First, an apology. I don't normally let things get to me... heck, I don't normally notice that there are lurkers, much less mind them. So I am sorry I let one incident upset me so much. :( You all are wonderful and I love you all dearly for sticking with me and enjoying my stories, as silly and pointless as they are. ^^;

Secondly, my thoughts on comments, from both a writer and a reader's point of view.

There is no such thing as a useless comment. I get a kick out of 'incoherent' comments, because they mean I did something right to reduce my readers to mindless squeeing. One of my favorite short comments is one Nikery left, that went something along the lines of: "GUH! Wait, I can write more... no, no I really can't. GUH." ^____^ Still makes me smile.

Just because someone already said what you were going to say does not make your opinion any less important. If more than one person liked a particular thing about a story, it lets me know that I'm on the right track there and a similar situation would probably be equally well-liked in future stories. :)

Have a favorite line or scene? Quote it! It gives me lots of warm fuzzies when a reader particularly likes a scene that I'm fond of. Plus, it lets me squee with you. ^___^ I'm very dorky that way.

Really, even a totally pointless, inane comment lets me know that the time I spent writing it was worth it to someone. And it's great encouragement. More on this later.

As for you lurkers... *waves madly* I don't bite! Really! And trust me when I say that whatever stupid comment you think you'd make, I've done worse, and will do worse. Being an idiot seems to be part of my life. ^__^ So really, nothing you say will ever be dumber than what I have or will do. I walk into doors (open and closed) and fall over from a standing position. >.>; Yeah. ^^; Remember

nikerymksherea's Nikkai? She based him off of me. *sheepish grin*

Also, Lurkers = new opinions. After a while a writer learns what her 'regular' readers like and sometimes tailors things to suit. New opinions mean an opportunity for a writer to grow and challenge herself with more diverse stories. All opinions are valuable. They may not always be acted upon, but they're still valuable information.

Confidence. We have none. Zero. This comic I was linked to summarizes pretty well. We are our own worst enemies. The first hour or three from when a story is first posted until the first comment arrives are always the worst, because you sit there biting your nails going "It sucks, it sucks, it sucks, they're going to hate it, I should never have posted it..." There's this terrible insecurity involved with putting your heart on paper, so you fret horribly over whether people think that this thing you love dearly is crap or not.

People are very fragile, and we of the creative persuasion always seem to think the worst of ourselves. Though a person may not comment on a wonderful story because they think they have nothing worth saying, to an author, the thought process goes something like this: Nobody commented = nobody read it (OR) nobody liked it = ZOMG I SUCK I WILL NEVER WRITE AGAIN!!! *SOB*

No, really. We're rather pathetic that way. And amazingly insecure. I'd post snippits of conversation between myself and

maderr in which we're trying to convince each other we don't suck, but she'd probably kill me. ^^; Suffice to say it happens with every single story we write. In M's case, every single chapter. >.>;

Finally, my thoughts as a Reader. Always, always, when I read something I try to leave a comment. Not just because it's polite, but because of a certain way of thinking I have that's always served me rather well in the past. It goes like this:

Comment Thought Process: Author writes pretty story. I read pretty story. Want more pretty story. Gush and squee and profuse undying love to Author. Author will write more story! Yay! Victory! ^^;

And nine times out of ten, it works. I don't really care if I make an idiot out of myself in the process. If it nets me more story, all's good. ;)

*hugs and cookies to you all*

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

purple-alicorn.livejournal.com

Thank you for input - cause sometimes i feel stupid posting comments like "Nice story" - but I see that even these make a difference :>

From:

tmelange.livejournal.com

>>Finally, my thoughts as a Reader. Always, always, when I read something I try to leave a comment. Not just because it's polite, but because of a certain way of thinking I have that's always served me rather well in the past. It goes like this:

You've expressed this so well. I don't understand people who don't comment, and some of the excuses for not commenting...well, they don't make much sense to me. Even at a basic level, it's just polite to say "thank you" to someone who has just entertained you in some way. In the theater, you clap. In a bookstore, you put down your money to purchase a book. Why do people feel that they can take over the internet and not be at least as curteous as they would ordinarily be if they were being entertained in any other way? Is it merely the anonimity that allows people to be so oblivious?

This topic always frustrates me... ;)

From:

wingedbunnie.livejournal.com

The way I see it, commenting is sorta the same as writing a story in that after you've finally figured out the best way to describe your feelings, place your words in the correct order, and come off as polite and not idiotic, then you start to worry whether or not your comment will be appreciated. What if you said something wrong, and the author misinterprets it? Would they appreciate it if you created another post just to correct the mistake? What if they don't notice the mistake but other people do? What if they never get your comment? What if they think you're flaming them and stop writing?!
I mean, internet-commenting is not the same as showing your appreciation for other forms of entertainment. You can't just clap for the author--they won't hear it. You have to actually use words, and communicate with them. It's not always easy.

At least, for me it isn't. I've been ~~stalking~~ lurking in this little writers' circle for about 2 years now and this is my first comment...

But I do love all the stories I've read and having more is most definitely a good thing if the authors would so choose to create more. <3

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~ Tales of an Incurable Slasher ~

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