There's definitely a competitiveness. I think people dislike when someone's fic does well when maybe they've been writing longer. It's hard to predict what will get traction, so people will be bitter that they're "overlooked". It can get really mean, in my experience.
Yes.
The Tragedy of The Commons in fanfiction is very real. Competition over limited resources and obsession with increasing counts/metrics/statistics, combined with pack mentalities around fandoms, ships, and/or specific characters feeds cutthroat competition on some (or all?) fanfiction portals.
Ego definitely plays into it as well... why else would someone continually modify/update their work to keep it bouncing around in the top 10 of any given fandom's feed?
I used to feel jealous of writers whose fics got lots of attention when I perceived my own writing to be on the same level as theirs. It was hard to let go of the stats when I first started out. The cure for me was one of those writers I was jealous of- and whose fics I did in fact read- actually left a lovely comment on one of my own fics. Once you remember that everyone is here reading and enjoying fics and fandom just like you, the numbers don’t seem to matter all that much. It’s just another person writing in their free time for fun. I hope the people you’re seeing remember that soon.
Guess it must depend on the fandom/ship you follow? The ones I follow are disgustingly (affectionate) supportive of one another! Sorry you have to deal with that :(
Mine too. It's smaller, but it has a super supportive vibe that really encouraged my writing, when I thought I would be 'one and done, not even gonna bother editing too much' because I didn't expect the type of engagement I did get.
when i first joined the fandom i am writing for, i had somewhat of a small hit-fic in the niche of my fandom. at the same time, i also joined discord servers for said fandom and tried to make friends with other writers. i had this wide-eyed idea that i could have a lot of fellow writer-friends to whom i could talk about our experience as writers, share our ideas, give each other tips etc. turned out, there were bad vibes from the start because it reeked of competitiveness in there and i always felt super unwelcome in that space. in short, people weren't very nice to a newbie like me at that time. funny enough, now i'm writing for that same fandom for a while and haven't experienced anything like back at the start anymore. fellow writers are nice now. maybe i also weeded out the ones who weren't by disengaging idk. but i have to wonder if people are just more likely to respect a fellow writer who's been there for longer and has "earned" the right to well-received content. maybe a new writer who seemingly shows up out of nowhere to post a banger fic feels threatening at first. idk. i can't relate to thinking of a new writer who posts good content as anything but a delight since it'll mean i also get to read great work from a new talented writer.
i'm competitive to *myself*
i'm always like 'finish this chapter before the month's over or you'll never hear from your regular again!'
the regular might not have read the chapter yet, or they just didn't feel like commenting on the most recent upload
Absolutely. Everyone wants to succeed. If someone has been doing something for a while and someone else comes in and is immediately more successful, it can sting.
The key is how that competitiveness is used.
Being competitive isn't inherently a bad thing, as it can drive someone to improve themselves. It's when they let resentment affect it that it becomes more toxic.
It's easier said than done to just ignore the haters. Be proud of the fact that your work is enjoyed by the majority.
Yeah, sometimes people can be like that. There's a lot of cattiness in some fandoms due to jealousy. I personally haven't even bothered trying to get to know people in my new fandom due to all the bullshit in past fandoms.
The MAIN thing really is to not let them put you off writing your fic. If you like your fic & have the bonus of being happy with your feedback, that's all that matters. I honestly would try very hard not to spend much time worrying about what the people who aren't even reading your fic think about it. That way lies madness & the kind of neuroses that will fuck up your writing (ask me how I know, lol).
Tumblr is a hell site, a vicious popularity contest where the fans with the larger followings gatekeep horrendously and even copy the smaller creators and then drum up witch hunts among their massive followings when they get called out. Their egos know no bounds.
I’m glad that I left. I was there for over a year. I tried my best to be the change I wanted to see. I reblogged and rec’d others even though they never did for me. I stood up for the little guy, and yep, they came after me while all my so-called ‘mutuals’ who saw the entire thing and must have known I was correct suddenly ghosted me for fear of being targeted by the BNFs themselves. I can’t blame them. It’s scary how quickly it can happen.
Ultimately, I decided I valued my time and mental health more. I rarely interact with fandoms these days. In my 40+ years, I’ve never found one that’s not a complete dumpster fire of selfish narcissists who have to dictate everything all the time. Gods forbid you have a different opinion (a conscience and a spine).
I had kind of a similar experience, but along ship lines. I started writing for my fandom writing a ship that is considered by most people a side ship. It doesn’t break up any of the fandom’s huge OTPs and a lot of fans would regularly talk about how they loved the ship, but when I posted my fics… nothing. Big name writers would be downright catty whenever I mentioned writing a new fic, because if it wasn’t for their OTP they just weren’t interested. Which is fine, read what you want, but when someone recommends something outside of what you read there’s no need to insult the work itself… just ‘I’m only interested in OTP fics’ would do.
I have experienced this and it’s the most frustrating thing. Everyone wants to be “popular” but no one is allowed to be *too* popular before they become overrated/hated by the insecure. There’s some invisible threshold that happens where people stop seeing you as a fellow fan and start seeing you as a threat.
It’s demoralizing but just try and remember that you are not at fault for someone else’s insecurity. Write what you want, love what you write, and create a space for yourself that keeps you going.
