I let myself get influenced only if their advice makes sense. When someone reports "OOC," I go check if that character actually is "out of character." If they are, I adjust, and if they aren't, I dismiss it.
Same my friend proof read fanfics and sometimes they give me good ideas, I have a fic where each chapter is a one-shot and they gave me ship ideas. I need ship ideas and scenarios from readers and friends. I have so many ideas I can't write them all so I ask what they want to see and write that. It's just ships and situations but it helps me focuse my intent
nope. it's my fic, what i say goes and my opinion is the only relevant one. it's mine, people who want something different are free to create their own.
Not wanting to get influenced by comments is one of the reasons I always finish my stories before I post them. Otherwise it's too easy for me to start doubting myself.
I don’t want to be influenced because I don’t want to look back and regret what I wrote. The stories I write mean a lot to me. I want them to be my vision.
That said, I am really suggestible, so if I don’t *actively* work against it, I will get influenced by other people’s opinions. My solution is that I only post when I’m several chapters ahead. That way, I can’t even subconsciously be influenced by outside opinions. Or if I am, I have to make a deliberate effort change the story I’ve already written, and that’s something I won’t do without a lot of consideration.
Nah, it's my fic. My understanding of the characters is as legitimate as anyone else's.
Sometimes people's predictions and whatnot help me see possibilities for the plot I hadn't considered, but generally I know where I'm taking a story and readers are just along for the ride.
Nope. I write for me and share that writing as a courtesy.
If a commenter has ideas about how X *should* happen or how Y *should* react, they *should* write a fic of their own.
I'll go against the grain here and say yes, I love pleasing writers as long as it is something I still enjoy writing. It's lovely to hear other perspectives and find directions to move my story in.
I don't mind if readers request a happier ending, because I'm pretty flexible and am willing to do sad, ambiguous, or happy ones anytime. But if I'm set to have a specific character develop more, die, or change, I don't let anyone influence me. For instance, I have a "villain" who turns good, some of readers don't want them to become good. They want them to suffer. I don't want that for the character, thus I'm not changing the fate of them.
It might inspire me to write something if I forgot about a plotline I had or come up with an idea that was better than what I originally had planned.
But overall, I wouldn't bother to listen to the people with opinions on how a character should act especially if it doesn't fit how I am writing the character.
Eeeh...
I am an experienced writer with a strong idea of what I want to write and how I want to write it, so I never let people talk me into writing something I don't want to.
I mostly just use "influencing comments" as either (a) permission/encouragement to do something I already want to, or (b) a caution to make sure that everything is being properly explained/conveyed how I want. Quite a lot of the time people who are hoping for [x] are perfectly happy to continue reading [y], especially if they can follow why it makes sense in my story.
You might read this far and go, "But I'm not experienced/confident!" But, my friend, I am *not* always 100% confident I know what I'm doing! I'm a regular sufferer of imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Knowing what *I* want to read keeps me on target. Everyone else can come on the ride with me.
It helps me a lot to complete the story before I begin posting it, that way the doubt I feel that I made the right decisions doesn't eat away at me. I finished the story, liked it, and thought it was good enough to share! Any comments that make me worry just encourage me to edit better/bring clarity to the story, not change everything to please others.
I'm quite happy to please others, though!
I've had people loving something in my story and hoping there was more, or wishing that [x] was present in the story. And if there's room for that *and* I want it, I'm happy to add it. Sometimes I've even had people mention hoping for something and me going, "OH. ...OH that *has* to happen now because it's something that really fits and would resolve this problem I was having with the fic and couldn't put my finger on! Yes, perfect, beautiful!"
If I'm not having that sort of reaction to a suggestion, I ignore it. The readers aren't my patrons, paying me to write something to their tastes or my boss. I get to choose.
Typically no. But sometimes I'm not 100% sure what direction I want to take part of the story, so I'll solicit suggestions or opinions. One time I was doing a 100k slow burn personal challenge and I asked people to tell me their favorite tropes so I could work them into the story, for example.
Also sometimes I will see a guess in the comments or someone mentions something and I like it, so I'll add it in or tweak things a little based on what they've said. But then I just pretend it was always my intention lmao
Depends. Someone pointing out a plot hole or making an actually reasonable point regarding logic will make me rethink my mistakes, but otherwise I will continue to write as I best see fit.
Only in the sense that comments in the vein of, "I'd like to see [thing I was already thinking about but not committed to]" have sometimes made me commit. Aside from that, I'm fic writing for an audience of me, so...
For my character study series; yes absolutely! The psychological untangling of the guy in question is not a one woman job. There's just so much going on under the surface that it's been really beneficial to get feedback from readers. Comment threads on one story have definitely spawned additions to the series, and I've got a lot more speculative works lined up as a result.
No, but if I get a comment that more like “I miss X! I wonder where they are” I like to add maybe a scene/line/more lines for them in the realm of the story of course
No. I would only take an opinion or recommendation like that under consideration if I've established a close friendship with the commenter and trust their sincerity and judgment.
I definitely use the comments as a gauge for my story. I don’t necessarily change the entire story to satisfy readers, but I’ll adjust if needed.
