. I'm accused of being things I'm not, assumed to like or know of things I don't merely because of how I look or a song they might have listened to.

I feel less and less like a human being. Constant comparisons to others. One-sided parasocial relationships. Painting me as this one dimensional object.. expecting me to continue to recreate the same art repeatedly, perfectly fine with it becoming more and more obsolete with each damned iteration.

And to try to explain that I am an artist and my art changes and reflects my state of mind.. one that is constantly changing and ebbing and flowing is useless because I am nothing more to them than a little puppet who should be so happy that anything I've created is even getting recognition. That I'm so ungrateful for the attention that I've been given and how obnoxious it is to hear me speak on my feelings on it. That I should get over it and I was asking for this by posting any of my art at all because clearly I wanted to be famous anyway.

I didn't. And I don't. I make my art for myself and I share it because that is what artists do. There is nothing to be shared with the world without an artist to make and share it. I am grateful for how many people have listened to me and connected and genuinely have healed through the art I've created to heal my own pain, I'm certainly not insinuating I am ungrateful or fully regret sharing any of what I've made.. I've just been stretched so thin.

All this to say.. I'm considering just quitting social media. I don't know. I just feel so hopeless. Hopefully I'll start feeling a little better soon, but everything feels worse and worse the more traction I'm getting

[trevorite]

I don’t care if this post gets traction or not but I feel the urge to just, ramble about the cyberpunk community real fast.

It wasn’t until I joined Tumblr that I realized how poorly people in the cyberpunk community treat others that are slightly different. Honestly from what I had seen before hand I thought over all that the cyberpunk community was supportive. But I’ve grown to realize is that even the queer people in this community tend to be assholes.

After making that post about my V, and seeing all the actual support I got + seeing other posts about Kerry, made me realize a lot of shit. I shouldn’t have had to worry about people saying shit about my V being with Kerry. I’m happy with my V being the way he is, a feminine trans man, who hasn’t gotten the chance to fully transition because that’s who I am. And yet it seems that other people can’t handle that.

[These comments are public, so I see no point in censoring this person’s name, they’ve done other stuff but It’s not my Place to speak on that. So I’ll only mention what’s related to this post.]

I find it honestly disheartening that people treat me, and other people, like shit over who they have Kerry be with. And honestly I just don’t understand why they can’t just block a person and move on.

How is, for example, my V, a untransition trans man any different from a fully transitioned trans man? By the logic of Truther up there, they are saying that Kerry wouldn’t date a man with a female body type. God there’s so much I could say but I just can’t find the proper words for it.

I just don’t understand why my V would be treated differently. Sometimes it seems like, unless I have the ‘appropriate’ body type, my V, and myself as a person aren’t valid trans people and it makes me sick. To be told that I don’t actually love a character because I used a mod makes me feel horrid.

Truther, I doubt you’ll see this but still, I feel the need to say this. As much as you love Kerry and stuff, you tend to treat others who also love him like shit. There was never a point of saying this, could’ve just blocked me and move on. There’s a person behind every screen, and what you say can affect them.

I’ll say it for a final time I shouldn’t have been made to worry that My V being with Kerry was wrong. But thanks to how this community is, I did end up in that position. To the people who had Originally supported me, I thank you. You helped me feel so much better and more confident to just. Be myself.

[malenjoyer]

Hey, Mal! I really love your art, and wanted to ask you questions as an amateur artist. How long have you been posting on Tumblr, and how long did it take before you really started to gain traction?

I’m going to ramble a bit since this is something that is kind of important to me too. I’ve been posting art for around 8 years, personally I would say for the 5 initial years, I was not good at art. I was even worse at gaining traction.

On tumblr, I did not break over 1k followers and it was really disheartening. On Instagram, I did not break over 300 followers. I know on tumblr it’s not possible to see my follower count but if you compare it to other platforms, this one isn’t that high. Don’t be discouraged if you’ve been at it for a while and it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. It’s easier to say than do but.. if you really love art, even if you don’t post it for a while you should still do art.

I got a boost towards the end of 2023. I didn’t think I’d go anywhere either when I first made my twitter to post comic character fan art. (Even though I don’t think I’m going anywhere technically either. Numbers don’t guarantee anything.)

