Do You Ever Disappoint Readers On Purpose?

[Off_base]

Do you ever choose let a character make bad decisions or behave badly, when you know it's the opposite of what the reader wants?

Say you've portrayed your character as a decent, caring human that your readers adore. Would you intentionally let that character lose their integrity, at some point in the story, knowing it would disappoint readers?

Are you willing to write a sad ending when you know readers will crave a happy one?

I hate sad endings, but I'm also weary of predictable happy ones, so I'm exploring ideas on going against the grain.

 

[Erozetta]

mostly when they're based on real life.


But, yeah. Bad choices are very human, so my characters tend to make bad choices.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

Doing it knowingly is different, to me, than doing it on purpose. If I know it's going to disappoint someone but it's the right thing to do in the situation? Yes. If I'm doing it JUST to get a rise out of someone (or a group of someone's) I don't see the point.

 

[nice90sguy]

Yeah, that's what I tell myself, anyway.

 

[Off_base]

Doing it knowingly is different, to me, than doing it on purpose. If I know it's going to disappoint someone but it's the right thing to do in the situation? Yes. If I'm doing it JUST to get a rise out of someone (or a group of someone's) I don't see the point.

I'm talking more in the context of taking a character or ending in a different direction than the reader would expect, not to get a rise from anyone.

 

[THBGato]

Love is the Place 4 would, I knew, disappoint readers (I subtitled it "Worst chapter ever. Don't read it. Move on.") This was very deliberate on my part. It got a couple of comments telling me why it was full of plot holes or wouldn't work, as readers were quite invested in finding loopholes. It probably would have got more had I not posted chapter 5 quite quickly afterwards.

Likewise, I think readers of Eve & Lucy were disappointed that Amanda didn't break up with Lucy sooner - I know I was.

 

[Off_base]

Love is the Place 4 would, I knew, disappoint readers (I subtitled it "Worst chapter ever. Don't read it. Move on.") This was very deliberate on my part. It got a couple of comments telling me why it was full of plot holes or wouldn't work, as readers were quite invested in finding loopholes. It probably would have got more had I not posted chapter 5 quite quickly afterwards.

Likewise, I think readers of Eve & Lucy were disappointed that Amanda didn't break up with Lucy sooner - I know I was.

This is a perfect example. We all expected and wanted them to get together, but your ending was sad and disappointing. It didn't ruin the story, though, in fact might have made it even more compelling, to feel sadness when we expected a happy reward. My brain is starting to think there's something there that still makes people feel, even if it's hurt.

 

[StillStunned]

I got several comments on Tammy, Jessica, Yuliya that I should have given Jessica and Tammy a HEA. I saw that coming, but I deliberately chose not to end the story that way. For me it was a far more satisfying ending the way I wrote it.

And some readers of Sweet Dreams, Poppy probably wanted the characters to have sex, even though the story (and tags) explicitly state that the POV character has no lesbian tendencies.

Those things probably hurt the scores a little: I suspect that readers are more likely to hit the 5* if they're on a happy rush.

 

[crookedletter]

Doing it knowingly is different, to me, than doing it on purpose. If I know it's going to disappoint someone but it's the right thing to do in the situation? Yes. If I'm doing it JUST to get a rise out of someone (or a group of someone's) I don't see the point.

This pretty well sums up my feeling on it.

I hope to satisfy readers, but I won't pander to them. If I think the way a story will work best is to go in a direction that some readers might take issue with, let them take issue. And I'd trust some, at least, to go along with me, if I've developed that direction and payoff sufficiently.

But I certainly wouldn't take that potentially less popular direction because it's potentially less popular.

 

[ChuckWolf]

Never really intentionally, but I know some of my story-endings pissed some people off.

Amy Vs. The Strippers was an NC/R lezdom story posted in the Lesbian category and that was probably a mistake.

 

[Off_base]

This pretty well sums up my feeling on it.

I hope to satisfy readers, but I won't pander to them. If I think the way a story will work best is to go in a direction that some readers might take issue with, let them take issue. And I'd trust some, at least, to go along with me, if I've developed that direction and payoff sufficiently.

But I certainly wouldn't take that potentially less popular direction because it's potentially less popular.

Nor would I.
Am simply asking opinions on alternatives to handing readers expected outcomes.
Wondering if happy and sad can be equally powerful, and compelling reasons for readers to like your story, even if your characters or ending made them feel less than happy.

 

[cw5523729]

Are you willing to write a sad ending when you know readers will crave a happy one?

Personally, no. I'm a firm believer in happy endings. But the story goes where the story goes.

 

[Off_base]

I got several comments on Tammy, Jessica, Yuliya that I should have given Jessica and Tammy a HEA. I saw that coming, but I deliberately chose not to end the story that way. For me it was a far more satisfying ending the way I wrote it.

And some readers of Sweet Dreams, Poppy probably wanted the characters to have sex, even though the story (and tags) explicitly state that the POV character has no lesbian tendencies.

