Have you ever changed a story's direction based on feedback from your readers?

Haoro

Haoro

Really Really Experienced
Hiya!

Just curious how other writers feel about acting on suggestions they get in the comments of their stories. Like, in my case, I had one route in my story that was heading in a fairly dark and brutal direction and I had lots of people commenting that they felt sorry for the main character and he should be saved somehow.

In the end, I felt kind of bad and compromised by making the situation turn out slightly less terrible for him. It did feel a little awkward and now I'm not sure if I made the right decision. I'll probably keep it this way as I can still continue down the original path I planned for the route if I adapt things slightly. It is still going to feature lots of not so nice things happening, so I may run into this problem again.

How do you feel about changing your stories based on feedback like this? Do you always stick to your original plan or adapt based on what commenters tell you?
 
Hm, I have written chapters based on reader's pitches and changed plans I had based on them, but I have not gone back and changed previous chapters due to feedback (at least not yet).

I think it's good to take feedback and run with it, wherever you can; it's like doing a favor for somebody, after all, and they may appreciate it! It'll make them feel involved, too! :D

That said, unless you're doing commissions or something, don't feel held hostage by feedback. The quickest way to burn out or start seeing it as a job instead of fun is by bending to other people's expectations. If somebody says "I'd really like to see your submissive character act like a dom!" don't feel pressured to make it happen if you don't want it to go that way.

Also if it's a collaborative story, hopefully they remember they can make an alternate branch that is a happy ending! :rolleyes:
 
Feedback is always good, it means somebody CARES about the story.
Which is awesome, so always be grateful when you're getting it, IMHO.
Honestly, I like to listen, see where the other person is coming from, and then determine how it changes the story if I were to go with the suggestion. A lot of the time it involves reworking so MUCH that I can't see myself ever doing it or making it work. Or it's a request for something that I personally don't care to write, because I care about my characters and don't like to be mean to them. :P
ON the other hand, sometimes a suggestion right out of left field can make a story into something incredible. I added incest into my story as a joke, and lo and behold it turned the entire story into something a LOT more meaningful than just "Lucky Guy gets laid". The process from which it went to there from where it started is long and complicated... but short version is... glad I took a chance on something I was iffy on.

Sometimes even Stephen King is right... If things are getting boring, Blow up something. Emotionally, physically, whatever, but wake the audience up. If they feel their influence has impact on what you're writing, and you're politely either explaining why you'd love to see THEM write it, or furiously jotting notes... Well, hopefully you're at least having fun, because that's what it's all about, right?

And random music because I do that to be weird.
 
I won't even consider publishing any part of a story until I have a complete, start-to-finish plan laid out; otherwise, I can't trust that the story will work out, and I can't tweak earlier chapters to make later chapters work. However, I do ocassionally leave 'blank' scenes of sorts in my plans - for instance, I might need a particular action to be performed in a scene, but have a few different options as to which character plays that role. I can therefore fill these holes in with whatever turns out to be the best fit when the time comes.

More generally, I try to use feedback to gauge how readers might react to a scene that's yet to be published. Several times I have scrapped a draft upon the realisation that, based on previous comments, the scene might be comparatively dull or inconsistent with the theme of the story. Thanks to this, I can't say I've ever had to rework a story to fit a reader's feedback. They always end up requesting things that are already planned, or at least, things I've made space for.
 
I have, and I've found it less than great for me.

If you know the story you want to tell, and you're writing it for your own enjoyment, then I'd suggest going all the way. If people don't like it, that's going to happen. I tend to encourage this way simply because I like to see where other people go when they write.

I understand wanting people to feel involved as well, and there have been times where I've written stories (not just here) by taking advice from others. I ultimately found those less satisfying, but that's me. I totally get why people respond to those prompts and are able to craft for others (as has been mentioned in this thread). I don't think you should feel guilty about it unless you really undermined your own story.
 
Yes, often based on people encouraging me to add their fetishes which sometimes pique my interest. In one case, you influenced a change in my story based on your comment in Hades University for Men. I was planning a chapter that let the main character leave with their pride intact, but certainly not knocking him out. But your comment made me realize that the main character had earned such a victory on his path. I say, write what resonates as true to the character for you, but be open to seeing different perspectives. And if all else fails, write both versions.
 
Graphite Golem said:
I have, and I've found it less than great for me.

If you know the story you want to tell, and you're writing it for your own enjoyment, then I'd suggest going all the way. If people don't like it, that's going to happen. I tend to encourage this way simply because I like to see where other people go when they write.
Click to expand...
I agree. Consider Chekhov's Gun - if you place a rifle on the wall in the first act, only you know why you put the rifle there. Your readers may want the heroine to masturbate herself with the barrel, but if you've subtly built toward her shooting someone with the gun, it may simple be that your readers don't realise what you're planning. Perhaps they'll even prefer your planned outcome.

I will add that there is a distinction between feedback from readers and feedback from fellow authors. Someone who's never written a story may not realise the effort it would take to follow their suggestion. There is a world of difference between,
"I think this scene is too fast-paced, and I want to see more detail of [thing that happens in chapter],"
and,
"I really like [random fetish]. Please insert [fetish] into your story."
 
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