Explaining your idea in the comments - yea or neigh?

[strongnsensual]

Let's not horse around, let's get some ideas.

I have written a couple of stories with some very intentional ambiguity, or generally left the reader wondering about a few things - by choice. Then the comments come in.

I feel like a full explanation would make it all less interesting. I'm not kidding when I say the few stories I've submitted have given me a deeper understanding of why published authors can be vague or less clear and direct discussing their work than some might like.

Am I alone in this? Do other authors prefer not to fully explain everything? Is preserving some of the mystery worthwhile?

 

[Actingup]

I think it's up to you. You can choose to stay silent, to drop a few hints, or to explain yourself. You could put in a 'Why I wrote what I wrote' essay and then encourage readers to read that if they are curious about your intentions. I guess though if you leap in too quickly, you're going to deny yourself the chance to get insights from your readers about their own reactions and how they're understanding your characters. If you're very lucky, your characters will start inserting their own commentary in the thread....

 

[strongnsensual]

Prime example - one comment even called it a failure. Meh. I can see why they said it, but not sure I agree. Can't please everyone.

 

[strongnsensual]

If you're very lucky, your characters will start inserting their own commentary in the thread....

They've already taken stories in directions I hadn't quite expected, but they have yet to actually argue with me.

 

[Actingup]

They've already taken stories in directions I hadn't quite expected, but they have yet to actually argue with me.

That would be pretty awesome though. Trying to write a LW story, and the MCs say 'fuck off author, we're staying faithful'. Trying to write incest and your leads just say 'piss off we're not touching each other!'. And then the words start rearranging themselves on the page....

 

[NotWise]

That is all up to you. It's your story.

That said, unresolved details are inherent in short stories. If you write short, then you need to make careful decisions about what you leave unresolved, otherwise it might come off as sloppy or incomplete.

 

[MillieDynamite]

If people don't like what happened in a story, trying to make them understand is pointless. For example, one reader asked, "Why did you have him get her pregnant? It would have been better that way." I didn't bother trying to explain my reasoning. And never try to explain my reasoning to them before they read the story. And I won't justify what I write to a disappointed reader. They want things in stories, let them write their story the way they want.

As to my characters, they don't always like the way their life goes under my direction. Well, they are my creations, I can kill them if I want.

 

[strongnsensual]

Oh yeah, there are definitely comments that deserve to and are ignored.

I do get tempted when it's kind of on the fence, and I feel like some explanation would help them understand and enjoy it more. But then the next batch of readers....

Overthink things much?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Let's not horse around, let's get some ideas.

I have written a couple of stories with some very intentional ambiguity, or generally left the reader wondering about a few things - by choice. Then the comments come in.

I feel like a full explanation would make it all less interesting. I'm not kidding when I say the few stories I've submitted have given me a deeper understanding of why published authors can be vague or less clear and direct discussing their work than some might like.

Am I alone in this? Do other authors prefer not to fully explain everything? Is preserving some of the mystery worthwhile?

In the comments, no. Very few people will revisit a comment they've left. Those that do are, in my experience, trolls looking to start a fight. You don't want that in your comments.

 

[PennameWombat]

Let's not horse around, let's get some ideas.

I have written a couple of stories with some very intentional ambiguity, or generally left the reader wondering about a few things - by choice. Then the comments come in.

I feel like a full explanation would make it all less interesting. I'm not kidding when I say the few stories I've submitted have given me a deeper understanding of why published authors can be vague or less clear and direct discussing their work than some might like.

Am I alone in this? Do other authors prefer not to fully explain everything? Is preserving some of the mystery worthwhile?

The only notification sent for a comment is to you, the author of the story. There is no comment threading here, so the original commenter will need to make a deliberate effort to return to see any subsequent comments. I did 'reply' to a couple of comments in my early days, although not for the purpose you describe, and, well, so far as I could tell, nothing. So I don't bother.

If you feel new readers would get some advantage by you posting an explanation, that's up to you. But IMHO if you feel that's an issue, it's the story that you need to look at.

I have a couple of stories which end with a fair amount of loose ends or ambiguity. But, that's intentional. The main characters in those are the ones who 'don't know what they don't know,' and as they're the avatars for the readers, the readers are meant to have the same feelings. The characters didn't get or find an explanation, so neither do the readers. At least in my case, the couple of stories where I did that the most intently are both quite highly rated. Each had a comment about the 'mystery,' but they seemed to understand the ambiguity being part of each story's world.

I have a third story which drips with ambiguity. And that one's quite lowly rated. However, it was part of one of the '750 Word Story Events' submissions, and as one commenter said "we don't know why you authors keep wasting your time on such short stories. No one wants to read them." Ah, well, then. So it's harder to disentangle 'reasons' there.

 

[Katie_Mae]

I don't respond to comments any more. Threaded comments don't exist here. If you reply to a comment, you're just talking to anyone new who comes along, because the person you're replying to won't get a notification of your reply and may never see the reply.

