That sounds a bit like impostor syndrome. If people are praising your fanfics that generally means that they like them. It's highly unlikely someone is going to waste their time gaslighting you into thinking I enjoyed your fanfics when they didn't. Is your fanfic actually good? Who knows, it might be objectively bad but the people who read it and reviewed it liked it. I hardly ever leave negative reviews on fanfics that I don't like I just stop reading them. But I often leave positive reviews on fanfics that I do enjoy.
ditto, i just leave fics that i don't like the way i found them and focus my attention on the ones i do like. i get where op's coming from though, i still have phases of really severe imposter syndrome (especially after i've had a bout of writer's block) but it's getting easier to remind myself that if i was in the shoes of the commenter, i just wouldn't have said anything if i didn't like the fic.
I don't think people are lying but I do think a lot of comment culture is hyperbolic. If someone tells me that a scene I wrote had them rolling on the floor laughing, I'm pretty sure that didn't actually happen. But I'm willing to believe that they still enjoyed the scene.
You mean when someone tells me they're 'screaming crying throwing up' after reading my fic, I no longer have to worry about the breakdown they're so clearly having?
Yeah, absolutely. If someone says "oh my god I love this so much", my brain kind of autocorrects that to "this was pretty good", but I do believe they actually liked it.
Nah when I say “omg I loved this so much,” I really mean it. I rarely roll on the floor and try as I might, I cannot laugh my ass away but when I use those acronyms, it means I really laughed and it was more than a chuckle or giggle. Otherwise my comments reflect how I feel about the fic.
I dealt with this and then intensive outpatient therapy helped me learn how to not assume the worst in people with thought redirection and doing DBT practice.
With these kinds of things, it can sometimes help to have logic you can use to reason against it. A couple points I thought of:
1) If you didn't like a fic, it is effortless to just click away. No one would even know you read it, so there is no pressure to leave a compliment just to be polite.
2) What motivation could someone have to compliment a fic they didn't like? Other than sharing praise for parts they enjoyed, the only explanation I could think of for leaving a nice comment is to subtly get the author to write more. Typically, if someone wants the author to write more, it's because they liked the fic.
In conclusion, I can get what you're feeling. There are times I have similar thoughts on some things, but I find it really helps to take a moment to try and argue against the talking points the brain cooks up.
Anyway, I wish you success in your future writing endeavors! Have a nice day! :D
Occasionally I see posts here that say "Sometimes I like to give little comments to encourage authors, even if their work isn't particularly good" and I mean... I guess that's nice but I'd be lying if seeing that didn't make me wonder if some of the comments I get are just "encouragement" and not someone who genuinely liked the fic. I know those people are probably in the minority, but it still makes me a bit paranoid at times
I do, but that comes from being naturally distrusting of \*any\* sort of complements I get. One of my toxic traits lol.
(I always still say thank you, because just because I don't believe it, doesn't mean it isn't true. Doesn't cost me anything to be kind back, even if I don't feel like I 'deserve it' or anything like that. Plus, maybe one day I will believe those comments.)
Answer me this: How many people you interact with online do you genuinely and intuitively understand as real people?
Because I'm sure that number is a lot lower than you'd expect.
And it's the same the other way around. Your readers don't have any reason to spare your feelings, because in most cases, they don't think of you as a person; to most people, you're just your username and profile pic, and that's it.
If I comment, I mean what I say. Sure, there might be a few minor niggles, but it's free so I don't expect a fic to be polished to within an inch of its life. If a fic annoyed me or I otherwise didn't like it, I just don't comment rather than leave something disengenuous.
I have seen what people like in my fandoms. I have seen what is popular, and what get praise.
People are way too easily satisfied. I mean, they would call great cuisine a toast.
So I take everything with a grain of salt.
The "always say something positive" culture was a good idea. Because the unsaid part was "say nothing if you didn't like it".
However it turned into "only say something positive even if you don't believe it. It cost you nothing to please the writer".
So when eveything get praised, even some objectively bad* fanfiction, it's hard to tell when people are actually genuine.
(* I know that literature is an art and art appreciation is by essence subjective. However, there are techinnical stuff that are bad such as a fic full of SPEG , OOC and Canon divergent when announced canon compliant, very rushed pacing, jump plots and scenes to the point of confusion, etc etc.)
