Hey everyone, Just a little commentary... I have a particular story on CHYOA (It's Good to be the King), which I kicked off about six months ago and have grown into a story with 126 chapters and one thread which goes 42 deep and comes to a conclusion. I intended it from the beginning to be a complex story with defined characters and threads which relate to each other - in other words, stuff which happens directly to the protagonist in one thread might be going on in the background in others. I've really enjoyed writing it, much more than I thought I would; I feel like I'm throwing myself into the writing of a story with real enthusiasm for the first time in years. Here's the strange thing... I started the story with the intent that others could contribute (and indeed, it's still open to submissions), but as time goes on, I begin to feel more of a sense of ownership over it. I'm not sure I WANT outside contributions anymore, because even if they're good chapters, they might contradict the ideas I have formed about this world and the people in it. Obviously, this is CHYOA so for every thread which goes in the "wrong" direction, I can just make another one which goes the way I want it to, but I'm still not sure I want others playing in my sandbox anymore. Maybe if I'd had chapter submissions from moment one I'd feel differently about it, but for whatever reason, no one has ever sent in anything - and I'm seriously thinking about keeping it that way. I do sometimes wonder WHY this particular story hasn't attracted any writers... it seems to be well-liked, according to the comments and the numbers. I think it may be because I put a little too much work into defining the characters (I have a chapter off the introduction which briefly describes over two dozen characters in the story, some with pictures), and would-be authors may feel like there's too much restriction. Sometimes, when I feel like stroking my ego a little (I use my left hand), I imagine that it's because readers are really intrigued by the plotlines I've set up, and they'd rather wait and see how I resolve them than pick up the thread themselves! Anyway, just wondering if these are feelings that others share. Does anyone else have stories over which they feel somewhat protective, to the point where they don't want to see anyone else add to it? And, just to satisfy my own curiosity, can anyone suggest why this story of mine hasn't seen any contributions from other authors?
Personally, I enjoy people's additions to my story. I don't get a lot of them either but that's because my story fills a niche. That's typically what it is. We can read a lot of stuff and enjoy it but writing for something involves dedicating time to learning the setting and what's going on. That's harder for larger stories and those stories might not be something that the writer has experience with. Plus the more restrictions that are on the story by the original author the harder it is for another writer to really feel like they 'own' their chapters if that makes sense.
You're not alone. There are threads where I'd be delighted to have contributions. I have a story where I wouldn't accept any.
It's happened to me before, and you're right, on all counts, both about why others didn't contribute and why you might not want them too anymore.
I actually prefer for people to take more control over my story. I find I have so much more inspiration for what comes next after someone posts in mine. I love playing off my ideas. I dont feel a whole lot of ownership of my stories. Two of mine are in other peoples hand and I wouldnt have it any other way.
I enjoy contributions, to put it simply. While i always have a clearly defined idea of how i want certain thungs to play out, sometimes another author might have a better idea that i had never considered or simply branch off into a direction that while enjoyable, wasn't something I had planned to follow at all. Now, I do understand feeling ownership, but I write as much for my readers as for myself. I feel that if I deny another author the chance to contribute, then i am cheating the readers, and that is something I try to avoid unless there is good reason.
I think that depends on the story. I can really relate to that... Well... e.g. my story Alternating Wife... I mean, I would like others to contribute, though I would like the contributions to meet my vision of it which could lead to some editing (hell, I think I might even edit punctuation )... With "vision" I don't mean the direction other writers would lead their branches but comprehensible character development, detailed writing and so on. For some other stories, I couldn't care less. I guess if you spent so much time with your story it kind of grows on you...
I think that is the beauty of CHYOA, you can take it wherever you want to go. There is no limit to the number of threads start so you can let people add and take their thread somewhere you did not expect. At the same time you can have your own threads that lead exactly where you want them to go in terms of characters and plot. I think the reason people don't add to this story is that you have written a specific intro that intimidates writers from trying to guess what you want. I look at your tale and don't know where to start. Its good the way you have it, and my slapdash pornographc crap is not going to improve it or add to it.
