What makes you want to comment on a fic?
...is probably the simplest way to put my question.
One of the things I'm battling (other than writing) is getting rid of the social media mindset. I took breaks, listened to podcasts, reminded myself why I write and why I should write for me everyday. But old habits die hard, I guess. To be fair, I am writing for a (dying?) fandom, which also gets little engagement on other fics in the same tag, combined with the fact I'm using first person POV with a niche concept. Still, I do everything I can to make it up by trying to be a good writer! Because anything can be enjoyable as long as you can execute it well, at least, from all my experiences, it is what I have seen and heard from others.
Despite my beta readers telling me that the chapter was executed well, I can't seem to be convinced without tangible results. I KNOW that as long as I did my best, it's fine. However, with people barely commenting on my fics, this and my others, I can't help thinking that I'm just a sh*tty writer. That I have to be better, perfect even, do get readers to care.
It's a toxic mindset, I can tell even as I write this post. But I don't have any other framework to approach this situation. Ever since social media, I no longer can rationally critique myself without spiralling into panic mode every now and then. I'm starting to think this is an issue that goes beyond the methods I've tried previously. Any thoughts?