#WritersCoffeeClub 13 Mar: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?

Yeah, of course! Whether you want to subvert or satisfy them, you need to think about what they are likely to be.

I've talked before about the promise you set up with the reader at a start of a book. It doesn't have to be a promise that they won't be surprised, but the story won't be satisfying if the reader can't look back and see how it was you got to where you did.

That means being aware of tropes>

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 Mar: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?

Not counting the handful of short stories I sold to magazine, the only readers I've had so far have been fellow writers in critique groups and the tutors on the creative writing degree course. The critiques and feedback I received on the early chapters of the current WIP were helpful in pointing out any inconsistencies.

Also I am mindful of genre expectations. E.g. no segueing from fantasy into grisly horror.

Chaos.

White splits the surface of brown and gold with meanders and oxbows. Myriad tiny bubbles from beneath effervesce as they reach the surface.

The unimpeded path is not the way.
Look beneath for inspiration and follow the contours of a land split by roads. Find depth in all things and cherish the bitter as the sweet. An old entity rises anew. Nurture it and help it escape into our world.

#Galamancy #LatteDivination #CoffeeAugury #KitchenWitch #Coffee #WritersCoffeeClub

#

#WritersCoffeeClub Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

No. I write for myself. Either they like it or not. The readers ultimately review my work for better or worse.

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 March: Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

I write the kind of horse/animal companion stories I want to read, so yes, I'm mindful of my reader's expectations. No animals may die and any harm that happens must be punished

13. Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?

I don't have readers (except for microfiction, but that's more of a mutual appreciation thing rather than genuine readers who visit because they like what I write). I doubt that I'll ever have more than perhaps one or two if I ever should finish something longer. And I write what *I* like to read. I'm way behind current trends with my tastes, and have simple tastes anyway. So, no.

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 March. Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

I'm mindful of general reader expectations in the sense that I think about whether what I'm doing will make sense to people. If I speak a language no one understands ... well, no one will understand me. The story needs to be intelligible.

But in terms of (for example) plot beats or what X or Y sort of character would do, nah. I'm not writing stories that come with built-in expectations, I don't think.

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 March: Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

I submit to contests and also for publication, so my readers at the mo are editors.

Mindful of expectations?
Prior to submitting, I familiarise myself with their published material, to see if there's a market fit with my text.
And if my material would bring anything new & crisp.

#WritersCoffeeClub 13 March: Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

I definitely try to keep in mind the genre expectations and the expectations readers have in an ongoing series to get something that builds on the previous arcs while also stretching.

When I start a new piece or a standalone, my hope is that I hit and exceed genre expectations and give them a perspective that might be fresh to them.

That's more layered in during revisions that when I start writing.

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

A reader wants a story that makes sense. It can be fantastical, as long as it follows the logic established in the story. If it doesn't, they might lose interest.

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/13 Are you mindful of your readers' expectations? How so?

To mind one's readers' expectations, one would first need readers...

Hypothetically, though, I suppose you need to understand expectations from an aesthetic point of view to tell a story effectively. People want stories to make sense in a way the real world doesn't, and there's a reason stories tend to follow the same arcs over and over again. I do try to keep that sort of thing in mind.

#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 13
Are you mindful of your readers' expectations?

Only tangentally. I have a story I want to tell and it has to be true to my vision even as I craft it in a way I hope will appeal to others. There are times I have to be careful about using personal experience too much as these points are most likely to generate, that's not realistic, responses.

#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 13
Are you mindful of your readers' expectations?

My books tend to subvert expectations in a variety of ways, although they are always true to established lore, characters' personality/history, & foreshadowing. There tend to be twists & turns which might take a reader in a different direction than expected.

#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 13. Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?

I've found beta readers very helpful in pointing out where readers' expectations aren't being met. Their input to the editing process is where I get mindful.

#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 13: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?

Yes. There's a difference between a rug pull or a subversion (which delight me) and a betrayal, or a ham-handed tonal shift that doesn't work. One of the ways I can tell is if my beta readers can predict what happens next. If they either guess correctly, or guess how I would *expect* them to guess, but incorrectly, I'm doing okay.

@patcharcana "Can I make everyone punch this racist in the face?"