dxmi-illustrates:

helliskylux:

*inhales*

Okay. So I heard a lot of people have been upset for not making it into follow forevers and fic recs. I know we keep saying that everyone is important. 

But here’s the thing.

There is something very wrong in the way fanfic authors and creators are received by the fandom right now. We, as a fandom, demand quality. We demand great characterizations, we demand fanons that adhere to what we believe, we demand fanworks that are on a professional level…

And yet sometimes that is not enough. 

Yes. Authors needs to grow. A lot of authors are perfectionist towards their works. And there is nothing wrong with that. 

But we seem to forget that to the core. Fanfictions are and is a collective effort. 

Fanfictions builds a community where budding writers grow. Fanfictions, are sometimes, an exchange between an author and their readers. Fanfictions are written with you, as an audience. Fanfictions are written with YOUR help. 

I know with a ton of quality content, it’s hard to “go back” and read stuffs that are not up to par with your standards. But. Know that the moment you have “standards” you cannot complain for the lack of work. 

But with the popularity of Ao3 and the boom of the amazing quality and long fics… soemthing went very wrong. Fanfictions authors were suddenly invisible? And the community turned into a cold consumption.

The moment you refuse to read a wip, you break the chain. 

Fanfictions… used to be a work of love between an author and their audience. Nowadays… it feels worse than a job. Feels like you’re screaming to a void. And then you see a post saying. “This work is the best and nothing can compare” which is an insult to your face. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad to have favorites. But do not, never, shut out other creators. Don’t. 

Because at the end of the day. Those authors. Are just like you. They write for the love of it. 

TL;DR: Make an effort to rebuild the community to be kind and fostering to new creators. Let fandom be the place where we improve and learn, not enter as a pro who cannot make mistakes. Make a collective effort to leave feedback and criticism. LET AUTHORS KNOW HOW THEIR WORKS MADE YOU FEEL.

I know this feeling like I’ve left fandoms because of this tbh. Since I know how this feels I wanna say:

Guys if you ever feel like this pls come and rec your fic to me. I’m always down for reading a fic and giving feedback! I wanna do what I can to support the amazing writers in this fandom and I may not be able to do much but I’m always here to read your works and be your cheerleader!