People were very generous to me and people liked my stuff. Even looking back, I would say my art wasn’t that good in 2022 when I started drawing characters. I think everything so far is reliant on luck, kindness that was given to me, and simply because I didn’t stop posting.

I don’t know any special formulas for gaining traction. I’m not a business major so I don’t actually know anything. Like, I actually don’t know that much.

My only advice for if you want to “gain traction” is to post stuff you like and enjoy. I think for the main thing for almost all of my posts is that I think people can tell when I really love something. Like BTAS, a lot of cartoony styles, I’m a huge fan of and I think people can tell.

Passionate people will be drawn to other passionate people. They can tell because they also love the things I love. And if you’re doing it for a small fandom, try not to be sad if there aren’t that many interactions.. it’s really proportional. My previous fandoms were smaller, so the interactions are smaller.

Remember to make friends in your community. (I’m not good at this since my social meter is pretty small but I still try.) It’s crucial to balancing your mental health.

[basement-buddy]

i have a similar question to the posting art online anon, how long did it take before you really started to see results posting online? ive been doing it for um about a year? or so and havent had a lot of traction! and it can be a little disheartening to have stuff you work hard on end up with 0-1 likes 😞😞😞 im just curious if there is more i can be doing or if im doing something wrong !

Honestly it works out differently for everyone! I have been posting my art online for 10 years next year, and I only really started getting decent attention on my stuff about 5 years ago, and it only actually really turned into huge traction on my IG about say, 3 or 4 years ago now?

Based on that experience alone I think the biggest thing to take away from this is that the hard part is just getting the ball rolling because once it’s going, it snowballs gradually on its own. I can tell you how I personally grew any of my accounts but I can’t guarantee that it’ll work for everyone!

1- Consistent posting, this is especially big if you’re starting out. You don’t have to share big finished pieces daily. Post a 2 minute doodle from your phone! A WIP of a painting you’re doing for school, do a zoomed in sneak peek of that real nice drawing you’re doing in your personal sketchbook. It doesn’t matter, just try and post a little snippet like once every 2-3 days. Never feel pressured to finish a drawing every single day, just share your art journey even if in fragments.

2- interacting with others!!! I’m going to be so honest with you, internet users are very nosy people. Very curious. If you frequently comment, interact with online users you want to be lumped with (in your case, artists), then people will see your account appearing alongside the people they’re following and start checking you out. Leave comments on your favorite artists’ post, ask questions on a post regarding your favorite fandom, etc! At one point in 2022, I got a huge influx of followers simply because I shared a headcanon regarding Princess Jellyfish, and the other commenters that saw it checked my profile and saw that at the time, I had Princess jellyfish fanart on my profile!

3- there’s a lot of people that tell you to follow art trends, while others say only to draw exactly what you want, and in my opinion, only do art trends if you can combine them with your interests and art. Don’t force a trend if you don’t really want to. In my personal experience, engaging in art trends only really works for me if I draw my favorite fandom in place of the meme, or a silly picture of my ocs. Don’t feel pressured to overperform in art trends, either. Just be yourself, do what you do best, and the boost of a trend will push you to people who will actually stick around because they like what you do!

And finally, something to keep in mind, is that LOTS of great artists go under the radar. A follower count does not determine your skill, your worth or your value. You can have beautiful art and very few people will notice for years. Just do what you love, and have fun.

[ladamedusoif]

It might be the cold meds talking, but I feel like I need to have a ramble about writing - partly because I’ve seen a few “you write for YOU and whatever you WANT” posts over the last few days, some of which have been spot on and some not so much.

To clarify: this post isn’t about me. Or at least, it’s MOSTLY not about me. It’s just some observations about fic.

This is a lovely and important message. Ultimately, we do all write for ourselves. Of course we do.

But saying “write for you and only for you!” is easier when you’re someone who routinely gets hundreds of notes on a fic within the first couple of hours. Or when you’ve got a massive audience already. Or when you write something that seems to get more attention than anything else in terms of popular characters and tropes (ahem Joel age gap smut ahem).

Trends come and go in literature of all kinds, whether properly published works or fics. That’s par for the course.

