Current annoyance: I keep clicking kudos button on AO3 and then that fucker announces:
I don’t care. Some things just deserve more kudos.
Comments are also effective…
I just thought of something.
A lot of people say they don’t leave comments because they can’t think of anything to say other than “I liked this” and they think it’s dumb or something.
So how about… You leave a comment that says “This is an extra kudos” because you can leave as many comments as you like, but you can only leave a max of two kudos (one logged in, one logged out). You can do this on every chapter if you want! “Extra kudos in comment form!” You get to express your extra love in an introvert-friendly way! 😀
This is an amazing idea, and this post needs ten thousand notes.
good
I have fics that have been on AO3 since the site went up, and occasionally I get comments like “Just reread this again,” or “I come back to read this sometimes, it’s as good as I remember.”
From my perspective, those single sentences are AMAZING feedback. It’s really awesome to know someone liked a story enough to circle back to it. Never, ever hesitate to leave a comment like this – it’s always appreciated.
I wish that book reviews were presented the same way as fanfiction reviews:
“AFHAKFHDKFHAKHFADSKFHKDFDKJHFKJAD” –The New York Times
“OMG I CANT EVEN WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO THEM” –The Wall Street Journal
“you asshole im crying now” –NPR
“AHH THAT WAS SO CUTE THANK YOU! I’ll publish that book I said I’d write for you like next week, I’m a little busy right now but I LOVE THIS” –Sarah Dessen
the lesson for today, class, is when to use epithets rather than names or pronouns — and when not to.
USE EPITHETS:
– when the character’s name is unknown, so there’s really no other way to refer to them:
Two goons in suits blocked my way. “You ain’t going nowhere,” said the ugly mook. The even-uglier mook just grinned.
– to draw attention to the role or function described:
Bill was so excited to meet Obama, he was a little worried he’d end up remembering today as the day he threw up on the president.
– as in-character commentary to flesh out the POV’s voice:
You stand back and nudge the door open with your toe in case of falling buckets, but it seems the windy dipshit has given up on that particular tired prank.
(NOTE: use this last one SPARINGLY. consider your own internal monologue. how often do you think of people by anything but their names? too much of this trick breaks immersion.)
DO NOT USE EPITHETS:
– to avoid using pronouns.
– to avoid using names.
– to remind the reader of physical characteristics you should’ve described elsewhere.
– to remind the reader of physical characteristics they already know perfectly well because they wouldn’t even be reading your damn fanfic if they weren’t familiar with canon, come ON people.
– to try to sound erudite or poetic.
– for any other stupid reason. i’m serious. i will come over there and hit you.
fivepercent 