Fostering Engagement?

[PeculiarChangeling]

This question has less to do with story construction itself, and more the framing and presentation of those stories - though the fiction itself definitely comes into play, too. 

As a writer, one of the things that gets me most excited to keep writing, make new stories, and generally just be creative is engaging with people who are reading and enjoying my work. Likes or upvotes are good, but comments and replies are better, and comments and replies that really engage with the material - mentioning things that the reader liked or disliked, picking up on easter eggs or small character details, etc - are what really makes writing worth it. It's the engagement, responses, etc. that make it feel like I'm not just writing and throwing out words into the void. 

The problem is, this sort of response is really difficult to actually get. Even some of my most popular stories, with a few thousand views and lots of likes, get maybe four or five comments at most. 

And this is a problem I don't know how to fix. I mean, "Write more popular stories" is one answer, and it'd definitely help if everything I wrote was as popular as "'Baby'Sitter" or "Her Boss, Her Baby, Her Beatrice", but that's not really the sort of advice I'm looking for. (I try to write every story as well as I can, after all.) Just asking people for feedback tends not to do very much, as far as I can tell. 

As a creator, I don't want everything to be one sided - I want to be part of a community that I talk to, that I share with, that I'm a member of. I like getting feedback. I like talking to people about the stories I write. But there doesn't seem to be any way that I've found to get people to engage reliably or often. 

[kasarberang]

Engagement is something difficult to attain, I'm by no means a good writer and I'm not exactly a big name on the site either. I haven't finished a story and the stories I have on the site I'm generally unhappy as far as actual story goes (they are great for a session though.).

So I won't speak to you as a writer as I don't feel I have any right to do so and I'm not knowledgeable enough to actually give any valuable writer to writer advice. I will speak to you as a reader however.

I mainly read content for masturbation purposes, I'll read a story if it appeals to my general list of kinks and when I'm done I'll go to a different tab. I imagine a lot of people do the same. Very rarely do I consider commenting on the post unless I actively am invested in the actual story beyond it's uses as masturbation material and I want to encourage the writer to continue.

I can't exactly explain what engages me in a story specifically but as someone with a vision impairment and general dislike for reading most things the single most important thing for me to even start getting invested is readability.

I need to be able to easily rest my eyes look at the screen and just breeze through the text without missing a beat. I guess you could describe this as flow, sometimes a story can be grammatically correct but the sentence does not flow in a way that's easy to read. I've heard some describe it like this: Say what you're writing out loud and if it doesn't sound natural coming out of your mouth than it probably isn't natural to read.

If I had to give a single bit of advice it'd be make sure your story is very readable with exceptional flow. When I was writing I would frequently rewrite single sentences multiple times until it felt it had a good flow. I don't think my stories are very good, but I do think they have a good flow to them with good readability.

 

The next thing I'd suggest as a reader is to make sure that you grab the person near the beginning, for example don't start off with the scene start off with the character and than after they have a little personality than you can focus on the scene. .

 

Idk if this will increase engagement per-say but it might increase the amount of people who stay and continue reading the story. A view just means someone clicked on your story, it doesn't mean they actually got past the first paragraph.

 

Something else I've seen work very well is by giving the viewers opportunity to engage, ask a question for them to answer, maybe ask them what they think will happen next or leave cliffhangers/mysteries that they might actively want to speculate about the next chapter in the comments. Try to spark a discussion

[WBDaddy]

Give people a reason to care about your characters.  That's how you engage people.  It's really that simple.  

If you tell me your character was just an average so-and-so (and god forbid start ticking off vital statistics), I'm done right there.  I literally will stop reading with that kind of opening line.  

Give me colorful characters in an interesting and emotionally compelling storyline (or even just interesting scenes), and I'll wear out my F5 key waiting for updates.  

