#that i might work on next once i've worked on some owed art stuff next week

[catgirlhell]

update stuff

because friday is my art posting day i've literally been in a conundrum about stuff... like not every commission that comes my way is some big bitch!!! and i kinda built a brand for awhile on posting my big beautiful catgirl on fridays. im slowly working through like. doing this stuff As A Job™ (which is insanely difficult believe me) while still being aware that im on a time limit because i'll be back at school in the fall...

but im almost through my queue! i'll be starting my last wips tomorrow and then probably reopening slots early on in the week! once im through this current queue honestly i'm probably gonna. not do stuff for a week or so as i take care of other stuff (i have a completely different job in ttrpg work, believe it or not).

the next batch of commission slots will be a bit pricier than the last and there'll be fewer, but its moreso because at my current rate its just not tenable! after i open slots again towards the end of this month, i'll probably open them one last time towards the latter half of august and that'll be it for the summer. i might take one or two here and there throughout the proceeding school year, but in all actuality im probably staring down the barrel of the most stressful one i've ever had.

ty to everyone who likes to come and look at my silly little drawings!!! getting to a stage in my life where it actually seems possible to subsist off of my commissions is really heartening, and i owe it to people who reblog and retweet and buy my services ;w;

happy fat girl friday night gay people!!!! im gonna keep drawing big bitches!!!!!!!!

[askshivanulegacy]

Is it acceptable for writers to demand (only favorable) feedback from readers? I've seen writers defend that they write for free and because of that, what kind of a person would critique a freely given work? And is it right to blame the readers' lack of feedback for the loss of a writer's motivation? That because the readers don't make the writers feel appreciated enough, it's their fault? Is it even their responsibility to begin with? Thanks in advance!

I think if a writer isn't interested in critique, it's fair to say so. You see the same thing with artists. Some people just aren't ready for it, and some people aren't looking to employ it. As far as the work being free, I think it's totally fair to ask for feedback for something that was provided free of charge; it's honestly the least someone could do. People provide free feedback to things they pay for after all (restaurants, trip advisor, Google reviews, Amazon)... And you could look at that with the opposite point of view: why should I provide free feedback if I've already paid you for the thing? Because it helps them, and helps other people. People like to critique stuff. Writers have the right to ask... but not expect or demand.People will give you different answers to the motivation question. My answer will always be that if you outsource your motivation - relying only on feedback to keep you going - you're wrong. And it's only a matter of time before you're dead in the water. Because one day you might not get the amount of feedback you need (and you see that the need for more and more feedback just keeps growing with artists who have only 5 notes vs artists who get 500 - both feel like they don't have enough. So it will never actually feel like enough). And once you don't have that feedback, you quit. But that's a ridiculous line of thinking, because you're relying on a bunch of people who AREN'T YOU and who you have no control over to keep you going on something that's yours, not theirs. You don't see other hobbyists folding just because someone doesn't comment on their work. Most hobbyists do their hobby for themselves - woodworking, quilting, model building, sports, etc. So everyone with a hobby - to include writing and art - needs to develop an internal source of motivation. Or be able to find it in something that can't tell you no, like photographs and other artwork. That's the only way to succeed long term. Other people can and will pick you up, but you can't rely on that all the time. You need to have that internal strength, and if you don't, then spend time developing it. Your will is the only thing standing in the way of your next masterpiece, and you're deluding yourself if you put the responsibility on anything else.It will never be the readers' responsibility to provide motivation. It's a really, really nice thing to do. But the readers' lives are their own and they owe an author nothing. Remember, the author started writing on their own. Nobody starts solely for the purpose of feedback, they start because they have characters and a story they want to create. And the act of posting is me sharing with you. Don't lose sight of that. You can't share and expect something back; that's not how sharing works. If I expect nothing and demand nothing but I DO get something back? Then I know that person felt compelled to give me that completely on their own, and that's worth more than trying to wring something out of them by guilt tripping or refusing to write until I get more feedback. Nobody has time for that. Write because you want to. Comment because you want to. But not for any other reason.It would be amazing to change reader culture to provide feedback that writers want. But that's not a trivial thing; it's huge, and it will happen slowly and not by guilt tripping, because you're trying to change a TON of people. But what is one thing you can change right now to provide immediate results? What is the one and only thing that you actually have control over? Yourself.