Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Open Letter to Lurkers

Hi! Good to meet you. I'm glad you're here. The FoLCs on these message boards are very welcoming and supportive. I find it amazing that a television show that first aired over twenty years ago still has so many fans and authors who find new stories to tell.

I used to be one of you. I think I lurked for over two years before posting my first word of feedback. I can't remember why I didn't post earlier. There were a lot of people who gave regular and detailed feedback, so maybe I didn't think I had much to contribute - that a quick sentence letting the author know that I liked the story wasn't good enough.

But then I wrote my first story. The feedback I received was wonderful - it made me feel wonderful. I had spent a month writing that relatively short story, and couldn't believe that so many people liked what I had written. It made me feel like every minute of my time had been worthwhile. I knew that those readers appreciated me.

Speaking as someone who has written and posted stories, it's very easy to doubt that people are reading and enjoying them. My mom always told me that "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." So when I see lots of views on one of my stories, but get very few pieces of feedback, I can't help but have lingering doubts about readers' reactions, and those doubts plague me for days on end. I suspect other authors feel the same way.

Over on the archive, it says, "We don't pay fanfic writers for the stories they give us, but we can show our ap­pre­cia­tion by sending them feed­back. It's impor­tant to let authors know we value their efforts!" I thought I'd highlight that quote for people today. The next time you read and enjoy a story that's posted on the boards, take an extra minute to say something nice to the author in the feedback thread. I know they'd all value it, and that might encourage them to keep writing more.

Sincerely, Susan aka Groobie

Well said, Susan!

You definitely speak for me as well with this.

Even something as simple as "I enjoyed your story" can really make an author's day.

Also, contributors to the MB are its life blood. A lot of people seem to be active on the list for two or three years and then fade away. If the MB is to continue to thrive, we really do need new FoLCs chiming in. Please don't be shy; this really is a very welcoming group.

Joy,
Lynn

I can completely testify to the FoLC's being a welcoming group. I'm fairly new...well, the 'newest' of the three of us on this thread anyway .

I've been a fan of the show since the beginning--my awkward teenage self sitting (giddy) in front of the tv the night the Pilot aired.

I loved the show for the four years that it was on, always trying to 'recruit' friends/family into becoming anywhere near as obsessed as I was about it. I must not have done a good job--the only one drafted into my 'group' was my mother, LOL .

Anyway...I loved it (the show) basically by myself.

And it stayed that way, pretty much till 2012 .

L&C was my comfort throughout those years--what I would turn on when I needed something constant, something reassuring. A way to escape into a world, escape into a love triangle that I found captivating .

But then, something amazing happened. Those little things called Smartphones came into being . (Yes--I know that they were around before 2012, but the combination of me having a Smartphone was not ).

And, at this time, I just happened to be living in a new state, far from 'home', with two very little kids, and a husband who was traveling (a *lot*) for work. Point blank--I was lonely.

Point blank--I suddenly had a very convenient way to look (to read, to swoon) over the stories on the L&C Archive (that I had just discovered).

And a way to easily read currently posted stories here, on the boards (that I found, thanks to discovering the link on the Archive ).

I read (and read, and read.....yeah...and read ) for about a year.

And then--hold onto your seats--in September of 2013 we got an iPad .

Grand scheme of things...it probably was not that big of a deal, true. But prior to getting it, we had a fairly outdated desktop computer. Set up no where close to where me and the kiddos 'lived' in our house during the day.

Suddenly, there was portable reading--and also typing . Suddenly these message boards were an option.

I've been actively posting for two years now. Can not believe how fast the time has gone ! I started typing on here, initially, to talk about L&C--about a show that I've loved for as long as I can remember.

What I didn't count on, was making friends / / . (And right when I needed them the most).

This place...it's truely a wonderful place to hang out. Everyone has always been so welcoming, and right from the beginning.

I've tried to describe it here to my husband--who doesn't really 'get' the show, why I love it so much. I tell him it's like reading a book with a bunch of your friends (the posted stories). It's like an online book club, based fully on your favorite subject, where you all read a story together, enjoy it together, discuss it together.

I tell him I am so thankful that I found these boards.

Please, if you have even an inkling of a thought of wanting to post, do it. Keep doing it. Make yourself at home. You will be so glad that you did. Trust me, I am .

And, it will mean a ton to the people writing all of these stories that we love.
Laura

Beautifully put Groobie!

This is a wonderful place to spend time and read about our favorite reporting duo. All of us have learned so much from each other in writing and many other things.

It would be fantastic if more readers came out of lurker mode and shared kind thoughts about the stories that are posted.

Many, many of these fics are written over the course of years and sometimes under difficult circumstances. So please, drop a few lines and let the writers and your fellow readers know what you think of the story. I assure you those lines would be much appreciated.

Hi,

All I can do is echo the previously expressed sentiments.

As an author, I don't just write for myself, I write for the readers.

Before the site revamp it was somewhat discouraging when posting chapter after chapter, story after story and receiving only a few comments. The comments were the only way we could guage readership.

With the new site there is a counter.

Now we can see that we have had 100 reads even if there are only a comment or two.