If someone has a genuine question they can dm me (or at the very least, not post anonymous lol). Eg I had a commenter ask why a character died. I thought it was pretty obvious (though not explicitly stated). They were anonymous, so no way to actually answer that, even though it did seem like a genuine question in this case, not just a troll. Another commenter came along and answered it (correctly) but no word back from our friend anonymous.

Consider also, not all questions are genuine. Sometimes trolls pretend not to understand something for the purpose of bullying you and/or trying to make you waste your time explaining.

Another thing to consider when replying to comments, is you can make things worse by making yourself look like an idiot.

eg, in your story linked you have the following exchange where the character says "Ben" instead of whatever the guy's name is and then tries to cover it up by pretending she said something else. (I haven't read the story, just looked at the comments then at the section of text they were talking about).

"Fuck, so deep Fuck, oh, fuck it Ben."

"What? Did you just say BEN?"

"It's BEEN so long I've been wanting this. That's what I (gasp) said. Fuck me."

She forced herself back, taking him deeper than she'd managed to so far. The probing invasion in her sphincter made her gasp.

"More lube!"

"Fuck yes." Ben pulled back out, squirted a line along the top of his dick and pushed back into her.

You have comments pointing out that the "Ben" in the narration is an editing error. Your reply:

I don't know if I want to just lay it all out there more than that, but the Ben/been isn't an editing error, it's her trying to cover her slip of the tongue.

which explains her calling him "Ben" in the dialogue is on purpose (which obviously it is, duh), but this doesn't explain the "Ben" in the narration (the one in bold, last line in the quote) which is what your commenters are actually pointing out. Because you answer something other than what your commenters are specifically pointing out, it makes it look like the "Ben" in the narration is a mistake, but also that even when it's specifically pointed out to you you still don't understand it.

If you weren't wanting to explain why you used "Ben" in the narration, it was better that you just left the question unanswered.

 

[NuclearFairy]

In the comments, no. Very few people will revisit a comment they've left. Those that do are, in my experience, trolls looking to start a fight. You don't want that in your comments.

I partially disagree, I tend to keep an eye on how many comments something I've commented on has for about a week after I comment. If it goes up I go and have a peek to see what other people are saying about the story. If the author were to ever reply directly to my comment, which none ever have, then I would respond back to them if I thought it helpful.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I partially disagree, I tend to keep an eye on how many comments something I've commented on has for about a week after I comment. If it goes up I go and have a peek to see what other people are saying about the story. If the author were to ever reply directly to my comment, which none ever have, then I would respond back to them if I thought it helpful.

As the man said, your mileage may vary...

 

[lovecraft68]

I wouldn't explain it, let the readers make up their mind, even if its not positive.

I'm not going to lie and say I haven't gotten comments that make me want to say "Where the hell are you getting that, dumbass" or "That's not what it was about" but I stick to my guns and just leave it be. Sometimes other readers will reply to them and say what I'd like to. More fun that way.

Makes me think of those inane "ending explained" vids on You Tube, which end of the day is really only that person's opinion.

 

[MillieDynamite]

All the good guys moved on to a new adventure in LOST while Ben stayed behind to pay more penance for his sinful, constantly switching sides. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!

I wouldn't explain it, let the readers make up their mind, even if its not positive.

I'm not going to lie and say I haven't gotten comments that make me want to say "Where the hell are you getting that, dumbass" or "That's not what it was about" but I stick to my guns and just leave it be. Sometimes other readers will reply to them and say what I'd like to. More fun that way.

Makes me think of those inane "ending explained" vids on You Tube, which end of the day is really only that person's opinion.

 

[Katie_Mae]

I read a story once that I really enjoyed, but the author had one annoying scene with the hymen being really far up inside the vagina. It was explained in detail, the guy had fucked her for some time and was quite far deep in when he found it. The author didn't use the word "hymen" but it was clear what it was. Eg they mentioned they were surprised to discover she was a virgin, and said they were popping her cherry etc.

A commenter left a comment saying the story was good, but that they were disappointed by the hymen being far inside the vagina trope (because, you know, it isn't.) From memories it was a nice comment overall, but the author came back with a "What the hell you on about, there's no hymen anywhere in this story" reply.

The comments were all years ago, but still I was left wondering if the author recalled what they'd written? Had they stolen the story for someone else, done a "ctrl + F" for "hymen" and seen there were none, or did they really not know what a hymen was? Who knows. But the author's comment did them no favours and worsened the story overall. They would have been far better to just let that comment be.

(And disclaimer, I'm sure no one in this thread puts the hymen up near the damn cervix, just the commentary reminded me of this amusing anecdote )

 

[Actingup]

A commenter left a comment saying the story was good, but that they were disappointed by the hymen being far inside the vagina trope (because, you know, it isn't.) From memories it was a nice comment overall, but the author came back with a "What the hell you on about, there's no hymen anywhere in this story" reply.

There's a trope about that? I keep forgetting how... interesting.. this site is sometimes!

