Tags, ain't they spoiler-ish?

[Pistachio]

A thread born from a random thought.

I was thinking of adding a few more tags to increase exposure but then I realized some good tags in my mind would spoil some twists in my work. Should I or should I not? What about you? Do you or do you not?

 

[Nihilaine]

While indeed it do seem spoiler-ish, it also can create a sense of anticipation for the readers since its like a teaser. Your only spoiling the general idea not the entire twist after all.

For instance, I added the 'Store Owner' tag way too early even when the progression of my story hasn't reach that point yet.

Some plot theorist sprouted to my comments section due to that tag and its fun as the author to read their long theories as to how I will exactly make that store and their comments give me some ideas as well.

 

[lnv]

A thread born from a random thought.

I was thinking of adding a few more tags to increase exposure but then I realized some good tags in my mind would spoil some twists in my work. Should I or should I not? What about you? Do you or do you not?

There are thousands of web novels, readers want to read what they want to read and don't want to read what they don't want to read. Tags helps readers decide if they are interested or not.

Don't worry, 99.9% of readers have memory of a goldfish, they won't remember the tags. Do you remember all the tags in the last novel you read?

End of the day, it's not about what happens, but HOW it happens. Personally, I've never minded giving readers minor/vague spoilers in general. Because I think the key lies in not B but how one gets from A to B. You want to write something people would want to reread even if they know what happens. Is that not the goal? Not simply getting to B.

 

[mrsimple]

While indeed it do seem spoiler-ish, it also can create a sense of anticipation for the readers since its like a teaser. Your only spoiling the general idea not the entire twist after all.

For instance, I added the 'Store Owner' tag way too early even when the progression of my story hasn't reach that point yet.

Some plot theorist sprouted to my comments section due to that tag and its fun as the author to read their long theories as to how I will exactly make that store and their comments give me some ideas as well.

If the scenario had yet to be written, adding the tags can act as a promise to yourself. I've had second thoughts about writing some scenes, but since I made the announcement that this content was gonna be in the novel, and hit or miss, I rolled with the original idea. And like ya said, some of those theorized comments expanded this or that upcoming point in the novel into something greater.

 

[LtBeefy]

A thread born from a random thought.

I was thinking of adding a few more tags to increase exposure but then I realized some good tags in my mind would spoil some twists in my work. Should I or should I not? What about you? Do you or do you not?

eh, i search for novels through tags a lot as I want some tags in novels at times.

 

[Kotohood]

Depends on the tags I guess.

There are times where people tags things that don't happen until the end or very rarely happens in the story. I can't help but to feel cheated by those tags.

But if a tag has something to do with a core of a story then it's probably fine. Because the tag will eventually meld into the story.

 

[GDLiZy]

I would try to use tags that are vague in nature.

Also, the tags limit is painful because I tried to explore many interesting ideas I had as the plot continued to evolve.

 

[NiQuinn]

A thread born from a random thought.

I was thinking of adding a few more tags to increase exposure but then I realized some good tags in my mind would spoil some twists in my work. Should I or should I not? What about you? Do you or do you not?

A go-around would be to add the tag a few chapters before it would happen if you're hoping to not spoil your readers from the start. That could both be a good and a bad thing. For one, some might feel cheated because they hate where the story is going because it's a sub-genre they don't like.

Or, add the tag after something happens. That way, you won't spoil your current readers.

Safest would be just to go with the basic sub-genres for your tags and don't add the rest coz, honestly, you don't really need that many tags in a story. I find too many tags can be a turn off sometimes. Then again, that might just be me.

 

[Pistachio]

While indeed it do seem spoiler-ish, it also can create a sense of anticipation for the readers since its like a teaser. Your only spoiling the general idea not the entire twist after all.

For instance, I added the 'Store Owner' tag way too early even when the progression of my story hasn't reach that point yet.

Some plot theorist sprouted to my comments section due to that tag and its fun as the author to read their long theories as to how I will exactly make that store and their comments give me some ideas as well.

Oh, I haven't thought of that!

If the scenario had yet to be written, adding the tags can act as a promise to yourself. I've had second thoughts about writing some scenes, but since I made the announcement that this content was gonna be in the novel, and hit or miss, I rolled with the original idea. And like ya said, some of those theorized comments expanded this or that upcoming point in the novel into something greater.

Depends on the tags I guess.

There are times where people tags things that don't happen until the end or very rarely happens in the story. I can't help but to feel cheated by those tags.

But if a tag has something to do with a core of a story then it's probably fine. Because the tag will eventually meld into the story.

I am always hesitant of what kind of tags I'll put since I'm afraid I'll disappoint the readers that way by not executing said tags or 'hyping' it up. I do know that some of those prospectives tags are gonna happen because they're one of the core elements of the story and I like the idea of tagging so as to 'force' yourself to go through with the idea when you start to second guess yourself.

Thank you for all the responses, they really helped me a lot!

 

[XianPiete]

Initially, when I use tags, I base them off the synopsis. I might add a couple of tags later.