But the problem is when it feels like only a certain kind of story gets any attention. When stories with real heart and love and care and feeling seem to be routinely ignored because they don’t fit the bill: they’re slow burns, they don’t involve popular tropes, but they’re proper stories that could exist without any connection to the fandom they’ve been written for.

And, worse, when the people writing those stories start to feel deeply disheartened and as if it’s just not worth it.

We talk a lot about anon hate (spoiler: don’t do it) and nine times out of ten that seems to be based on the idea of people writing potentially triggering or taboo topics saying they’ve received “hate”. (Sometimes this is actual hate and sometimes it’s genuine, considerate questioning around warnings etc.)

Thing is: the people writing the ‘unpopular’ stories get hate - genuine, real, nasty hate - too. This post isn’t really about me, but as an example: I’ve not turned on anon asks in months, because of the last shitfest. And I’m not alone, because I know what people have had sent into their inbox in response to the most inoffensive, sweet stories. It baffles me.

All this is to say - I wish people would be a little bit more open in what they want to read, and would recognise that “anon hate” isn’t just about puritanical prudes trying to “tell people what to write” as seems to be the general assumption. People keep trying to put a bit more diversity out there in the fic buffet, to write loving and carefully crafted stories, and for all the “write it for you” posts it still feels like it doesn’t matter. Like no one wants it. And that’s when writers start to think they’re awful, their ideas are bad, their style is weak.

Worse? They get shitty, mean-spirited asks and comments. (Even if it’s not “hate”. I’m still baffled by the people who say they couldn’t finish a one-shot of mine because there wasn’t a significant age gap between the Reader and the male character… but I don’t think that’s strictly hate, as such. Dispiriting, though.)

And what happens then? They stop writing. The stories cease. And the fic buffet becomes more and more one-note, more and more dictated by prevailing winds and a particular kind of purple prose style. And the readers - who might have found those stories if more people had engaged with them and reposted and shared them - wonder why no one seems to write for them.

A while back I wrote a tag that was something like “there’s room for everything”. Unfortunately, that “everything” remains a little limited, at least in terms of what actually seems to get picked up and gain traction. And “there’s room for everything” doesn’t mean that all writers are above reproach, either.

Try something new, people. Give a soft story a go. Who knows, you might like it.

[lieu-rey]

yeah I'm aware of it, and the way I found out was kinda wild bc I literally opened my twitter the other day and the very first thing I see is my own art. I was dumbfounded to say the least lmao. im still not gonna put this person on full blast bc i dont want them getting a bunch of hate for this. regardless, thank you so much for letting me know, i really do appreciate it!

and I actually was gonna make a post about this since I've always allowed reposts with permission, it was in my bio for literal years, but it seems like people could never respect my bare minimum request of at least telling me that they're gonna repost my art. I've said yes to every person whos asked for my permission, honestly bc I'm just so thankful to them for honoring that.

I think the worst part is that for too long now, i thought so little of my own work that I didn't care that much where it went. and now I realize that I make this art with my own hands with years of practice and years of improvement and hours of work, I enjoy making it and i get to put boundaries and put in an effort to protect it. while I share it here so that I can share my silly drawings with others that can enjoy it too, there's something disheartening about a repost getting way more traction than my original post, especially on a completely different site. I understand that if I wanted alot more people to see my art then I'd post it myself on twitter (and not everyone has a tumblr either), but that doesn't give other people a right to post it for me. not to mention the fact that they're exposing my art to AI scraping on other websites, even when I go through the effort of glazing/nightshading it.

basically, I'm not allowing reposts anymore. not that that'll do much in the grand scheme of things but I'm just not about it anymore bc im sick of not being given the barest modicum of consideration.

moral of the story: for the love of fucking god have some goddamn respect for artists. no matter their skill, no matter how they feel about reposts.

[bennizone]

How do you deal with starting out posting art and it going kinda rough? I work really hard and it only gets two likes and then just sinks to the bottom of tags within a few days. It kinda kills my drive to make anything.

(I've been away for the holidays, havent had time to answer these!! might be from the same person? either way,)

I didn't get much traction in the beginning either - I remember getting 1-2 likes, too. It definitely feels really disheartening. I'm trying to remember what helped...Here's my thoughts:

1: whenever you see art that you like, COMMENT! especially on art from artists that are the same place as you, yanno, just starting out and/or their art journey is at a similar point. It helps sooo much to not only see BIG POPULAR NAMES on your dash all the time, so try to mingle with people that are gonna resonate with you on an even level.. It's more healthy to feel invested in online art because you share growth and exploration with others alongside you, rather than racing against people who already are super established following-wise or expertise-wise.

