2014 Resolution: Take a Hint, Aiselne!
Happy new year everybody! Are you as thrilled as I am that the holiday hoopla is finally over? :D Been busy at my job, but I have noticed matters have settled down tremendously now that everybody’s off the holiday high and returning to normal. My hours will be changing again, not for the better I might add, and that wasn’t exactly a welcomed new
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I'll admit--I was in a pretty crappy mood when I wrote that entry, and in hindsight I know I was frustrated about a lot of other things besides fanfiction (my job's been rocky lately, but that's another story/rant entirely). But I am still very disappointed with the FFnet community right now. I don't know WHAT readers want anymore, and frankly I don't care--I write what I want, and perhaps that's my downfall. I don't write the super-sappy, cliché-riddled crap that seems to hoard all the attention.
It's funny that you mentioned how you believe you're writing your best nowadays--I feel the same about my writing, and I think that's one major frustration. I'm not arrogant enough to believe I'm a top-notch writer or anything, but I do believe my writing has improved over the years. Yet, the "better" I think I'm getting as a writer, the less readers seem interested. I dun get it. @_@
But I think a lot of this lack of reception boils down to sheer laziness on readers' behalf. I too am slow with my reviews but I DO review eventually, and I think that's better than not reviewing at all. But I don't expect every reader to write a huge review either--I'm happy with small ones, too--just SOMETHING to let me know how I'm doing. It really, really pisses me off when people favorite a story and never review, too; I *assume* they liked the story (else why'd they fave?), but as for "why" they like the story I'll never know. Is the story interesting? Was there a particularly memorable joke? Was the person unconscious and accidentally clicked the favorite button?! It drives me nuts.
But in fairness to FFnet, I'm equally (if not more so) angry with DeviantArt, its motto being, "DA loves you!" yet there's little to no love to be had for my stuff anymore. I share my deviations with multiple DA groups, too--they've got exposure, but evidently nobody's interested. I've got nearly 10 more Kuroshitsuji fanarts ready to be released, but I'm not bothering to publish them immediately because of the gross lack of interest. Maybe in the future.
I intend to continue writing (and drawing), but I'm focusing more on the actual writing/drawing and less on the publishing right now. I think it's important that I focus on fanworks for "myself." I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I do think it's easy for an author to forget "who" he/she is really writing for, and I do believe it should be oneself first and foremost.
For that reason (and to try something newer), I also joined another fanfic community, Archive of Our Own, in order to repost some of my personal favorite stories (stories *I* like, that make *me* happy, regardless of how the FFnet community received them). FFnet will still be my homepage, but I want AO3 to be a littler, cozier, supplemental nook (if that makes any sense). Plus, I think I need some fresh air in a newer fanfic community. I'm also looking for a better fanart website, but DA seems to have the monopoly right now.
Anyway, sorry for the ranting rambles. Thank you so much for empathizing with me. It's nice to know I'm not the only person who feels this way (and I consider you ten times more brilliant than me, hon). *big hugs*
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