If you don’t like a work by a fanfic author, that’s okay.
If you find the subject matter in a fanfic is not to your taste, that’s okay.
If I personally read something and find I don’t like it for any reason, I simply close the tab and move on with my life.
And, full disclosure: I do this often! There’s a lot of stuff out there that is Just Not For Me. There are some fics out there that are wildly popular that I just personally don’t get their mass appeal, and there are some fics out there that I feel are absolute hidden gems and I will recommend them often.
That being said, the one thing I never, ever, ever do is publicly disparage another author’s writing or narrative choices or their work as a whole. Even if I think their writing style is not to my liking, or I feel they they make spelling and grammar errors that are distracting, even if I think the sex is badly written, or the plot is boring, or if I think they have written the characters in a way I disagree with. If they don’t ask for concrit, I don’t give it. I don’t give any criticism unsolicited.
It really, really is disappointing and upsetting when I see folks, especially people who are writers themselves, publicly trashing other authors’ works on tumblr and/or leaving shitty comments on their AO3 chapters. I have had this happen to me before and it really does not feel good. Even if it’s just a “I didn’t care for this fic”, the fact that someone took the time out of their day to tell me so was unnecessary and upsetting. What is the purpose, I wonder, of telling someone something like that?
Fanfic authors write things for you for no money, for your entertainment. They write for fun and enjoyment and to share their enthusiasm about a fandom with others. Writing is hard work, y’all! It is truly a labour of love and I will never shit on any author that puts pieces out there and tries their best even if I don’t care for it. Not everyone is going to produce works that are specifically to everyone’s aesthetic tastes, avoiding everyone’s specific squicks or triggers. Nor should they.
Yeah, fandom is not your safe space, sure, but – we don’t have to treat one another poorly, either. Be kind to one another, friends.
Once again I disagree.
Yes, fandom is a gift economy and you wouldn’t tell your metaphorical grandma you don’t like the hand-knitted sweater she just gave you for the holidays but you know what? Authors are not my grandma. They’ve written a story and shared it on the internet because they want it to be read. If they don’t want critique they can put that in the notes. Plenty of those out there in the world on ff.net and ao3 and I respect that by not leaving comments on those stories but you don’t get to tell me how I use my own space, ie this tumblr or my dreamwidth or my lj or my fb or my twitter or anyplace else I have my own space and voice.
And there is a HUGE difference between me saying ‘this is not for me’ which by the way is nice and saying ‘this story sucked and here is why’. I used to sell books and people felt so guilty for bringing a book back that I had sold to them because they got part way through it and they just didn’t connect with the story.
Guess what? There is no social contract around what you like or don’t like. There is no social contract (or there shouldn’t be) in saying you don’t find something to your taste. All of fandom is not my friend. I wouldn’t even know how to define fandom.
Yes, it is hard work – that you CHOSE to undertake. I say this as an author, a photographer, as an artisan. You don’t owe me anything for the work I do.
Saying ‘I don’t like it’ is not ‘shitting on someone’s work’. It’s saying you don’t like it. It is not a personal judgement of the author. It is a judgement of the work. Stop conflating the two, please.
And I’m not even getting into the fact that critique is actually okay too. Because, it is.
Tumblr Exodus 