I'm a relatively new writer here, and I'm curious -- do you write all your chapters, or do you allow other authors to contribute material? So far, I've written everything for my stories. My first three got off to decent starts, but I faded on them. My latest is over 250+ chapters now, and although I'm certainly enjoying it, I'm starting to wonder whether I'm supposed to do it this way, or if CHYOA is intended to be about collaboration. Anyway, just curious what other folks do. That's all.
Marcie and Gina Reads has a plethora of different authors contributing to it, but i'm not sure if that counts lol Other then that, I prefer to keep stories private.
I enjoy collaboration, even alternating chapters sometimes. I've contributed to others' stories, though I'm not the most reliable for finishing a plot line. (I do finish them sometimes -- "A Middle Class Orgy" by Aaron Webster has a completed storyline by me). Percentage-wise, I've written most of the chapters in the stories I've started. Do what you like. Figure out whether a story author or successor editor is interested in collaboration, and whether you like how they've set things up. Chyoo/Chyoa is old enough as a story site (at least FOUR versions now, or maybe three and a half) that people do things all sorts of ways. A more recent pattern I've seen is a single author with participating readers commenting and voting to steer the storyline at the end of each chapter. @zankoo - welcome, happy reading and writing!
Both of my stories are set to moderated, and I've tried to be welcoming to contributors in author's notes, but so far no one has taken the bait. I'd enjoy it if people wrote branches on my stories, but I'm also fine with being the only author on them. I don't wantto collaborate more closely than that, though, I prefer working alone on my story lines, so I can write them the way I want to.
I would be fine allowing others to join my branches, but I am generally in the position of joining others. If they go off in a direction I am not interested in, I'd just fork off and do my own thing.
I'm torn between wanting others to contribute so I can read their stuff and slightly exaggerated terror that they'll do something I don't like. My current "compromise" is a Guidelines for Contributing Authors chapter which is nearly 1000 words and growing, essentially making it a short story all by itself.
I like having contributors to any of my stories, even if they go way off the rails of what I originally planned. Even if they change details or behaviors of characters, it's fine to me and I like to see really what people think for going in directions that interest them. But most of my stories' chapters are from me. It depends on the concept for how people want to jump in and contribute, I think. Some ideas are easier for others to jump into, but ironically other writers like to jump in on my more lore-dense stuff even if I make something more accessible for other writers to try. That said, I still keep my stories as moderated usually, which probably scares of some potential writers. But I do this because I had one author who is constantly argumentative and mean in comments sections and then he started to add chapters to a path, and I wasn't fond of that. Besides that, I try to be welcoming to new ideas coming in.
The types of stories that are geared towards guest writers, they wear it on their sleeves. They'll have a super generic name like "Everybody has to have sex with you," the first branch will define the reader's avatar, the second branch will define a specific kink or plot twist, and from there on down it's writer's fiat. My stories are almost the polar opposite. They usually have a pretty pointed theme and style going on, to the point where I feel like anybody else would take it in a wildly different direction. (Gambio might be an exception, the twisted freak, since they claim reading my work is like looking into a mirror.) Of course, I say that knowing that 3/4 of the stories I've started so far (including the two that are currently public) are based off of other peoples' ideas that I took in a wildly different direction. So in conclusion, yes, I do write all my own chapters. I just don't come up with my own characters, settings, neuroses, jokes, artwork, or ideas.
I'm answering my own question, but I think for the time being, I'm going to keep writing my own chapters. The main reason, at least for now, is that I want to be protective of my main characters. I feel like I'm just getting to know them, they're just getting to know each other, and I'm not prepared to unleash them to others yet. Maybe someday. I hope that doesn't wind up being too selfish and alienating, but I think that's where I am for the moment.
If you're very particular about making sure your characters feel consistent, then it's definitely best to do the writing yourself and not open things up. There are definitely times where chapters from other authors sometimes read like people cosplaying as the characters rather than the characters themselves. Not all the time, I'd say on average a person who is invested enough in a story to add chapters will try to keep some sort of consistency, like one author adding recent chapters to one of my stories has been really good about keeping track of lore and characterization to make the chapters feel like a good fit. But there's no guarantee of that in a public story or anything. That said! Nobody will fault you if you stay as the sole author for a story, I think. I don't think anyone will consider you selfish for it. All that matters to most is that your readers are happy.
Don't forget to set your stories to private. There is nothing wrong with being a solo author of a chyoa story but you better not create an impression that you don't mind additions by having moderated stories.