That being said, knowing how many readers there are and hearing from them and having them express their thoughts on what you have posted are two entirely different things.

Frankly, I don't care if it is a negative comment. I'm not looking for sycophants I am looking for criticism, both positive and negative. That is the only way an author can improve.

Hi, Lurkers!

Ditto what the others said. Welcome to our little piece of the internet. Pull up and chair and come play with us. We're all nice people, I promise! You'll be making friends here faster than a speeding Superman.

We writers love any and all feedback - it's the food that keeps our muses going. So please - drop us a line or two if a story so moves you.

One thing I forgot to mention - most of us make it very easy to leave what we call FDK by putting a link to that thread at the end of the post. In my case it reads "comments go here" and by simply clicking on that you will have a comment window pop up.

Taking the hint and closing the door behind me.
Just leave nice feedback.

Hi RJS,

Thanks for the comment!

I thank you, but I think you missed the point.


Nice Fred back is all well and good and appreciated, but negative comments are just as welcome! How can we, as authors, improve if all we see are pats om the back. I, for one, welcome criticism. We all learn from our mistakes. If they aren't pointed out, how can we learn?

Hi all,

after reading all your posts, I thought I leave a comment, because I´m one of those lurkers.
As for me, I love reading all kind fanfics. Especially the naughty ones
But mostly, after reading a fanfic, I have problems voicing my opinion about the story.
Even a short comment is difficult, because I think maybe I make such a mistake in my comment. And my post gets a different meaning (maybe a bad one).
I can´t speak for english natives, but for me (I´m from Germany) it´s really hard work to write more than two sentences in English
But I promise I try to leave feedback even if it´s just a tiny comment.
So pleeeease keep writing. I´m here every day to read more stories and feedback and all kind of things about our favorite couple.

So thank all of you for doing such hard work and keep doing it.

Stephanie

Great post, Stephanie . (And your English is fantastic!)

Nice to meet you. Great to have you here .
Laura

Thanks for chiming in, Stephanie. I promise you that most writers on this board do not (will not) stop posting their stories for a ransom of feedback. We have both readers and writers from all over the world who post stories here. It's a great place and way for you to practice your English (and some of us even know other languages: Grüß Gott! ).

I must warn you, nobody is perfect. Even us native English speakers make mistakes when writing in our own language. I, myself, have a nasty habit of dropping or adding the "not" from sentences (making "don't" into "do" and vice versa), which of course, means that I end up writing the opposite of what I meant to say. We're very understanding about typos and language mistakes, especially in feedback. (And thankfully, it's not too difficult to edit one's comments/stories to fix any errors.)

Thank you for reading.

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for the comment.


We have writers from around the world as Virginia said. I currently am helping several authors. One is from Germany , one from France , one from Australia , two from Great Briton and a few from America.

When it comes to Lois and Clark though - we all speak the same language.

Thank you all for your kind words.

And yes VirginiaR, thanks to all those great fanfics I learned much more english than in 8 years at school

Now I´m more than encouraged to give a lot of feedback

There are many who would agree with you! As Ken mentioned he is in communication with several FoLC's all over the globe. Many of us have 'cyberfriends' in different countries. It is a great way to learn about new cultures.

I for one think your written English is fine. Please continue to comment on all stories that you read. It will make the authors VERY happy!

Hello Stephanie,

Thanks for coming out of lurkerdom.

I wish my _______________ (fill in the blank with pretty much any language other than English) were even half as good as your English is. I think that you'll find that most FoLCs will be very particular about the language used in a story that they are either writing or beta reading (after all, that is part of their job as an author or a BR), but are very forgiving in other circumstances. Please don't let worries about your English keep you from posting.

Joy,
Lynn

Thanks Lynn for your nice words

I agree with Lynn--after all, even the English speakers can't always agree on the language. "England and the United States are two countries divided by a common language"--and there are FoLCs from at least five English speaking countries here. Most stories and posts are in North American English but other spellings, terms and cultures find their way in as well. The exceptions add spice and give us something to talk about.

Even North Americans can't always agree on spelling and wording. I co-wrote a story in another fandom with someone in Canada, and we argued endlessly over spelling and terminology (I'm in the U.S.). Heck, there's various dialects of English spoken within the U.S., which can be very confusing to someone not familiar with them. (For example, when I was 3 years old my family flew to Texas to visit my mother's relatives. My great-uncle said to me, "Give me a sugar," and I promptly told him that sugar rots your teeth. He meant "Give me a kiss," but my language skills were pretty limited before I learned to read, so a lot of what those relatives said made no sense to me.)

*looks in again*

I guess I have to confess to joining the lurkers a couple of years back. Part of the reason is that many of the people I used to exchange PMs and emails with, not to mention spent whole evenings (and often half the night or more) on IRC with aren't really around any more, although it's nice to see some of them come back occasionally.

@Stephanie: We used to have one lady here who gave excessive feedback despite her problems with the language - she used lots of quotes and even more emoticons and, well, very little else. And yet, her feedback was always to the point and very much appreciated.

Melanie

ETA: Has it really been nine years?