2: Why are you posting? I want to spark passion, joy, and inspiration in others!!! when I stay true to those words, my art seems to reach more people, because my soul is in it, which resonates better = more people like it and share it! It sounds like you're already putting a lot of effort in, so that's awesome, try your best not to lose the spark of joy. Take a break if it gets too rough, and try to clear ur head and return to the mindset of WHY you're posting in the first place. And pls don't be afraid to change your purpose if you ever want to, let urself evolve, it's normal! 3: I used to get 1-5 likes, and now I get an average of 100-300 on twitter and tumblr (sometimes i get more if my post suddenly gains traction but yanno)... and, on Insta (which I only started using recently, but ofc some ppl followed from other platforms) it's more like 15-60 on average. Some people would consider these numbers miniscule... I don't consider any of my posts "flops", I just have a smaller audience than some other artists. Also, I almost only draw OC-art, so it's more niche...... All that to say, give it time, especially if you havent figured out your Goal yet and you're still trying to figure out why you're posting/what kinda posts you wanna share, or if your art is kinda niche. There's a lot of reasons why you might still not have a lot of reach.

recap: If you manage to find some sorta goal and you interact with peers, and try to remind yourself you're still growing, I think you'll get to a place where u feel more satisfied! i wish you lotsa luck, this stuff is hard. the internet can feel pretty hostile tbh, please never blame/shame yourself from feeling sad sometimes, cus it's rly unfair. We just have to do what we can and try to stay true to ourselves!!!

this got rly long, i hope it's helpful to anybody who read it!! love u all!!!! xoxo benni

[something-tofightfor]

2023 Year End Summary

I usually use this post as a way to wrap up my year, and this one's no different.

See beneath the cut for some of the highlights of my year - and some thank you notes.

First story post of 2023: Competing For Christmas 6.2 - Let It Snow (The Scavenger Hunt)

Last story post of 2023: The Epilogue of Snow and Mistletoe (which will be posted later tonight)

Most Surprising Thing I Wrote in 2023: Wing Pit Daniel. Who the hell thought this would be a thing? Certainly not me.

Daniel + Vacation /First and 10  / Daniel + Beer / Daniel - Distracting Kiss / Smutsgiving: Sweet Potato Casserole

Something I never thought I'd write in 2023: Sex Pollen for Marcus Pike.

Things I'm proud of writing in 2023:

Tim Rockford Headcanons and the resulting Black Days

Liminality

Joel Miller: NSFW ABC's / All I Ever Needed / Everybody's Waiting For The Next Surprise 1 + 2

Over the course of the year, I wrote just under 434k words on a total of 23 series/stories/events.

This is 65k below where I wanted to be - but I definitely got sidetracked during a few months - including a few where I took vacations or my mental health was in the toilet.

My goal for next year will be 500k words again, but I'm going to set some specific goals for my writing, including finishing a few things that I've neglected for far too long. That includes:

Slopeside

Buried

Locked Down

Caught On

It's Dangerous To Fall In Love

Nightingale

I'm also going to finally release Baseball Jack in his entirety on you in 2024... get ready. I'm not going to lie - 2023 was disheartening from a writing standpoint for a lot of reasons.

Engagement was way down, the same small group of authors and stories seemed to be the only ones getting any sort of traction in the Pedro fandom, plotlines and characterization that I have no interest in writing or reading were the craze - especially for Joel, and actual feedback on things was almost nonexistent.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not proud of what I wrote, how I wrote it or why I wrote it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'd rather have smaller numbers overall and be absolutely happy with what I've put out and how long it took me to do so than rush things to hop in on current popularity or hope for instant success with a story.

My writing process hasn't changed - and while I appreciate and have respect for people that can and do post things without editing or rereading or sitting on their work and letting it settle, I've never done that, and I never will. I'll also never hold my stories 'hostage' or threaten to keep new chapters under wraps until engagement improves or I hit a certain number of likes/followers/etc. That's unfair - and for something that's supposed to be fun for both writers and readers, it's baffling to me when people do this.

