Motivation and Feedback - Authors, Choose Best Answers

[ReaderPaul]

@Krista, the above post is said very well, with reasoning and explanation which is easy to understand.

[Jason Rimbaud]

11 hours ago, Krista said:

People are different, readers are different. What you might have thought would draw them into the chapter, they may overlook for something else that happened.

This drives me crazy. I spend hours on a sentence, constructing what I thought was the perfect zinger or amazing reveal, and not a single person mentions it. But a line I wrote in five seconds, everyone mentions.  

It's really crazy. I so identify with you on this. And your replies in comments are masterclass, you say so much without saying anything. I am in awe, as always. 

[Justin4Fun]

12 hours ago, Krista said:

When you post something online you have to be ready for them to actually read what you've posted. Engagement is something that we shouldn't take for granted, because it isn't guaranteed. There are some great and engaging readers within this community, but there's also a lot of stories and not enough minutes of free time in the day. So engagement is something we should all welcome.

With engagement there is criticism. Which I think might be where you're leading with this. I'm a little bit confused, because readers who are so engaged with the writing that they ask questions, hypothesize, create theories, or gripe about a character's decisions or the events within the chapter seem like positives. Something that shows you that the readers feel strongly enough to react to the writing and wish to engage with it.

If you're leaning on criticism, or you know comments similar to the nature of: "This chapter sucks, I can't believe you did this, it's shit..." then yeah, that can be frustrating to a degree. Mostly because that's not criticism, as the comment doesn't describe the reason for the comment. It's like a headline with no article.

With that said though, if people are giving you constructive criticism that goes beyond a temper tantrum or whining, then you need to be okay with reading it (regardless of what it is). Digesting it. Maybe even considering it. You' may know where the story and/or character is going, but there may be some author blindness and you might not have explained or given the information out in a clear manner that has caused some kind of disconnect. 

People are different, readers are different. What you might have thought would draw them into the chapter, they may overlook for something else that happened. That happens with my writing. I write a paragraph that becomes my favorite of the chapter and I think there's something deeper within it, and 85% of the comments are about a single line of comedic, dramatic, or off-handed piece of dialog far removed from where I anticipated their minds to be. That's just the life of a writer. We can't dictate as authors how people respond to our writing. We may share an opinion, sure, but they're still going to say and do what they feel like.

Just as Readers should expect that Authors are writing their own stories and must accept the words on the page for what they are. You're not going to get your way by screaming the loudest. If there's true criticism to be had, then make it so. Growth happens through mistakes and learning from them.

Learning how to take criticism, true constructive criticism is a learned experience, both in giving and receiving it. It should get better with time, if you're open to the possibility there are people out there that can teach you something. If not, then criticism is always going to be a frustrating one-way dead end road. 

I appreciate all the feedback, but I'm feeling I've misplaced the target. Constructive criticism is great. Anger that a character isn't doing as the reader wants is great, as you said, it shows engagement.

Telling me that my world isn't following the 'rules' is not great. As an author, I set the rules for my world, especially in my genre of sci-fi/fantasy. Telling me that science can't do that, that Parliament wouldn't allow this, or that the Pentagon would do it differently is not okay. 

[Jason Rimbaud]

8 minutes ago, Justin4Fun said:

As an author, I set the rules for my world, especially in my genre of sci-fi/fantasy. Telling me that science can't do that, that Parliament wouldn't allow this, or that the Pentagon would do it differently is not okay.

I'm going to say this and please take it as I intend it. 

Why do you care about those readers? Why do you care what they say? Unless they are breaking guidelines of the community, can you just ignore it? Are they creating that much of an issue, if so, maybe report the comments to the mods and let them handle any issues. 

Readers are weird, they get fixated on things and in their head they think they are helping. I'm not sure what else to offer except ignore it if you can, report it if necessary, and carry on doing what you enjoying doing. 

Sorry not much of help, and I'm sure other people can say things better than I could.   