[eatenbywo1ves]

2 hours ago, kasarberang said:

I mainly read content for masturbation purposes, I'll read a story if it appeals to my general list of kinks and when I'm done I'll go to a different tab. I imagine a lot of people do the same. Very rarely do I consider commenting on the post unless I actively am invested in the actual story beyond it's uses as masturbation material and I want to encourage the writer to continue.

Ditto

If you take this idea and then go "Ok how many views are of this mindset?"

I'd guess a sizable chunk on most story types are going to fall in that category as well. As part of this group, I myself will attest that stupid lizard brain isn't looking to comment on stuff. Add in the mind-fuck post-coital tristesse is for people, a lot of people are just moving on with their whatever.

As far as what you desire, organically fostering an environment for people to engage goes a long way. Seems you've already done that, somethings just take time though.

Type of content and the medium used may have an impact as well, I am drawing a blank as far as ways to create content that directly increases viewers interaction as a result of the content is presented. I guess you could do a long form story format that works on choose your own adventure format and present large forks for the mythos of the story to grow into for serialized content?

Here is a fun idea, ABDL SCP/Creepy pasta site. I think something like this became a mainstay it should generate massive amount of interaction among the users?

[Personalias]

@PeculiarChangeling  My own 2 cents:  

I have had the most success in fostering engagement with serialized publishing.  Have plot arcs and emotional roller coaster rides so that readers become invested with the characters beyond just a self-insert for kink (keep in mind I used the word "just").   Simply put when it's only masturbation material, many readers might be hesitant to comment beyond "good job, great story".   aka.  "I came, I saw, and then I came..."  

The stories I've had the greatest interaction among readers with are ones that don't END with the main character in diapers, but BEGIN with them and then see how they react to their new situation.

You've got enough of a reputation for being good at what you do that the readers most likely to engage with you are going to read your stuff beyond the kinky material, so you've got room for plot.  Alternatively, hit them with kink at the beginning but keep the ride going.  Based on our previous conversations, I suspect Diaper Dimension isn't your thing (and that's fine), but I've had a lot of interaction with my own diaper dimension story: That's because PPP's creation has become sort of its own "brand".  People know what's going to happen sooner or later and so that ropes them in for other character interactions.  Same with Perpetual Change.  It's a slow start, but people trust the promise and then I get compliments about Fiona's character growth or M2 Eclair's signature snark.

Heck, I haven't looked at it in a while, but I'm pretty sure there's a decent amount of interaction and speculation on your comic with HoF because of the extra characterization and emotional plight of your main.  Yeah, she's embarrassed and in a sitcom level hijinks, but there's also stakes and a believability that allows for suspension of disbelief.  She was trying to do something nice for her lover aaaaand it backfired hilariously while possibly awakening something within her (based on dream sequences depicted).

Lure them in with your own brand of writing (and you definitely have one) and then keep going.  Don't fade to black as soon as the padding gets taped on and the grunting and humiliation take place.  Go for round two. Then Three.  Then four. etc.

[PeculiarChangeling]

11 minutes ago, Personalias said:

Simply put when it's only masturbation material, many readers might be hesitant to comment beyond "good job, great story".   aka.  "I came, I saw, and then I came..."  

Solid advice in your whole post, but this made me laugh out loud. ?

[BabySofia]

54 minutes ago, Personalias said:

 I have had the most success in fostering engagement with serialized publishing.  

I agree with this. If you look at a lot of longer stories on here there's usually a chapter or two before comments start flying more. Even then, there are sometimes some lulls that make you wonder if you're doing something wrong sometimes!

I confess I also won't hold myself above bribing readers. Giving people a cliffhanger and holding over their heads to see enough comments/likes so you see if anyone is paying attention before rewarding them with a new chapter early seems to get more comments from lurkers who haven't commented.

For my part when I'm reading I also have a comfort level with the content. I'm not big into sex scenes or sexual abuse, so a lot of times I will not comment on those stories if I do glance at them. I also have concerns for if the real world were ever to break through here what they would see connected to me here. 

