#fanfic reading

[destiel-wings]

AO3 easy trick: sometimes when I want to leave a comment on a fic but I dont know what to say specifically I'll just paste my favorite line(s)/little paragraph and then write something like "I loved this so much/this fic is amazing" or even just a string of hearts.

writers love knowing what lines stuck the most and this way you don't need to elaborate too much of your own

[purpleyin]

Do you ever have those rarepair fics that you are so proud of but only a handful of people are ever likely to read? And it makes you sad to think it's never going to be well-read.

Except maybe there's well-read (in quantity of readers) and well-read, in how much those readers adore it, beloved and reread by a precious few it is precious to, too. Maybe it doesn't need so many to appreciate it when those that do appreciate it so intensely.

[ziorite]

ao3: hi everyone here’s ur psa about the maintenance happening on july 1 in a big yellow box highlighted for your convenience !! we’re leaving it up for a good long while so no one misses it and is taken by surprise :))

me: *registers the existence of said yellow box every single time i open ao3*

also me on july 1: by talos this can’t be happening

[runawaymarbles]

I love reading fics for fandoms I'm not in because I constantly get characters confused and it makes things more entertaining. I constantly read "Ronan" as "Rodney" and vice versa. Which tbf isn't as bad as the Gwen-Gwaine-Gaius problem I had with Merlin.

[thelucyverse]

Keep fandoms alive, comment on more fanfics!

The do‘s and don’ts of fic reviews

Because a friend told me she never knows what to write and then never comments, but wants to learn how to do better, I thought I’d compile a list, and maybe it will help someone else as well!

As always, this is unofficial and just from my personal experience writing and reading fic, and talking with other fic authors.

My posts on beta reading | ao3 bookmarks

What to comment

Honestly, authors love friendly comments, no matter how small. Here are some ideas for short comments you can write to pretty much any fic you enjoyed:

I loved it!

Great fic!

Thanks for writing this!

Thanks for sharing your fic with the fandom :)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 10/10 perfection

So happy I found this!

Reading this made my day

I had fun reading this

You’re a great writer!

Love your writing style

<3<3<3

Amazing!

Kudos!

If you want to write something a bit longer, you can for example

Tell the author where you have been reading the fic or what you were doing while reading it

Tell the author what you should have been doing instead of reading fanfic (and that it was worth it to read the fic)

Copy a passage (or several) from the fic you particularly enjoyed

Did the author write a note at the end or beginning of the fic? Maybe even ask a question? Sometimes you can reply to author’s notes in your comment

How did the fic make you feel? Happy, made you cry, made you laugh, made you jealous of a character, or made you want to punch an antagonistic character’s nose in? Write it in the comment!

Is it your first fic in a fandom or with a ship? Your favorite fic in a fandom, or with a specific character? Did you read it in one go? Did you savour it slowly reading over days or weeks? Have you enjoyed every update of a multi-chapter? Do you wish you could read it again for the first time? Write anything you want to let the author know about your reading experience!

Is there a character you particularly enjoyed in that fic/chapter? Tell the author you think they wrote xy character really well!

You can always start or finish your comment with one of the suggestions from the short comments to make sure the author knows you liked it :)

If you really don’t know what to write, or are reading fic in a language not your own (though authors usually don’t mind you commenting in your native language) and aren’t comfortable commenting in either language, you can also leave emojis as comments, for example variations of:

for any fics:❤️💕💜💗💞💓💖💟🤩😍🥰

for humor fics: 😂😆🤣🤪💯

for shippy fics/getting together: 🎉💖🥳💋💘💏👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💑👩‍❤️‍👩👨‍❤️‍👨🫶

for angst or hurt no comort: 🥹😭🤯😱🫣😢💔❣️❤️‍🩹🖤 maybe still include a ❤️heart in there so the author can be sure you still liked it!

for smut/pwp: ❤️‍🔥💯🫣😋🤩🥵😈🤯🫦

There are even some stickers you can comment by copying the html! A few tumblr posts with stickers to copy can be found here & here!

Don’ts

There isn’t much you can do wrong when writing comments on fic, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:

don’t criticize (unless negative critics/what they can do better has been specifically asked for by the author, and then stick to the kind of criticism asked for, and best try to include something positive too to soften the blow)

don’t demand more/ask for updates - you can tell the author you’d read it if they wrote more, but don’t put pressure on them, you don’t know what’s happening in their lives right now and for what reason new entries might have slowed down, and they don’t owe you regular or any updates!

don’t tell them what to write (unless the author is taking prompts, and in most cases the comment section is not the right place for prompts, check what the author specified)

Remember: Fan fiction are free, from fans for fans, so etiquette is a bit different than in the Amazon reviews of books you paid good money for! Fic authors don’t have to cater to you, just enjoy that there are fics shared with the fandom :) If you don’t like something, or don’t like a part of something, either close the tab or quietly ignore the issue and just enjoy the parts you do like.

