➡️ Content warnings on fiction are a courtesy. ➡️ Not every medium of fiction and storytelling has or is expected to have content warnings or extensive tagging. ➡️ Print novels do not traditionally warn for content in any way. ➡️ Fanfiction did not traditionally warn̵ for content in any significant way. ➡️ An author is only obligated to warn̵ for content to the degree mandated by the format they publish their fiction on. ➡️ Content warnings beyond the minimum are a courtesy, not an obligation. ➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is a valid tag authors are allowed to use on. It means there could be anything in there and you have accepted the rısk. 'May contain peanuts!' ➡️ Writers are allowed to use 'Creator chose not to warn' for any reason, including to maintain surprise and avoįd spoilers. ➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is not the same thing as 'no archive warnings apply'. ➡️ It is your responsibility to protect yourself and close a book, or hit the back button if you find something in fiction that you're reading that upsets you. ➡️ You are responsible for protecting yourself from fiction that causes you discomforts.

Pansyk •6mo ago Personally, reading and writing fanfiction has really helped me with my technical skills. When I look over the fanfiction I have written over the years, I can see how my prose and dialogue have improved. All fiction, whether of the fan or original variety, is built off of the basic idea of "making words sound good." And fanfiction is a perfectly acceptable way to do that. However, the way that fanfiction operates in terms of characterization and plot? That's radically different from original fiction. In fanfiction, characters are already established, so even if you're doing some batshit insane Alternate Universe, everyone already knows the basics of what's up. That's not true of original fiction. You need to devote more time to both fleshing out your characters and establishing their relationships with the rest of the cast. Plot often progresses differently, in part because of the time you just spent showing your readers who these people are, but also because fanfiction and original fiction often follow different structures entirely. Fanfiction is free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. That makes it useful for new authors, especially young authors. Think of it as swimming in shallow water. It's fun! It can help you build up some strength. Anyone can do it. But it won't completely prepare you for diving into deeper water. So, I guess at the end of the day, reading both will help your development as a writer.

𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 (𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜) 𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰. ❞𝐇𝐮𝐠…❞ ❞𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐝…❞ 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝. ❞𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫…❞ 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.

one of the most significant misconceptions i fear some people have about whump is that it’s sadism. For a lot of us, it’s masochist. I can’t speak for everyone in the whump community, but for myself and most of the people i’ve interacted with, we’re empathising with the whumpee, not the whumper. We’re experiencing second- hand their paın and catharsis, and also (my favourite part) the concern and care they receive from others but like… i can totally imagine what it would look like for outsiders coming across our blogs where we consistently fantasise about our favourite characters in absolute agony lol

henshengs Tbh I think fandom generally needs to get better at sitting with the uncomfortable fact that a story/fanwork/meme/whatever can hurt one person and help another sensicalabsurdities This is why I think “tag warning” culture is kinder and more constructive than cancel culture / “no problematic content” culture. One size does not fit all, but if we learn to be more aware of the fact that the same thing can be emotionally validating or cathartic to one person and upsetting to another, and pick up a general mindset of thinking before we post, “what might people need a heads up for in this content?”, we grow more compassionate, more thoughtful, and more understanding of the differences in people’s experiences.

ᵂᵉᵈⁿᵉˢᵈᵃʸ ᵂⁱˢᵈᵒᵐ ⁽ᵂᵉᵈⁿᵉˢᵈᵃʸ ᶠᵃⁿᶠⁱᶜ⁾ "ᔆᵒʳʳʸ ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵒᵗᵗᵃ‧‧‧" "ᴵ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ⁱᵗ‧" ᵂᵉᵈⁿᵉˢᵈᵃʸ ʳᵉᵖˡⁱᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᴱⁿⁱᵈ‧ ᔆʰᵉ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵍᵒᵗ ᵃˡˡ ʰᵉʳ ʷⁱˢᵈᵒᵐ ᵗᵉᵉᵗʰ ⁿᵒʷ ᵉˣᵗʳᵃᶜᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵒᵈᵃʸ‧ "ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ᵉˣᶜⁱᵗᵉᵈ ᴵ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵇᵃʳᵉˡʸ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ‧ ʸᵒᵘ ᶠᵃⁱˡᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗᵉˡˡ ᵐᵉ ʰᵒʷ ᵉⁿʲᵒʸᵃᵇˡᵉ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ᵗᵉᵉᵗʰ ᵖᵘˡˡᵉᵈ‧" ᔆᵃⁱᵈ ᵂᵉᵈⁿᵉˢᵈᵃʸ‧ "ᴱⁿʲᵒʸᵃᵇˡᵉ‽" ᴱⁿⁱᵈ ˢʰᵒᵒᵏ ʰᵉʳ ʰᵉᵃᵈ‧