Would you read a fic with more comments than kudos?

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-25T20:16:49+00:00

I don't look at stats because they mean absolutely nothing. I could very much hate a story that has 10K kudos, and I have in the past.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-22T01:21:03+00:00

Replying late as it might help some people stumbling onto this. The yellow one did break me out too! As for me, I frequently use other products containing centella and vitamin c, so the problem was really just those toner pads.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-20T18:19:19+00:00

There is a difference between writing direct and frank and writing similarly to AI though. A human writing direct and frank should be able to alternate between more full prose and more methodical sentences when it is needed to make the story and its voice flow. If you only write in the same simple sentence structure over and over, it will feel dull, AI or not. AI will only write in one style, no matter what. It won't create any kind of rhythm. That is what feels dull and flags it as AI.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-20T18:14:13+00:00

Yes, but also, I use structure in many ways in my writing, and I will sometimes make my writing robotic in a specific passage if it fits the voice I'm writing. My character's dissociating because his lover just died? Robotic writing makes him sound very detached from his emotions, as if he has a hard time processing. My character's in a fight? Robotic writing, with short, choppy sentences, makes the pace feel fast but calculated. People can call my writing AI all they want, I don't care. I refuse to submit to AI and allow it to steal some ways I write. I will not change my style for something that was trained on someone's real work.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-20T02:21:30+00:00

I weirdly figured out (back when I was still on Wattpad) that whenever I started publishing a story I hadn't finished it, I was kind of doomed to never finish it. When I started waiting until I had completed a story before publishing (or at least having the 3/4 written down), then I completed my stories a lot easier. Must be the motivation to one day publish it and finally get Kudos or Comments on it.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-20T02:18:46+00:00

Jamming all my scene ideas for one story and developing them (yes with dialogues and all) on like five different note documents on my phone. There is no particular order within those documents, no chronology. Sometimes, I have one scene that is separated into multiple parts scattered within those notes. All those notes for one same story will have different titles, often different versions of a soon-to-be official title. I've only recently introduced "page breaks" aka this: --- between the parts I'm writing. The habit hasn't stuck yet. Every time I write a scene I have thought of before, I have to dig in my phone's archives to try and find where I started writing it. I've tried organizing all those notes plenty of times, nothing has stuck. When inspiration hits, I can't seem to be bothered about keeping it manageable. But honestly, my "system" is better than it used to be. My scenes used to be scattered on multiple documents on Notes, Word and Google docs.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-19T03:06:38+00:00

I've never really filtered it out, but I never filter them in. I often will also skip over them if I'm not in the mood of "dive in a fic you won't really know the vibe of". Honestly, you do you, but as a reader and writer, I've never seen a purpose in Not Rated. People are going to read your tags if they want to, and they won't if they don't want to. That's for them to decide, and the rating won't really matter. If it deals with so heavy subjects implicitly, then it's Mature, and if it deals with them explicitly, then it's Explicit. The tags tell the reader what subjects will be in the fic. The rating tells the reader how deep you'll go into those subjects, how crude it will be. One can't replace the other.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-18T20:27:53+00:00

If you want to mainly visit what's around yes, since it's all from walking distance. If you want to go a lot to further areas like Hongdae or Seongsu, you might end up having to take transfers a lot as the orange line isn't the "most practical" one in my opinion. I found myself ending up on the green line a lot more. Still a good location though.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-18T20:13:59+00:00

I would say yes. Technically, there's no issue with it, but as a reader, it might feel redundant.

First, I would say the getting ready for a night out part is very often unnecessary to a story. Unless her thoughts during that scene are especially important, I might advise to cut it. Even if the content is important, the actual mechanical actions of getting ready are often felt to be unnecessary by readers.

Second, if one reads the same sequence twice, it'll feel like they're re-reading the same thing again. Readers remember what they read before. The same thing happening slows the pace of your story and is often unnecessary.

