Has anybody ever had any luck polling their audience about a story or idea? Like, if you didn't know where to take a story, or if you had too many ideas to choose from?
I'm curious to hear from anyone who does or has done this.
Did you get the kind of response or engagement that you hoped for? And if so, did you ultimately take their advice or decide "fuck it" and go with something else?
Getting any response from readers is, I suppose you could describe it as problematic.
Over the years I have tried eliciting response by including those who do, in stories as characters, to see if that would increase feedback by those readers noticing and who also wanted to get their names involved (turns out, not really). I also, the other year, put up a blog stating that if anyone responds, that I would kill them in a car crash in quite brutal ways. And I did, but the response before-hand wasn't that effective, just a few people responded (Or maybe they just didn't want to die!).
It may differ if you are one of the more 'popular' or 'mainstream' writers on here, but my lot (fans) aren't that bothered. I also considered the same idea you are suggesting, but the feedback wasn't that great and I shelved the idea, as it would only work if you had a decent response to the cliff hanger you (the writer) left, (I was thinking of a 'chose your own own story' type scenario at the time, with a poll of some description where the readers could chose out of a list of possible outcomes, and the one with the most votes was the route the story progressed.)
I do this with my Patrons and it has worked very well. I also have a specific group of people with access to drafts who make story suggestions. And then there's my editor, who is constantly reading over my shoulder and making suggestions before I can even finish a sentence!
Has anybody ever had any luck polling their audience
Way back when Yahoo Groups existed, I had a group. I polled my members several times. I didn't get many results, but I did get some. And since it was a poll, they simply chose from the options so there was no interaction.
I think I get the most interaction when I blog on SOL.
I have not asked for readers to guide my plot.
However, I have asked for PMs about spelling, grammar, and similar issues. I have gotten significant responses that have helped me improve my stories.
Similarly, I have gotten PMs about footnotes, or other methods of providing details, explaining acronyms, and military/technical details. That is unsolicited advice. I have considered that input, even if I have not often acted on it.
I am still considering how to best include information to readers, without being a distraction. I admit that I have been inconsistent. Although, not all details should be delivered in the same manner.
For the type of questions you are asking, perhaps the Forums (or Patreon) would result in more useful responses; than in your story. Perhaps posting in your endnotes or blog a link to the forums or whatever.
If I were going to try something like this I'd plan a whole story around it, not just throw out a single idea and ask what people think. There are three big problems as I see it:
1) People are more likely to respond or comment if they are displeased with how the story is going than if they are pleased. That means that you are making decisions based on the small percentage of people who are likely to stop reading anyway rather than the much larger reader base that is happy with the story.
2) Ideas don't make stories good, how you write the story does. getting people to vote on an idea doesn't tell them how it will turn out.
3) It doesn't solve the underlying problem. If you're not sure where your story is going, getting someone else to choose a direction doesn't help you. It just means that now you're committed to taking the story in a direction you weren't already invested in.
Now, I can see this kind of interaction maybe working in a sort of "Choose Your Own Adventure" style writing project, but it would take either a tonne of work beforehand or someone who is very good at writing on the fly. Announce ahead of time that there will be voting between each chapter, have readers vote on the outcome of a cliffhanger or choice that occurs at the end of each chapter, and writer the next chapter accordingly.
The same effect could be achieved by replacing the reader vote with a random generator.
This sort of writing project might be fun to try, but it's not something I'd suggest you do piecemeal just because you're having trouble with a story.
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford.
I don't actually know if the quote is genuine or apocryphal.
I think authors need to be careful about this sort of thing. That said, feedback about what readers liked/disliked about a story, as apposed to, what would you (the reader) like to read, can be useful.
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford.
There was a similar sentiment, possibly based on this quote, by dead tree author Leo Frankowski in Copernick's Rebellion. That version was:
"If you asked a gorilla to design a better gorilla, they'd say more muscles and bigger fangs. Not thinner, less hair, and standing upright. Yet we are arguably the superior species." (quote approximate since my copy is in a box somewhere)
That's it. Reader feedback is the best guide to what worked or what didn't. There's no harm in asking your readers what they'd like to see from you, but to me it has a flavor of, "I'm out of ideas, help me out."
Freestyle quote from Philip Pullman ("His Dark Materials"), advice to writers, "It's your job to sit there and think things up, so do it."
~ JBB
Oh would it not be great {insert Sarcasm} if a SOL author basically wrote a choose your own adventure story. At then end of each chapter you get choices and you would need to skip to different chapter to continue the story on how you make your choices. One author, one story title, but multiple was and outcomes. Plus think of the reread options.
Not sure if you realize it, but SOL supports interactive stories (i.e. choose your own story path).
I've been thinking about this, but haven't found any instructions on how to format/submit an interactive story. Does it use Vine or another engine, or is it something homebrew? Is it doc's anywhere?
I've been thinking about this, but haven't found any instructions on how to format/submit an interactive story. Does it use Vine or another engine, or is it something homebrew? Is it doc's anywhere?
See this thread for details:
Adding Support for Interactive Stories (SOL Forum)
Thanks.
Though I don't really grasp the mechanics of how to signal where a new installment is in the reader decision tree. What if there are three choices? What if, after a branch, one choice has another branch before the story lines converge again? What if one choice leads to an ending but another continues on? How are these signaled in the file upload?
Wish I could help more, but those are all questions for Lazeez, as I haven't tried to use the system.
What if one choice leads to an ending but another continues on? How are these signaled in the file upload?
I should get off my ass and write a guide.
To do interactive stories, you submit the first chapter on its own and you mark the story as interactive.
After that, you submit each chapter on its own, you'll be asked to which chapter to link it and the option's text. You can have as many chapters linked to each chapter as you like. You can for example have 10 (no real limit set) chapter 2s linked to chapter 1 and any number of chapter 3s linked to any chapter 2
If you do it once, you should find it intuitive enough.
'You are in a maze of twisty little paragraphs, all different.'
Apologies to anyone who doesn't know the wonders of Colossal Cave Adventure.
I never "polled" an audience, but I had a lot of fun reading the comments by readers in one story where there were several contenders for who the gal was that the main character would end up with at the end. And how they would react as one relationship or another would crash and burn.
That was entertaining, as many seemed to be laying odds as to who the gal would be at the end. However, I had already decided long before who it would be, it was just telling the story until they got there.
