Ever surprised by what takes off?

P

personunused

Virgin
So there I am trying to write some serious speculative fiction with believable sociological hypotheses on how an all female society would function. I'm feeling a bit burnt out on heavy duty world building so I start up another story that's just some light, anime themed escapism. In three days it became more popular.

I'm not complaining but I am a bit surprised. Has a similar scenario happened to other writers around here?
 
You could watch "Seksmisja" polish comedy, where two guys were transfer into future where are no men. Only females, with similars to comunizm. I recomend it, it is realy worth watching.
 
Hell yes! My biggest story here, Runt of the Litter, I started on a lark one day as a break from another story. I was SO close to not publishing it. I was convinced it would be hated yet when I did put it up, to my surprise, it found an audience. It took me completely off guard.
 
I've published two stories to this site. First one has nearly 250 chapters and was meticulously planned before I started it (and is currently ongoing). Second one was a short story I added to a larger collaborative work, which I abandoned after just 12 chapters because I didn't think it through. You'll never guess which is more popular.
Just goes to show the power of public stories. Every time another author writes to a story, it gets updated, attracts more readers, and they click through to every other author's work.
 
So far my must liked story is “Gender Change: Beta Test”, followed by “The Costume Store”.

But the one that has the largest view count but fewer likes is my Gender change: Housewives Project story. Maybe I’ll calculate the likes/views.
 
personunused said:
So there I am trying to write some serious speculative fiction with believable sociological hypotheses on how an all female society would function. I'm feeling a bit burnt out on heavy duty world building so I start up another story that's just some light, anime themed escapism. In three days it became more popular.

I'm not complaining but I am a bit surprised. Has a similar scenario happened to other writers around here?
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Yes!
I started a small side story just to fill the time between other chapters I was writing and it took of big time. Frustrating as I gave it very little in terms of plot, it’s a bit of a sex fest but it’s averaging over 40 likes per chapter so I’m kinda of having to make it my main focus, which was not the plan!!
As you said, I’m not complaining, quite opposite im very honoured by the response just a little taken aback.
 
I am continually surprised by what does and doesn't work for people (judged only by likes and bookmarks) on Lois Lane's Night Out. There's some stuff that people have asked me to cover, but the likes just aren't there to write continuations for them so those branches tend to wither...while other branches go on and on long after "The End."
 
Speaking of surprises I rushed forward a prequel-ish spinoff story regarding the history and mythology of my Lady-Land setting since No1special138 wanted to do something medieval with it. The first chapter reads like a proper novel.
 
I was surprised at how a continuation of a story might just fall flat. I've only done a few stories, and when I continued a (moderately, for me) popular set of characters in what I thought was a very similar vein it just kind of flopped in comparison to all my other work. It did make me think about what works and what doesn't in my stories, so not a total failure or anything. It also made me recognize how important setup is - in all my other works I have a pretty established setup based on what I like: a bit of sex off the top just as a taste, then a long buildup for character and setting development. But since my second story came after a pretty happy ending, there was little drama at the start and no reason for readers to get invested, even ones that had seemed to like the previous story. Interesting lesson I guess. Or else the second story sucks in some way I don't recognize I suppose lol.
 
wilparu said:
I was surprised at how a continuation of a story might just fall flat. I've only done a few stories, and when I continued a (moderately, for me) popular set of characters in what I thought was a very similar vein it just kind of flopped in comparison to all my other work. It did make me think about what works and what doesn't in my stories, so not a total failure or anything. It also made me recognize how important setup is - in all my other works I have a pretty established setup based on what I like: a bit of sex off the top just as a taste, then a long buildup for character and setting development. But since my second story came after a pretty happy ending, there was little drama at the start and no reason for readers to get invested, even ones that had seemed to like the previous story. Interesting lesson I guess. Or else the second story sucks in some way I don't recognize I suppose lol.
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I know how you feel. My first story, The PA was doing really well (doing well by my standards and for a first time author), then for reasons i can't explain the likes dropped off a cliff, i was getting only 2 or 3 by the end when i was used to about 20. It nearly turned me off writing all together but it did lead to Back Home Again and collaborations with other authors so a lot of good come from it, i just wish i knew why it stopped getting the likes.
 
