The dread of knowing something your readers don't

[kristintipping7]

Do you ever feel worried for your readers when you know they're heading towards a dark twist? Because my readers are frequently heading toward a dark twist, and I usually feel a lot of concern and a little bit of sadistic glee about it. This is especially true when they are leaving a lot of excited comments alluding to the character's definitely positive futures. Most of the biggest instances of this happened when I was still posting Zoie, but it seems to happen with a lot my web comics to a greater or lesser extent.

Have you guys had the same experience? Have you ever had a reader get really upset about the direction of the story? Have readers surprised you and seen things coming that you didn't expect them to? Or have they completely missed things you expected them to pick up on?

[Ringarune]

i definitely feel the sadistic glee about it XD I really like being aware of all the twists in my comic, and it's so refreshing coming from a reader who has to wait for the twists to an author who gets to watch his or her audience react to what's happening. Getting to my plot twists is also always a motivator for me to continue working on pages to get there.

[dratinigirl]

Oh definitely, I take great joy in it actually. I like it when people say they like a character who is going to die, or that they ship two characters when one is already in a relationship that hasn't been revealed yet >:3 This is my first webcomic, but I have watched people's reactions to their theories becoming true or being busted when I've written fanfiction and original work before, and it's fun!

[graceroche]

This is one of the best parts about telling a story! I love seeing what theories readers have come up with or how they feel about a certain character, whether they're spot-on or completely wrong. To me it shows that they're invested and curious; it spurs me even more to reach those plot points I'm so excited about! C: I have some pretty vocal followers on various platforms and it always fills me with glee to see their reactions.

Of course, there have been times in the past when the things I'm trying to communicate haven't really landed with readers. While these moments are a bit frustrating, I always value them because they help me improve. c:

As of yet, I haven't had anyone be truly upset at where I've taken a story. Readers have expressed their 'distress' before but never in a genuinely negative way. More in the style of, "Oh god why are you hurting these precious cinnamon rolls, I love it~!"

((Of course, withholding backstory/details and plot points/story arcs is one of the most agonizing things about doing a weekly comic! It's all there, waiting to be revealed, but I know it'll be mooonths before it all unfolds, haha! :'D))

[joannekwan]

Less dread, more amusement. I especially like when people ship my characters and little do they know it won't happen at all. :3c

[keii4ii]

I worry not because I think my readers might get too upset or shocked about it, but because maybe no one will care. I often feel like I'm being a failure to my own characters, who have to rely on me to tell their tale, to make people care about them. I feel I'm utterly failing that duty as their creator.

Thanks a LOT, anxiety. >:[ And you too, trust issues. Thanks a whooooole bunch.

I'm hoping to be proven wrong. It's possible that I already HAVE been proven wrong, but anxiety warps perception and makes it difficult to see the truth.

[Mharz]

I'm not worrying about it. In fact it makes me excited how the readers react to them (if they did react to them at all). It's up to the readers whether they like it or not but I ain't changing nothing.

[kkitty]

i'm worried that my readers are reading my comic at all to be fairly honest

and no i'd have tons of fun with that...suffer my friends

[heterodont]

I had someone ask me prior to reading my comic if anything sad was going to happen, unfortunately I cannot lie.
Also a friend of mine repeatedly tells me to NOT do anything sad in my comic, which again unfortunately I cannot do...,,,

Beyond that I don't particularly worry, I just sit in anticipation to see how people will take it. My readers don't particularly try making theories or comments beyond whats happening on the current page :y not that that bothers me, but It'd be cool to see what they thought of the direction of the story so far! They have been discussing ships tho- of which only one out of the two Most Discussed is actually gonna happen...

[angelfire]

Every single one of my stories need to have someone die. At least one person if not all of them.
It makes things SO much more interesting.
Added to that is every one of my characters will have a dark past or a sad one. I dont know why, its just something i do.

