How influential are comments?

[Actingup]

the Stacnash thread

'the' - oh, man, if only it was just one!!!

I don't think that we need to sift through sneering put-downs to find the useful bits, but I also appreciate critical comments around sex and relationships. We know that stroke stories are appreciated here, and for good reason, but they're less satisfying to write and less useful for aspiring amateurs like myself.

 

[WittyUserName]

But his motive for commenting is not important. It has nothing to do with the actual content of the feedback. ; )

Personally I don't give a fuck if someone is trolling me. I don't care what anyone thinks of me as a writer or as a person, so long as it does not hinder my opportunity to write and publish, of course. For instance, if some troll starts spreading lies that I write kiddie porn in an attempt to get me banned, then that would be different. But if someone just wants to run off at the lip that I'm a shit writer and a rotten person, I do not give the slightest fuck. However, if some troll bitch commenter can drop me a nugget that I can use to move forward, that is just as valuable as someone who says it politely, and what's more, it's actually more valuable than some pat on the back and a 5-vote.

The difference, the ego loooooves that pat on the back and hates the troll, so we find any reason to dismiss any value from a negative review and accept wholeheartedly any positive review. We see it ALL THE TIME.

"This guy gave me a bad review, but my story is 4.73 so obviously he must be a one-off idiot!"

"I just got a 1-bomb! : (" after a single 1-vote. Hah! As if their story couldn't possibly receive a legit 1. Like srsly.

Notice that no one ever says, "I just 3 reviews saying, 'loved it 5 stars!' but what do they know?" Never. high scores and "loved it," and "great story, hawtt!" are always accepted as 100% gospel. Only negative stuff is ever questioned.

I question the positive ones sometimes. "Best story on lit!" Thanks, but you're exaggerating.

 

[DeMont]

I find myself in the process of rewriting the ending of a story I published recently due to an overwhelming theme in the comments. The readers that chose to share their opinion seem to be of the same vein; they like the story but think the ending sucks. The scores reflect this. These are not really negative comments. I get lots of those, too. These are people that liked the story and the way I told it. They just didn't like where I took it.
I intentionally let the story sit for a while, similarly letting the comments simmer. When I went back and read the story again, I discovered I agreed completely. My ending sucks.

In response, I'm fixing the ending and will be publishing an update. To be clear, I'm not as much trying to quiet the dissenters. I can handle bad comments as long as they're honest. I'm doing it because I believe the story they want will be better than the one I gave them.

I'm interested to hear about any stories you have rewritten part of and republished and why.

The above is an extreme example. Other comments have inspired new stories, caused me to change something in a story I was working on(yeah, that didn't work like I though it would. Probably shouldn't do it again), or strongly influenced following chapters of a series. They've also made me much more aware of things like shorter paragraphs, the correct placing of punctuation within quotes, and the, overuse, of, commas.

How do the comments on your stories influence you?

@ShelbyDawn57,
Good evening my dear colleague. I have, to date, submitted four pieces that have been published and on one of them a comment was left, by an anonymous reader, to the effect that my chosen method of portraying loud, vocalised and drawn out orgasm scenes was, and I quote; "really, really amateur".

I chose not to take that as a personal criticism (which being called an amateur after only four stories might well be seen as non-constructive) instead I am determined to improve the manner and methodology of addressing the issue. Now, this is only one comment out of four stories so I think it's fair to say I ruffled one reader so far. I have two stories on the go at present and as is my usual approach I write the story first then go back over the draft and insert the sexual content as appropriate (imho) This time I am going to be experimenting with writing the sexual content in a different way and see if, for me, the impact and power is there as I wish it to be.

If I don't get the personal "satisfaction", or sense of achievement out of it then I end up with two mediocre stories sitting in my, "To be revisited" folder. What are you intending if the rewrite/s that you are doing do NOT please you as the author may I ask?
Most respectfully,
D.