#i've been discouraged/disheartened with the chapter lately

[sulphuricgrin]

Maybe instead of staring at my doc, I should actually attempt to write something

[humanpurposes]

There isn't any point to this, I'm just ranting.

Lately, posting fanfiction feels like screaming into the void.

This isn't to say I'm not grateful for those who do interact with my posts. Since I've started posting fanfiction I've gone through phases of having a lot of motivation, having little motivation. Phases of comparing how many notes I get compared to someone else, then reminding myself why I started writing fics in the first place, because I can do exactly what I want with something I write. And I so appreciate all the comments, likes, kudos and reblogs I get on my fics.

There can be a whole load of different reasons why engagement in fandom lately has been not great. Season 2 being a mess, toxicity and petty drama within the fandom, dwindling attention spans, general disinterest in HotD and ASOIAF. I get it. I haven't felt particularity inspired by the latest season, I'm not very 'Tumblr sociable' and tend to stick to a few mutuals, I also haven't been interested in reading as much fanfiction for a few months.

And if someone doesn't want to interact with me or my content, for whatever reason, that's their business and it's completely valid. I don't write to hit a certain number of notes or followers. I write because I enjoy it. I started posting because I thought there might be a few people out there on the internet who might like what I was doing. In a way I have found that, and I know I wouldn't have stuck with writing this long if I hadn't started posting. But I won't lie and say it isn't disheartening when you get nothing or very little back after putting a lot of time and thought into a chapter.

And on top of that, some comments are just... the worst. What goes through someone's head that they feel the need to read a fic they don't like, comment all the reasons why they didn't like it, AND insult a writer who has posted this FOR FREE. We're all doing this as a hobby. The fact that fanfiction is public is not an open invitation to criticise, all you're doing is discouraging people from sharing their works or writing altogether, which damages our community. Fanfiction is not content simply there for you to consume. It's a pure form of creativity (in my opinion), because it doesn't come from necessity or obligation. If you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it. Find something else, or go write a hateful review of an actual book on Goodreads because at least that author got paid.

Or even just people being so stubborn about their dislike of certain characters. I can't tell you how sick I am of people taking the existence of Alys Rivers so personally in fics. Or wishing death upon characters that are clearly central to the plot or main relationship in a fic (why are you reading an Aemond fic if you hate Aemond)??? This fandom can only operate in extremes, apparently. There's no room for nuance or emotional complexity and it's frustrating when someone projects that on a fic.

I don't really have a point to this. Read what you want. Read the tags first. Reblog posts to keep them alive. Ask writers about their fics and OCs. Be nice to people.

[silicon-tmblr]

My poll's leaning towards finishing the CGs before I showcase Chapter 1, which kinda surprised me... I do want to deliver on that, but the practicality of it is pretty low to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset or dropping the project or anything; it's just disheartening me a tiny tiny bit to think of how long it takes to. well. get things done haha. I'd say it's actually the opposite of losing interest and dropping the project; I'm so into it that I want things to go faster!

I'm the primary illustrator working on the CGs (my sibling Sebec started helping me with lineart recently, though I still do the sketches + colouring), but I'm also the writer and the one modding the game, which takes up my time as well. Lately in particular I've been distracted by my animation and fumbling with the game to get background references for the new CGs (I'm still not successful unfortunately).

So with that said... I'd like to try and open up development a little. If you're an artist confident enough in your skills and willing to join us in our Danganronpa-style shenaniganry, let me know! In particular, I could use more lineartists, but if you could imitate the CG colouring style that'd be a huge help! In the future I'd like to look into compensating people monetarily for their work, but... I'm not earning anything making this mod, and I don't plan to earn money directly from the mod either. If money comes up at some point, we can discuss our options then (most likely a flat commission?), but for now please don't expect anything!

...I'm not too sure I'll get any responses to this though haha but it was worth a shot

...And being something of a lone wolf I'm not sure I'll even end up accepting anyone into the team but. please don't let that discourage you if you wanna help out development! Although it probably will ahaha...

[foibles-fables]

rare vent incoming but I've had a discouraging couple of days--

been having a lot of trouble lately with this general overarching capital-F Fandom view I've seen--that one shot fics are unmemorable; one-dimensional; "junk food"; low-effort; lacking in depth; inherently less complex, immersive, satisfying, conducive to character development, etc. than multi-chaptered fics. The idea that they're not even worth reading.

It's...a bummer and a half to see and contend with. Especially in conjunction with the consume-consume-consume mindset that's sprung up in capital-F Fandom. One shots are a complicated craft with amazing potential, and it's disheartening that this isn't always recognized.

