EDIT: sorry
I'm an idiot.
Leaty wrote:
So, my question is: how important is the shock of the first chapter to a reader's enjoyment of the fic? As the writer, I don't personally know this. When I wrote it a year ago, it was just a proof-of-concept, so the stinger was fairly important, but now this is becoming a full-fledged fic, and I'm wondering if maybe I should stop fooling myself. Should I be more open about the fact that this is a story about Iwanako having Hisao's condition?
Err, it's still important to first-timers I guess, I think keeping the shock / twist is still the best.
For those who already know, they should try to hint and say "Plot Twist", but when people ask "come on, what plot twist man? Tell me,", and they can like "yeah okay, it's about someone else in Hisao's shoes."
And if they keep going like "who?", then maybe hint that it's Iwanako? ..I guess?
In the end it doesn't matter, revealing the twist versus not revealing it both have their good points and bad, and each individual case should be judged accordingly.
As long as the story is good, it shouldn't matter much. The whole story doesn't rest on a single plot twist.