You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? (Author Rant)

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You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

People Who Question Author's Main Characters

I'm confident enough to say none of you here have read my novel, which is good. I wouldn't want you to. I prefer authors, writers, artists, etc. to post about their work, ideas and suggestions so I can either discover their novels or help my inspiration.

Back to my rant! What is with a reader actually questioning a character's decisions made in the story? After more than fifty chapters in, you'd think people would accept the author's main character by now. Nope... It's, "Why is the MC doing that. I think that's s#%@ reason." What the heck, unknown-reader-who-stalks-my-book-online? I literally made the connection several chapters ago. And why the heck is that same person caught up to the novel and actually posting comments like this?! Does he love the novel? Does he hate it? I can't tell. He reads like every chapter and comments on almost all of them! What is sorcery is this?!

Anyways... If you read up to this part of my post, congratulations. I really appreciate your willingness in reading about an author rant on his non-existing issues. No, truly. I literally had to write this just to calm myself. And I personally don't mind people reading my work, but it becomes strange seeing their irrelevant opinions. My solution? Easy:

 

DarkeReises

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no, i don't know, and i don't want to know
 

georgelee5786

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I mean, I get questioning the MC's decision while reading a book. I do it a lot. Sometimes the MC does something the reader doesn't quite understand. But what I don't get is being a dick to the author about it.
 

CupcakeNinja

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You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

People Who Question Author's Main Characters

I'm confident enough to say none of you here have read my novel, which is good. I wouldn't want you to. I prefer authors, writers, artists, etc. to post about their work, ideas and suggestions so I can either discover their novels or help my inspiration.

Back to my rant! What is with a reader actually questioning a character's decisions made in the story? After more than fifty chapters in, you'd think people would accept the author's main character by now. Nope... It's, "Why is the MC doing that. I think that's s#%@ reason." What the heck, unknown-reader-who-stalks-my-book-online? I literally made the connection several chapters ago. And why the heck is that same person caught up to the novel and actually posting comments like this?! Does he love the novel? Does he hate it? I can't tell. He reads like every chapter and comments on almost all of them! What is sorcery is this?!

Anyways... If you read up to this part of my post, congratulations. I really appreciate your willingness in reading about an author rant on his non-existing issues. No, truly. I literally had to write this just to calm myself. And I personally don't mind people reading my work, but it becomes strange seeing their irrelevant opinions. My solution? Easy:

I get this sometimes, but my main story features an MC who is the very definition of reckless, hedonistic, stubborn and whimsical. Half the time, he's drugged out of his mind. The man is certifiably insane. My readers just ACCEPT him being weird.

I could write him being hunted down by xenomorphs in a wrecked space ship only for his crew mates to later find him atop a mountain of he'd just gotten done fucking like living sex dolls and the only reaction my readers would have is, "classic Damien lol"

There are advantages to being a weed addict and writing your main story a fucking flaming tire. I get a lot of leniency in that one.
 

LABmaiL

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As a reader, I try and avoid such comments as they are nonconstructive and needlessly harsh. However, I believe there is a reason (although bad) why they do it. Many readers will get attached and connected to MCs, and thus will expect the characters to follow the same logic and mindset as themselves. It's the same reason Isekai is so popular. People tend to escape through the characters they read about, and so they begin to assume that the character has the same information or ideas as them. It's dumb, but so are us readers. There's a reason we're consuming literature rather than writing it lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

RaizarP

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You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

People Who Question Author's Main Characters

I'm confident enough to say none of you here have read my novel, which is good. I wouldn't want you to. I prefer authors, writers, artists, etc. to post about their work, ideas and suggestions so I can either discover their novels or help my inspiration.

Back to my rant! What is with a reader actually questioning a character's decisions made in the story? After more than fifty chapters in, you'd think people would accept the author's main character by now. Nope... It's, "Why is the MC doing that. I think that's s#%@ reason." What the heck, unknown-reader-who-stalks-my-book-online? I literally made the connection several chapters ago. And why the heck is that same person caught up to the novel and actually posting comments like this?! Does he love the novel? Does he hate it? I can't tell. He reads like every chapter and comments on almost all of them! What is sorcery is this?!

Anyways... If you read up to this part of my post, congratulations. I really appreciate your willingness in reading about an author rant on his non-existing issues. No, truly. I literally had to write this just to calm myself. And I personally don't mind people reading my work, but it becomes strange seeing their irrelevant opinions. My solution? Easy:

I get this a lot too but not recently.
The reason being, just put Childish MC tag, done. Your MC's action will be incomprehensible for most readers
 

Cipiteca396

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I don't see the problem. Sometimes as a writer, I don't consider things that should be obvious or that my character would consider. I'm not them, after all. Having an outside perspective is invaluable. If I read the comment and realize that something was unclear or nonsensical, I can clarify. If I decide that what I wrote was better, that's fine, there was no harm done.
 

