Do you write for your fans/followers, or yourself?

[Hotswimmer]

Or maybe a little of both?

So assume you had an idea or theme for a next chapter or your next story, would you entertain a fan/follower request?

What if the requested suggestion hijacks your planned story thread, or perhaps you intended to shelve a series and write a completely different story?

I don't necessarily think there is a right or wrong, I am just curious how each of you weigh the decision to potentially alter your stories.

 

[shakna]

Mostly for me. I started writing because I didn't find things that quite scratched the itch, so I did it myself.

That being said, I've written a piece or two for a follower, and I've written characters or events for a follower. Generally speaking, I don't really find the majority of comments to be that inspiring. The most demanding voices tend to be the most boring, just like in the real world. But, every now and then, you can find a gem among the cruft.

 

[PennameWombat]

Or maybe a little of both?

So assume you had an idea or theme for a next chapter or your next story, would you entertain a fan/follower request?

What if the requested suggestion hijacks your planned story thread, or perhaps you intended to shelve a series and write a completely different story?

I don't necessarily think there is a right or wrong, I am just curious how each of you weigh the decision to potentially alter your stories.

I always have a whole bunch of ideas percolating around. But I'm not on the clock here, no one's paying me to post and I'm not charging anybody anything for my stories. Thus, they get done when they get done. If I'm hot with inspiration on something, I'll finish it. I have ongoing series that I bounce around as the mood hits.

I've done stories to 'fan' request/suggestion. I'm not sure how it would 'hijack' anything else I'm doing because 'entertaining' something like that would require it fit into what I do, thematically. If the request asks for something I'm not interested in or feel I can cover, then I'm not going to 'entertain' those suggestions.

If it's about existing characters, as you imply, then it might or might not get ignored. If it asks to flip a series in some odd or different huge direction, very unlikely to be entertained. But if it veers a bit in a direction I'd not quite planned but it fits my inclinations, I might use it.

As an example, I have a bisexual female character who demands exclusivity from her male lover, but she gives it back and won't fuck other men; but she reserves the right to fuck other women but he doesn't get to join. If her male lover doesn't like it? See ya, bye. If she finds out he fucked someone else? He's so dumped. If you wanted me to change her, no. Go away. She likes it like that. But if you suggested some scenario she could be placed in, maybe.

 

[dmallord]

Yes! I write ... for myself and for commenters as well!

Or maybe a little of both?

So assume you had an idea or theme for a next chapter or your next story, would you entertain a fan/follower request?

What if the requested suggestion hijacks your planned story thread, or perhaps you intended to shelve a series and write a completely different story?

I don't necessarily think there is a right or wrong, I am just curious how each of you weigh the decision to potentially alter your stories.

+++

I do entertain a commenter's suggestions, on occasion. If their remarks seem genuine and they offer a direction they wish to see the next story or chapter go, I will fold the idea(s) into the new submission. It seems a good thing to do - they took the time to read my work, offered some praise, - if they continue to follow, I hope they see that I have responded and added their ideas to the next iteration of my story. It seems sort of like an act of kindness to repay them in a way.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Fans? Followers? What are these words?

Ergo, for myself. Always.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

the money.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I write for myself; some folk like what I write, and follow me.

 

[HeyAll]

Both.

I write what I think would be a great story, and that I think people would love.

If I had a story idea I loved, but someone from the future told me that no one would read it, I wouldn't bother writing it.


To me, the passion of writing and the readers goes together. Two sides of the same coin.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

To paraphrase Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, 'I WRITE FOR ME!'

But I've taken requests, done paid gigs, and even written some of my readers into a story if they request it. This happens a lot in the Alexaverse, and has also happened in Time Rider, and Miracle On RR34.

So ultimately, I write what I like, but I'm willing to accommodate others, up to a point.

 

[SamScribble]

I write for myself; some folk like what I write, and follow me.

EB taught me everything I know. Well... almost.

 

[ElectricBlue]

EB taught me everything I know. Well... almost.

Sam, I believe you are older, and therefore wiser, than me.

 

[DanDraper]

I mostly write for myself, but I don't publish anything until I'm sure the readers might enjoy it as well.




.....

 

[Rustyoznail]

I mostly write for myself, but I don't publish anything until I'm sure the readers might enjoy it as well.
.....

Same. Only, I have once used an idea from a fan. It just clicked.

 

[oggbashan]

I write for myself to get the story out of my head.

I don't do requests because I already have far too many plot bunnies breeding at any one time, and my writing has slowed down considerably.

Every time I post a story, I can forget it and move on. (unless readers point out obvious errors).

 

[Agiel]

I write for me. No one else. If the reader likes the story that’s fine. If they don’t there’s nothing I can do about it. Thankfully, up to now, the majority of readers seem to like them.

I’ve only received one request to write a story for someone. I politely messaged them back saying thank you but I have so many ideas of my own I don’t have the time to take on someone else’s idea and possibly make a mess of it. However, if an idea was suggested to me which fitted in with something I’d already thought about I might change my mind.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't see these as mutually exclusive. I see it as something of a false dichotomy.