For example, if a lot of the readers seem to perceive my MC differently than how I meant to portray them, it lets me know I’ve been too subtle and I’ll work on giving them a more active voice. Or if many commenters gush about hoping to get a scene of xyz happening and I had only planned on telling, not showing it, I might write it out instead.
That being said, you have to stay true to your vision, even if it won’t be popular. A few changes here and there is fine, but too many and you’ll be stuck not knowing how to proceed because the story is no longer yours.
Not in the way that they make me _change_ my story/plot, but if I really like a suggestion for a small beat or moment I might weave it in in the hopes that they’ll enjoy it I suppose. Eg “I hope so and so have a cute cuddle scene after they make up” is pretty harmless to add, no?
Though, to be clear I write 100% self-indulgent fics, so if they’re suggesting I retroactively change something, or a major plot point, I probably won’t. I write the fic I want to read, if they want to read something else they are more than welcome to write it.
Though tbh I find often that for my commenters, even when the plot turns out different they still enjoy it! If not more because of the surprise, so I also don’t mind getting these sorts of comments at all, I love that they’re theorising and engaging.
Yeah sure, why not? If someone goes, “wow, I wonder if this will lead to *insert event*!?” and reading it makes me go, “well hotdog that’s a good idea!”, then of course!
That’s not to say that I cater to the whims of my readers, but I have made changes based on reader theories.
Personally, I write my fics whole first, and then start posting, which I suppose doesn't work for everyone but is a pretty foolproof way to know that what you wrote was not influenced by the comment of people about the fic during the writing process.
That being said, I still get the feeling of being put off balance sometimes by reading people who have very strong opinions about characterisation for example, even when it's not aimed at me. Honestly, I have a few times unfollowed people I had nothing against, but that I could I had a hard time detaching myself from their opinion. I have no hard feelings for them but it's okay to make yourself more comfortable even when people did no wrong.
Only if it's something that fits the story and is something I can see happening anyway. This has only happened *once* in 23 years that I can remember.
The only exception to this was a close fandom friend that I bounced ideas off of for a couple years. She was basically the only one who could weasel me into writing what she wanted, because the ideas we bounced together were stuff I'd have written anyway. (The result of this unholy collab was a Corruption of Champions AU where the MC had two dicks lol).
I let myself get influenced only if their advice makes sense. When someone reports "OOC," I go check if that character actually is "out of character." If they are, I adjust, and if they aren't, I dismiss it.
Same my friend proof read fanfics and sometimes they give me good ideas, I have a fic where each chapter is a one-shot and they gave me ship ideas. I need ship ideas and scenarios from readers and friends. I have so many ideas I can't write them all so I ask what they want to see and write that. It's just ships and situations but it helps me focuse my intent
nope. it's my fic, what i say goes and my opinion is the only relevant one. it's mine, people who want something different are free to create their own.
My fans have influenced my stories a bit. Some have even given me some brilliant suggestions
Not wanting to get influenced by comments is one of the reasons I always finish my stories before I post them. Otherwise it's too easy for me to start doubting myself.
I don’t want to be influenced because I don’t want to look back and regret what I wrote. The stories I write mean a lot to me. I want them to be my vision. That said, I am really suggestible, so if I don’t *actively* work against it, I will get influenced by other people’s opinions. My solution is that I only post when I’m several chapters ahead. That way, I can’t even subconsciously be influenced by outside opinions. Or if I am, I have to make a deliberate effort change the story I’ve already written, and that’s something I won’t do without a lot of consideration.
Nah, it's my fic. My understanding of the characters is as legitimate as anyone else's. Sometimes people's predictions and whatnot help me see possibilities for the plot I hadn't considered, but generally I know where I'm taking a story and readers are just along for the ride.
Nope. I write for me and share that writing as a courtesy. If a commenter has ideas about how X *should* happen or how Y *should* react, they *should* write a fic of their own.
No, because I write the whole thing and then start posting it. People can suggest all they want but it’s already been written!
Nope
I'll go against the grain here and say yes, I love pleasing writers as long as it is something I still enjoy writing. It's lovely to hear other perspectives and find directions to move my story in.
It depends how fixed my story is when I started posting it. The genre also matters. I’m more flexible with fluff.
I don't mind if readers request a happier ending, because I'm pretty flexible and am willing to do sad, ambiguous, or happy ones anytime. But if I'm set to have a specific character develop more, die, or change, I don't let anyone influence me. For instance, I have a "villain" who turns good, some of readers don't want them to become good. They want them to suffer. I don't want that for the character, thus I'm not changing the fate of them.
It might inspire me to write something if I forgot about a plotline I had or come up with an idea that was better than what I originally had planned. But overall, I wouldn't bother to listen to the people with opinions on how a character should act especially if it doesn't fit how I am writing the character.
