And we're back, after a very long trip. We're starting off with a new ending: I Want You To Make My Ass Pregnant and an unsexy epilogue: The Morning After. We also have a new contributor, @dionysus217 with two chapters on the Lois/streetwalker branch: Hunt for another cock and By any means necessary which I'm sure they'd appreciate feedback on. I'm meditating, lately, on lessons learned from Lois Lane's Night Out. It's hard to say exactly what users like, because there are so many chapters and response is so scattershot, so I'm hardpressed to say if readers prefer the more visceral and porn-y chapters or the plot chapters that set up specific scenarios. Certainly, the porn scenes are the ones that get the most likes and favorites, but the slower plot development attracts more comments - very generally speaking. If and when this story is finished and I go on to another one, I'll have to meditate more on that.
979 chapters as of this writing, and we're back on track for a bit, closing in on the big 1k - although I suspect it'll take several more to finish things off at the current rate of likes/bookmarks. Also comments! While it takes a while to get 5/10 likes for a continuation, I do try to cater to the reader's desires when it comes to writing new chapters.
Chapters written: 985 Chapters needing to be written: 144 Which is not to say that 144 chapters from now this is finished; it means that based on current likes/bookmarks, 144 chapters have reached the point where they need a sequel/continuation. That can change as more chapters are written and more likes/bookmarks come in. Trying to keep up with demand but I'm also trying not to cannibalize other chapters too often so...well, it takes time. I've been pleasantly surprised by the response to End: I Want To Make Your Ass Pregnant; anal pregnancy/birth isn't a particular fetish of mine and I had intended it as fun turn of phrase, but if it hits 10 likes I guess I will do an actual anal pregnancy chapter...just for shits and/or giggles.
Chapters written: 1006 Chapters needing to be written: 150 This was a good week, all things considered. In seven days, wrote and posted 21 chapters. However, the net total of chapters to be written has increased (+6). This is sort of the downside of productivity: if I write and post two chapters a day, it requires an average of 10 likes to require two more chapters (remember: 5 likes equal 1 option, 10 likes equal 2 options). Needless to say, likes are often spread out a bit among 1,000+ chapters, so somedays no individual chapter reaches the threshold, and other days...lots of them do. So to maintain parity, the story would need ~10 likes a day. But the chapters needing to be written has increased, which means it's averaging more than 10 likes per day. A good problem to have, I guess? It means people are still reading, and interested. But it also means that it takes longer to get to the hypothetical end, when I tuck LLNO into bed. Most notable chapters this week include 13: A Comedy of Errors - this is a sequel to warhammer1231's 12: An Error in Babies, and sort of evocative of my approach to collaboration on CHYOA in general: never undo what another writer adds to the story, but try to continue on the general storyline with the new twist. Not always possible, but...well, I tried. Managed to fulfill a reader's request/suggestion from a comment with 14: A Homecooked Meal. I do have vague ideas of where I'm taking various branches, but I also like to respond to reader wishes when they're made known, so...remember, it never hurts to comment, if you want to see a branch go in a particular direction. If it gets the likes for a continuation, I aim to please. Also a new ending: End: Lois Gives Her Two Hands, with a rare example of double-fisting to finish off that branch. I don't like to over-indulge in more extreme insertions - I think that even the most fantastic stories work if you maintain the "rules" of the setting, like being afraid of vaginal tearing, but if it fits the storyline... Likewise, there's a non-sex epilogue in Epilogue: Body & Soul - this is the follow-up to Lois winning it all in the poker game, including Blaze's cock and impregnating the demon with quadruplets. I consider this kind of thing a cooldown lap, which is maybe not what readers are hoping for, but no real complaints yet.
Chapters written: 1,028 Chapters needing to be written: 169 Including five new chapters from @dionysus217 for their branch, which starts at 10: Hunt For Another Cock and a new chapter by @warhammer1231 14: The Truth--On Both Sides. As mentioned previously, the more chapters written, the more likes and bookmarks; the more likes and bookmarks, the more chapters hit the threshold for sequels and so the more chapters there are to write. It's an okay problem to have. This week, notable chapters include one bit of silliness I've wanted to engage in for a while: 17: A New Fuckhole, and a couple of good endings, including End: Second Trimester (following on the popular Accelerated Pregnancy/milking storyline) and the much more sappy End: I Wish I Could Save You and the strictly porny End: Lois Fucks The Sleeping Beauty. So. Many chapters written, many chapters to write, still not a lot in the way of comments or feedback...I might be doing all these numbers just to talk to myself. But if anybody has some feedback or wants to see a storyline turn a particular way...say something. Anything.
