"A single point of light can guide one person or a million. If that light is extinguished, we all stumble"

I wanted to wipe out my entire profile and post this instead. I will probably ramble and repeat myself, and you don't have to read any of this if you don't want to. But something happened and I want to get my feelings out about it.

A lot of thoughts are going through my head right now, mostly because of something that happened a few days ago in another fandom that I am a member of and I am listening to "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.

I won't say the name of the other author that was involved or the fandom because that is their business, but I need and want to say something. I had been reading a story of theirs that I really enjoyed.

The problem was that their story had not gotten a lot of (in their words "positive feedback"). Now, the reviews they had gotten, while small in number, were positive.

I left this author a comment telling them their story was good and I enjoyed it. I received a reply that said something along the lines of "You are an awesome writer, why would you be talking to me" ( or "reading my stuff" I can't remember their exact words).

This is going to sound cheesy, but I was genuinely saddened to hear a fellow writer say something like that. I myself only started seriously posting stories in March or April of last year.

I consider myself greener than Kermit right now. She asked me WHY I was talking to her/reading HER stuff. This is not something a writer should ask themselves ever, new or not.

To make the situation sadder, I took the time to type her a heartfelt reply because I liked her story that much and I wanted her to see that she should continue writing, regardless of story view numbers, reviews etc.

I myself got into writing because it almost is a high you get from being this creative and yes hearing other people's thoughts, positive or negative. With that said, I will selfishly say I got into writing for myself.

While I am currently talking to another writer and getting ideas from them, I feel I have the right to not use their ideas or input, I am not rude when pointing this out, I just make my own personal decision before posting, that's all.

I feel I am rambling now so let me get back on track. Within the hour of me replying, the story had been taken down. Her account had been taken down also.

After discovering that, I could only stare at my computer for a few seconds. I was literally stunned. I was wondering if she had gotten my reply at all, or worse, if she had gotten it and not believed it.

If she had read my reply and not believed it, to me that means she didn't believe in herself or her in ideas. She didn't believe in the contributions she could and HAD made to that fandom.

This makes me sad because every single fanfic writer has something to contribute. They have their own style, rhythm. They have their off the wall ideas. Each writer can put their own spin on an old AND new idea, and who knows maybe come up with something completely different yet again. Now this writer, through her own choice which is her right, isn't there anymore.

New writers, myself included, cannot be inspired by her anymore. More seasoned writers cannot be inspired by her anymore. We can't have a light bulb go off in our own heads or have a "Eureka" moment. As cheesy as that sounds, I do not think I'm wrong.

I hope that writer comes back again so I can tell her I missed her writing and her ideas. I know by now I am sounding like a broken record player so I will leave with this: Please write for yourself, first and foremost. Find your own style and voice. Put whatever pieces of yourself you want in your stories, but make sure they are there. Don't write for reviews and story hits. Write to make your characters and ideas come alive. And even before writing for yourself, just write.

Sincerely,

A broken hearted fellow writer