And now on to the fun part: I read some amazing work from some amazing authors this year. The list includes but is not limited to:

@the-blind-assassin-12 @oonajaeadira @littlemisspascal @wildemaven @trulybetty @morallyinept @prolix-yuy @tessa-quayle @grogusmum @whataperfectwasteoftime @keldabe-kriff @katareyoudrilling @undercoverpena ... and so many more. You're able to do things with words and storylines that is SO impressive. We're all lucky to see and read your work. If I didn't include you, please know it's not on purpose. And it's not only writing: it's art, too. @stealyourblorbos @valkblue @thekawaiifruitworld @versatileginger @saminadorazahi @be-an-echo ... your talent is endless. thank you for sharing.

There are so many talented people in this fandom that I wish I had more time to read and admire their work. That's one of my goals for 2024: to consume more content from people on tumblr and A03 and share it. I know I need to do better with this. I know I've been slacking. I don't want to do that anymore. My goal for 2024 is also to make some new friends on here, because to be truthful, I feel a little on the outskirts of so many friend groups, and that's no fun. So if you'd like to message me or say hello or interact, please feel free to do so. I'm also on Discord - somethingtofightfor is my username there. If we've interacted in any way throughout this year, please know that I appreciate you. I thank you for taking the time to read my work or reach out to me. I see all of the comments and messages even if I don't reply right away (something else I'm going to work on getting better about in 2024!!!) Happy New Year to all of you - I hope 2024 is bright and warm and filled with love and support. You deserve it.

[scratchybongvt]

Why It's Important to Link Back to Sidemascots Episodes

I’m writing this because I need to get something off my chest about my series, Sidemascots. We’re well into double digits now, with Episode 11 coming later this week, and while I’m thrilled that people are engaging with it, there’s something that’s really frustrating me.

When people illustrate parts of Sidemascots, they’re not linking the related episodes in their posts. This matters. Recently, @lettucecookiebrainrot7 created two amazing illustrations for Sidemascots Episodes 1.4 and 1.10, and while they tagged me, they didn’t link the episodes that inspired their work. Their post got attention from several users like @vitorcdv, @coro-nana, @thebfdifan, and @azulisumy0-0, yet none of that attention seems to have translated to people actually checking out the episodes themselves.

I know, Tumblr doesn’t show view counts, but when the fan art gets more traction than the episodes behind them, it’s disheartening. Sidemascots is my passion project—something I’ve poured my heart into. I didn’t create it to fade into the background. I’m not expecting it to go viral, but I do want it to reach the amount it deserves, even if that’s just 20 people, not 50,000.

Some may think the content is too dark to share—it’s true, Sidemascots is dark humor. I use edgy topics for comedic effect, but it’s never intended to offend. If you’re uncomfortable with that, that’s fine. But if you get the humor and still don’t link back to the episodes, there’s no excuse. If you love a series, you should share the episodes with your audience. Simple as that.

I know this project isn’t about instant fame, but it’s been three weeks and we’re already 10 episodes in. The least I want is for people to read the episodes when they appreciate the fan content that’s been inspired by them. I’m actively trying to improve the series and removed content labels to make it more accessible, even if it involves a few risks.

So here’s what I’m asking: if you’re going to illustrate something from Sidemascots, link the relevant episode. It’s not a mandatory rule, but it’s something you probably should do if you really want to support the series. Let’s keep Sidemascots from getting lost in the shuffle.

[wyattjohnston]

Hi Demi, I hope you are doing well! I just wanted to pop on here to commiserate with the anon that was explaining their frustrations about writing fics, really good ones at that, and it not getting the traction that it likely deserves. I have heard from a few mutuals (and sometimes myself) that feel the same frustrations. I know I try to temper my expectations, knowing full well that the player I have chosen to write about does not have a huge presence on here - or maybe Tumblr is about as dry as the desert in summer. I just wanted to say to the anon that it is discouraging sometimes when you're proud of what you've written but then it's sort of crickets after awhile. It's know it's hard to feel encouraged. Even though I really enjoy piecing together stories and I write primarily for myself, sometimes a little extra pat on the back goes a long way. So really, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your suggestions and being so thoughtful with your response. I am always amazed with all the organizing you do for the fic exchanges as well - I cannot begin to imagine the amount of work that goes into the entire process.

