Heya there! Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Ricouta. Miranda Ricouta. ...Actually that's a pen name, but whatever. Abridged Introduction: I've been writing pretty much ever since I was physically capable of wielding the mighty weapon that is the pencil. It started off as simple fanfiction of my favorite cartoons and video games, but now... well... it's evolved into ridiculously complex fanfiction of my favorite cartoons and video games. I've been uploading said fanfiction to websites such as FanFiction.net for about four years now, and I believe that I've greatly improved over the course of my run. I'm constantly coming up with ideas, both for fanfiction and original works, and while I haven't published anything for sale yet, my passion for writing is strong, and I hope to make it my career. Lately my fanfiction hasn't been getting as much attention as it used to. I recently published one story that I've been working on for upwards of a year. I put a lot of effort into, writing and rewriting and even getting an editor because I wanted it to be as good as it could possibly. However, it hasn't gotten any attention. It hasn't gotten a single review or comment, not even a like or favorite or follow aside from the single person who favorited it on DeviantArt. I had even been promoting the story on DeviantArt from the time of its conception, and I gathered quite a few followers who showed interest in it. Yet still, nothing. My other stories haven't been doing so hot either, but that's the one that hits me hardest. A couple years ago, I would get reviews, favorites and encouragement every time I uploaded. Now, it seems that I just don't have the fire that I used to. Needless to say, this hasn't been doing good things for my self-esteem. All I want it what any writer wants: a little bit of feedback. Or a lot of feedback. Just, feedback in general. I decided to join this forum to try and interact with fellow writers, maybe pick up some advice and pointers, or even better, the constructive criticism on my work that I oh so desperately desire. Hopefully this can help me a little. I'm literally dying. Writing is my life force, and the lack of attention is slowly and painfully draining it away from me.
Hello, and welcome! I've been thinking about your post and it has intrigued me. Usually writers get better with age and experience, not worse. Maybe there are factors you're not considering? Are the sites you visit as busy as they used to be? Have people moved to other places, like Facebook? Were these people young and had a lot of time on their hands, but suddenly they have more pressure from school, work, family, and not as much time to read anymore? There's another explanation, since you say you worked very hard on this one. You may have developed your writing to a new level that requires a different audience. Of course, I don't know, I'm only offering explanations. I just find it strange that age, experience and effort have made you lose your "fire". It's usually the other way around. Maybe you should try posting in other places before you give up.
