So I wrote a short story. It's... Had some problems. Some I agree, some I disagree. So I have a rewrite in the works. Do I put it on the same thread in the workshop, or do I make a new thread?
Put it in as a new reply to the same thread in the Workshop. Then edit the first post in the thread to say "There is a revised version in post #x" or something similar. Don't replace your original version in the first post in the Workshop thread. Doing so would only confuse people.
What komposten said. Also, be careful not to argue with crits. Not everyone is going to agree with you or "get" your vision for a story, and that's fine. If you don't understand what someone means in their comments it's fine to ask for clarification, and if you think they may have misread something you could point out what you meant and maybe ask them how to make your meaning more clear, but don't get trapped into the "You just don't understand me, this is brilliant!" thing. You may be right, but our members are at different levels of interest/sophistication/taste. I've tossed critically acclaimed bestsellers in the trash before, no point in arguing with someone who just isn't your target audience.
Yeah. Its more like.... disagreement? I have some tropes and literary devices that I use, and they seem to disagree with my usage of it.
Yeah, what Iain said. After all, critique on this forum is just 'feedback.' You're getting what those readers thought of your work—and nothing else. Our forum readers aren't particularly qualified in any way. It's not like getting critique from a Creative Writing instructor, an agent or a publisher. Our members are just giving a reaction—based partly upon what you wrote, and partly upon their own preferences, expectations, prejudices and areas of expertise. (And sometimes based on their need to fulfill a 2:1 critique ratio so they can post their own work. Cynic? Who, me...?) Some will get what you are trying to do and some won't. It's valuable to hear what they have to say, especially if they dig in hard and are really thoughtful with their feedback, but you don't need to make any changes they've suggested. Unless you think, "Hey, THAT makes perfect sense," it's probably a good idea to hold off while you consider the issue. In fact, rushing to make changes can be a mistake. You can lose your own writing voice if you try too hard to please everybody—not to mention pull threads from a developed story that can make the whole thing unravel. When you're receiving critique, I'd say try to resist (and it's hard) the urge to defend every writing choice you've made. Just listen to what is being said. Not only can it give you some idea of what's not working and what is, but it can also help you to pinpoint your target audience.
Why are you going to repost your story with the revisions? You've already gotten feedback. It's up to you to decide what to do with it. And you've already asked people to read this story and comment. Why would they want to read it again? They're not your teacher or your mentor or your editor. You don't have to try and show off your final draft. And you certainly shouldn't be sharing every draft you write or asking the people to read your story multiple times (if they haven't offered). You've already heard what members who read your story think. Are you trying to change their mind? Please them? Fix the story in the ways you think it needs now that some things have been pointed out to you, but I really don't see the point in posting your revision. After you clean this story up, take what you have learned and move on and write another. It would make more sense to share something that people haven't already read. I think a big part of the problem with the workshop section is that people are quick to post an early or even first draft of something, and it shows. I'll occasionally read a few things in the workshop, but I don't tend to post a reply. I don't even usually get through a whole piece. I will admit I'm not reading from there regularly. That's mainly because I feel like it's sort of a waste of time. People seem quick to post whatever they write there as soon as they can. That's not when you should get feedback, usually. The more time you put into something and the better you can make it before asking for feedback, the more useful the feedback is going to be. And that would probably eliminate posting multiple drafts of the same piece. How many times to you think people really want to read your story? How often do you even reread stories, even your favorite ones by amazing published authors? Even if you do reread some (which I do occasionally), they're not things at the level you're talking about. Every story you write is going to go through multiple drafts. A least I believe it should. No one wants to read every draft. In the future, I would suggest holding off on looking for feedback until you've completed what you think is a final draft. And, as @jannert said, you really don't know where your feedback is coming from for the most part in the workshop section, but it's not like the advice of a professor, editor or agent. And there's no saying that the people making suggestions know what they're doing any more than you do. Yes, be grateful that people are giving up their time to read your work and offering their opinions. But don't be so quick to think the workshop section is the way to fix your writing. If it is helping you improve, I would show that by applying what you've learned to a new story, making that the next thing you share. Just my thoughts, but this is one of the issues that turns me off about that section. And with short stories you want to publish, don't post them anywhere online. It strips you of first rights and that's what most places are looking to buy.
I think what @deadrats said (above) is worth considering. You can certainly publish revisions in the Workshop, if you follow Komposten's suggestions near the top of this thread. BUT.... If you post revisions on your thread and nobody much responds to them, you'll know your original betas have moved on. You need to do that as well. However, some NEW members MIGHT respond to the revisions without reading the original (if they know there's an improved version further down, so they don't waste time reading something you've already changed.) It IS worth posting revisions here in the Workshop—to some extent. But don't expect the same readers to stick with your changes until you achieve perfection. Get feedback for your original post. Make changes. Then give your changed story to NEW people. Fresh eyes. If your new readers don't pick up the same problems your first batch of readers did, then you'll know you've probably fixed the problem. That's where posting revisions can be helpful. If you want to keep beta readers eager for your next project, don't wear them out re-reading the same project. As deadrats said, few people want to read finished stories by great authors more than once. Your betas are unlikely to want to read yours over and over. (I know what I'm talking about here, by the way. It's a lesson I had to learn myself, the hard way. I wore out a couple of my own betas. And I have certainly been worn out AS a beta, with people wanting me to read all their changed versions. It's fine if the beta volunteers to read again, but if they don't ...don't ask and put them on the spot. Just basic good sense, really.)
It's sort of like submitting a story for publication. If a story is rejected with feedback (which is rare to get feedback), it doesn't mean you should fix it and resubmit it. You've got one chance with everyplace you submit your story. It doesn't matter if you follow all the feedback or even if it's a better story. It's already been evaluated. It's done, at least as far as that avenue is concerned. If someone gave you particularly good advice which changed things drastically, you could message them to see if they would like to read another draft, but I wouldn't make it your very next draft and be careful about rushing yourself to make changes. Still, unless you have already established a relationship with this person and have helped them out as well, I don't see why they would want to do this. Maybe they want to be helpful or are bored, but that doesn't mean they have all the answers. Who are you trying to please? I think that's the question to ask yourself before reposting a new version of an old story. The answer should be yourself or a publisher. If the story isn't there for you, it's not likely to be there for someone else. Editors and publishers want to see polished work. Maybe I would read more in the workshop section if that's what was being posted. And maybe it is some of the time, but the times I've looked, that's not what I've seen. Give yourself a chance to evaluate your feedback and see if this is something that os actually helping you as a writer. If so, great, but you don't need to prove that to anyone and you likely won't with a single story, anyway.
