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I do not know if this topic has ever been bought up before, I did look but did not find any mention to it.
Speculation, Love it or hate it.
Personally I love it when someone speculates on what they think might happen in one of my stories, it means firstly that the story is interesting enough for people to think about for at least a moment. Secondly and more important I find that if someone speculates on my work and gets it right, that it means I have at least written enough clues to let people work out what is going on.
My views that I like speculation, aside... What are the views of others on this site, do you like or hate speculation and why?
- Rose.
Comments
Speculation is great
RAMI
Obviously, speculation can only occur when the writer is posting their story in a serial fashion. If the writer creates a situation where there are many possible scenarios that can follow, speculating what will happen or perhaps wishful thinking or gentle persuation is fun. If the characters are likeable or in a perdicament, the likihood of comments talking about future happenings is greater.
So I am a supporter of that form of comment.
I have not read your latest post as of this writing, but I will leave a comment and try and add some of my ideas.
RAMI
RAMI
I like speculation because
I like speculation because it means they're interested enough to be thinking about it. It also can tell you if people are getting the clues you are leaving, like you said. Also, it can give you ideas that you might not have thought of on your own.
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Building Blocks
Speculation is really another word for reader involvement.
Readers continually guess what is coming next. Part of their enjoyment is accurately predicting what a character's reaction will be to a set of circumstances. That is why it is so vital to establish a continual series of stimulus-response chains in your writing.
Of course, most readers also expect to be surprised along the way -- as long as that surprise is fairly foreshadowed.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
YES!
As an author, I find speculation VERY HELPFUL. As I was replying to a comment on my latest post (to someone who said they had ideas, but didn't share them), comments help me know if my hints and foreshadowing (to use Angela's big word) are actually causing folks to guess in the right direction. I also like the reactions "after the fact" as to "oh, THAT's what you were saying"... That tells me I wasn't TOOO transparent.
Occasionally, speculation will trigger an idea for future inclusion in the story (There was one about Mark being a joker that did just this... And, I just have to figure out how/when to work the results into the story...).
Other times, as a reader, I find that the comments and speculation can sometimes be almost as fun as the story itself - and they can take on a life of their own - or even provide ideas for new stories ...)
So, yes, I REALLY do enjoy having speculation, and I do periodically speculate myself. I've been speculating about "Sam" (Character in Karen's A New Style of Education story)off and on for over a year... And getting it WRONG, I suspect much to Karen's amusement. LOL
Annette
Speculation...
"You can either fly Over the Rainbow or Under the Radar but you can do both..."
Speculative Perspective
I tend to encourage speculation -- who knows, some of the ideas might be better ways to do what I already had planned, or might resolve issues I hadn't been able to or even thought of!