I've been working on this email a while. In fact, I went through the archives here to try and find the original ramble that started it all. So far, I'm all the way back to December with no sign of it... Ah, well. That's not important, I guess. It was a comment about feedback and its importance to fic writers.

I'm a late bloomer to the world of fanfiction, and I have to admit I was very good at reading and running. It never occurred to me that I should be doing anything more. Once I began writing, though, the little Feed the Bard buttons moved way up on my priority list. It's more than just an ego stroking - although, that's nice. Sometimes, after a twelve hour work day, getting the muse excited about squeezing in four or five hours of writing (mixed with house cleaning and cooking) is nearly impossible. Even those 'Great fic. PMS' reviews are crucial then. I may write because I love it...and the muse won't let me sleep if I don't, but I hate to leave readers hanging.

Outside my own need for a little gratification, reviews have saved some of my fics from the recycle bin or the dreaded 'To Be Finished Some Other Lifetime' file. They've made plot suggestions that have reenergized the muse. I even got one that was so funny I had to include a quote in the next chapter of one of my fics.

The point (and I do have one) is: Don't underestimate the power of feedback. It keeps us going back to the keyboard and ignoring all the little tasks that we should be doing. The next time you read a fic, let the author know how he/she did and don't be afraid to make a suggestion or two.

Chris (aka rebelrsr)
www.rebelrsr.com

BtVS

• Chapter 34 of Simple Choices by Rebelrsr (her web site).
  
  
• Chapter 2 of The F in Pike by Forgotten Conscience (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 2 of Better Than Sushi by tvdiva33 (BuffynFaith.Net).