This is a short rant, and I'm sorry for anyone who is going to be like – 'wtf, Em', but it needs to be said. I know a lot of you reading do not write fanfic, and some of you do. To those of you who are readers, I want to say that I adore you all. You are the reason why I write the stories that I do. Your comments mean the world to me because they are raw and honest, and constructive.
Recently, a fellow writer of mine was publicly mocked on an open forum. The person that did it was NOT a writer, but felt that she was justified to do so because she felt that as a writer, we should have 'thick skin'. I must say that I was appalled at her behavior. It takes a lot for us to write something and put it out there for the world to see. We take time to create a piece of art and what you all say in your reviews really is our payment for doing so. To have someone so callously critique something, not in a helpful way or to the writer personally, is just disheartening. It is people and instances like that that make us not want to write any longer.
So please, be kind to those authors who put their work out there. If you don't like it and can't find something constructive to say, move on. It's that simple. There is no growth for an author when they are made fun of or treated poorly... It just makes us give up...
End of Rant
