As @lastbluetardis​ and I have watched the replies to our survey on fanfic feedback, one number has jumped out at us. 

Thirty-eight percent of you don’t reply because you don’t know what to say. 

So, I’m here to help. There are three parts to a basic fanfic comment. Pick a line from each section, and you’ll have a comment that I guarantee will make any author smile. 

1) Compliment “This was…” (Choose one.)

1. So good!
   
2. Great!
3. Excellent!
4. Brilliant!
5. So sad!

You can stop here if you want. Honestly. Several of you indicated that this doesn’t feel like enough, or that saying the same thing on multiple chapters of a story feels silly. I have regular readers who leave variations of, “I loved it!” on every single thing I write, including updates of my multi-chapter works, and can I tell you how much I love them? Because I know they are reading with me every time, and I know they loved it every time. 

If you want to go beyond the compliment, you can add:

2) Emotional reaction “It made me…”

1. Laugh
   
2. Cry
3. Flail
4. Swoon

That’s a good spot to mention a moment in the story, if you want. “It made me swoon when they kissed for the first time.” “I cried when the Doctor told Rose about Gallifrey.” etc.

3) Closing sentiment

1. Thank you for sharing.
   
2. This made me smile.
3. I can’t wait to read more.

If you choose an option from each section, you might get something like, “This was excellent! I flailed when he finally admitted he was the one sending her secret admirer notes. Thanks for sharing!” That’s a comment that will put a smile on any author’s face.

And because I know some of you are sceptical, here are a few posts with lots of notes that say the same thing: post post post post post post 

We happen to be at the beginning of Fandom Fic Rec Days right now, which gives you an excellent chance to practice your new skills. Go find a fic you loved and post the link, along with a comment based on this template that tells people why they should read it. “This story is brilliant. The author made me cry when they wrote about the Doctor seeing Rose again during End of Time. You should go read it!”