[Justin4Fun]

Honestly, IDK. The comment just triggered me to an extreme. And no, the comments are nowhere NEAR breaking TOS. They...IDK, sorry, I'm using this forum to vent.

I'll shut up.

[Jason Rimbaud]

1 minute ago, Justin4Fun said:

Honestly, IDK. The comment just triggered me to an extreme. And no, the comments are nowhere NEAR breaking TOS. They...IDK, sorry, I'm using this forum to vent.

I'll shut up.

Sometimes it's healthy to vent. I usually yell at my husband, because he deserves it, and he's always there. Like don't you have a home to go to, why must you always be next to me? 

Sorry, I digress. If you ever need to vent, you could always DM me, I love chatting with people. But be warned, I'm annoying as all hell.  . 

[Jeff Burton]

On 1/24/2026 at 1:25 PM, Justin4Fun said:

Honestly, IDK. The comment just triggered me to an extreme. And no, the comments are nowhere NEAR breaking TOS. They...IDK, sorry, I'm using this forum to vent.

I'll shut up.

I had a couple of comments that infuriated me  on an earlier story, it happens and I tend to post like you do much to everyone’s dismay sometimes especially when I’m not moving fast enough on updates.

I used that negative emotion though and double downed on the point I was trying to make in the previous chapter, to see if it would make it worse, instead it ended up clarifying the point and I got a 180 spin on the whole situation.

That won’t always work, and yeah some people will nitpick on the details (the devil is always in the details). But don’t change anything to appease anybody, it’s your story not theirs.

I don’t get too many negative comments these days because I guess the people who read my stuff and engage with me finally figured out what kind of story teller I am and either backed off to enjoy what I do produce or simply went off to mess with another author.

These days I react and reply to every comment good or bad because it’s good for engagement, I write for me first, for everybody else second.  I guess with time it doesn’t bother me much.

On 1/24/2026 at 1:28 PM, Jason Rimbaud said:

Sometimes it's healthy to vent. I usually yell at my husband, because he deserves it, and he's always there. Like don't you have a home to go to, why must you always be next to me? 

Sorry, I digress. If you ever need to vent, you could always DM me, I love chatting with people. But be warned, I'm annoying as all hell.  . 

And venting is good, there’s a large community here that supports each other in odd and fascinating ways.

Also @Jason Rimbaud is not annoying as he thinks, but we keep up the appearance that he is to placate him. ❤️

[John Henry]

On 1/23/2026 at 6:17 PM, Justin4Fun said:

For those of you who write as I do, posting a chapter as it's finished, do you ever find yourself frustrated or even angered by comments? Readers questioning your choices when they don't have the information that you, as the author, do? Saying things that derail your intent by raising issues that will be resolved in the future? Or issues that don't exist in 'your' world due to the fact that your world doesn't exist in reality?

I do this periodically on Nifty and have a couple of times on here.  The only time I get upset is when someone tries to tell me how or what I can write, for example: a had someone email me accusing me of politicizing my story Thicker Than Water and that I should write more from a Conservative point of view.  He refused to tell how I was politicizing my story let alone give examples but he did start giving me Bible verses.  I ended up cussing him out and blocked him.  Those people I don't deal with well; however, other readers are just really into the story.

Readers will always question your choices.  It's human nature.  I've had stories that enraged entire groups of people, who demanded I rewrite whole novels.  I ignored them (or told them to f**k themselves).  In that same vain, though, it really depends on what's being said.  They might be looking for clarification or context you didn't add or took for granted.  Most commenters aren't doing it be dicks.

If their comments are derailing you, that's really on you.  You should comment about how it'll be resolved in the future with hints of things to come, while keeping notes to address things later.  You can easily use such comments to tease your audience and get them wanting to read more to find out what happens.  You can also through them off by having random, horrible shit come out of nowhere but is still relevant to the story.

