somniloquence

Seconding this. While I love AO3 for the range and and depth of stories--nothing like it for diving into somebody's work across many fandoms--I just prefer the longer and more thoughtful form of communicating on lj and DW, and the tone of interactions. RE: feeling isolated and depressed, I hear that one. Taking part in organized fannish exchange has been pushing me into creating work for a small older fandom and some crossovers, but I'm not in that heady intoxicated stage where you stay up way too late and gulp down everything you can get your hands on. Maybe just as well right now, energy must go elsewhere right now and that kind of marathon is very tiring.
Ahh, but the mental worlds that evolve from that! The creating, I agree, that's the point. You may not hear much from folks and may never know how much it helped them to think in your worlds for awhile.