It's Been A While

I know notes are important especially on art posts, & reblogs are even better than likes, but I can't help but frown when I see people complain that they get too many likes compared to reblogs. I get it, I'm an artist too but especially on posts that only get 5 notes for hours of work, I appreciate every like i get. I'm also kinda scared people will avoid liking posts so they don't feel guilt tripped into reblogging, and they'll just end up ignoring most art posts altogether (as I do, sometimes)

Yes!!! You’ll notice that I pretty much never reblog posts that are like ‘likes / kudos aren’t enough, it needs to be reblogs / comments’ etc. and there’s reasons for that.

I feel like a lot of these folks don’t understand audience metrics. Back at university, when studying how the audience engages with the media, we learned briefly of the 10/10/10 rule. The numbers may have slightly changed over time, etc. but essentially we learned about audience engagement, and the different tiers of engagement.

When applied to like, art and writing, there’s actually really simple statistical explanations for why people don’t get as many reblogs or comments in proportion to likes and kudos. And that’s simply because the bulk of an audience - I hate to say it - just doesn’t care as much as the uber fans do. They like it in a ‘cool I’ll like that’ and that’s about the sum of it.

So standard stats of engagement go like this:

Your audience engages with the thing (art/writing etc.) That’s your hits.10% of that group like the thing enough to kudos it. 10% of that group like the thing enough to then comment. 10% of that group like the thing enough to see if you have a Tumblr/find you elsewhere on the internet. 10% of that group might actually go buy prints etc.

Tadah! The numbers change, of course! But that’s like, tiers of human engagement. That’s fundamental stuff. People can’t care about everything equally, and so they really just don’t.

This is how someone with 200 followers may only get 20 likes and 2 comments/reblogs. (And it skews wildly - especially on Tumblr where people tend to not like every post they actually enjoy - because like-culture on Tumblr is sort of…more like bookmarking a thing, which falls into the commenting metrics.)

There’s also these stats, which are a bit disturbing:

Your audience engages with the thing. That’s your hits.

About 10% of that group are engaging with it oppositionally. That means, they are engaging with it because they don’t like or hate it. You rub them the wrong way and they just haven’t unfollowed yet. They actually enjoy hate-watching. They like to feel better about themselves and they can do that after reading / looking at your thing. etc. That’s fun right?

I mean those people are the ones who watch a McDonald’s ad and then go ‘I fucking hate McDonald’s, that’s trash.’ If you agree with them, you’re like haha yeah - congratulations, you are oppositional readers of McDonald’s! But here’s the thing, no one escapes that. No creator escapes that. You’re probably doing well if you have oppositional readers. Most people have no idea they have them, because most oppositional readers engage privately and are satisfying some weird thing inside of themselves. I.e. people who hate McDonald’s after an advertisement are like…not very likely to then call McDonald’s and tell them that.

And then the majority of the audience engages neutrally. Meaning they can either take or leave the thing. It’s just good to have in the background for them. They may turn into an oppositional fan, or a favourable fan. Usually it’s the latter! I often think there’s less of this online (neutral engagement), because people tend to curate their experiences more. But then I think of the amount of folks I follow who I realistically only followed because they drew or wrote my OTP that one time, and now I really am just a neutral follower.

That’s…the bulk of most people’s experiences, unless you unfollow people all the fucking time, lol.

So if you have enough of an audience to engage favourably - to press the red heart button, to even leave comments sometimes etc. that’s amazing, because as you can see - the stats are like…not ultra favourable towards it, and it’s probably not going to gain you anything but resentment if you start guilt-tripping your audience.

The neutrals will leave, the oppositionals will stay because they enjoy the drama (which is really not what you want), and the favourable folks are generally already trying pretty damned hard in a world of complete media oversaturation and may also leave to find someone who appreciates them more (pro-tip for the folks out there, if you already get comments or reblogs and frequently mention not getting comments or reblogs your commenters are often going to feel unworthy and unvalued and unappreciated). And, as you say, some might be scared away from ‘lighter’ engagement because they feel guilty for not doing more energy-intensive engagement on a blog that frequently posts guilt-trippy posts.