While I don't think you are entirely wrong, I think you are missing a piece of the puzzle. While it sounds elitist to say so, and I don't intend it to sound that way, there *are* also just people that genuinely love things that are objectively of poor quality or have glaring flaws. Whether they are very young, or just have a different preference I find to be baffling, some people very much just don't care about the things you listed.
For many, I'd even say *most* if it isn't coming from the writer's friends, the praise is genuine, even if I find it confusing. People being too easily satisfied is a different discussion entirely, but they *are* being satisfied, I don't think most of it is faked.
I think what's happening is you're hard on yourself. When someone compliments my strengths it's really easy to downplay them because I'm used to those strengths and therefore they're nothing special. You've spent a lot of time working on your story and part of you probably thinks someone else could have done it better. My guess is that you underestimate yourself.
I have that too. Imposter syndrome. It's awful to deal with and hard to shake off. I've gotten a lot better as the years go on
Something that has helped me is I have a very supportive friend and he encouraged me to say positive things about my writing every so often. I didn't think it would help but it has a bit.
But yeah it sucks big time I'm sorry you go through it too. Periods with no comments are especially rough:(
I do get it, but honestly it takes way too much energy to think the worst of people. What would they have to gain by lying? They’re going to spend time and effort reading a thing so they can fake sounding… authentically enthusiastic?
Sure some comments can really lean into the exaggeration and hyperbole, but I choose to imagine they’re just the type to be genuinely thrilled by mundane pleasures lol. Like they might have a similar reaction to a chocolate chip muffin or something, but then hey! My work is then as good as a muffin, so win win as far as I’m concerned.
Hope you can kick the negative thoughts to the kerb, op! And embrace the nice comments in the spirit in which they are given.
You have to differentiate. People liked your work enough to interact with it, they didn't have to. You will always get many more views and, hopefully, stuff like kudos than you do comments. That alone shows a certain level of engagement. In addition - yes, someone might write "best story ever" as a comment twice a week. I just take these comments as a very warm and kind complement, and if they even mention a particular moment in the fiction, that's even better - I know that part worked for at least one person.
I actually try to point out at least one specific thing that I liked, so my comment doesn't come off as disingenuous. My fear is making someone think I'm being insincere when literally if I like it I tend to like it a lot lol. It's weird because I don't really doubt that people saying nice things in the comments of my fic are lying- seems like a waste of time! If they had the intention to upset me in some way, there would be better ways to go about it that saying "omg A and B's interactions are the best I've read so far" or whatever. Definitely can understand getting *no* comments and freaking out about why. Indifference is rough.
Intrusive thoughts are a real thing, light burn them!!! So yep, happens to me too.
But, don't let them win.
I mean if people are kind enough to take the time to praise my fics, then its probably a little bit good at least hhhh.
People's time is valuable, man! If they use it to complement your writing, it means its worth it! ♡ contrasts!!
I have a fic. It's now a whole series, actually. It's the worst thing I've ever written. It's my most popular fic.
Any activity or l positive reviews i get baffle me.
I eventually learned to just accept that people liked this brain child of mind and gave them more (they were pretty demanding about getting more of it). Sometimes, you just have to believe you're good at what you do.
When someone says my story is the best thing they've ever read, I can't help but think that they don't read much. lol
I interpret this as them liking it instead. Maybe your work isn't *the* best thing since sliced bread, but every one person who commented liked it enough to comment :) and that's very nice and uplifting too!
Even if they were lying, would it really matter? I mean, if they hated it, but they say that they liked it, that means they're sparing you from a hate comment, right?
(Although, as others have said, I honestly can't imagine why anyone would lie about liking a fic.)
ColeyDoesThings talked about this on her channel, but apparently there's been an influx of bots that say super vague, irrelevant and lifeless compliments. So maybe that's what you're getting?
Nah, I never think they're lying and I enjoy every single praise and positive comment. Simply because I like my writing too and I am confident that it's good enough for people to leave nice comments on purpose.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to write in a loooong time, and I didn't even reply to the wonderful comments I got. I'll get there eventually, but I miss writing a lot. (I don't feel pressured to work on my WIPs because real life is too busy, but I do intend to finish them all, whenever that will happen.)
I wont comment if I didn't like it, commenting is effort, simple as.
So safe to assume they did in fact like it and are not wasting their own time lying to a stranger on the internet on a website that has no system that rewards you for commenting.
if my friends praise my fanfics, despite the sense of pride i always think they're lying to make me feel better. however if a get a comment from a stranger i believe it wholeheartedly, because (okay some people would but still) who the hell is going to lie to someone you don't even know about a piece of writing
Readers of fanfiction have super low standards. They're not lying when they call your story the greatest ever written: they usually just haven't been exposed to true genius level writing. I always take compliments in the spirit they're given, but at the same time I'm not going to think I'm the next Tolkien just because a bunch of people on AO3 like my stories.