One shot writers, I see you <3

[iloveyou-writers]

I'm a writer. I've technically been a writer for a long time, but I stopped around 2019 and have recently decided to get back into writing because there were a few artists/writers who inspired me so much that I wanted to write a story. As I'm sitting here and typing out this ask, I have not only gained the confidence to upload my story out to the world, but I have a full timeline based around that story that I want to eventually share with everyone on Tumblr and the website where I upload my story.

However..., when I uploaded my more recent chapters, I started to feel...kind of jealous. Don't get me wrong, I love the people who take the time to read each of my chapters (and I know who some of my true followers are and I love them to death), but sometimes..., it gets hard for me to see other artists/writers to get hundreds and thousands of likes on any their stuff while I'm lucky to get a comment/like on my work.

So I wanted to ask you how do/did you get through it? How do/did you get through those though days where you see other artists/writers getting popular each and every day while you feel like you're putting all your effort into something and no one bats an eye?

I'm sorry this is a long ask, but this has been something that's been on my mind for a while that I wanted to ask. I saw some posts you made when you were sourpatch-encouragement and seeing those words of encouragement meant (and still mean) so much to me. I can't tell you how many times I teared up reading your posts cause it's such so nice to hear those positive words of encouragement during the tough days.

Thank you for everything. :) Your positivity, your encouragement, no matter what it is, I (as well as a few other people I bet) love everything you do to help encourage writers and artists. Thank you for being you. ❤️

First of all, thank you for the last part. Even the encourager needs encouragement that what they're doing and saying is helpful and making an impact sometimes, so thank you <3

Okay, so now to get into the question...

Honestly, I've been being asked "how do you/did you do this" a lot lately, mostly by my husband who's dealing with the death of a parent for the first time...

And I truly don't know. I just... do? I think I've just built such a hardened shell of stubbornness that even when I'm feeling discouraged, I just push through it? I've also got to be honest, I've restarted tumblr a lot. I've had many blogs.

Sometimes just getting a fresh start could really help because I could recurate my blog into whatever I wanted and sometimes having that freedom was enough to restart my brain in a way and allow me to give my all and learn from what did and didn't catch people's attention.

I'm also not a person that really cares about numbers. I mean, I do and I don't. I write because I adore the process of writing. Writing has literally saved me on so many occasions, so to me the act of writing itself is fulfilling enough not to need all the excess attention.

But you want my little secret that REALLY helped me?

It's friends. Having friends that I knew loved my writing, whose writing I loved. Having friends I could roleplay with when I was feeling discouraged about my WIPs... having friends that could reignite my fire when it was fizzling out... friends are a HUGE part of what has kept my fire burning for writing, especially at the beginning. :)

I do still get envious sometimes. No, I don't put all of my stock into stats but sometimes when you write paragraphs and paragraphs of writing, put in so much heart and effort into something and only get a few responses but then someone writes like one or two vague sentences and it blows up, it can be disheartening. But that's my problem. For me, it's a matter of "if I'm getting jealous, then I need to step back and reevaluate where my values really lie with this. Am I really doing this out of passion for it or do I want it to get attention."

I've done a lot of research on "marketing onesself." I actually have bought a few books on it, one that I'm passionately in love with... and that's also helped with my confidence, because I know if what I want IS for my writing to get seen and fire people up about it, I have tools to do so :)

--

So long story short: it's really hard. There are a lot of things I've had to do in response to these kinds of feelings. I think all writers deal with them on some level. But just know that your writing is still wonderful and still matters and makes a difference to those silent readers who may just be nervous and shy to interact with your works (and realizing that has been immensely helpful to me too with relaxing over the note jealousy).

Hope my prattling helps 😅

[fengreyfront]

I wanted to come and tell you personally how much you've inspired me. I've been out of touch with Eremika lately but I made a promise to myself that I would be more involved in the ship I love the most in this fandom, no matter how discouraged I feel by the work that's already been put out there. Touch really grabbed me and never let me go (thank the LORT), and I thank you for taking the time to complete such a masterpiece. Your story really left a mark on me. Thank you thank you thank you.

Awww, thank you so much Jazzy, you have no idea how much this means to me ;___; I really needed to hear something like this - was feeling quite disheartened at the lack of response/reviews after the slaving and the pestering about the last chapter. But I’m honored it had this much of an impact on you. 

Yes, keep on doing the Eremikas! I’m sure there will be a lot more content, and probably new shippers and new talent when the new season begins, so there is hope for moar Eremikas in the near future :D