I write for myself, always, in the sense that I don't write stories unless they meet the "me" test. I write stories that I personally like and that give me pleasure to write and read. I have certain standards and tastes and artistic goals, and I write stories to satisfy them.

But I write stories for others in a sense, too.

I've written stories at the request of fans who contacted me. They gave me some ideas. They wanted stories written based on themselves. But all the details of the stories, the prose style, the details of the subject matter, etc. were mine. But in a sense, I wrote for them as well.

I see the act of publishing a story as a communicative act, between me and the reader. If it wasn't that, I might as well stash my story in a drawer somewhere. So, to that end, I want the communication to be effective, and to have an impact. I like the idea that my stories give pleasure to others, and their pleasure is motivating. I enjoy knowing that people have read my story to the end, that they've voted on it, commented on it, and favorited it. It seems natural to me that any author who decides to publish something would care that the publication would give pleasure to readers.

I also try to learn from reader reaction. I almost never accede to requests to write sequels, but I keep reader responses in mind when I write my next story. There's something to the concept of the "wisdom of crowds" and in being a writer I don't think of myself as keeping myself alone on my island. I hope by writing I'm doing the opposite. I want writing to be an interactive process between me and my readers.

Great authors from the past, like Shakespeare, and Dickens, and Twain, had high artistic standards, but they also wrote to please crowds and earn success. It didn't stop them from creating works of lasting artistic value.

You can do both.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I write what I would like to read. So I guess I write for myself. If others like what I write all the better.

 

[Chaste_Down]

I find both sides of the process exciting. The writing is exciting, and getting feedback is exciting. They're distinctly different types of things but both important for motivation. I would write far less often if I thought nobody would ever read it.

I wouldn't write just to please readers - the topic has to excite me too.

In short: it's the bit between finishing and getting read that's the worst

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I write for myself but I do incorporate commenter suggestions into stories I was planning to write anyway. My readers are into my characters almost as much as I am, and I've received suggestions for stories that I had already planned on doing.

 

[Whimsical_Enchantress]

Myself, I enjoy words and how they capture the mind and spirit of a person or moment.

 

[MrPixel]

Myself. I find it very therapeutic. I also enjoy immersing myself in the vicarious experience of the impossible fantasy world I create.

If others enjoy it, so much the better, but I do it for me.

 

[TadOverdon]

I don't see these as mutually exclusive. I see it as something of a false dichotomy.

This.

I read or heard somewhere, many years ago, that every writer has a reader in mind as they write. Depending on who we are, we might not have a clear idea who it is - or it may be someone very specific, like a mentor who encouraged us. But, according to this premise, someone is always "looking over our shoulder," reading with us. Depending on what we're writing or the ways in which we change, the Reader may be different.

So, if no one else, I'm writing for that Reader. For my partner, as well, who's going to be the first person to see most of what I do and is definitely going to comment, but that doesn't always mean writing to please him (or any hypothetical reader). There are times that I do what I do in some defiance of my reader. Occasionally, anger with them.

Like most relationships, real or imagined, it's complicated.

All that said, I'm concerned with the reactions of readers out there in the world, because of what I do and because I publish with the intent of selling.

 

[yowser]

Writing is a dance. You can have solo dances, but real writing involves two people, or there is no dance.

The writer leads, the reader follows, always nice when it is a good match. If the writer is clumsy, the timing is off, careless movements or both left feet - not so much fun for the reader. But with even a little skill and imagination, a nice rhythm can be developed, and the reader delights in each new step, change of tempo, and is prepared to be pleased with an unexpected flourish and a satisfying end to the music.

Like any skill, it takes practice and imagination, and a good writer inevitably appreciates a perceptive reader, the dance partner, who often does more of the work than the writer realises.

A writer can't exist without a reader, even if the two are the same person.

I believe here on Lit we engage in 'Dirty Dancing.'

 

[windar]

Or maybe a little of both?

So assume you had an idea or theme for a next chapter or your next story, would you entertain a fan/follower request?

What if the requested suggestion hijacks your planned story thread, or perhaps you intended to shelve a series and write a completely different story?

I don't necessarily think there is a right or wrong, I am just curious how each of you weigh the decision to potentially alter your stories.

If a fan wants to commission a story, I will happily entertain that. I just finished one a week or so ago and they were very happy with the result, as was I and other readers. But I won't change a story that's already written or in progress.

 

[purplishy]

Like a lot of other posters, I write for myself first, making the kinds of stories that I'd want to read. I wouldn't post a story unless I thought it met my own standards.

I'm still a rank amateur though! After my 5th story, an author I admire approached me and asked to commission a story. This really knocked me for a loop and gave me impostor syndrome in a big way (why would they want to commission me? Don't they know I have no idea what I'm doing?) and prompted some introspection (I'm writing for fun. Would I ruin this for myself if I accepted money for a hobby?).

I did write the story and I spent so long editing it that, given the commission paid, I ended up far below a living wage. That's the way of a writer, I guess

I'm very fortunate to have a day job that I enjoy, so I'm not sure if I would accept another commission. I do still want to improve as a writer though, so I hope to keep writing silly lesbian fantasy.