I don’t agree with that. Since fic is free and I don’t get any brownie points for reading it, I don’t feel compelled to give it a chance. Life is short and if the writing isn’t up to par, buh bye.
Maybe you’re reading lesser quality fics and you’re surprised to find people who like them, but generally I find that the work sorts its readers. The better works may be too sophisticated for younger or less experienced readers, whereas the lesser works may be just right for developing readers.
This is a very strange perspective. Most of the AO3 readers I interact with are voracious readers (I am, too) of all kinds of content, including lit, classics, nonfiction, and just about everything else. Fanfics are just another content source, and they aren't inherently qualitatively lesser than traditional written media in value.
no, why would they when they can easily say negative things about your fic with no consequences. all the people that praise your fics are honest or exaggerate a bit to get another chapter with is still a compliment
A tiny touch of imposter syndrome. But I always think of it this way: if I can genuinely love and fawn over someone else’s fic, why is it so hard to believe someone might do the same for mine?
I am chronic fanfiction reader, before I read a fanfiction, I look at the tags and style of writing and how you portrayed the characters, If I don't like what I read, I click away, I would not bother writing a negative comment and waste my time. If I like the story or the chapter, I will let you know, If I was a fan of your story, and I see you made some unnecessary changes, or you fall out, I will also let you know. When it comes to constructive criticism, I recommend you befriend a few good writers on ao3, they are good at giving feedback.
That sounds a bit like impostor syndrome. If people are praising your fanfics that generally means that they like them. It's highly unlikely someone is going to waste their time gaslighting you into thinking I enjoyed your fanfics when they didn't. Is your fanfic actually good? Who knows, it might be objectively bad but the people who read it and reviewed it liked it. I hardly ever leave negative reviews on fanfics that I don't like I just stop reading them. But I often leave positive reviews on fanfics that I do enjoy.
ditto, i just leave fics that i don't like the way i found them and focus my attention on the ones i do like. i get where op's coming from though, i still have phases of really severe imposter syndrome (especially after i've had a bout of writer's block) but it's getting easier to remind myself that if i was in the shoes of the commenter, i just wouldn't have said anything if i didn't like the fic.
This exactly! Thank you! ♡
Sussy syndrome
This exactly! Thank you!!
I don't think people are lying but I do think a lot of comment culture is hyperbolic. If someone tells me that a scene I wrote had them rolling on the floor laughing, I'm pretty sure that didn't actually happen. But I'm willing to believe that they still enjoyed the scene.
I mean, I can confirm that when I say 'lmao' my ass is indeed still attached to my body.
Phew. You have no idea how concerned I've been all these years.
Will this confirmation hold up in court?
You mean when someone tells me they're 'screaming crying throwing up' after reading my fic, I no longer have to worry about the breakdown they're so clearly having?
I trust you to use your best judgement.
Yeah, absolutely. If someone says "oh my god I love this so much", my brain kind of autocorrects that to "this was pretty good", but I do believe they actually liked it.
Nah when I say “omg I loved this so much,” I really mean it. I rarely roll on the floor and try as I might, I cannot laugh my ass away but when I use those acronyms, it means I really laughed and it was more than a chuckle or giggle. Otherwise my comments reflect how I feel about the fic.
I dealt with this and then intensive outpatient therapy helped me learn how to not assume the worst in people with thought redirection and doing DBT practice.
With these kinds of things, it can sometimes help to have logic you can use to reason against it. A couple points I thought of: 1) If you didn't like a fic, it is effortless to just click away. No one would even know you read it, so there is no pressure to leave a compliment just to be polite. 2) What motivation could someone have to compliment a fic they didn't like? Other than sharing praise for parts they enjoyed, the only explanation I could think of for leaving a nice comment is to subtly get the author to write more. Typically, if someone wants the author to write more, it's because they liked the fic. In conclusion, I can get what you're feeling. There are times I have similar thoughts on some things, but I find it really helps to take a moment to try and argue against the talking points the brain cooks up. Anyway, I wish you success in your future writing endeavors! Have a nice day! :D
[Why it breaks your brain to take a compliment - The Oatmeal](https://theoatmeal.com/comics/brain_compliments)
Occasionally I see posts here that say "Sometimes I like to give little comments to encourage authors, even if their work isn't particularly good" and I mean... I guess that's nice but I'd be lying if seeing that didn't make me wonder if some of the comments I get are just "encouragement" and not someone who genuinely liked the fic. I know those people are probably in the minority, but it still makes me a bit paranoid at times
I do, but that comes from being naturally distrusting of \*any\* sort of complements I get. One of my toxic traits lol. (I always still say thank you, because just because I don't believe it, doesn't mean it isn't true. Doesn't cost me anything to be kind back, even if I don't feel like I 'deserve it' or anything like that. Plus, maybe one day I will believe those comments.)
