Everyone’s a critic, right? We can pick apart stories all day, exposing their flaws, plot holes, and weaknesses. That’s part of the fun of criticizing popular art. It starts a conversation and allows us to deep dive into every element, keeping a familiar story fresh by viewing it through multiple lenses and exploring the “what if’s” and “what happens next” scenarios. Writers rely on those opinions in the editing process in order to produce the best content they can create.

But opinions can differ, and ultimately, it’s up to the writer to decide whether or not to utilize them. Here are my thoughts on when to listen to writing advice.

Fear of early backlash from your audience

When it comes to listening to fans, I think about the backlash to the original Sonic The Hedgehog and Cats movie trailers.  Trailers can make or break a movie. Look at the 2016 Ghostbusters movie. That film was dead and buried upon the release of the trailer alone. By the time the first preview hits, so much money has already been poured into a film. So, when the negative comments start flowing, filmmakers are faced with the decision to make changes or release as is.

The 2013 film World War Z is a successful example of how reshooting and pouring money into a project can improve its quality and performance. The initial cut of the film was so bad that even the film’s star, Brad Pitt, called it “atrocious.” But with a few more rewrites, reshoots, and plenty of marketing, the investment paid off, and the film was a success.

Of course, big studios can afford to throw money at their problems, even if it does cut into their profits. More and more, they recognize that the fans control their fate, especially in this day and age when they are perfectly willing to stay home and wait for the NetFlix release if a movie just seems “so-so” or worse. So, blockbusters especially cater to the fans, fulfilling their online prophecies and racking their brains to come up with unexpected surprises. It has inspired a more creative process, more quality work, and more expenses than ever before. But fans will pay up if the wait pays off.

So, keep your audience in mind when you’re writing something. If you hope for it to be a hit, find editors who are fans of your genre. Take into consideration what they say, and learn from these big budget examples.

Timing content with audience demand

There’s also the “strike while the iron is hot mentality” of the movie business to consider. Franchises have to bang out the sequels before the fans get bored. This is especially true of teen dystopia franchises inspired by book series. The Hunger Games and Divergent series fizzled out of audience favor because the fad ended before the films could.

The fans want content that is new but familiar. It’s why old action stars are making their comebacks in various reboots. Most are hit or miss because there is no formula for doing fan service right. Even if the filmmakers are fans themselves, they don’t always share the audience’s opinion of what a reboot should be. Mostly it’s due to the fact that you can’t duplicate the past. Sometimes a thing is only great because it was fresh and of its time. Sometimes it’s so similar to the original that it’s stale. Other times, it’s so different that it feels like a disservice to the original. Balancing between the two is tricky.

If you’re writing a story in the form of a series, understand how important it is to keep the audience’s attention by producing quick yet quality installments. The next great thing is always around the corner. So, you have to keep them interested.

When your audience helps

Die hard fans have high expectations when they see the newest incarnation of a beloved story. Sometimes the creators of those stories use that input to honor fan service, incorporating ideas that delight their fan base and help to serve the story. You can tell when they have read the message boards or listened to the questions being asked at Comic Con.

I remember when Thor: Ragnarok came out, and the big trailer moment was the reveal of the Hulk as Thor’s arena opponent. Delighted, Thor shouts, “He’s a friend from work!” It was mentioned later that the idea for that line came from a young boy who was visiting the set that day, and it was organically worked into the scene, which made for a big laugh and was appropriate to the situation. Sometimes the fans make stories better.

Part of the appeal of writing is playing God and getting to decide every aspect of the world you created. But once the story is out there, it belongs to the readers as well. So, don’t be afraid to incorporate suggestions that fit with what you’re trying to do. Stay open-minded and collaborative. Solo writers especially don’t get a lot of experience with this. So, it can be jarring, but ultimately, it makes your work feel more appreciated. 

Taking a risk vs. playing it safe

Taking risks is a fun but tricky part of the writing process. When you submit your writing, especially novels, agents and publishers want to know what famous works compare to yours. They like continuity and formulas because they’re running a business. So, if you’re going to try something risky, be prepared to fight for it.

That means coming up with a strong argument in defense of it. It also means ignoring the advice above and going against any advice that your test readers shell out. Where you don’t want to ignore them is in listening to their counter-argument. If they have credible reasons why your risk won’t work, you may have to alter your idea or scrap it altogether if you want to be traditionally published or find success in the self-publishing world. 

We’re not all famous writers whose work gets critiqued by thousands of online users in comments sections and YouTube vlogs, but we’ve all had our work critiqued at one time or another. If you’ve ever taking a writing workshop, you know that you can get 10 different opinions on your piece by 10 different readers. Rarely are the unanimously in agreement on your piece’s strengths and weaknesses.

Once you take in all of the comments, either verbal or handwritten, it’s up to you to decide how to edit a piece. I’ve seen people get defensive of their work, even going so far as to break down into tears at the slightest comment. Others listen thoughtfully but never change a word, not even an overlooked typo.

Is it okay to not take any advice from any readers, especially in a workshop setting?

Are they just not your audience, or are you that guarded of your work that you refuse to believe it’s anything less than amazing? 

Carefully consider all opinions before you decide to ignore advice. But don’t think that you have to listen to them all. 

Putting your work out into the world

The real test is when it comes time to submit your work. Once you hit SUBMIT, you question every choice you made, every word you wrote. The ultimate judgment is at hand. Will it get published? Will you get any feedback? Magazines, publishing houses, and agents are usually too busy to offer any detailed critique let alone a negative one. But the more they pile up, the more you begin to doubt your work.

Is it just the odds that are against you, or is your piece just not strong enough for publication? The lack of a detailed response answers neither question.

Reviews

Honest reviews are the “be careful what you wish for” response to wanting a more detailed analysis of your work. Even the smallest criticism can feel like a knife in your ribs, and a bad review can leave you curled up in the fetal position, feeling like the worst writer ever. If you didn’t care about audience opinion before, you will now.

It just takes one bad review to create a hole of self-doubt, even if every other review is positive. Because storytellers set unrealistic expectations that can never be met.  The medium is just too subjective. And again, you’re torn between what you, the creator, thinks, what the audience thinks, and who is right.

A resurgence in fandom

There’s no pattern to how a story will be received or when. Many successful books, plays, and movies find success right out of the gate. Others are “discovered” over time. They might not have found their audience right away, they were too ahead of their time, or they were just poorly marketed. So, their initial failure had nothing to do with quality or audience response. As a result, they find their audience over time, via word of mouth or emerging technology.

The VCR is responsible for the emergence of the cult film, ones who no one went to see at the theater but were rented over and over again at the video store. The Princess Bride, The Shawshank Redemption, and Tremors are three films in three very different genres that gained their popularity this way. Today, it’s more likely that a movie becomes popular from watching it over and over again on TV or through a streaming service.

As for books, they are always finding new audiences, growing in popularity, or being rediscovered in libraries, book sales, or even traditional book stores. Modern readers are still reading texts that are thousands of years old. Because aside from the introduction of Kindles and audiobooks, reading has pretty much maintained its original form. Language and ideologies have changed over time, but people are still interested in exploring the past through print. So, there’s always hope that your flop will pick up steam or at least be read by a few people in each generation as long as you put it out there to be bought, judged, and enjoyed.

Share your thoughts!

How often do you think of your readers when you’re creating a new story, blog post, or other piece of art?

How well do you take criticism or critique of your piece?

Do reviews matter to you, or are you just writing/creating just for yourself, regardless if anyone else likes it?

What would have to happen in order for you to scrap a project and rewrite it? Would outside forces ever play a part in that decision?

Leave your answers in the comments below!

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