I have been GM-ing RPs that most people would call an RP with a strong narrative. It is a constant learning curve for me to balance player agency and the flow of my story. 

But it is actually the least difficult part of it. 

Yes, you get it right, player ghosting is one of them. 

I have learned that, in an RP where the GM provides the direction of the story, this kind of RP, if managed improperly is exhausting and high-risk for the GM. The weight of seeing the RP gets abandoned is like watching a half-finished construction that keeps being there. And all it takes is just a simple misunderstanding or expectation mismatch to have it burned to the ground. 

I started off as the kind of GM who tries to cater to as many playing styles as possible, and after 4 years, I now know what I have been doing is a mistake. Vetting is as important as running it. Expectations need to be aligned thoroughly in session zero. Communication between the GM and players is [i][b]very important[/b][/i], really. 

I have come to terms that doing a narrative-driven RP means the size of my table would be small, and it is actually an acceptable trade-off. The effort of running a narrative-driven RP does not mean neglecting player agency, but boundaries need to be set that everyone joining agrees that we are working together to write a particular theme that we have agreed upon when joining the particular RP. This might sound intuitive, but in my experience, it is often harder than it looks. And for some, it might look like a railroading being advertised upfront. 

This is my experience for the past 4 years; you might have gotten over these hurdles, while I am still figuring it out. So I want to know as well if my pivots are sound.