daredevilkink | Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

Oh, I definitely know the feeling. What's even worse is that when you write something ridiculously long, like 18,000 words, and get maybe two comments on it. It just seems wrong that you spent hours upon hours on something that no one seems to like much. And then you see someone else's story that you don't even think is written that well, and it has, like, 40 comments.

I try not to get discouraged too much, but I have my moments where the disappointment seeps through. Then again, I mostly write angsty gen whump that tends to focus on the same set of characters. Not everyone might be into that.

Also, you need to remember that people are inherently lazy. I'd say that at most ten percent of readers will leave a comment in the first place, probably less. And shamefully, quite often I myself don't comment on fics that I liked. Doesn't always have to do with the fact that I don't want to, sometimes it's just the technology that gets in the way.

I often read fic on my smartphone in bed when I'm about to go to sleep. Commenting with the phone is more cumbersome and difficult than with a normal keyboard. I often don't bother because of the extra effort. Longer fics, I usually download as epub and read on my eReader. Which is usually offline, and even if I did switch the WiFi on, it's terrible for browsing and especially typing things. I *never* comment when I'm on the eReader.

You also need to consider that not all of the hits you get on a story will mean that the person read it all the way through. They might just read a few sentences and then go away again if they realize it's not their cup of tea.

In the end, all you can do is be grateful for those few readers who do make an effort to comment, and maybe even reply to thank them. And also remember to comment on someone else's fic you like the next time you come across one.

Anon who commented above about low expectations and writing for yourself here again. :)

This is a well thought out response. Regarding a poorly written fic with 40 comments vs. a long, well-written one with only a few, I think you also have to take fandom likes and dislikes into account.

For example, if I wanted to pander and get a lot of comments from people here, there are definitely certain types of prompts that clearly everyone goes nuts for (like stories about Stick, or Matt/Foggy fluff, or Foggy whump). And there's nothing wrong with those - I've filled a couple of prompts like that, and they can be fun. But if I wanted to write a great Ben-fic, or a fic that gets into Karen's complexity, or a Marci fic, I bet you I'd be lucky if it got half the attention that something more fan headcanon-y and frequently discussed would, even if it was epic and worthy of the show itself.

Sometimes people aren't there for the writing itself, so much as the concept, or the romance, or the straight-up smut. Which is fine, because it's why new, young, or amateur writers can feel so comfortable in the fanfic community.

I've found that as someone who generally writes PG or teen-rated stuff, and dislikes crazy AUs, and loves to explore gen relationships and stay canon, I'm just kind of stuck hoping that the rare people who are actually are into those types of fics show up. My favourite fics I've ever written that I'm the proudest of always seem to be the ones that people comment on the least. Which I have learned to be okay with, because I write fics that interest me and that I find fun to write. Otherwise it just wouldn't be worth it to me to do.

Doesn't mean that sometimes I don't spend the first couple of hours after a fic goes up on AO3 refreshing my inbox thinking "Why don't you love me?" though.

Yep, this is true. As the person who writes the Daredevil selfcest in this fandom, I have incredibly low expectations (because I know most people aren't into it) and it's mainly me writing for myself. It's always a surprise when people tell me they've read the thing though.

(I for one am dying for good Ben or Karen centric fic, anon! I'd read and comment the hell out of that, lol)

DAYRT - Ha, I'm thinking about filling a Karen & Matt prompt that I'd like to tell from Karen's POV. That'd be a first for me. Not sure just how Karen-centric it'll be, though. Sometimes I have trouble hearing her voice in my head when I write.

Karen is really difficult to write for, I think. Especially because we still know so little about her.

SAYRT - Another "trick" how to get more comments is to post longer stories in chapter-increments, so that people comment on each chapter separately. But I don't like doing that, so normally I don't, screw the comments. Yes, of course I love getting feedback as much as the next gal, but after, what? -- 10-plus years of writing, I'm fairly confident and comfortable with what I write.

Agree on the fandom preferences, and I know what you mean. I think some authors also have kind of a "following", if they're very prolific and have written in other, popular fandoms before. If you've already got your own little fanfic clique around you, it's easier to get more comments. (FYI: That's not me.) :-P

I'm not sure who you are, but it sounds like I might have read some of your stories, since I'm a fairly uncompromising gen type of person. Canon-compliance is my thing, and I seldom venture outside the areas that are clearly canon-divergent. AUs don't normally interest me, and neither does the smut or the non-canon slash. I will read Matt/Foggy if it's not explicit or "weird", but gen is really my go-to place.

And I'm not saying there shouldn't be a place for any of that. Your kink is not my kink, and that's okay, right? To each their own, we all know how to skip certain fics and not click those that we don't fancy.

And don't get me started on my pet peeve of grammar, spelling and formatting. I can literally not read a story that doesn't have proper line breaks. I just can't, no matter how well it might be written otherwise. Luckily, I've seen very, very few in the Daredevil fandom that weren't top notch, so hooray for that! I'm also super happy that there's such an abundance of wonderful fic in general in this fandom. You don't find that very often. I'm having the best of times with all the great stories, be reading *or* writing.

Person up top who initiated the convo on fandom likes/dislikes here again.

If you would like to read some good, gen and fairly canon-compliant DD stuff I've written, I am here on AO3:

http://archiveofourown.org/users/enthusiasmgirl/

Also some fluff (because like I said, that's fun) and a mutant!Foggy WIP (which is kind of an outlier for me and why I love this meme!)

YOU, you're the one who made me loose words when reading World of Emotion. Don't worry about comments, you're making people speechless because of how good the fic is.

Awwww... thanks so much. *blushes*

I LOVE YOUR STUFF!!!! I already do comment, but I wanted to say it here because you're stuff is so good and you post semi-regularly and yeah. <3

SAYRT - Haha, don't I know you? I wrote "And So Our Ways Part" for you. And that second chapter is done and just waiting for the beta before I post it. I really should go back to some of your other stories, I'm not sure I've read them all. I know I've read "Mothers", not sure I commented on it. But I very much liked that one -- that I do remember.

(You should post a link to your fic, anon!)

I agree with this comment. I used to be really lazy about commenting or leaving kudos, but I've been more mindful of it lately because this is such a young fandom with only a small percentage of people willing to actually write fics for it, so I want to be as encouraging as possible.

SAYRT - Not sure if you mean me, but if you're talking about the 18,000 word story I referred to, that would be my fill for the "Matt has shingles" prompt: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4275270

It has five comments now (excluding my thank yous), and they're all lovely, and I'm real happy with that. More are always welcome, of course, but please don't feel obliged. Not every story/writing style is everyone's cup of tea.

ayrt

That one got filled?! Damn, sorry I missed it.

Yep, it very much got filled. And it was a wild ride. I spent about a week writing pretty much non-stop in my spare time. It was fun and great and all encompassing somehow. Those are the best writing experiences, when the story takes over your brain. I hope that translates in the story, because I was too impatient to get it beta'ed.

Oh god, yes. It's such an easy thing just to press the kudos button, or to say 'I really enjoyed reading this."

we all gotta look out for each other!

And, even if you have absolutely no idea what to say, you can rec it in the fic recs thread because even if we don't get comments, just knowing someone recced the fic means a lot. I've recced a bunch of fics in the thread even though I couldn't really find the words to express how good they all were.

Kudos and comments are especially important on Ao3, because those are two of four options for search criteria that people can use to sort fics by. (comments, kudos, hits, and word count).

You forgot bookmarks, if you REALLY liked the fic. (Yes, you can sort by number of bookmarks.)

^^^^
I wrote a, like, 10k word fic that didn't get any comments until a month after it was posted.

what fic? o_o

Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

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