Y’all know I love your works right? I tend to read the stories in the wee hours on my phone which is why I neglect my proper reviewing unless it really super jives with me.

Does the system let you know when a story of yours has been added to faves? I’d consider that a form of positive feedback right?

zenfluence wrote:


Does the system let you know when a story of yours has been added to faves? I’d consider that a form of positive feedback right?

No. There are no notifications or statistics on Dokuga that would let us see who or how many people have added a story to favs. So here reviews are pretty much the only metric that lets writers know people have actually read and/or liked their story. And those reviews have grown quite scarce over the years.

I suppose a lot of newer fans and creators prefer AO3 and engage there more but it's sad to see this development on Dokuga as this site would have better features to create a sense of community in quite a different way.

There came a time where I just stopped reading reviews. If there is a story I want to tell, something that I need to get out, it is mainly for me. To make me better at writing, to get thoughts down somewhere, to leave reality for a while, etc.

One of my stories on fanfiction had a review that said "I like the story but I don't like original characters, you should change it." My feeling is, if you don't like something the way that I write it either a) write your own or b) just don't read it. There is no reason to leave reviews like this. In the three chapters that I wrote of the story each chapter had a similar review from that person.

In my opinion if someone doesn't like a plot that you spent your time creating and you are the only person that is happy with it then you don't need those people anyway. They are welcome to not read your story. You shouldn't change the way that you envision things because the people who normally post reviews are just the people who are unhappy and/or have nothing better to do than complain about things.

I haven't written a fanfiction due to the fear of receiving heavy negative reviews. I was afraid of failing to appease the fans or being seen as a terrible writer. Previously, I lurked on several stories, only to see a multitude of negativity. I didn't know if I could bare it.

Yet, you cannot grow as a writer if you don't write. Practice makes perfect, right? You develop further with the give and take from your audience. As a writer, you want to make a lasting impact on your reader. You take and mold their feedback into future projects.

All that being said, people will have different reactions to your writing. They'll love it, hate it, and everything in between. Only now have I come to see that you have to muck through the waste of nonconstructive opinions. Those are often reactions that are personal to the reader and don't really have anything to do with you. I think, ultimately, you have to write for yourself. Be authentic and you'll go far. Writing is such an intimate activity, and can become so vulnerable when released to the public. Perhaps clinging to those constructive criticisms and words of affirmation are what help propel writers forward.