Answer me this: How many people you interact with online do you genuinely and intuitively understand as real people? Because I'm sure that number is a lot lower than you'd expect. And it's the same the other way around. Your readers don't have any reason to spare your feelings, because in most cases, they don't think of you as a person; to most people, you're just your username and profile pic, and that's it.
🤔 huh? Am I weird to consider every one on the net as real people? With a lot of emotions? LoL ( am I still too naive? 🤧) I love ya people!
Not really weird, but it's definitely rare these days.
🥰🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
If I comment, I mean what I say. Sure, there might be a few minor niggles, but it's free so I don't expect a fic to be polished to within an inch of its life. If a fic annoyed me or I otherwise didn't like it, I just don't comment rather than leave something disengenuous.
I usually say "this wasn't really my cup of tea but I still think it was written very well!"
I have seen what people like in my fandoms. I have seen what is popular, and what get praise. People are way too easily satisfied. I mean, they would call great cuisine a toast. So I take everything with a grain of salt. The "always say something positive" culture was a good idea. Because the unsaid part was "say nothing if you didn't like it". However it turned into "only say something positive even if you don't believe it. It cost you nothing to please the writer". So when eveything get praised, even some objectively bad* fanfiction, it's hard to tell when people are actually genuine. (* I know that literature is an art and art appreciation is by essence subjective. However, there are techinnical stuff that are bad such as a fic full of SPEG , OOC and Canon divergent when announced canon compliant, very rushed pacing, jump plots and scenes to the point of confusion, etc etc.)
While I don't think you are entirely wrong, I think you are missing a piece of the puzzle. While it sounds elitist to say so, and I don't intend it to sound that way, there *are* also just people that genuinely love things that are objectively of poor quality or have glaring flaws. Whether they are very young, or just have a different preference I find to be baffling, some people very much just don't care about the things you listed. For many, I'd even say *most* if it isn't coming from the writer's friends, the praise is genuine, even if I find it confusing. People being too easily satisfied is a different discussion entirely, but they *are* being satisfied, I don't think most of it is faked.
I think what's happening is you're hard on yourself. When someone compliments my strengths it's really easy to downplay them because I'm used to those strengths and therefore they're nothing special. You've spent a lot of time working on your story and part of you probably thinks someone else could have done it better. My guess is that you underestimate yourself.
I have that too. Imposter syndrome. It's awful to deal with and hard to shake off. I've gotten a lot better as the years go on Something that has helped me is I have a very supportive friend and he encouraged me to say positive things about my writing every so often. I didn't think it would help but it has a bit. But yeah it sucks big time I'm sorry you go through it too. Periods with no comments are especially rough:(
I do get it, but honestly it takes way too much energy to think the worst of people. What would they have to gain by lying? They’re going to spend time and effort reading a thing so they can fake sounding… authentically enthusiastic? Sure some comments can really lean into the exaggeration and hyperbole, but I choose to imagine they’re just the type to be genuinely thrilled by mundane pleasures lol. Like they might have a similar reaction to a chocolate chip muffin or something, but then hey! My work is then as good as a muffin, so win win as far as I’m concerned. Hope you can kick the negative thoughts to the kerb, op! And embrace the nice comments in the spirit in which they are given.
Why would someone lie? Just remember that part. They have no reason to lie.
You have to differentiate. People liked your work enough to interact with it, they didn't have to. You will always get many more views and, hopefully, stuff like kudos than you do comments. That alone shows a certain level of engagement. In addition - yes, someone might write "best story ever" as a comment twice a week. I just take these comments as a very warm and kind complement, and if they even mention a particular moment in the fiction, that's even better - I know that part worked for at least one person.