I hope the anon knows it's not an reflection of their work. Please try and keep going (of course if you still want to). Even if it's just 5 or 50 or 500 responses that you receive - we need you here ❤️

Thanks for dropping by, it’s always nice to know you’re not alone in these sorts of feelings.

Summer on hockeyblr is definitely hard. The most disheartening part is that it did used to feel/look harder? So I think it’s hard to really look at the notes other people are getting and realise that some people do disappear from tumblr during the summer, and that whilst other people are getting good engagement, the people who might read for slightly left of field players aren’t necessarily around? But it’s also impossible to know

Writing for validation is normal. Not a lot of people will admit it, and I would love to say that it’s truly about writing for yourself but, yeah, hearing what other people like about your work is the best. If we were truly writing for ourselves we wouldn’t be posting it for other people to read

I might need to run the census again, but that doesn’t ever really clear anything up either so idk

Thank you, the exchange is simultaneously incredibly fun and incredibly stressful but I do do it for the community and make this all feel a bit more united

It’s definitely not a reflection of their work. Every writer here has their audience and would be missed if they left

[stevebabey]

I just read your x reader post (and the anon response to it) and good Lord you are right. I read your whole rant and I felt it in my bones!!

I've been in this damn app for over 10 years, and written for almost as many fandoms, and I'll say that the x reader tag has NEVER been this bad. It's not just st, it's nearly all of the ones I've seen and it's just gone down hill. It's really so fucking sad.

I was huge in the SVU fandom, and there were So! Many! Writers! We all reblogged eachothers fics and not everything had to be about sex to get notes! We LOVED when reader kissed the character for the first time because we understood that it was the yearning, the 'Oh God finally I'm having you' and not all about just fucking! God now even the most hastly written, shitty smut gets thousands of notes just because it's smut. It's so fucking disheartening. I've written a few things for st (one of which is the piece I'm most proud of, ever) and it got like, 100 notes on here. That's it, but I swear some 'popular' writers get so much traction just because they write smut poorly.

And not to sound like a boomer (cause I'm not a SWEAR) but the tik tok-ification of fandom and fanfic is ruining it! The lack of reading comprehension, the fact that reader has to be as description-less as possible or else "its not realalistic, I'd never do that, etc etc" makes me wanna rip my skin off. Fanfic used to be an outlet for so many people but the way its treated now makes it near unbearable.

(I'm so sorry I went on a rant you don't have to post this but just know that I agree with you 110%)

RANT! RANT! RANT! i’m so happy to hear people’s rant, i talk about these issues a lot with friends in dms and it’s very vindicating to hear it’s something that has bugged and annoyed more people than just me !

yes omg the way x reader fics have shifted over the last 10 years is INSANE— hearing that it’s not just stranger things unfortunately doesn’t make me feel much better lmao

i’ve picked this fight before back when i was in the spidey fandom because of this EXACT reason — where i was like hey…… sometimes things that have more notes….. are worse - because people have this insane thing where they will judge a fic? based on? its notes? and its like buddy how do u think a fic gets ANY notes if you act like that. truly its the worst, writers that are already big just keep getting boosted (even if they just write characters nasty fucking which is! ur prerogative! but it shouldnt be SUCH a factor in being popular/getting your fics read)

i’m not pointing fingers but yes i know a couple blogs that get HYPED because they both A) write smut constantly and B) write fast. and isn’t that just such a kicker if you can’t and don’t want to do those things? like even though it means nothing, there is no correlation between writing slow = bad writing, this site reflects that SO much because they never give that shit the notes it deserves

tiktok-ification god ur so right. it’s the way the mindset has shifted from these being wips, writing, pieces that you develop into instead content. consumable content. there’s such a disconnect between people that read shit tons of fic and the realisation that it’s produced by a person. they just hit the like button and go on anon to ask for an update and it’s like buddy it can’t work that way! the same way u like to read fic, writers want validation and engagement and questions and motivation!!! talk about biting the hand that feeds you 😭

[grabs ur shoulders and presses our foreheads together] we’re not crazy. it used to be better and we can make it better in time <3