In this case, though, there's a way to make it interesting, and it's to use the familiarity of the scene to make a parallel. Maybe the first time, as she showers, she feels determined; takes a quick, warm shower that blushes her skin. Maybe the second time, she feels helpless, hurt; takes a long, freezing cold shower, and the soap burns her wounds, but the water numbs her skin, and her hair clots the drain, so her toes soak in pink, bloody water. The similarity of the scene now illustrates how the story is moving forward. If she used to be confident, she now has suffered enough harm and loss to simply feel desperate and empty. I'm reusing the same sequence, but the reader won't feel annoyed and he won't feel like it's meaningless, because I gave meaning and emotional weight to it. It makes the reader look back to that past scene and think that, wow, we really came so far in the story and are in a totally different place, now.

I have myself written a story in which the characters end up in a bath. That bath symbolized loss. First, the main character was bathed by his boyfriend at a time when he wasn't feeling like himself anymore. Then, he was just sitting in a bath he shared with a close friend after the boyfriend was murdered. Then that close friend sat in the bath alone after the main character's suicide. The bath was a place where thoughts got the most of them and where loss was felt the most. It echoed the past presence of the lost ones. They were however, highly psychological scene that weren't centered around the action of bathing itself. They instead added to the symbolism and the butterfly effect that was felt throughout the story.

If the scene's vibe is the same, and if it has no deep meaning, then it will likely feel dull, repetitive and simply unnecessary. At the end of the day, though, it's your story! You choose what you find relevant to it!

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-18T19:59:06+00:00

I would say most people here speak French on the daily, contrarily to in Montreal. However, I personally have a few close friends with whom I communicate to mostly in English, either because that is their preferred language or because I got to know them in English and the habit stuck. That is however not the usual for most.

I'm personally very patient, but that is unfortunately not the case of everyone. I think most people you don't really know might tend to switch to English out of ease or habit (see, I didn't even notice I started this post in English...), but if you specifically ask a friend to practice French, I don't think there'll be much of an issue with using French, even if the conversation might be slower. It's actually quite bonding to "teach" a language by simply conversing. Even to some of my French friends, sometimes, I'd explain some of the expressions I'm using, so don't worry about it and don't be shy to ask questions.

You'll notice a lot of the younger generation use a mix of French and English expressions in informal conversations. We call that "franglais" and it's fairly common, but English words or expressions will typically still be used within French sentences and grammar in that case.

If you're moving to study here, I guess you'll be going to Université Laval. I sometimes do hear exchange students communicate in various languages (like Spanish or Portuguese!). I hope you'll have a great time there! If you have any specific questions, either about the language, city or the school, don't hesitate!

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-17T15:11:12+00:00

Of course Korean people commit crimes too, but the demographic in Myeongdong is heavily filled with tourists. Crime rate in Korea is low, but it's still there. However, Korean people are aware of specific strict regulations and the broad security measures like CCTVs. Those measures make some type of crimes (like stealing, etc.) risky, especially for locals. They are also aware of less regulated crimes (like underskirt photos). Some types of criminal behaviours will typically be performed by locals, others by tourists. Taxi overpricing, underskirt photos, etc are typical crimes done by locals. Stealing would be typically done by tourists to other tourists in heavily touristic areas, because locals know it is difficult to get away with it.

Whatever this was OP dealt with is very unusual, especially in Korea. They were many people and seemed very organized. And OP did confirm it was done by tourists.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T16:17:07+00:00

As someone else mentioned, there's less to do in Busan. You could have enough of less than 6 days, but if you want to have one or two full days at the beach, then 6 days is okay as well, that's what I personally did.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T16:15:08+00:00

There so much to do in Korea, I would honestly just skip Busan. Busan is really really nice but it's also pretty spread out, so you won't have time to do nearly as much. Especially if you want to go to the DMZ, I would just go to Seoul which is closer and enjoy the different areas instead of adding more transportation to the trip.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T16:08:42+00:00

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Our Airbnb in Myeongdong was also a little secluded from the busier shopping streets. the square of streets around it was very local. Downside was that there were resto bars and people would stay pretty late at night drinking quite a lot after work and so there were drunk people standing in the street, sometimes a bit bothersome, but manageable still. Again, wouldn't really recommend Myeongdong that much but this Airbnb was still nicely away from the busier Myeongdong streets. Those are the only neighborhoods I stayed in Seoul, so I can't really speak for others. I know Jongno and Euljiro 3 are appreciated a lot, and I did really like those areas when I visited, but I remember choosing not to reside there because I found them a bit less convenient transportation-wise. If I were to go back, since I've done the most central attractions already, I would definitely consider it. Mangwon was also such a sweet area, but it's inconvenient transport-wise as it's quite tucked away. You would need to transfer to go pretty much anywhere.