The 'I had no idea where anything was and son, I'm now telling you to do your research' trope would be more helpful.

 

[Katie_Mae]

There's a trope about that? I keep forgetting how... interesting.. this site is sometimes!

The 'I had no idea where anything was and son, I'm now telling you to do your research' trope would be more helpful.

Hahaha, yeah, you're right. "Trope" probably isn't the best word for it.

Dude couldn't even find the hymen in his own story. Chance of him finding it on a woman even more slim.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Am I alone in this? Do other authors prefer not to fully explain everything? Is preserving some of the mystery worthwhile?

If the mystery is so mysterious that the story doesn't make sense, there's something missing from the story. On the other hand, some readers want explanations for things the story deliberately omits - but then, they're looking for a different story, not the one I wrote.

I've got a couple of stories where a woman has an affair, and readers have commented, "But what about the husband?" To which I replied, I don't know, the story is about her, not him. It's not in LW, obviously.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Let's not horse around, let's get some ideas.

I have written a couple of stories with some very intentional ambiguity, or generally left the reader wondering about a few things - by choice. Then the comments come in.

I feel like a full explanation would make it all less interesting. I'm not kidding when I say the few stories I've submitted have given me a deeper understanding of why published authors can be vague or less clear and direct discussing their work than some might like.

Am I alone in this? Do other authors prefer not to fully explain everything? Is preserving some of the mystery worthwhile?

This is a classic example of readers who will like or dislike your story on a scale of how much they agree with it. "The story should have gone like this ..." etc. I really don't have much time for that stuff. When I read I DON'T want to know how the story goes. I want the writer to take me places where I've never been, or at least make some unexpected or imaginative turns on the way to the standard ending. These people basically want their own story recited back to them because they are either incapable or (usually) too fucking lazy to write their own story. So when someone else writes the story (for free) and gets it "wrong" they get upset. If you write something unconventional they get upset. Fuck 'em. Just fuck 'em. Preferably with something jagged and rusty.

However, these readers are the majority so if you care about scores and nice comments ... (shrug)

 

[pink_silk_glove]

A commenter left a comment saying the story was good, but that they were disappointed by the hymen being far inside the vagina trope (because, you know, it isn't.) From memories it was a nice comment overall, but the author came back with a "What the hell you on about, there's no hymen anywhere in this story" reply.

The comments were all years ago, but still I was left wondering if the author recalled what they'd written?

Probably knew so little about anatomy that he didn't know that the 'cherry' was called the hymen.

There is so much myth involved in these fantasies. I had a roleplay once where I lost my virginity to a guy. He was disappointed that I didn't bleed. He had to have that as part of the fantasy, like proof of my virginity or something. Well, I'm not allowed to play 15, so I'm 19 in the play. By the time that you're 19, the chances that you'll bleed get pretty slim. By 19, we've all pretty much at least stuffed our fingers in there a few times. If the hymen is still there it gets stretched out enough that it doesn't really tear. At least mine didn't. (blush)

 

[lovecraft68]

All the good guys moved on to a new adventure in LOST while Ben stayed behind to pay more penance for his sinful, constantly switching sides. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!

Wait, you didn't need to watch a video explaining the ending to you because they're so smart, and you're so dense? Amazing!

 

[lovecraft68]

I read a story once that I really enjoyed, but the author had one annoying scene with the hymen being really far up inside the vagina. It was explained in detail, the guy had fucked her for some time and was quite far deep in when he found it. The author didn't use the word "hymen" but it was clear what it was. Eg they mentioned they were surprised to discover she was a virgin, and said they were popping her cherry etc.

A commenter left a comment saying the story was good, but that they were disappointed by the hymen being far inside the vagina trope (because, you know, it isn't.) From memories it was a nice comment overall, but the author came back with a "What the hell you on about, there's no hymen anywhere in this story" reply.

The comments were all years ago, but still I was left wondering if the author recalled what they'd written? Had they stolen the story for someone else, done a "ctrl + F" for "hymen" and seen there were none, or did they really not know what a hymen was? Who knows. But the author's comment did them no favours and worsened the story overall. They would have been far better to just let that comment be.

(And disclaimer, I'm sure no one in this thread puts the hymen up near the damn cervix, just the commentary reminded me of this amusing anecdote )

Why do I find myself being convinced that commenter is male?

After all, many men here will tell women all about how their body works, and what they like, and how they think, and in some categories how evil they all are....

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think it's necessary for a short story to explain everything. I also think it's a possible sign of a defect in a story if you find yourself compelled to explain the story in a comment after the story. The story ideally should stand by itself.

If the story is part of a larger story universe and knowing that would help readers, then by all means say as much in a preface to the story.

Your story is a Loving Wives story, so it's not surprising you're going to get a lot of "that doesn't make sense" and "no real man would do that" kind of comments. That's par for the course.

 

[StillStunned]

I used to live next door to a Hymen. Older guy, big beard. He was easy to find: mostly on his balcony, smoking a cigarette.