Am I the worst type of reader out there?

Hey guys,

since lately I have been writing very little, I had time to reflect on how I behave as a reader.
Turns out, I may be a very ungrateful and unpolite one.
A few points to explain my surmise:

-If your chapter has already 30+ likes, I won't like even if I do like it. You've got more than enough attention;

-If you chapter or story is full of misspells, typos and so on and looks like you wrote it from your phone and never, not even once, you took your time to re-read it to fix the most obvious errors, I won't like it;
(Gee, my chapter count would be 999.999 thousands by now if I did the same, instead I check my stuff 999.999 times and while yes, it is still full of errors, my chapter count is a much more lower number.)

-If I'm enjoing your story, I will probably like the introduction as a token of appreciation, then forget to like anything else,

-If I come across your story and find that there is something wrong with it, I will eventually post a single ellipitc comment which in my view should be witty and sarcastic to point you in the right direction, no thanks needed really;

Now, that is most of it, yet what really bugs me is someting else.
It is about how I perceive the stuff I read.

Sometimes I come across a well written story: the premise is good, the writing is good, there are few errors, and it reads beautifully.
Then I start digging into it and at some point I realize that I feel no compulsion to keep on reading, that the story is not doing anything for me.
Sometimes I eventually do go through with it, but I do that mostly because I feel I could learn something out of it.

On the other hand, some other times, I come across a badly written story: the premise has potential but something is off, the first key plot points are weak, it is full of error and the grammar is rather poor.
Yet, for some reason, this second type of story hooks me in more than the well written one.

As a reader, I think I would be my own worst nightmare, from a writer standpoint.
Most of the stories I liked more on Chyoa can be defined as childish and badly written, yet I can see perfectly their flaws.
What's wrong with me?
Have you ever felt the same?

 

I think I kinda share some of the same issues. I started writing about 15yrs ago, and before then I was a voracious reader, but ever since I’ve started writing myself I don’t read for enjoyment like a used to.

Well written works just make me obsess over what I could be doing better, while less than stellar things give me a confidence boost and are a bit easier to enjoy.

 

Nah, the worst type of Reader is the one who gives no feedback at all.


That's what I did before I actually became a writer and learned to empathise.

Ironically, badly written erotica has a higher chance to get me off. Not complete trash of course, but when you can tell it's slightly on the amateurish side. Just does it more for me

 

I sometimes encounter the same issue. I see a story that, on paper, is everything I could have dreamed of, but when I read it I find that it is simply not interesting. The writing may be excellent, but it provides no reason to click onto the next chapter.

It comes down to engagement. The characters need to be sympathetic and fleshed out, or at least memorable; the plot needs to be compelling and paced well. It doesn't matter how well you write a story if it's already bad.

 

You are all very bad people. The worst kind of readers. Shame, shame, shame!

If you truly want to make amends, you will have to do community service for a whole day!
The service consists of clicking the like button every single time before you are allowed to open the follow up chapter!

 

That might not be doing a great service. In my story, for example, the number of likes determines whether or not a particular branch gets a continuation. So if you go through and click the like button every single time, you're going to be forcing me to write a lot more chapters...

 

I dno't understnad. Waht's ur probelm wit mispeld words? Googol said tis wsa fin...




This post triggered Grammarly So hard. Never have I ever had to fight against it so hard.

 

The problem is that now people saw me chuckle out loud at my desk out of nowhere.

 

Oh no. The horror!

 

Pretty sure the vast majority of readers does that. If I want to wank I want to wank.


I even go as far as to say that authors should take this into consideration and title their chapters appropriately, better an impatient reader then no reader.

 

You have no idea.

I do that too, often. Or rather, I look if there's a development that might interst me and where it is, instead of going through the whole story blindly.

Yes, sometimes one feels the need to come up with some obscure and original chapter name, but if you look that form the other side it should only be clear what's happening and to who.

I wouldn't say the characters are or the plot are bad, the stories I'm talking about usually have high ratings.
For me it's more like they are soulless: finely crafted yet lacking of that special something that comes from true excitemente for what you write.
This is what I think at least.

 

*looks at my story map*

Yeah, that's never happening

 

So we should troll our readers and falsely name chapters like, "Psst, this is the sexy chapter" but have it be the characters washing dishes and doing laundry and then have another titled, "Doing taxes and alphabetizing the spice rack" and have that be the orgy chapter?

I'll be honest though, as a reader I check out the story map for one of two reasons: 1.) For larger stories: Will I get lost in all the branches and find no sexy time chapters? 2.) For shorter/newer stories: Is this 10 chapter story just 2 branches with a bunch of setup branches where nothing has really happened yet?

That said, knowing that I'm that way and readers are probably way more impatient than I am I try to create a happy balance of story chapters and sexy time chapters. Which is probably why my output is slow because my writer brain usually plots a handful of story chapters between sexy chapters. I know I need to whittle it down and find that happy balance for readers, but still have a story as opposed to a series of sex scenes. Though, that's just my style.

 

I’m a terrible reader. I never remember to like... and I think I have a total of 3 favorited stories, and maybe 5 bookmarks (for notifications of new chapters (I only bookmark the introductions)). I hardly ever comment. I’m trying to work on all of that. (Except for bookmarks, I really want to keep bookmarks limited because otherwise I never check them anyways.)

 

Ok I actually looked I have 4 favorited stories, 2 of which are mine and 5 bookmarked chapters, 1 of which is mine...

 

I can personally say that I give almost no feedback on stories, which I feel bad for after I started writing, as I really enjoy getting criticism. I think personally, comments are far more important, especially if it’s a suggestion on how to improve. If you don’t get none, then you just flounder around doing the same thing. While likes are cool, it doesn’t really offer good feedback, unless your chapters are short, otherwise you have no idea what it was that worked.

 

From how you describe your interactions with chapters and stories as a reader, I think you're okay.

You're not cruel, you're not being a nuisance, you tune in and out of stories depending on your interest.

The stories you enjoy aren't necessarily ones that other folks would review positively; a compelling premise or scene grabs your interest despite the story's awkward writing style or spelling.

We're all here to find things to enjoy, and be friendly to others who are looking for things to enjoy.

Different folks are interested in different aspects of writing, reading, collaboration, editing, brainstorming. Any given person's interest, attention, and involvement changes over time. (Chyoo/CHYOA spans two millennia now, we're writing for the ages! <grin>)

(I might be wrong here, my first story was created in 2002, not sure if there are any made-in-2000 stories)

So you're just fine, as far as I can see.

-Z.

 

I think February 2001

 

Past the turn by two months, alas. Oh well, that means we're all millennials here!

O, brave new world! - Miranda

(her name could be translated as "wonderful"; see also "femslash for Shakespeare", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_in_Milan )

 

Wow, your story's so old it could appear in an erotic context in another CHYOA story without violating rule 1.