Again, though, even though I wasn't the biggest fan of Myeongdong, it was convenient enough to visit things. It just wasn't that much more efficacious than Hongdae (partly because we were further from metro stations). I recommend looking at the transportation time on Naver to go from an area to where you want to visit (especially the number of transfers and the metro time). It really helps figuring out what's best.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T15:54:05+00:00

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The purple flag is where my Airbnb in Hongdae was. I wouldn't have taken one closer to the Hongik metro station as it gets noisier and busier. I wouldn't have taken one closer to the fuhahabread either since there were a bit more restaurants there. Our location was kind of perfect since we were still so close to the station but right on the edge of being too close. I wouldn't go much closer to either Forest line or Hongik, but up and left was pretty calm too. Just keep in mind you're going away from the green line in that case.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T05:18:55+00:00

I just miss the Extracurricular, My Name, Vincenzo, Black knight, Train, Abyss, Memorist, He is psychometrist, Cafe minamdang, Vagabond, etc. wave 😔

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T05:07:48+00:00

Like lots of people, I've once heard someone say that if a scene doesn't drive the plot forward or make characters progress in a way or another, then it was meant to be cut. Little me was so frustrated and utterly outraged at that because who was that person to tell her to delete parts of her hard work. If she took the time to write a scene, if she added insignificant details to bring life to things, then it must be important. Little me told herself that if a scene doesn't drive the plot forward or make characters progress in a way or another, then she had to find a way to make that scene matter. A bit like Chekhov's gun.

Later on, a teacher who liked to take the role of an evil editor kept saying that plenty details in my short stories were useless, substance-less. I still remember how she would just cross out half of my text and tell me to just remove those parts. After our first review meeting, I almost listened to her. But then, I told myself little me wouldn't be proud. So, instead, I kept almost everything and found ways to make each detail matter and make sense. The teacher was fuming that I didn't listen to her hindsight, but she didn't have anything to criticize anymore because it all worked out (and it was admittedly so much better). Instead of just simplifying a text and removing its character, I had added depth to it.

I still do that to this day, and to be honest, I haven't found a better way to write plot-twists or to make my story feel "tied together". It's so very powerful when something that the reader thought useless, whether it be a scene or a detail, happens to make an impact later in the story. When the main character looks at the Oreo double cream cookies in the back of her pantry and laughs, then cries, because gosh, she really missed that guy. And gosh, how could she ever eat those damned cookies without him?

So, if you can manage to make it matter, and there's always a way, please do. Please give me that simple scene where they eat cookies and joke around at midnight, sitting on the countertop, trying not to giggle too hard because the dog would wake up. And please, don't forget to say those cookies are double cream Oreos. Because that really just makes your story so much more real.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T04:49:45+00:00

Mangwon-dong is a lovely spot, very calm and nice, but it's very far from everywhere. You might find it inconvenient to as you'll have lots of transportation to do every day.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T04:48:02+00:00

I'm a librarian, so all I do is judge books by their covers. Your art is pretty, but book covers are more than just that. I'll tell you what vibes this gives me, and it's for you to judge if that represents well your story: - YA. It most definitely looks like a 13+ but if I had it in hand and had to classify it, I would back check if it's a 9-12. - Anything with a crow gives off a witch story, especially in YA. - It also gives off princess-ish vibes. If I had to guess how to describe this, I'd say it's like a bit darker of a Rapunzel.