If someone complains about realism, point out that the story is fiction.  I've had to do that, myself, a few times.  It doesn't hurt to gently remind readers that somethings happen a certain. You may not be an expert in a particular field, your research didn't address certain things, so you did the best you could.  Or just say, "That's how it works in my world."  Most of the time, they think they're helping, so take it as advice that you either need or don't need, then let it go.

I published Thicker Than Water on here and Nifty, with GA getting the chapters first, and the feedback I got helped with the story as I wrote it.  It was fun to tease the readers with cliffhangers, using the nicknames they gave my villains, finding out what pushed them emotionally and used it to develop greater narration and dialogue, and with my commenting back, it gave them more context without spoilers (as my story was heavily influenced by real people and events), allowed me to make things clearer in later chapters, fix errors I made, etc., which made them more dedicated readers who then recommended my story to others.

If you're not wanting feedback, post on Nifty.  They can't comment directly to a chapter, and most won't send an email.  However, use the comments as a tool to help you be a better writer and get your readers excited about what's to come.  Read through the comments on other stories to get a feel for what you can accomplish in your own comment section.  If someone is being a dick just to be a dick, block or report them; otherwise, let it go or clarify without spoiling.

Edited January 27 by John Henry

[CassieQ]

2 hours ago, Jeff Burton said:

I write for me first, for everybody else second

That's one of the best things I've ever done for my writing.   

[Jason Rimbaud]

5 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

That's one of the best things I've ever done for my writing.   

You write first for @Jeff Burton? That's kind of sweet.  🥰

[CassieQ]

23 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

You write first for @Jeff Burton? That's kind of sweet.  🥰

Jealous?

[ReaderPaul]

On 1/26/2026 at 12:46 PM, John Henry said:

     I do this periodically on Nifty and have a couple of times on here.  The only time I get upset is when someone tries to tell me how or what I can write, for example: a had someone email me accusing me of politicizing my story Thicker Than Water and that I should write more from a Conservative point of view.  He refused to tell how I was politicizing my story let alone give examples but he did start giving me Bible verses.  I ended up cussing him out and blocked him.  Those people I don't deal with well; however, other readers are just really into the story.
     Readers will always question your choices.  It's human nature.  I've had stories that enraged entire groups of people, who demanded I rewrite whole novels.  I ignored them (or told them to f**k themselves).  In that same vain, though, it really depends on what's being said.  They might be looking for clarification or context you didn't add or took for granted.  Most commenters aren't doing it be dicks...
     If someone complains about realism, point out that the story is fiction.  I've had to do that, myself, a few times.  It doesn't hurt to gently remind readers that somethings happen a certain. You may not be an expert in a particular field, your research didn't address certain things, so you did the best you could.  Or just say, "That's how it works in my world."  Most of the time, they think they're helping, so take it as advice that you either need or don't need, then let it go.
      I published Thicker Than Water on here and Nifty, with GA getting the chapters first, and the feedback I got helped with the story as I wrote it.  It was fun to tease the readers with cliffhangers, using the nicknames they gave my villains, finding out what pushed them emotionally and used it to develop greater narration and dialogue, and with my commenting back, it gave them more context without spoilers (as my story was heavily influenced by real people and events), allowed me to make things clearer in later chapters, fix errors I made, etc., which made them more dedicated readers who then recommended my story to others.
     If you're not wanting feedback, post on Nifty.  They can't comment directly to a chapter, and most won't send an email.  However, use the comments as a tool to help you be a better writer and get your readers excited about what's to come.  Read through the comments on other stories to get a feel for what you can accomplish in your own comment section.  If someone is being a dick just to be a dick, block or report them; otherwise, let it go or clarify without spoiling.

@John Henry -- this is some of the best advice I have seen on a comment board.  Pointing out that  A-- It is fiction and/or B-- It is an alternate or parallel planet or universe in which you, the author, has set the rules for -- can be very helpful toward those who want to play God with your story.   Well said, sir!

[Jason Rimbaud]

7 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

Jealous?

Duh!