wilparu said:
I was surprised at how a continuation of a story might just fall flat. I've only done a few stories, and when I continued a (moderately, for me) popular set of characters in what I thought was a very similar vein it just kind of flopped in comparison to all my other work. It did make me think about what works and what doesn't in my stories, so not a total failure or anything. It also made me recognize how important setup is - in all my other works I have a pretty established setup based on what I like: a bit of sex off the top just as a taste, then a long buildup for character and setting development. But since my second story came after a pretty happy ending, there was little drama at the start and no reason for readers to get invested, even ones that had seemed to like the previous story. Interesting lesson I guess. Or else the second story sucks in some way I don't recognize I suppose lol.
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I was looking at the story map for the VDC and did a double take when I noticed the discrepancy in likes between your story and everyone else's. I genuinely don't get it. Likes can be extremely fickle. Chapters that you don't think will do well, will. Chapters you are really proud of will disappoint. I've always wondered if there's a certain amount of groupthink that plays into it. Is a reader more likely to like a chapter if the count is already high?

But even accounting for variance, it doesn't explain the like discrepancy. The quality of all your work is very good and certainly not lower than any of the other three stories in the VDC. So is the only cause the fact that it's a continuation of a story and the other three are entirely new? Hard to believe but I don't see what else it could be.

It's still early though. The story has only been out for a few days.
 
ThreeNipps said:
I was looking at the story map for the VDC and did a double take when I noticed the discrepancy in likes between your story and everyone else's.
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Lol you and me both :eek:

I am loathe to admit it, but it made me doubt my story a bit, but I do think it just speaks to the nature of having a new story that begins with established characters and a seemingly happy setting with little drama. I'll keep it in mind if I do another Halloween story with the family from my first short story and maybe factor that in for the first chapter. I was under no delusion that my story would be super popular or anything but I thought it would be roughly the same as the other two, and instead it's like a fraction - a distant 4th place in a 4 horse race as it were - even though it's first on the list and should get a bump from that alone. Ah well.

The immediate nature of feedback on CHYOA is a double edged sword for sure, as I had gotten used to a certain number of likes when doing the chapters for the Christmas story and then I start a new one and there's crickets. I had been basically expecting the same level of reader engagement and then it's like a few nice comments and some likes the first day and it dies. I definitely need to stop chasing the thrill of getting likes, I don't think it impacts the stories I tell but constantly checking my notifications is just a dumb thing to be doing regardless (I woke up 2 weeks ago and had 99 likes one day, I want that feeling again lol!). Also getting a few likes from the people who really enjoy my work the most and then being like "where are the rest of my meaningless thumbs up?" is a lame way to think about my stories. I should be extra grateful for the people who do comment and whatever instead of obsessing over why other people aren't.

And thanks to Dansak for being my CHYOA Writer Therapist (unpaid) and giving me a really good pep talk when I first messaged him to whine about how my story took one step out of the gates and then shit it's pants and died. In his immortal advice, I will just 'crack on' and write the story I want to without worrying about it... but maybe slip in some anal too. Apparently that always gooses the rating. ;) ;)
 
wilparu said:
Lol you and me both :eek:

I am loathe to admit it, but it made me doubt my story a bit, but I do think it just speaks to the nature of having a new story that begins with established characters and a seemingly happy setting with little drama. I'll keep it in mind if I do another Halloween story with the family from my first short story and maybe factor that in for the first chapter. I was under no delusion that my story would be super popular or anything but I thought it would be roughly the same as the other two, and instead it's like a fraction - a distant 4th place in a 4 horse race as it were - even though it's first on the list and should get a bump from that alone. Ah well.

The immediate nature of feedback on CHYOA is a double edged sword for sure, as I had gotten used to a certain number of likes when doing the chapters for the Christmas story and then I start a new one and there's crickets. I had been basically expecting the same level of reader engagement and then it's like a few nice comments and some likes the first day and it dies. I definitely need to stop chasing the thrill of getting likes, I don't think it impacts the stories I tell but constantly checking my notifications is just a dumb thing to be doing regardless (I woke up 2 weeks ago and had 99 likes one day, I want that feeling again lol!). Also getting a few likes from the people who really enjoy my work the most and then being like "where are the rest of my meaningless thumbs up?" is a lame way to think about my stories. I should be extra grateful for the people who do comment and whatever instead of obsessing over why other people aren't.