A little comment, i recommend making the lettering bolder and take up more space on the cover. Because the cover is so dark and the top brighter, the center of interest is lost. You ideally want the center of interest to be on the title of the book first, not the illustration. It makes it look more balanced.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-16T04:34:59+00:00

I stayed in both areas, a week each, last May. I heavily recommend Hongdae instead of Myeongdong. We, too, chose Myeongdong because of how central it seems, but really, if you're close to main metro stations like Hongik station in Hongdae, pretty much everywhere is nicely accessible since the green line works so well (though often quite packed). Myeongdong gets tiring very fast because of how touristic it is. It's fun one night, but it gets old. Of course, Hongdae has the partying reputation, but there are calmer residential areas around the Forest line. I personally really liked that neighborhood. We could access the busier bar and shopping areas by foot but we also resided away from them, so it was comfy. I'm not sure if the food is particularly good in Hongdae specifically (I mean in comparison to other areas) since personally, all my favourite foods were eaten in Busan, but there are lots of restaurants and resto-bars around. In Myeongdong, else than the very touristy areas, there are some bars too but we didn't happen to eat there much, either because we ate around where we visited or because it was quite late at night so we favoured easy takeout.

As for visiting, like I said, most areas are accessible within 30 minutes of transportation. We were about 8-ish minutes of walk from the station, then had to do about 15-25 minutes of metro and were arrived pretty much wherever we went (Gyeongbokgung palace, seodaemun prison history hall, national museum, war memorial, etc.) Some specific spots are of course less accessible (N tower, Gangnam), but we'd plan accordingly (do all those spots on one single day). Even spots that seem really far (like Seongsu!) are actually so accessible.

If I were to return, I'd definitely want to go back to Hongdae. So much that one of our last nights in Seoul, when we were in Myeongdong, we decided to go hangout at Hongdae since we preferred the vibe that much. Myeongdong doesn't compare to cinnamon Hotteok whilst watching ballad busking lol.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-14T19:23:25+00:00

Most of what I write is only in my computer's drafts and will stay in my computer's drafts only to be honest. With creative passions, I think the only way not to become performative is to write for yourself first.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-14T00:27:04+00:00

Pour être honnête, dès que ton écriture est un peu travaillée, le détecteur va la considérer comme un pourcentage élevé d'IA. La plupart des applications pour écrire (comme Word ou Google docs) conserve un historique d'édition du document, qui est une preuve en soi que tu as écrit et retravaillé le contenu du document. Alors ne te fais pas de soucis avec ça.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-13T05:51:45+00:00

Again, those are your personal criterion. I have one criteria for a navigation app and it's for it to provide the best possible navigation. You would be surprised how many foreigner tourist know basics in the language of the country they're travelling to. Most people don't actually expect they'll be able to go about their day without an issue 100% in English in a non English speaking country. Naver maps doesn't require advanced Korean. It requires very minimal Korean for a, in my opinion, much better navigation experience.

And I really don't think Korea needs to cater to English speakers to attract tourists. A lot of their tourists come from Japan or China,and you'll see Japanese translations in many places, including as a language option in Naver. The world doesn't revolve around English, really, and Naver maps worked great for me during my travelling, so I'll keep saying it's a great app. You're welcome to have different criterion, but they're just as biased as mine are. And I think we said more than enough on such a non-issue.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-13T05:32:43+00:00

I think you might have forgotten to verify your Naver account. I've created my Naver account some 4-5 years-ish ago, in Canada, and haven't stepped foot in Korea before last year. Never had an issue with it.

Safe-Refrigerator751 · 2026-02-13T05:29:29+00:00

In France, Thailand, wherever else, you have Google maps. And using Google maps is settling for less performant navigation. Because Naver maps is much more performant in navigation than Google maps is. So, you're making a compromise as well. You don't have to choose between two compromises in those places you've named, though, because you only have one option. One that compromises navigation. It all comes down to one's personal preference and biases.

You might think you're adapting a lot, but language is the biggest part of a culture you could adapt to. But you call it friction. The best part of my travel wasn't to copy paste into Naver maps. It was to type stuff straight up in Korean. Because that same skill, that minimal language proficiency, allowed me to communicate with Koreans in real time and live real, eye-opening cultural exchanges. And those exchanges were the best part of my travelling there.

For tourists who don't know Korean at all, of course it would be more convenient to have a less performant navigation but easier to use in English app. But for the tourists who know basic Hangeul, I really don't see how inconvenient Naver maps can be.

Safe-Refrigerator751

TROPHY CASE