Do your story flow take suggestions from readers or you follow yours no matter what?

[Jabbage]

I can't imagine chopping and changing things just because they're unpopular... my comics are short, everything is in there for a reason and if I change one thing then I'm looking at extensive rewriting. I suppose if that situation happened I'd just have to take the phrase "you can't please all of the people all of the time" to heart!

I can imagine adding something in if people are confused, though. If I've got that showing/telling balance slightly off and a point seems to universally need more clarification.

[mappypaint]

If you follow one readers suggestion then the other readers might not like it. Like the post above says... You can't please all of 'em. That said, I follow mine no matter what. It's fun reading reader comments on what they think will happen in the story though. ^u^

[Mharz]

Unless you set your webcomic to make the readers decide the plot.

The readers can give suggestion on how to make the storytelling even more effective but not change the plot. Remember that you are here to express your story and no matter what you do, you cannot please everybody.

As for character appearance. IMO I can't force them to appear if they're not necessary to the current plot. I can probably make some art with that character to keep them entertained.

[KSlinger]

I wouldn't change anything based purely on reader comments but as my plot is somewhat episodic I could afford to insert scenes/events that people would like to see. If they were very irrelevant to the plot I might put them in West Extras. No one asked for the Valentines day short I made but if readers wanted to see something like that involving other characters I'd totally do it.

[ashriott]

I'm pretty hardcore with how I want my story to turn out. I'll definitely take constructive criticism, and if they're valid suggestions which work with the story I maaaay take it. But in terms of core story points and important characters etc, I'm pretty dead set with it, even if I did loose subs.

[DeadAccount]

I don't think it's bad to consider reader's opinions sometimes. I would never give in to fan service or "shipping" or anything that'd ruin the integrity of the characters and our original story, but like others have said, if a certain character becomes more popular than intended, it might not be a bad idea to think about what makes people like them. There are rules on how their world works and how I want my characters to be, and what their personalities allow them to do, but within those rules, there's always different possibilities to explore.

Oh, and from what we've learned in the past year, sometimes readers can really see a plot twist coming. It doesn't mean you need to rewrite it, of course, but even small edits might help in making sure people are left guessing :'D

The more I think about it, the more it seems like a natural path for a webcomic, unless you have a massive buffer, I guess. We update slowly, but we have an advantage of knowing how people react as the story develops. No reason not to play around that a little bit.

[Doubtcent]

I think there's a balance.

Obviously, if it's completely up to the readers, there will be a loss of artistic integrity. The story will not find its center in, well, you as a creator. However, if it's all up to you, there's a chance of a disconnection to the real world and to the readers.

That's why I often run my jokes or stories towards my friends before going all the way with it. A sketch is usually all I start with, and if they like it I do it. And through this method I am developing more of an intuition of what my friends will like, and thus my readers, so I don't have to ask them all the time. But that's only after I've gotten to that point.

[greenraptorstudios]

Well my comic doesn't get much flow, so the answer is simply no. We preplan our work, and stay on the path, but if anybody points things we out, we consider it and see if we could work it into the story we have planned. In terms of story ideas, well not many suggestions so far, but if anyone does have a great idea, maybe use it.

What you don't want to do is pander to the audience, you should take their advice and go it your own way.

[kazukitakamura126]

I wouldn't give the readers the power to suggest what should happen because it may disturb a plot point I may have. I want my plot to be stable so that's why I usually don't take reader's suggestions because I have a set path for my stories.

[harrodeleted]

I think it's important to know what parts of the story are vital to you, and what parts are flexible.

Let's say you write in a background character that you like, and you notice a lot of readers clamoring for more of that character. There's no reason not to work them into the plot more-

Conversely, if readers hate a character, but they are vital to the story, then obviously you'll keep them in.

Also, if you notice people being very confused over what's happening (and the confusion isn't intentional) then definitely adjust the story to explain things more clearly, if at all possible.

I think the only really dangerous thing to avoid is feeling like you are scrabbling to keep readers, and even if you succeed you end up disliking what you've made. At the end of the day if you don't like your story, then it'll never keep being made.