An Author's Adventure

My Musings: The Fangirl vs the Reader

Everyone, I have a confession to make.

While it's true that I enjoy leaving comments, sometimes I get a bit...carried away.

This is a phenomenon I like to call "the fangirl vs the reader". Some comments I post are thoughtful and insightful, but others are on the completely opposite end of the spectrum, which basically consist of screaming in all-caps. The fangirl in me definitely has less maturity and level of vocabulary than I exhibit in my daily life. It's the small side of me that obsesses over ships and freaks out whenever something happens to a character or the plot twists.

It's actually kind of funny. I juxtapose it like a regular, normal person (the reader) vs a little yet larger-than-life cartoon character (the fangirl). To me, it's humorous when I picture it in my mind. What do you think?

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, despite the perfect pictures people paint of their lives on social media. Sure, a "fangirl" comment is more likely to make someone laugh than make someone's day like a sincere, thoughtful (and likely more grammatically correct) comment would, but regardless of which kind of comment it is, I know it will make people happy, because it lets them know that their story is being read and appreciated.

In fact, I've consistently noticed that authors are overjoyed when they receive comments on their works, even if it's just one person posting 50+ different things, which has been known to happen sometimes. And I agree--after all, I enjoy receiving comments too, especially if people are really enjoying my work.

Thinking about all this makes me remember why I came to Wattpad in the first place. I really wanted to show support to the stories I liked, as well as being able to read them in full, and soon I decided that I wanted to create as well.

It's partly just for my own sake, purely for enjoyment, but I'm also motivated because I have the power to bring happiness and good stories to other people. If only that motivation would last 24/7; I'd be on top of the world! Haha--you know how life is. You gotta eat. You gotta sleep.

And sometimes, you gotta let out your inner fangirl! Well, within reason.

This has been another chapter in An Author's Adventure. Stay tuned for next week!