Although I read quite a few stories on the site and usually award kudos (if I make it to the end of a story), I am not very good at leaving comments behind. For some reason I can never think of anything pithy, friendly and worthwhile to say; but this doesn't mean that I have not enjoyed reading them.
Likewise, when people leave comments on my stories, I never know how to respond (if at all), although I almost always respond to personal messages. If the comment is flattering, I will inevitably feel good about my story and the person making the comment. I hope that my grateful thanks will be understood. Occasionally comments will foresee the future direction of my story, in which case I would rather not confirm or deny the speculation as an author ought to have the right to a few surprises. Sometimes a comment will appear to wish to lead my story in another direction, and then I think to myself 'you must take it or leave it,' as I do to others' work. (I do however really appreciate those who quietly point out errors or inconsistencies in personal messages.) Once in a while a comment will seem just odd; in which case I shrug my shoulders. There have been two occasions I remember when comments have caused me to alter the direction of my story, although in neither case was this a fundamental change.
I lurked on this site for about a year before I eventually joined up, nearly three years ago. During that time BC appears to have grown into a wonderful resource both for reading TG stories and posting and getting feedback to my own. Thanks to everyone involved!
Louise
Comments
In your own time
... you will come out and be able to comment what these stories mean to you. When they make you gush in happiness, feel warm inside, make you feel like you are in their life and the characters are your real life friends, when you sense everything that occurs in their stories and wonder how the author somehow pulled you into their world and you sensed it.
Once you are able to live within these stories, then, commenting will naturally come to you. It won't be a chore. It'll be second nature like breathing is.
So don't worry and do not force yourself.
It will come to you, in your own time. ^^
Sephrena
Commentable
my ditz brain is badly matched to my smart mouth as the first can rarely control the second n so comments run free n sometimes could do with more control but the main reason I comment is coz I know how much I value the comments received on my meagre offerins as you know Louise am a big fan of your stories havin read everythin you have on BCTS durin my time as a 'lurker' n yours n other stories encouraged me to eventually sign up n now in Perspectives you have in my view the best thing you have written to date n it is the first thing I read whenever the latest voice is posted but wots kept me at BCTS n kept me writin (current hiatus accepted) is the wonderful comments and overall feelin of love help n support from the BCTS sisterhood (n brotherhood) that has let me know my efforts were read n enjoyed n such a delightful shock from writin in a vacuum n yes some comments are odd there's a few mean spirits and plenty who want to influence your writin and many who are real good guessers at wots comin but its also fun more get it so wrong n its always your choice to accept influences or not n the great freedom of this site means we can all play it exactly as we choose n I choose to try n reply to everyone who takes the trouble to comment coz I really need n appreciate the feedback though I appreciate your a much better n more assured authoress than me I think you would gain from more two way participation though it does eat into writin n readin time n waddever I'd hate for you to slow up on postin those voices n givin me my regular Perspectives fix x k-jo
I was lying down minding my own business when life came by and drove right over me
Like you, I used to be bad at
Like you, I used to be bad at leaving comments. Over time, though, I managed to encourage myself to do so as a way of letting the authors know that I care about their stories. I'm not saying I'm a good comment write. In fact, most of the time, my comments simply amounted to long-winded versions of "I liked it!" Other commenters have a very good way of analyzing the story, describing the implications of the events, and predicting what would happen next. I simply pointed out aspects of the story I enjoyed. My point is that the comment doesn't have to be clever. As long as the author sees that people care, I think it would encourage them to keep writing (he he).
responding to comments
If the comment asks a question and poses a point that I feel the need to expound upon, I will reply under my own stories. Usually I don't feel the need to say anything and assume that my gratitude is understood. I don't want to get into these little things were someone says Thank you for the story and I reply the you for the comment, and they reply to my comment with a thank you for responding and it never ends.
I find it particularly annoying when a person responds to each and every comment, but wind up not saying a thing or simply restate the post. My personal feelings is that people are just trying to fudge the numbers to make it look like their stories are getting a lot of responses (because there are twice as many comments even though half are thank you's). I generally don't read or comment to those people solely out of principle. I have tried to offer some advice to some writers but have been told that they didn't want to improve or that I was rude for pointing out errors, again, I simply don't read those people's stories any more. Now, on the stories I do comment on, if I ask a question, I do expect some sort of response to my question. But normally I don't comment just to say good job unless I was really moved by something.
Well, back to my cave as I get another dozen people to put me on ignore.
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
errr
Well, speaking as a relatively new author here, I try to reply to every single comment. Why? Nothing to do with fudging any comment count!
It is just that I feel that if someone takes the time to actually post a comment on one of my two (so far) stories, then I am obligated to respond. At the very least thanking them for it is the least I can do.
Comments, to me, are my reward for writing? LOL. As opposed to pay or fame I suppose? Feedback means a lot, and I want to know what people liked, disliked, or if a particular chapter really moved or entertained people.
My two cents :)
No pithiness required
Just say "I liked it". That's a lot better than liking a story but leaving no comment. Comments are my life's blood as an author.
**Sigh**
Sighs are the natural language of the heart.
-Thomas Shadwell
BTW, Stanman is a shining example
His comments are almost never longer than one sentence, but he ALWAYS leaves one! I love him for that...
Sighs are the natural language of the heart.
-Thomas Shadwell
Indeed.
I don't expect people to leave some long analytical comment. Just knowing that they left a comment is appreciated. While a Kudos is appreciated, it's just not the same.
Have delightfully devious day,
The Problems with Comments
Although I turn off public comments on the stories I post, I do get quite a lot of readers who will send me a Private Message. One big advantage of that is that every time I log on, I am told when a message awaits me, and I can respond directly to it. In the old days, when I used to allow public comments on my stories, I had to regularly scroll down to the bottom of the My Stories list, just to check no one had left a comment.
The notable thing is that when people send me PMs about a story, they are far more personal and friendly than comments left at the end of a story. These PMs frequently go on to long term conversations which I tremendously value. Whilst I do get constructive suggestions, I don't think I've ever had a PM which is simply negative - it seems some people think it's OK to scrawl, "Charlotte's writing is rubbish!" on a wall, but they won't do it in a private message.
I always found public comments predicting how a serial was going to unfold particularly difficult to manage. When the predictions were correct, they were giving away the game to everyone before I was ready to reveal it. Of course, that is not a problem with a PM, and I can respond with a "Wait and see," message.
I know many authors here measure success by the number of comments, but I believe that's a very subjective and inaccurate system. Kudos are much more objective, and I treasure them. However, only a small proportion of people who read a story to the end actually give Kudos - why do people read a story to the end if they don't think it's worth saying a thank you to the author?
Comments on comments
Thanks to everyone for your many interesting comments on my blog which show that there is a range of opinion on the topic. For my part, I will try and comment more if I can think of anything useful beyond 'I liked it' (which is what the kudo button is for). However, I do a lot of my reading from the site on a Kindle which discourages interactivity. I'm afraid I probably won't comment on your comments (unless I violently disagree with them), but will endeavour to respond to PMs.
Louise