I hope that when i do start up my comics people will enjoy them. I personally find it amusing when readers think up the history of s character and its a happy story. No one likes happy things ^^

[KreativeConfusion]

I have one character people seem to enjoy quite a bit, sadly the plans for said character might not work out the way people want. I mentioned this to my sister and she said "you bitch"

Story tellers are horrible lil sadists

[nathankschulz]

A little. I'm more interested in how the readers will react. The bad and good is coming either way... bwahaha

[mintycanoodles]

I know where all the hidden mickeys in my comic are and sometimes it's very hard not to tell. I cave and give hints tho.

I don't think anyone's found my favorite one yet lol

[mariusthered]

not worry but i find it very hard to hold back my buffer and not show people everything i have already finished

[AnnaLandin]

I don't usually feel dread as such - possibly because my comic hasn't gotten very dark (yet; it still might!) - but I do feel a bit weird knowing more about the story than my readers do, yeah. Sometimes, it's gleeful - I know something yooou dooooon't! - and makes me giggle, and sometimes it makes me a bit frustrated. Like, sometimes readers ask questions, and I want to answer them, but the only answer is a spoiler.

I haven't had a reader get upset, but I have had people figure out what's coming. Sometimes it's because they're supposed to - I'm dropping hints - and sometimes they manage to freely speculate their way to the right answer.

... I don't think I've had any moments of people missing something completely, unless you count the people who blank out when reading pronouns and have spent 4 chapters thinking the semi-mute little girl in Grassblades is, in fact, a boy - even though she is referred to as she/her, and has a feminine name.

[niinasalmelin]

It's definitely a mix between glee an fear. Glee because I love to read reactions from readers. Last page I put out was supposed to give spooky wine and the readers picked on that right away. Then again sometimes I feel fustrated when I just want to spill the beans and talk about future events. Still, the joy of having a secret is greater.

I fear both bad reactions and just plain uninterest towards one big happening that's coming. However it's the story I want to tell so there's no helping it. I just hope it won't turn people off of the comic

[purrlpankras]

I recently just started to explain the main plot of Two Faced in chapter 15, now this is really late for most comics right? So I was expecting my readers to all like.. 'FINALLY' or something. But they was more like they love the twist of the plot I explained. One even said the comic has a good story if the readers are wondering what is going to happen next.

In previous chapters, there's one character who's reputation isn't that great so is often thought as the bad guy, but later on shown in a better light, Even now they're not quite sure if he really is the bad guy or not. I just love making my readers think about it.

[DeadAccount]

I definitely feel excited for twist reveals. I love surprising readers. I dread the opposite, people predicting exactly what's gonna happen - and as our readers are pretty sharp, we definitely came close to it in the past >_>

[Vanadis]

I think the dread comes down to establishing character(s) that readers love, and knowing something terrible (and unforeseeable) is going to happen to them. It makes you feel like a shit. But, it also has the biggest impact, and if done well makes a fantastic plot twist.
I feel a little bit of dread about some things coming later on...but mostly frustration at not being able to share more than I can, or answer certain questions at this point. That frustration does at least drive me to work harder on more pages, so I can actually get there!

Long-form story-telling can be a lonely business, and having someone you trust to bounce ideas off and tell a few spoilers to can really lift some of the anxiety and pressure.

[Rabbit]

I'm surprised so many people here say they enjoy when this happens! Good for you guys XD Whenever that happens to me, I get really upset.
The first few times it happened I got frightened that when I would post the thing the readers hadn't anticipated, everyone would hate me, which is a weird thought, but yeah.. to the point I almost changed the way the story is going to go.
And with my story it's actually not so much a particular scene, usually, as much as it is a slow, more dramatic mood change, so that's even harder for me to deal with because every time I get a comment saying that someone likes it because it's funny, I worry they'll hate me when I get serious. Oddly enough, I had a nightmare where I posted a serious scene I've been wanting to upload for a long time, and someone commented 'remember when this comic used to be funny? :'('. I don't even know where I got that, but yeah, it was in the dream.
Then I woke up and realized that didn't even happen XO I just sorta trudge though it when that happens, and tell myself that even if everyone ends up hating me, I'm improving as an artist by working on this project, and that's what matters.