What Sort Of God Are You?

I was commenting on Celticman’s masterful ‘Huts’ - which he has recently completed.
I was hoping to encourage him to continue with more Huts or trade up to ‘Houses’ :O)
The reason I mention this is that it set me wondering how variable the ‘Silent Prayer Effect’ is.

Silent Prayer Effect? Well, I’m sure there is a literary name, which I don’t know, for the effect that the circumstances of the characters have toward changing the intention of the original script that the author, as god, might have intended.

The reason I think this might be more important in an episodic tale like ‘Huts’ is that the ‘SPE’ comes not only from the characters in the story but also from the readers.

Now, it might only be me, but I find that when I post something, say a comment on a thread, it often takes on a life of its own, as though the people who read it help it develop, and I feel compelled to edit to express this different take.
I’m sure many of you have noticed :O)

How much should the author feel for his creations? Should he allow them to suffer terribly just to make the story more compelling?
Should he try to help his characters or not?

What Sort Of God Are You?