Giveaways

I've had half-a-dozen comments so far on my latest story (which is nice) but half of them have given away the plot twist that I was hoping to surprise my readers with.

Does anyone else have this problem? Or don't people look at the comments when choosing a story to read?

I always read the story first, and then check the comments. Has never occurred to me to read the comments first.

I always like to know what the story is about before I read it, and whilst that reveals the plot to some extent, it is the way the story is conveyed that matters for me.

I have read film critiques before seeing the movie and that is also fine. With a good book or film you can revisit it many times and still enjoy it, and often discover something new.

I feel it's the reader's choice to read reviews or not before the story. We all have different preferences, but equally we know reviews will possibly give some of the story away. If we don't want that then we read the story first. And sometimes reading the review makes it more likely we'll read the story.

There are two themes I like in particular, which is why I read the reviews first. One is mature women getting spanked and the other someone who has never been spanked and is building up the courage to ask for one.

The preview I do sometimes, before reading the story , is look at the Index listing, or Items Submitted lists, where I find out whether its M/F, F/F, etc, whether is spanking of children, teens, or adults- that kind of info. I do find that helpful.

The index listings can be helpful, but my current story has yet to be validated. When I'm looking at new unvalidated stories myself, I do tend to look at the comments.
However, the consensus so far seems to be that people either don't read the comments until afterwards, or don't let any spoilers prevent them from enjoying the story, which is reassuring.

I don't read the comments beforehand, but I will look over at the number of favorites and comments a story has generated if it hasn't been validated yet. It isn't foolproof, since some of my stories only ever generate 1 comment, but if I see something that a lot of people are already commenting on then I'm more inclined to check what the buzz is all about. Conversely, I'll also read stories that haven't generated any responses yet and at least let the author know someone has read it and commented on it.

I read the story, when I complete my comment, I may look at prior comments. I never knew that this was a problem for writers.