Writing Build Up vs Spoonfeeding

[HungrySheep]

This is something I've been curious about for a while now. Over the course of my previous at-length work and my current, I've encountered comments from readers detailing similar criticism. They aren't as plentiful on this site as they are on others, but they still exist. The critique is primarily targeted toward chapters/moments where something happens, but it's not fully explained because a character's motives aren't yet revealed as the timing for the reveal needs to be reserved for later or the readers just aren't supposed to know yet.

I've experimented a little in response to this criticism, exposition dumping an explanation for a character's actions in some circumstances while refraining from doing so in others. In both situations, I would've preferred not immediately revealing the character's intentions until the correct timing to create a bigger impact, but it seems the spoonfeeding method is vastly preferred at least from what I've seen.

Have you also experienced something like this? Do you believe it's better to spoonfeed immediately so that readers understand everything that's happening or is it better to hide information to create a more impactful reveal? Of course, a mix of both/hinting at the reveal is also possible, but it seems to get similar responses to hiding it anyway.

I think spoonfeeding is more common in mainstream works like LitRPG/Isekai since readers need to have all the system mechanics and dynamics explained to them or they won't know what's going on. Do you think this trend has bled into other genres?

 

[SailusGebel]

Depends on the genre and site.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

This is something I've been curious about for a while now. Over the course of my previous at-length work and my current, I've encountered comments from readers detailing similar criticism. They aren't as plentiful on this site as they are on others, but they still exist. The critique is primarily targeted toward chapters/moments where something happens, but it's not fully explained because a character's motives aren't yet revealed as the timing for the reveal needs to be reserved for later or the readers just aren't supposed to know yet.

I've experimented a little in response to this criticism, exposition dumping an explanation for a character's actions in some circumstances while refraining from doing so in others. In both situations, I would've preferred not immediately revealing the character's intentions until the correct timing to create a bigger impact, but it seems the spoonfeeding method is vastly preferred at least from what I've seen.

Have you also experienced something like this? Do you believe it's better to spoonfeed immediately so that readers understand everything that's happening or is it better to hide information to create a more impactful reveal? Of course, a mix of both/hinting at the reveal is also possible, but it seems to get similar responses to hiding it anyway.

I think spoonfeeding is more common in mainstream works like LitRPG/Isekai since readers need to have all the system mechanics and dynamics explained to them or they won't know what's going on. Do you think this trend has bled into other genres?

Do what feels right to you, but like Sailus said it depends on genre and site. People who read WNs don't like as much buildup since they can get cliffhangered, and have to wait for the next chapter. Not to mention, there is a chance the author can stop writing going on hiatus. It's not like a book where they can keep reading through the buildup; however, there are still authors who do buildup well on WNs. Some of them are even isekai authors, so take that as you will.

I bet the readers wouldn't complain as much if they could binge through the buildup getting to a better payoff.

 

[LiteraryWho]

I suspect there's not a lot of Dickens fans around here, if you catch my meaning.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

The problem is when you have something happen where the reader goes, "That's out of character!" But the thing is, tension needs to exist. You need to feel that something bad can happen, or what's the point of reading?

I had the "going home" arc and people were going, "Why DOES the MC do this? Why is he acting so nice to these assholes?" And my response, "Ask me that question after chapter XX if you haven't figured it out." Whereupon, at the end, you have the conversation between the MC and his "sister" where he explains why, up until this point, he wasn't actually a hero.

He was "playing a RPG and trying to rack up karma points". He had, just before that arc, had an incident that really put it all into perspective how he was playing with people's lives and not really taking things seriously. The going home arc was his attempt to prove to himself, "I am the hero".

This is always going to happen, unless you release the entire story in one shot. If you release every few days, there is always someone who is going to go, "I don't understand", because they can't wait.

 

[HungrySheep]

Thank you for the responses! This has convinced me that I now need to write separate versions of the same story for each site... Maybe.

 

[SailusGebel]

Thank you for the responses! This has convinced me that I now need to write separate versions of the same story for each site... Maybe.

Doing what E-god does is probably the best course of action. Tell them to wait. You can also do what I did and simply tell them to get the fuck out if they don't like something, but there will be consequences.

 

[BlackKnightX]

I grew up with anime, so "unexpected surprise" is something I'm used to and quite enjoy (old anime are full of it). I believe lots of people on this site are the same as well. At least they're not worried about it too much.

I've come to realize after studying the craft that the reason why people don't like surprise as much is because it feels like an asspull. It feels random. I did this with my first series. I surprised the audience first, then explained later. That's what my instinct told me to do. But readers these days are more sophisticated and have way higher standards. They expect intricate, cohesive plotlines.

They expect the "unexpected, yet inevitable."

So if you wanna do a surprise or twist, regardless of the types of audience, your best bet is to weave in little hints and foreshadows beforehand. No need to spoon-feed them or anything; when they get to the surprise, they should think, "Damn, I should have seen this coming!" or be satisfied because they've figured it out.

Readers on this site are more forgiving, but making things feel cohesive and consistent is an important aspect of good writing.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

This is something I've been curious about for a while now. Over the course of my previous at-length work and my current, I've encountered comments from readers detailing similar criticism. They aren't as plentiful on this site as they are on others, but they still exist. The critique is primarily targeted toward chapters/moments where something happens, but it's not fully explained because a character's motives aren't yet revealed as the timing for the reveal needs to be reserved for later or the readers just aren't supposed to know yet.