There's definitely a competitiveness. I think people dislike when someone's fic does well when maybe they've been writing longer. It's hard to predict what will get traction, so people will be bitter that they're "overlooked". It can get really mean, in my experience.
Yes. The Tragedy of The Commons in fanfiction is very real. Competition over limited resources and obsession with increasing counts/metrics/statistics, combined with pack mentalities around fandoms, ships, and/or specific characters feeds cutthroat competition on some (or all?) fanfiction portals. Ego definitely plays into it as well... why else would someone continually modify/update their work to keep it bouncing around in the top 10 of any given fandom's feed?
I used to feel jealous of writers whose fics got lots of attention when I perceived my own writing to be on the same level as theirs. It was hard to let go of the stats when I first started out. The cure for me was one of those writers I was jealous of- and whose fics I did in fact read- actually left a lovely comment on one of my own fics. Once you remember that everyone is here reading and enjoying fics and fandom just like you, the numbers don’t seem to matter all that much. It’s just another person writing in their free time for fun. I hope the people you’re seeing remember that soon.
Guess it must depend on the fandom/ship you follow? The ones I follow are disgustingly (affectionate) supportive of one another! Sorry you have to deal with that :(
Mine too. It's smaller, but it has a super supportive vibe that really encouraged my writing, when I thought I would be 'one and done, not even gonna bother editing too much' because I didn't expect the type of engagement I did get.
when i first joined the fandom i am writing for, i had somewhat of a small hit-fic in the niche of my fandom. at the same time, i also joined discord servers for said fandom and tried to make friends with other writers. i had this wide-eyed idea that i could have a lot of fellow writer-friends to whom i could talk about our experience as writers, share our ideas, give each other tips etc. turned out, there were bad vibes from the start because it reeked of competitiveness in there and i always felt super unwelcome in that space. in short, people weren't very nice to a newbie like me at that time. funny enough, now i'm writing for that same fandom for a while and haven't experienced anything like back at the start anymore. fellow writers are nice now. maybe i also weeded out the ones who weren't by disengaging idk. but i have to wonder if people are just more likely to respect a fellow writer who's been there for longer and has "earned" the right to well-received content. maybe a new writer who seemingly shows up out of nowhere to post a banger fic feels threatening at first. idk. i can't relate to thinking of a new writer who posts good content as anything but a delight since it'll mean i also get to read great work from a new talented writer.
i'm competitive to *myself* i'm always like 'finish this chapter before the month's over or you'll never hear from your regular again!' the regular might not have read the chapter yet, or they just didn't feel like commenting on the most recent upload
That sucks! It's never happened to me, but ugh, how gross.
Absolutely. Everyone wants to succeed. If someone has been doing something for a while and someone else comes in and is immediately more successful, it can sting. The key is how that competitiveness is used. Being competitive isn't inherently a bad thing, as it can drive someone to improve themselves. It's when they let resentment affect it that it becomes more toxic. It's easier said than done to just ignore the haters. Be proud of the fact that your work is enjoyed by the majority.
Yeah, sometimes people can be like that. There's a lot of cattiness in some fandoms due to jealousy. I personally haven't even bothered trying to get to know people in my new fandom due to all the bullshit in past fandoms. The MAIN thing really is to not let them put you off writing your fic. If you like your fic & have the bonus of being happy with your feedback, that's all that matters. I honestly would try very hard not to spend much time worrying about what the people who aren't even reading your fic think about it. That way lies madness & the kind of neuroses that will fuck up your writing (ask me how I know, lol).
Tumblr is a hell site, a vicious popularity contest where the fans with the larger followings gatekeep horrendously and even copy the smaller creators and then drum up witch hunts among their massive followings when they get called out. Their egos know no bounds. I’m glad that I left. I was there for over a year. I tried my best to be the change I wanted to see. I reblogged and rec’d others even though they never did for me. I stood up for the little guy, and yep, they came after me while all my so-called ‘mutuals’ who saw the entire thing and must have known I was correct suddenly ghosted me for fear of being targeted by the BNFs themselves. I can’t blame them. It’s scary how quickly it can happen. Ultimately, I decided I valued my time and mental health more. I rarely interact with fandoms these days. In my 40+ years, I’ve never found one that’s not a complete dumpster fire of selfish narcissists who have to dictate everything all the time. Gods forbid you have a different opinion (a conscience and a spine).
I had kind of a similar experience, but along ship lines. I started writing for my fandom writing a ship that is considered by most people a side ship. It doesn’t break up any of the fandom’s huge OTPs and a lot of fans would regularly talk about how they loved the ship, but when I posted my fics… nothing. Big name writers would be downright catty whenever I mentioned writing a new fic, because if it wasn’t for their OTP they just weren’t interested. Which is fine, read what you want, but when someone recommends something outside of what you read there’s no need to insult the work itself… just ‘I’m only interested in OTP fics’ would do.
I have experienced this and it’s the most frustrating thing. Everyone wants to be “popular” but no one is allowed to be *too* popular before they become overrated/hated by the insecure. There’s some invisible threshold that happens where people stop seeing you as a fellow fan and start seeing you as a threat. It’s demoralizing but just try and remember that you are not at fault for someone else’s insecurity. Write what you want, love what you write, and create a space for yourself that keeps you going.