Dieter

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The reader isn't convince of your character's action so-and-so. He doesn't find it plausible. A band-aid method to fix this issue would be to write a paragraph long argument (hopefully not long) as to why your character does what he does in said moment.
A word of caution: use it sparingly, only where you think the readers might stumble on.
A word of advice: it'll be better if such issues didn't come up in the first place. A rewrite is advised.
 

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I get this sometimes, but my main story features an MC who is the very definition of reckless, hedonistic, stubborn and whimsical. Half the time, he's drugged out of his mind. The man is certifiably insane. My readers just ACCEPT him being weird.
Haha. See, now that I like. It's the fact you identified his traits and personality that make it all the more reason NOT for others to question his actions.
As a reader, I try and avoid such comments as they are nonconstructive and needlessly harsh. However, I believe there is a reason (although bad) why they do it. Many readers will get attached and connected to MCs, and thus will expect the characters to follow the same logic and mindset as themselves. It's the same reason Isekai is so popular. People tend to escape through the characters they read about, and so they begin to assume that the character has the same information or ideas as them. It's dumb, but so are us readers. There's a reason we're consuming literature rather than writing it lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
After remembering what the reader commented, I'm inclined to believe this is true. The manner in which he wrote it was as though he thought he was the main character. I found it strange at first. But after reading your post, it helps clarify the mindsets of... dare I say it... "haters".
I get this a lot too but not recently.
The reason being, just put Childish MC tag, done. Your MC's action will be incomprehensible for most readers
No surprise a genius writer like you understands.
A rewrite is advised.
This was already done. Glad you shared for anyone who might need the advice. :blob_popcorn:
 
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CupcakeNinja

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Haha. See, now that I like. It's the fact you identified his traits and personality that make it all the more reason NOT for others to question his actions.
.
Yeah, well, after he rolled a King into a giant blunt using a curtain and kidnapped him by jumping out of a window to go get high, drunk, and bed comely barmaids, the readers knew what to expect.

A majority of them stayed just for the MC. Wanted to see what other hijinks their favorite drug addict would be getting himself into. The guy really does make shit hard for himself. Too many fuckups and not enough care for consequence
 

DarkeReises

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This is basically what happened.

Smh. You're the reason I put: "If you read up to this part of my post, congratulations. I really appreciate your willingness in reading..."
oh, i read it, i just erased what you wrote from my mind and instead said what i said
 

LAJistics

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When I posted the last couple chapters of my latest story, I was really questioning whether it was going to work out or not.

However I can say that my cold blooded, "mother-fucking" beast of a futa heroine really didn't go as badly as I thought.

I will also say that there hasn't been much interaction with it yet, so it's still a little iffy. Just hoping that only the most heinous degenerates read it.
 

K5Rakitan

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I like knowing what people think, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it. Here's what I copy and paste to politely dismiss comments I disagree with:
"Thanks for your thorough and thoughtful review. I will keep your suggestions in mind for my next rewrite."
 

TheEldritchGod

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Uhh... Huh?

Isn't the point of publishing having people read it? Does it matter who reads it? They are all readers when they read. I don't get what your point is to begin with. You... do or do not want authors to read your works? I mean... huh? Very confusing.

The comment feedback section is invaluable. I find the ones who don't get it to be the most useful. The ones asking questions invariably makes me ask, "Did I give enough clues up until this point?" Then I look ahead and say, "The answer to your question should be answered by chapter XX" However, if I am not revealing the answer to the question later, or I have already explained it, I will clarify the logic behind what happened.

A few things may be happening:

1. You have a troll. Nothing to be done about it. However, do not just dismiss the subject as a troll until his behavior clearly reaches troll status. It may take a while of taking him seriously.

2. If you have drawn a reader into the story, they will find themselves liking the characters and getting invested in them. When you start to fuck over a character, people will get upset. Now, when you fuck someone up with an external actor, that's fine. But when the character does something dumb and gets fucked over, people get upset.

Nothing is more annoying than the idiot ball.

I have run into this problem myself. However, I have just revealed that the character is NOT holding the idiot ball, but has a separate soul stuck in his head and the two are currently fighting for control. This has been going on for quite a while. Now, the MC is being rather rattled by this and is perhaps a bit weaker willed than the readers might expect. However, I will admit, this is slightly contrived. I needed him to have a breakdown at this point in the story so the next chapter can happen. Is it out of character? No, however, it is a character flaw that I will have to include in the future.