I've experimented a little in response to this criticism, exposition dumping an explanation for a character's actions in some circumstances while refraining from doing so in others. In both situations, I would've preferred not immediately revealing the character's intentions until the correct timing to create a bigger impact, but it seems the spoonfeeding method is vastly preferred at least from what I've seen.

Have you also experienced something like this? Do you believe it's better to spoonfeed immediately so that readers understand everything that's happening or is it better to hide information to create a more impactful reveal? Of course, a mix of both/hinting at the reveal is also possible, but it seems to get similar responses to hiding it anyway.

I think spoonfeeding is more common in mainstream works like LitRPG/Isekai since readers need to have all the system mechanics and dynamics explained to them or they won't know what's going on. Do you think this trend has bled into other genres?

From my experience, I always prefer build-ups for more satisfying climaxes and endings, even when I write isekai-harem stories. My serious readers love my take on the novel, but the downside is, my story is not popular due to the 'long walk' the audience have to read, as opposed to what is typical of litRPGs, and other isekai-harem works.

 

[Succubiome]

Thank you for the responses! This has convinced me that I now need to write separate versions of the same story for each site... Maybe.

I don't think that's worth it-- it'll take a lot of time to craft a single story towards different audiences, and if someone runs across the "wrong" one they'll be confused.

Better to make two different stories that handle it differently than that, I think, although even that might not be ideal strategy.

 

[HungrySheep]

I don't think that's worth it-- it'll take a lot of time to craft a single story towards different audiences, and if someone runs across the "wrong" one they'll be confused.

Better to make two different stories that handle it differently than that, I think, although even that might not be ideal strategy.

Yeah, that's true. It was more of a humorous idea in any case. I think I'd burn out way too fast if I actually attempted something like that.

 

[APieceOfRock]

Don't worry about it. People like different thing but I have to admit, it feels like the readers literally want nothing to happen the way they criticize something "happening out of nowhere."

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Don't worry about it. People like different thing but I have to admit, it feels like the readers literally want nothing to happen the way they criticize something "happening out of nowhere."

Anyone that reads is dumb. Only author is smart.

 

[Simple_Russian_Boi]

In webnovels, personally, I always want to know what is happening, why it's happening and how.

As a reader, I have to wait a day, maybe a week, and sometimes a month to get a new chapter of two thousand words, only to not get even a hint of an answer to the questions that the last chapter raised. That's annoying.

In books, the build up works because you can learn about the motivations of the characters in the next chapter, which you already have. You don't have to wait, all the facts are waiting for you on paper. So it works much better here.

As an author, I want to keep some secrets, I want to keep the build up going because I want an epic conclusion.

But then some people start screaming about plot holes, about the strange out of character actions my MC does... That's annoying.

In the end, you can write longer chapters so that all the answers are in one place. Or you can ignore everyone who complains about non-existing plot holes.
You don't have to force yourself to do something that you don't want to do.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Breastfeeding and baby-led weaning

 

[Temple]

I've experienced this many times across several of my works. It's not that a trend has bled into other genres, rather that it's a (probably) necessary evil in webnovel writing as a whole that became the norm, not exactly for the good.

Let's say a plot point happens in chapter 10, more clues will appear chapter 15, a twist in chapter 20, full explanation in chapter 25. That's a decent enough progression, but how is that in terms of actual weeks or months? If I'm a reader reading a plot twist, and the full explanation comes out the next month, then I'll have a very different reaction to it compared to a reader reading a complete book.

We don't really have an answer to this because this is a weakness of webnovels. You're aiming for an impactful reveal, but keep in mind that your reveal might be a couple of months after the crumbs were strewn. Think of that from the view of a reader. After two months, they may have dropped your story and gone elsewhere.

My personal stance is just stick with it if you believe it's best for your storytelling. The readers who really like your work will stay. The next time you do it, your readers know what's up, and will experience the story as intended. Of course, this isn't the answer if you want to reach the general audience.

 

[Corty]

I simply ignore zoomer complaints. But Yes, I recieved them too. I just dont give a Fuck about it.

 

[sanitylimited]

i dont like mystery baiting. its a cheap method used to keep people interested. their is a massive difference between not giving all the required information required to solve the mystery and deliberitly withholding the information to create suspence.

its even worse when the mystery is clearly pointed at by the author, as if the author is teasing the reader that new information might be revealed soon.

 

[Sabruness]

many of the novels i read (on here and elsewhere) dont spoon feed and, at least for those novels, it works quite well (barring the occasional complainer who got lost from their spoonfeeding trashy isekai self-inserts) because it gets readers theorycrafting over what's been revealed, what could be the as yet unrevealed reasons behind things and such which then gets author interaction with the readers which livens things up in general.

 

[QuillScribbler]

I have a story where my MC was a quite evil necromancer in this past, but at the start of the story he chose to try and be a good guy. One of the complaints my prereader had was my necromancer was too nice, but the reason for that hasn't been revealed yet.

I guess the a way around this is to drop a bit of foreshadowing, spoonfeeding it if you will, or just don't and have it revealed when it comes up in the story.

i dont like mystery baiting. its a cheap method used to keep people interested. their is a massive difference between not giving all the required information required to solve the mystery and deliberitly withholding the information to create suspence.

its even worse when the mystery is clearly pointed at by the author, as if the author is teasing the reader that new information might be revealed soon.

I once read a web novel where the author goes "and the mystery is ------ (blank) it's so clear now." It was indeed cheap.