Those things probably hurt the scores a little: I suspect that readers are more likely to hit the 5* if they're on a happy rush.

High scores are nice, but favorites are more meaningful to me, for some reason.

 

[cw5523729]

High scores are nice, but favorites are more meaningful to me, for some reason.

I feel the opposite. I think a lot of people save stuff as favorites without even having read it just to find it later. At least that's my guess because every part of my story I publish, the same people add it to favorites almost immediately.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I'm talking more in the context of taking a character or ending in a different direction than the reader would expect, not to get a rise from anyone.

I'm honestly not a good enough writer to predict in advance with any confidence in my accuracy what the readers expect. That's why I went more with motivations. From everything I read here - readers can surprise you with their expectations, especially in some categories. (That sounds funny to say since most if not everyone here are former and/or current readers...)

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I feel the opposite. I think a lot of people save stuff as favorites without even having read it just to find it later. At least that's my guess because every part of my story I publish, the same people add it to favorites almost immediately.

I have a list for that. Does that register as a "favorite?"

 

[cw5523729]

I have a list for that. Does that register as a "favorite?"

Beats the hell out of me

 

[cw5523729]

I'm honestly not a good enough writer to predict in advance with any confidence in my accuracy what the readers expect. That's why I went more with motivations. From everything I read here - readers can surprise you with their expectations, especially in some categories. (That sounds funny to say since most if not everyone here are former and/or current readers...)

No one ever complains about a happy ending (read into that whatever euphemism you like)

 

[Lifestyle66]

Nor would I.
Am simply asking opinions on alternatives to handing readers expected outcomes.
Wondering if happy and sad can be equally powerful, and compelling reasons for readers to like your story, even if your characters or ending made them feel less than happy.

I write to the Loving Wives category, so almost ALL of my stories go against many of the readers' preferences.

As for sad endings, yeah, I've done that too with Aftermath, or "I Can't Go for That" which is rated 3.08/816 votes and 34K views. Those who read the whole story leave varying comments, some praising it and others expressing their sadness.

And A Band of Sisters and Brothers has an equally poignant ending. With a rating of 3.2/188 and 14k views, it only received 10 comments. Two of those comments criticized the Author's Note at the beginning saying I wasn't going to explain the military terms. So, I don't know whether it's the military setting and harsh judgments which turn readers off or the ending.

When I write with the intent of producing a sad ending, it's to try drawing out an emotional reaction from the reader. If they get angry, then I've either failed or they didn't really read the story.

 

[crookedletter]

Nor would I.
Am simply asking opinions on alternatives to handing readers expected outcomes.

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that your post advocated that kind of intention; just giving my take.

Wondering if happy and sad can be equally powerful, and compelling reasons for readers to like your story, even if your characters or ending made them feel less than happy.

I might go so far as to say sad can be far more powerful than happy. This is an erotica site, obviously, so maybe readers here might have less patience for sad endings than elsewhere. But some of my favorite books/movies/etc. get me so wrapped up in characters that I think I want the happy ending -- but many of the ones that affect me and stick with me the most are the ones that skew sadder in the end.

 

[Off_base]

I feel the opposite. I think a lot of people save stuff as favorites without even having read it just to find it later. At least that's my guess because every part of my story I publish, the same people add it to favorites almost immediately.

I hadn't considered that. I don't have a big following and assumed that the favorites I received were from people who'd read the story.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Wondering if happy and sad can be equally powerful, and compelling reasons for readers to like your story, even if your characters or ending made them feel less than happy.

When it comes to the power of a sad ending, I received this comment on Aftermath, or "I Can't Go for That":
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by alfa_aardvark22 on 06/28/2024

Sometimes, the best written stories just don't fit into the rating system. This is one that I just can't assign stars to. It is very well written, the characters believable, the story painfully told and on and on. Do I think it average, do I like it, do I love it? No to all. But I do respect this story and your courage to write it. Maybe that is better than 5 stars. Please accept this as a sincere compliment to your talent.
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So how the story is received depends (as always) on the reader.

 

[Bamagan]

I can confidently assume that my continuing to publish things is disappointing to the readers who expressed various levels of desire for me to go away forever.

 

[cw5523729]

I don't have a big following and assumed that the favorites I received were from people who'd read the story.

Oh, I don't either, believe me. And no one has ever told me they did that, I'm just assuming. But I'm on part 21 (of 28) on my story and I've got multiple people that have "favorited" every single part, usually within hours of being released. With some of the parts over 10k words, I'm assuming that those people didn't actually read every one immediately and decide it was really a "favorite."

Likewise, I've stalked some of the people that added it as a "favorite" just to see what other stories they seem to like - imagine my surprise when I find that my story is one of 1,400 other "favorites" they have. That seems to water down the value to me just a smidge...

 

[AchtungNight]

Oh yes, many times. Many people. No point not admitting it.