And in general, to end this on a positive note:

Yes, you can comment on older fanfics!

Yes, comment on several fics in a row if you’re reading through fics by one author!

Yes, comment on as many chapters of the same fic as you like!

Yes, you can make art for the fic and tell the author about it!

Yes, absolutely tell the author if you’re still thinking about a fic hours/days/years… after reading it!

Yes, send authors asks on tumblr/other sites talking about how you love their fics, if they link these sites in the author’s notes! (But also comment on Ao3)

Yes, you can comment/review even if you don’t have an account (at least on Ao3 and ffnet)!

Yes, please let the author know if you’re reading a fic for a second time, even if you just write ‘re-read kudos!’

The best comments are also written directly on the site the fanfiction got posted on (so usually ao3/ffnet and not tumblr/discord), both because it makes the note count higher, and because then the comment won’t quickly get buried under unrelated messages or posts.

If you want to leave long comments about different parts of a fic or chapter, you can also make use of the floating Ao3 comment box! It allows you to type your comment while you're still reading, without having to leave the page!

Some more kinds of comments on another post

[sarcasticsciencefictionwriter]

Since the holidays are coming up, we all know that fic reading is going to skyrocket, for various reasons.

So, to anyone that is using fic as an escape/break this holiday season:

COMMENT

Fic writers are going through the same holidays and everything that comes with it as you, and getting a comment to let them know you appreciate their fics will one hundred percent brighten their holidays.

[djevelbl]

Let's go I'm finally reading this (my drawing pen is charging at THE MOST inconvenient time lol)

[working-dreamer]

Looking for a lost Nightmare Before Christmas fanfic that used to be very popular in the 2000s:

Tumblr I’m gonna need your Internet powers to find this.

Does anyone know of an old Nightmare Before Christmas fanfic called The Bone Collector? It was on an old school fandom website and unfortunately seems to be dead now. I found the web archive of the first chapter but the rest seems to be lost.

If you might know of the fic or know how wayback machine works I’d really appreciate help to find the rest of this fic. (Bonus points if you’re familiar with it and might have it saved somewhere? Very small chance I know but I’m getting desperate).

We lost a lot of creative writing when social media shifted the way we navigated the internet away from dedicated fandom websites. Help me recover just this little bit of Nightmare Before Christmas fandom history.

Anyway here is the web archive link of chapter one that has been recovered: https://web.archive.org/web/20170427180654/http://www.nightmarebeforechristmas.net:80/fanstuff/fanfiction/608

Any help to find the other chapters would be greatly appreciated! I know some of y’all used to print out fic on the school computers to read during class. If this fic is familiar to you and you might have it saved on an old doc somewhere please let me know!

[mamiferoaquaticoprehistorico]

People of the snape fandom, I crave "severus leaves hogwarts" fics, can yall give me some recs? Bonus points if he leaves Britain all together

I use mostly AO3, but I feel like I've already read all there is to read in this tag lol so I'm open to other sites (read: I'm desperate)

I know of FF but I don't know how to use search on there, so ima asking for help here

[falling-star-cygnus]

can't believe i missed the Ao3 Shut Down of November 2024 because i TOOK A NAP

idk if i should feel lucky or like i just slept through an apocalypse...

[fan-girls-r-us]

I guess AO3 is down again…

[fulltimesapphic]

I was reading a fic last night and it was 11:09. ‘Ok I’ll read till 11:11 make and wish and then go to bed.’ Then two minutes later it’s 11:57 and I’m finishing the fic.

[ink-stains-and-constellations]

Reading a fic that went from mistrustful strangers to kissing and confessions within the span of three chapters. What the fuck. Am I just confused because I'm aroace and this is how things actually work with allos???

[envythemouse]

Oddly enough, the thing I love the most about the Hannibal Fandom is the extended universe.

Sure, I read and ship Hannibal/Will, but you know what I love even more? A Hannibal doppelganger that treats Will better and makes him happier than Hannibal ever could.

Nigel/Will was simply meant to be, he has a shirt with dogs on it ffs! Nigel could love Will the way he deserves to be loved, and still make Will embrace his own dark side without needing to frame him for murder.

It's my favourite pairing in the fandom, to be honest. Hannibal meeting Nigel and feeling replaced/jealous makes it even better.

Same with Duncan, Lucas, One Eye etc.

[worrynoodle]

People who don't leave Kudos - genuine question - why not?

I will see the hits be like 2,442 and there will only be about 150 Kudos, it just seems like a strange ratio. I am still fairly new to all this so I'd really like to know.

Is it that you didn't enjoy it? Or are you embarrassed about reading it (Maybe because it's smutty or what have you)? Is it an anxiety thing?

I'd love to know!

I can understand having less comments than hits because it's a lot more effort/anxiety inducing (still, try to leave a comment) but I struggle more with why someone wouldn't leave a quick kudos. Or do rereads count as a separate hit? Idk.