Source
r/romancelandia•
canquilt

Posting on Romancelandia: It doesn't have to be a dissertation

Mod Post

Because r/romancelandia is a discussion style subreddit and has a rule against low-effort posts, people are often unsure about when their ideas or topics warrant an original post. Lately, lots of people have been leaving comments in the Romancelandia Daily Reader Chat threads that go a little something like this:

I have an idea but I don’t know if it’s good enough to post.

Guess what, besties? I’m here to tell you that your idea is good enough to post, just as long as you put a little bit of effort into the job.

Is it good enough to post?

Basically, if you have more than a little bit to say and you believe your thoughts might spark a discussion, and you’re interested in hearing from other members, then your ideas are worthy of a post. I always try to be encouraging when people mention their ideas in the daily, but you could use this checklist when I’m not around:

  • Is it more than a simple reaction or statement?
  • Do you have a lot to say? A paragraph or even more?
  • Is your question multi-layered?
  • Does your analysis go beyond surface level critique?
  • Are you interested in hearing what others have to say and exchanging ideas with them?
  • Is your idea or reaction fresh, uncommon, or original?
  • Do you have a unique perspective on the topic due to experience or identity?
  • Are your thoughts critical or exploratory in nature?

You may not be able to answer ‘yes’ to every single item on this checklist-- that’s fine! Keep in mind that this isn’t the end-all-be-all of potential post idea evaluation. These prompts are here to guide you in deciding if you think that your question or commentary will get a decent discussion going. Mostly, though, if you have something to say, you just need a little bit of elbow grease to get a post going.

Levels of Effort

Everything doesn’t have to be a dissertation, but there does need to be involvement from the OP in some capacity. Your effort may come from the post body, as with a review, recommendation, or reader reaction post. Alternatively, your effort may come in the form of a question posed to the subreddit, either in a comment attached to a media post or in the post body itself. Additionally, your effort may come in the form of ongoing discussion, where you exchange ideas and questions with subreddit members who are participating with your post.

High Effort Posts

These are your dissertation-style posts. They will vary in length and level of detail, depending on the person, but they are all some version of an essay, where the OP drops their fully-formed ideas for members to read and respond to. Sometimes these are musings or critiques on genre media or tropes; other times they are detailed reviews and reader reactions to new and old titles.

Medium Effort Posts

Medium-effort posts are less about front loading content and more about providing a springboard for conversation and discussion in the comments. These posts are often question-based posts-- they specifically ask something of the readership and are looking for answers.

Simple Effort Posts

These posts are somewhat bare bones but still include effort from the OP in order to get people talking. Many times these are media or link-based topics that connect to the romance genre. They always include a comment or a prompt from the OP that is designed to get people talking.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

Here are some examples of comments that would have made excellent posts:

TL;DR: You're good enough. You're smart enough. And, doggone it, people want to read your posts.

Posted Nov 16, 2021, 2:40 AM UTC · edited

5914
Loading comments…