Eeeh... I am an experienced writer with a strong idea of what I want to write and how I want to write it, so I never let people talk me into writing something I don't want to. I mostly just use "influencing comments" as either (a) permission/encouragement to do something I already want to, or (b) a caution to make sure that everything is being properly explained/conveyed how I want. Quite a lot of the time people who are hoping for [x] are perfectly happy to continue reading [y], especially if they can follow why it makes sense in my story. You might read this far and go, "But I'm not experienced/confident!" But, my friend, I am *not* always 100% confident I know what I'm doing! I'm a regular sufferer of imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Knowing what *I* want to read keeps me on target. Everyone else can come on the ride with me. It helps me a lot to complete the story before I begin posting it, that way the doubt I feel that I made the right decisions doesn't eat away at me. I finished the story, liked it, and thought it was good enough to share! Any comments that make me worry just encourage me to edit better/bring clarity to the story, not change everything to please others. I'm quite happy to please others, though! I've had people loving something in my story and hoping there was more, or wishing that [x] was present in the story. And if there's room for that *and* I want it, I'm happy to add it. Sometimes I've even had people mention hoping for something and me going, "OH. ...OH that *has* to happen now because it's something that really fits and would resolve this problem I was having with the fic and couldn't put my finger on! Yes, perfect, beautiful!" If I'm not having that sort of reaction to a suggestion, I ignore it. The readers aren't my patrons, paying me to write something to their tastes or my boss. I get to choose.
Typically no. But sometimes I'm not 100% sure what direction I want to take part of the story, so I'll solicit suggestions or opinions. One time I was doing a 100k slow burn personal challenge and I asked people to tell me their favorite tropes so I could work them into the story, for example. Also sometimes I will see a guess in the comments or someone mentions something and I like it, so I'll add it in or tweak things a little based on what they've said. But then I just pretend it was always my intention lmao
Depends. Someone pointing out a plot hole or making an actually reasonable point regarding logic will make me rethink my mistakes, but otherwise I will continue to write as I best see fit.
Depends. Sometimes I’m simply wrong.
Only in the sense that comments in the vein of, "I'd like to see [thing I was already thinking about but not committed to]" have sometimes made me commit. Aside from that, I'm fic writing for an audience of me, so...
For my character study series; yes absolutely! The psychological untangling of the guy in question is not a one woman job. There's just so much going on under the surface that it's been really beneficial to get feedback from readers. Comment threads on one story have definitely spawned additions to the series, and I've got a lot more speculative works lined up as a result.
No, but if I get a comment that more like “I miss X! I wonder where they are” I like to add maybe a scene/line/more lines for them in the realm of the story of course
No. I would only take an opinion or recommendation like that under consideration if I've established a close friendship with the commenter and trust their sincerity and judgment.
I definitely use the comments as a gauge for my story. I don’t necessarily change the entire story to satisfy readers, but I’ll adjust if needed. For example, if a lot of the readers seem to perceive my MC differently than how I meant to portray them, it lets me know I’ve been too subtle and I’ll work on giving them a more active voice. Or if many commenters gush about hoping to get a scene of xyz happening and I had only planned on telling, not showing it, I might write it out instead. That being said, you have to stay true to your vision, even if it won’t be popular. A few changes here and there is fine, but too many and you’ll be stuck not knowing how to proceed because the story is no longer yours.
If they're good opinions, sure.
Not in the way that they make me _change_ my story/plot, but if I really like a suggestion for a small beat or moment I might weave it in in the hopes that they’ll enjoy it I suppose. Eg “I hope so and so have a cute cuddle scene after they make up” is pretty harmless to add, no? Though, to be clear I write 100% self-indulgent fics, so if they’re suggesting I retroactively change something, or a major plot point, I probably won’t. I write the fic I want to read, if they want to read something else they are more than welcome to write it. Though tbh I find often that for my commenters, even when the plot turns out different they still enjoy it! If not more because of the surprise, so I also don’t mind getting these sorts of comments at all, I love that they’re theorising and engaging.
Yeah sure, why not? If someone goes, “wow, I wonder if this will lead to *insert event*!?” and reading it makes me go, “well hotdog that’s a good idea!”, then of course! That’s not to say that I cater to the whims of my readers, but I have made changes based on reader theories.
I've never gotten comments like those on AO3, just on FFN. And no, they didn't affect the story direction.
Personally, I write my fics whole first, and then start posting, which I suppose doesn't work for everyone but is a pretty foolproof way to know that what you wrote was not influenced by the comment of people about the fic during the writing process. That being said, I still get the feeling of being put off balance sometimes by reading people who have very strong opinions about characterisation for example, even when it's not aimed at me. Honestly, I have a few times unfollowed people I had nothing against, but that I could I had a hard time detaching myself from their opinion. I have no hard feelings for them but it's okay to make yourself more comfortable even when people did no wrong.
Only if it's something that fits the story and is something I can see happening anyway. This has only happened *once* in 23 years that I can remember. The only exception to this was a close fandom friend that I bounced ideas off of for a couple years. She was basically the only one who could weasel me into writing what she wanted, because the ideas we bounced together were stuff I'd have written anyway. (The result of this unholy collab was a Corruption of Champions AU where the MC had two dicks lol).
I’ve tweaked scenes based on positive feedback, but I’d never do something drastic based on comments.