[Guilend]

As a long time reader. I used to not comment at all. Then I started reading good stories that just got me so caught up in them I just couldn't help but comment. It still took me a while. I've been trying to comment more especially on stories I like and even more so due to who the author is. I do have my favorites, which that list has been growing lol. I'll literally read everything my favorite author has written even if I don't care for the content of the story itself and if I remember I do comment. Sometimes I only have time for a good job. Sometimes I say good job because I feel like at times I make others, especially the author feel like I'm trying to get them to go a certain way. I really just like commenting on what goes through my brain as I read certain parts. All the authors that have commented on here, including you, are on my list of favorite authors. I love your work.

[Cute_Kitten]

Out of my stories, the ones that had the most engagement from readers tend to be longer works with more character development/ fleshed out characters than just diapers and pickle-tickling.  Showing the emotional journeys of characters helps readers connect to those characters and come to care about them (or hate their guts, depending upon the character- but either way, it's getting an emotional reaction from readers) which helps gets them invested in the story.  Having an engaging plot helps too. 

[Alex Bridges]

On 12/27/2020 at 11:28 PM, WBDaddy said:

Give people a reason to care about your characters.  That's how you engage people.  It's really that simple.  

If you tell me your character was just an average so-and-so (and god forbid start ticking off vital statistics), I'm done right there.  I literally will stop reading with that kind of opening line.  

Give me colorful characters in an interesting and emotionally compelling storyline (or even just interesting scenes), and I'll wear out my F5 key waiting for updates.  

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I've had people message me privately to tell me how much reading about my characters' journeys has provided them with emotional comfort and make them feel less alone in the world. When that happens, it feels weird and gives me this sense of momentary responsibility, but it also feels like I must be doing something right. They need to know what happens next.

[ausdpr]

Write something really wrong in the opening sentence, like, the world is a cube developed by triangle people from space, and this story will prove it, and you'll get some responses.

In honesty though, it seems that anything published in pieces with tension in the story will likely get people saying that they can't wait and guessing about where it might go.

 

edit: For example, Jessica is being chased by a robot nanny who intends to put her in diapers and take her back to the room where she strongly suspects all her friends are already in diapers though she's not sure. Also what's the fun thing she can ride which the robot keeps talking about? What happened to the girl whose journal they found from three years ago, and who has been using the oversized crib and play area they found?

[WBDaddy]

10 minutes ago, ausdpr said:

In honesty though, it seems that anything published in pieces with tension in the story will likely get people saying that they can't wait and guessing about where it might go.

Well, that's certainly the cynical take.  Not wrong, but cynical.  

[ausdpr]

I didn't mean it as a bad thing! Tension is a wonderful thing about stories, like a mystery to be unlocked, even if you know where it might likely go, you don't know how.

 

And even if they're at their destination and in diapers, each day is a source of ultimate tension about whether they'll succumb to it or escape back to their silly adult life... And even if they do escape, who knows if they can actually keep their panties dry now, and, well, goodness, they might not have escaped at all...

[WBDaddy]

15 minutes ago, ausdpr said:

I didn't mean it as a bad thing!

My bad.  The vibe I picked up from it was, "Well, just throw something together and add tension, and..."

Maybe it's me that has the cynical problem.   

[Elbs]

One thing that might help is to add an author's note with guidelines about what kind of comments you like. For example, I'm a lot more likely to offer advice on how I think a story could be improved if the author has clearly said that they welcome constructive criticism. If they haven't given any word either way, I'm torn between wondering if they'll be glad for the advice or end up feeling hurt and discouraged.

Although, I can also personally attest to the fact that I'm less likely to comment on masturbation material. One of the nice things about reading fetish stories is how it lets me turn off my brain a bit, but the side effect is that I'm less likely to think of anything to say. And besides, if I linger too long before going on to the next story, I might ruin the mood.