And thanks to Dansak for being my CHYOA Writer Therapist (unpaid) and giving me a really good pep talk when I first messaged him to whine about how my story took one step out of the gates and then shit it's pants and died. In his immortal advice, I will just 'crack on' and write the story I want to without worrying about it... but maybe slip in some anal too. Apparently that always gooses the rating. ;) ;)
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I’m with Threenipps, it is odd and I can’t see why it’s lower than the rest. As you know I wasn’t going for a fuckfest with my story so I fully expected to be way behind in the likes, it is a very fickle thing that baffles me over and over.
Who said I was an unpaid therapist? My invoice is in the post. And where’s the god damn anal?
I check my updates all day too, we’re all unashamed like junkies on here, we’ll, most of us.
I truly envy those that put out great stories with only a few likes in return and still, with a positive attitude born of the love of thier work , they continue to release great content. There are many such authors that fit that description on here and they, for me, are the backbone and unsung hero’s of CHYOA.
When I churn out what it think is great work that only gets a handful of likes I look at one of those stories that deserves more and count my blessings. I keep telling my self to remember my first story, I read the comments section and look at my post when I hit 100 likes for the first time, I was so proud I nearly cried, it was such a buzz. Crack on buddy, but for you not the likes.
 
Dansak said:
I’m with Threenipps, it is odd and I can’t see why it’s lower than the rest. As you know I wasn’t going for a fuckfest with my story so I fully expected to be way behind in the likes, it is a very fickle thing that baffles me over and over.
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I've only been seriously working on one story, but anecdotally from stories that I've been reading over the past few months - it seems like stories that get to the 'action' quickly tend to get the lion's share of likes/views, even if they might be comparatively poorly written. I'll find authors who have small stories that are terrifically written, but get much less attention than they deserve... usually I'll drop likes on just about every chapter, even if some of them dip in quality, just to try to balance things out a little
 
bobbobbobthethir said:
I've only been seriously working on one story, but anecdotally from stories that I've been reading over the past few months - it seems like stories that get to the 'action' quickly tend to get the lion's share of likes/views, even if they might be comparatively poorly written. I'll find authors who have small stories that are terrifically written, but get much less attention than they deserve... usually I'll drop likes on just about every chapter, even if some of them dip in quality, just to try to balance things out a little
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This is actually a real writing technique called in media res. It's when a story starts not at the beginning, but at the first exciting scene (for a three-act story, this means skipping the first act). The more boring parts - exposition, character development, plot setup, etc. - are woven into the events that follow, or included in a flashback. A common example of this would be opening with a few paragraphs of a white-hot sex scene, followed by the words, "Yep. That's me. You're probably wondering how I got here..." In this way, the sex and story can compliment each other, but the side the reader cares most about - the sex - is prioritised.
Starting in the middle of the action is a very common technique for not just porn, but many online stories. When your audience is clicking through several stories per minute, you need to grab their attention and hold it until they become invested. Having a unique hook is important for writing online (and is something I should do more!).
 
Personally, I LIKE being a niche author that most people don't know about.
I mean, I may be a bit biased by what I find cool about being a writer, but it's never been about who likes me, it's always been about being able to create.
This site is a really unique format which you won't find much anymore. IMHO, the interactive fiction model is the gateway to actually thinking about storytelling. Branching and having BOTH decisions being potentially true brings the whole "Schrodinger's Cat" thing out in all its glorious chaos.
Of course, I'm also clinically insane, so... YMMV considerably.
 
I honestly have no idea when or how or why certain branches take off in my story. Frequency of posting seems to be part of it, but only part.
 
I keep asking myself the same question but I think one thing that is popular is chapters that can be jumped into with minimal investment. That said, I think loyal readers really appreciate a chapter that rewards them for following along the whole time. I am sometimes just as happy based on "who" likes it as much as how many do. When you see someone that has been liking a specific branch enjoys how you ended it, that's just as awesome as when you get double digit likes.
 
insertnamehere said:
This is actually a real writing technique called in media res.
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If something exists, it has a name ^^
I prefer that kind of storytelling.

If the first page of the story is the vitae of a character, it bores me pretty fast. (Though it might be catchy if the first paragraph is like "Rich. Spoiled. Asshole. That's me!")
 
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