I actually try to point out at least one specific thing that I liked, so my comment doesn't come off as disingenuous. My fear is making someone think I'm being insincere when literally if I like it I tend to like it a lot lol. It's weird because I don't really doubt that people saying nice things in the comments of my fic are lying- seems like a waste of time! If they had the intention to upset me in some way, there would be better ways to go about it that saying "omg A and B's interactions are the best I've read so far" or whatever. Definitely can understand getting *no* comments and freaking out about why. Indifference is rough.
Intrusive thoughts are a real thing, light burn them!!! So yep, happens to me too. But, don't let them win. I mean if people are kind enough to take the time to praise my fics, then its probably a little bit good at least hhhh. People's time is valuable, man! If they use it to complement your writing, it means its worth it! ♡ contrasts!!
❤️
I have a fic. It's now a whole series, actually. It's the worst thing I've ever written. It's my most popular fic. Any activity or l positive reviews i get baffle me. I eventually learned to just accept that people liked this brain child of mind and gave them more (they were pretty demanding about getting more of it). Sometimes, you just have to believe you're good at what you do.
When someone says my story is the best thing they've ever read, I can't help but think that they don't read much. lol I interpret this as them liking it instead. Maybe your work isn't *the* best thing since sliced bread, but every one person who commented liked it enough to comment :) and that's very nice and uplifting too!
Even if they were lying, would it really matter? I mean, if they hated it, but they say that they liked it, that means they're sparing you from a hate comment, right? (Although, as others have said, I honestly can't imagine why anyone would lie about liking a fic.) ColeyDoesThings talked about this on her channel, but apparently there's been an influx of bots that say super vague, irrelevant and lifeless compliments. So maybe that's what you're getting?
I mean... it would be an awful lot of work for someone to read my fics and then decide to take the time to LIE about how much they love it.
I'll ask you this: who would bother praising something made by some random guy on the internet if they didn't like it?
Nah, I never think they're lying and I enjoy every single praise and positive comment. Simply because I like my writing too and I am confident that it's good enough for people to leave nice comments on purpose. Unfortunately I haven't been able to write in a loooong time, and I didn't even reply to the wonderful comments I got. I'll get there eventually, but I miss writing a lot. (I don't feel pressured to work on my WIPs because real life is too busy, but I do intend to finish them all, whenever that will happen.)
I wont comment if I didn't like it, commenting is effort, simple as. So safe to assume they did in fact like it and are not wasting their own time lying to a stranger on the internet on a website that has no system that rewards you for commenting.
if my friends praise my fanfics, despite the sense of pride i always think they're lying to make me feel better. however if a get a comment from a stranger i believe it wholeheartedly, because (okay some people would but still) who the hell is going to lie to someone you don't even know about a piece of writing
I feel like this. It doesn’t help that I’ve seen some TERRIBLY written fics get huge amounts of comments saying how amazing the writing is.
Readers of fanfiction have super low standards. They're not lying when they call your story the greatest ever written: they usually just haven't been exposed to true genius level writing. I always take compliments in the spirit they're given, but at the same time I'm not going to think I'm the next Tolkien just because a bunch of people on AO3 like my stories.
I don’t agree with that. Since fic is free and I don’t get any brownie points for reading it, I don’t feel compelled to give it a chance. Life is short and if the writing isn’t up to par, buh bye. Maybe you’re reading lesser quality fics and you’re surprised to find people who like them, but generally I find that the work sorts its readers. The better works may be too sophisticated for younger or less experienced readers, whereas the lesser works may be just right for developing readers.
This is a very strange perspective. Most of the AO3 readers I interact with are voracious readers (I am, too) of all kinds of content, including lit, classics, nonfiction, and just about everything else. Fanfics are just another content source, and they aren't inherently qualitatively lesser than traditional written media in value.
no, why would they when they can easily say negative things about your fic with no consequences. all the people that praise your fics are honest or exaggerate a bit to get another chapter with is still a compliment
A tiny touch of imposter syndrome. But I always think of it this way: if I can genuinely love and fawn over someone else’s fic, why is it so hard to believe someone might do the same for mine?
I am chronic fanfiction reader, before I read a fanfiction, I look at the tags and style of writing and how you portrayed the characters, If I don't like what I read, I click away, I would not bother writing a negative comment and waste my time. If I like the story or the chapter, I will let you know, If I was a fan of your story, and I see you made some unnecessary changes, or you fall out, I will also let you know. When it comes to constructive criticism, I recommend you befriend a few good writers on ao3, they are good at giving feedback.