Fandom Snowflake Challenge: Day 5

[jiksa_x]

Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork. The key is to leave some sort of feedback.



Made a list of all the things I can think of that I've read/listened to lately and still haven't left feedback for. Goal: to complete by the end of the month.

There's something incredibly special to me about giving feedback, about getting to summarize my response to someone's work and highlight the things that moved me, that surprised me, that made me hurt or laugh or feel. I know the author is going to be interrupted in their daily routine by an email notification and see that someone has read/listened to/looked at/etc their beautiful fanwork and fucking loves it. That reciprocity and love between creators and consumers feels important to me, and I love doing it.

As a recovering lurker, however, leaving comments is a relatively new thing for me. Because I'm a obsessive neurotic crazy person that needs a manual for everything, here are a few links that I sometimes refer to, which may also be of interest to other snowflakes for day 5 :)

- Podfic Feedback Toolbox: 5 ways to give great podfic feedback by klb
- Commenting on Podfic: Vocabulary by yue_ix
- Beyond "Good job! Update plz!" - How to write better reviews by Rosawyn

Comments

[thislossofsleep]

recovering lurker hehe sounds like me too!

These links are amazing, and I'm generally rubbish at leaving feedback, settling on either leaving something really basic like 'this is awesome' or bottling it entirely. These are invaluable resources. Podfics are a new experience for me (I've been listening to nsfw work stuff while cleaning my house today!) so this is even more helpful!

Thank you for sharing. <3

[jiksa_x]

I think you leave very kind feedback :)

And YAY podfic. What're you listening to? *makes grabby hands*

[akamine_chan]

I really don't think that 'really basic feedback' is rubbish, and I kinda take exception to that essay about how to write better reviews.

(I understand the annoyance of getting comments that basically boil down to "you're not writing this fast enough" or alternatively, "this is too short write a sequel" - but the how to write better reviews essay isn't really about that. It's about quality reviews, which, *makes raspberry noise*)

Sometimes a fanwork just leaves you stunned, and you just don't have the words to express all the feelings the fanwork evokes in you.

Sometimes you're running low on spoons or motivation or time and all you can do is say "I really loved this."

There really is no wrong way to leave feedback; the point is to just let the creator know you enjoyed their work.

[thislossofsleep]

I completely love when I get a comment telling me why someone liked something I wrote, though. And I kinda struggle leaving the same sort of comments, so this is handy. (I'm usually quite happy to receive a 'this is awesome' though!! ^.^)

[jiksa_x]

Agreed! \o/ Anytime someone clicks kudos/leaves a comment/recs/goes out of their way to acknowledge something I've written, it means the world to me. All feedback feels like love to me, whether I'm giving or receiving. +1 to everything Aka said above.

[glitteryv]

That's pretty brilliant!

Reading your post made me realize I have a system too: I open tabs of the fics I'm reading if the fic's longer than 10k (which I've gotten into the habit of reading on my tablet) as well as for podfics I listen to.

That way, I can leave comments once I'm done (instead of scrambling about trying to find them in my history and whatnot).

Feedback is love. :)

[jiksa_x]

is love indeed :)

[komadori]

Good luck! I can relate to being a crazy person who needs a manual for everything. XD thanks for the links, btw.

[jiksa_x]

No worries :)

[lady_smutterella]

The effort you put into commenting is inspiring. I try, but never seem to manage to express myself properly. Also I am very lazy - I tend not to comment on old fic or if authors don't every reply to comments. I should really work on being better than that.

[jiksa_x]

Except for how you express yourself amazingly every time and leave the best feedback on stuff you read or beta. *smooshes*

[turps]

I'm very impressed with your feedbacking dedication.

I do hope you're enjoying interacting now.

[jiksa_x]

Definitely am. :) Also I can't stop staring at your gorgeous icon... *chin hands*

[turlough]

I remember how it felt when I went from being a lurker to an active participant in fandom. It was scary!

I think I was lucky it happened while LJ fandom was at is high point. The well-developed comment culture meant I'd lots of good examples close to hand.

[jiksa_x]

So scary! But so worth it. :) I missed LJ altogether. Using DW now feels pretty cool.

[akamine_chan]

I know the author is going to be interrupted in their daily routine by an email notification and see that someone has read/listened to/looked at/etc their beautiful fanwork and fucking loves it.

Sometimes a comment will make my fucking week so much brighter. :D

[jiksa_x]

Aw, same. :) I love that we can do that for each other in fandom.

[prophetic]

\o/

This is so rad!

I love your list. I love photos of lists. Everything about lists is so inspiring to me. Also, I think (if I squint) I can see a work of mine on the list, so that is double hooray.

I totally appreciate and support the work you are doing in the area of getting more comfortable commenting. For me, it's only after years of hearing 'Feedback is love' in fandom that I am starting to believe it, that someone might care to have a comment from little old me.

But on the opposite side, I can definitely empathize with Aka, where a piece of feedback makes your entire day/week/month. And you are absolutely right about the notification that interrupts one's daily routine. To receive that is SO AWESOMELY AWESOME. So I try to remember that side when it feels like my comment is essentially me typing I LIKD UR THING with my elbows because I can't articulate anything. :)

Also (had to go back to my story to check if this was accurate), I remembered replying to a comment you wrote me on Late Night Double Feature Picture Show that I would be returning to your comment to reread it multiple times throughout the day. And that was absolutely what I did. So, that's another data point on how authors experience feedback. <3

[jiksa_x]

Haha, you could make sense of my handwriting? There are two things of yours on there if I recall correctly (one of which was 5+ hours of utter blessed joy) :) I'm a list fiend; if I didn't make lists I would just flail directionlessly with anxiety about anything I had to do. This list is just fun, though, and I'm looking forward to getting started as soon as I can get my spoons in a row.

Hahah @ elbow typing, I know how that feels! :) It's still a perfectly okay way to leave feedback and it still feels super meaningful to me when I get it. At the end of the day, the fact that someone spent time/energy on acknowledging/praising/critiquing/reccing/etc something I've done means the world to me.

Happy you enjoyed that comment. I really enjoyed your fic :)