I mean hell, I even thank my lurkers, because they’re awesome. Somewhere out there, there are people who feel favourable about my work and I’ll never see a kudos about it, but I know statistically, they’re there. And they’re awesome. Like, some of those people will read this post. Hi folks. *waves*

But anyway, tl;dr, I completely agree with you. I don’t want to scare my audience away and I don’t believe in guilt-tripping. There are ways to encourage audience engagement for the people who are shy etc. and it’s mostly like ‘you can leave a kudos in the comments!’ or ‘I love my commenters thank you for inspiring me’ and maybe someone wants to get in on that love or ‘you folks who are leaving kudos on a regular basis / like my tumblr posts are the best’ etc.

And also tl;dr a lot of people do not understand audience engagement principles. It is literally impossible to change the stats so that 90% of your audience is super favourable and comments all the time. And why? Because that’s just not how humans work. We’re all engaging with a million different things in a million different ways, and that leads to creators having audience engagement metrics that resemble the above. There is already Too Much Stuff, and people have lives and cannot exist to just be sycophants over every type of media they engage in. It’s just…how that is.

Also like, reblogs and comments are important, word of mouth is really important to creators, but it’s like…it’s never apportioned fairly. It isn’t proportioned to hours put in, how good the final piece of art is, etc. That’s…the way it is. That’s not the audience’s fault and it’s not the creator’s fault. We’re all just doing the best we can in a world where someone’s 10 minute sketches will get 40,000 notes and someone’s 300 hour piece of artwork will get two likes and that’s it.

Lookin’ for Writeblrs 👀

So I have a lot of lovely mutuals, but I always love finding new writeblrs so here goes! Feel free to interact with this post if you’re a writeblr, and tell me a bit about yourself and your WIPs if you like so I can follow you!! I’m an especially big fan of:

Sci-fi/fantasy/contemporary genres (although I like most genres! these are just my faves!!)

Found family!!

Funky diverse casts

Preferably nothing too NSFW as that stuff makes me uncomfortable :/

Anything with cool imagery and/or symbolism!!!!

I am relatively young but in final stage renal failure. I have a higher chance of survival IF I can recieve proper medical care AND LIVING ASSISTANCE in a different state. Get me OUT of Mississippi. 8/29/18

The long post w the good explanation is being shared but not inspiring much help. So, I simplified it.

My illness is straight up fatal. Not gonna beat around thatBush, anymore. I seem desperate for help because I AM desperate for help.

My nephrologist has seen enough improvement in my kidney function, lately, to believe someone my age (early 30s) might have a longer life WITH PROPER AND FREQUENT MEDICAL ATTENTION. Sadly, that just isn’t an option where I live.

Please, if you can help me with moving expenses (even just a couple of bucks) I would be grateful. I’m sinking fast in Mississippi and now my doctors are giving me too much hope to ignore. I wanna get out of this situation and I’m working my fatigued, brain-foggy ass off to make it out of here.

If I can undo the damage my heart failure caused to the rest of my body, I want to. I don’t want to spend another month KNOWING what I should be eating, what medicines I should be taking, what tests and treatments I should be getting… and receiving almost none of it because Mississippi lawmakers think people like me have somehow earned slow, painful deaths.

PayPal.Me

Pay T.M. Art using PayPal.Me

Go to paypal.me/robincf and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

I can’t write these scenes bro I just can’t

How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different. 

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being. 

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief. 

Either because those people want to offer their support and love  or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested. 

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost. 

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost. 

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently. 

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time. 

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving. 

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief. 

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t. 

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.  

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

I haven’t posted snippets from my WIPs in a while so here have a few lines where Zenobia is being 100% that bitch, as a treat

Hello!

hey losers, does anyone want a basic website,,,, once i have freetime id love to mayhaps get some work to build a portfolio,,,,