Once I establish that the character has a problem with X, then X must remain a problem until he learns to overcome it. In this case, he feels like he's losing his mind and having a hard time holding it together when the previous occupant of his body resurfaces for soon to be revealed reasons.

Will the readers accept my logical actions? I don't know. However, in the next few chapters, all will be revealed and then they are free to tell me what they think. It is an invaluable tool.

3. It doesn't matter what you write. What matters is what they read.

All the intent in the world doesn't matter if what you read is universally understood differently from your intent. This is the basis of all communication. It is possible that you think you are writing one thing, and they are reading it another way. I had such a situation where I was reading one such story and the further I got into it, the more pissed off I got. I told the author so. It was so moronic. Until about another 5 chapters in, I realized that what was going on was that the MC was being tortured by his horrible best friend and he was in a dysfunctional
relationship. Suddenly, it all made sense.

His best friend was evil.

Everything fell into place. It was a brilliant subversion. I told him so. Now it all makes sense. I get it. Good job. I look forward to seeing where the story goes.

And then he blocked me.

And he blocked me, because the Best Friend... well... I think now, in retrospect, was a self-insert.

Yeah, I told the author his self-insert was clearly satan himself and I looked forward to seeing how the story progressed, because I really loved to hate that asshole.

Ouch.

Well, I'm sorry, but the story made much more logical sense when you see his friend as evil. And his friend was evil. Selfish, narcissistic, overshadowing the MC and manipulating him. I mean, I could go on, but you get my point.

I have no doubt that author thought I was a Troll, but... sorry. I just applied logical and narrative rules/tropes. You wrote an evil character. Sorry. I loved the evil character. He was great as an antagonist. But the author was pissed and blocked me.

Ah well.

His loss.


Which one is your reader? I dunno. However, I have no desire to ever shut down someone second guessing me. I thrive on that. Being pushed to justify my choices? Awesome.


Alas, I think few people think the same way as me.
 

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Here's what I copy and paste to politely dismiss comments I disagree with: "Thanks for your thorough and thoughtful review. I will keep your suggestions in mind for my next rewrite."
Two things. First, I may have to use that copy/paste suggestion. Might get tired of dealing with those individuals. Lol. And the second, still really love your signature. Makes me happy every time I see it! :love:
  • Isn't the point of publishing having people read it? Does it matter who reads it? They are all readers when they read. I don't get what your point is to begin with. You... do or do not want authors to read your works?

  • 3. It doesn't matter what you write. What matters is what they read.

  • And then he blocked me.

  • Which one is your reader?
Appreciate you taking the time to read my post. As well as leaving a long reply which I did read, mind you. To answer your first question, I don't think you read the part I wrote, "I literally had to write this just to calm myself. And I personally don't mind people reading my work, but it becomes strange seeing their irrelevant opinions."

The "idiot ball" statement sounds interesting. I do encounter a lot of characters like that. Be they in novels or animated shows. But as for number three, I'm going to have to disagree on this one. A writer should always be careful what they write, so I'm gonna say it does matter.

Apologize for the person blocking you. As much I as I dislike negative comments, I wouldn't dare block someone from reading something. The only time I would is, if the content wasn't intended for that particular audience (like a child lock). Compared to your scenario, it's a lot different than mine (from the author's perspective, of course). You based your reasoning with understanding of the characters and the story. My commenter was just a hate-filled dick.

I'd say you and I are quite similar (as readers and writers). Each with their own craft, of course. But to answer your last and final question, the reader's not on this site. If they were, I'd be impressed they found my novel.
 
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TheEldritchGod

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"I literally had to write this just to calm myself. And I personally don't mind people reading my work, but it becomes strange seeing their irrelevant opinions."
Ah. Different situation then. Im assuming you are trying to sell the story. Remember, each reader is giving you something, even if it is only their time.

If you dont care if anyone is buying, then tell 'em to fuck off. Seriously. If you are only writing this for you, include that in the beginning so its clear then ban the asshole.

I don't write for me. I write because I want to tell a story. That requires someone reads it. But I have written things for my own amusement. In those cases, all that matters is what I think, and if someone else finds it useful, so be it.

I think of it like personal letters for someone like JRR Tolkien. Maybe someday when I die someone will want to write an autobiography about me. I doubt it, but who knows.
 

K5Rakitan

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Two things. First, I may have to use that copy/paste suggestion. Might get tired of dealing with those individuals. Lol. And the second, still really love your signature. Makes me happy every time I see it! :love:
Thanks! And yes, feel free to use that copy/paste suggestion all you like :)
 
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