Chapters written: 1,049 Chapters needing to be written: 167 Okay! Progress this week. 21 chapters written, and actually cut into the lead a little bit. I'm playing around with different directions at a few points - there are already 28 endings to Lois Lane's Night Out, and by my count nearly all of them end up with Lois knocked up. It's a rare storyline at this point where Lois isn't pregnant at the end. That feels like...ah, not exactly a mistake, since the majority of the likes and bookmarks definitely went to "Lois gets impregnated good and hard" storylines, but I feel there's room for other things. Not every ending has to be happy. End: Lois Wakes Up Alone is definitely bittersweet at best, though there's room for an epilogue. For readers that like preggo-Lois stuff, there is still more in the pipeline (pun intended). 13: All of the Drugs is part of a branch where Lois is overdosing on fertility drugs (and with a nod-and-wink to the Fertile Valley series). Weird rapid pregnant belly expansion happening in 12: 39 Weeks...I generally avoid rapid belly expansion because I like things to remain "realistic" (which is also why anal sex always has lube), but when it does happen I like to give it either a magic or super-science explanation. Speaking of which, a breast expansion scene in 14: Big But Realistic. I figure people like it because they...keep liking it...but if you want to see anything specific, drop a comment here or in the story about which way you want things to go.
Chapters written: 1,070 Chapters needing to be written: 157 Well, I've averaged 3 chapters a day this week, which has finally eaten into the "Chapters needing to be written" a little...either that, or less people are reading and liking. Whatever the case, I'll take it. I'm not sick of the story by any means, but it does feel good to see some progess toward completion, even if nobody cares about it but me. Also had several comments this week from folks about where they want the story to go, and I've tried to oblige. I'm not good at romance sub-plots. In another story, I might try one that holds off on the sex for more than, let us say, a chapter. But it's hard to keep my interest much less the readers' that long. Case in point 18: Good Food, Getting To Know You was about my limit, and ended up with oral sex and rapid pregnant expansion by chapter 20. Good times, good times. I do try to mix up the genres a bit, so the plot line where the ghost of Lois' mother possesses her daughter and has Lois try to seduce her own father continues with 15: He Didn't Raise A Cocksucker. Unbirth is a possibility in 13: Press Their Pussies Together, and the internet-horror-story arc advances with 14: Lois Can't Deny It Anymore...honestly, that last one should properly be a separate story all on its own, full creepypasta-style, but I'm not going to write it. Lois faces the possibility of becoming the mother of the antichrist in 15: Truthfully, which could go either consensually or...not. I don't like writing rape scenes. I grok the appeal, but for me it's better as moral degeneration and corruption, for folks to make a choice even if it's a terrible choice - case in point 12: Offer A Deal. But after a thousand chapters I wouldn't mind trying my hand at it a bit if that's what readers want.
Chapters written: 1,100 Chapters needing to be written: 151 Don't know how many people actually follow these posts. Long week, much writing. Not sure any of it is good.
Chapters written: 1,120 Chapters needing to be written: 150 Fewer chapters this week, but staying on top of likes as they come in, so actually slowly whittling away at the backlog of chapters with 10+ likes to write second options for. I've been working for this so that, basically, if I can keep up with likes then branches can progress faster and new options can open up and...well, things can keep moving until they don't. I'm not tired of the story at this point, but it's definitely gotten to the point where it feels like, despite the options available (there are 33 different endings so far), and the wordcount (smutMD says ~205,000), it's still too niche to really attract many more readers. Personally, I wonder if part of the problem isn't chapters being too long and getting to the smut too fast...or maybe just not advertizing the wide array of fetishes, or not hitting the right buttons. I dunno. But there's at least 150 chapters coming, probably more as the likes roll in.
Chapters written: 1,146 Chapters needing to be written: 150 So, plenty of chapters written, but we're at about parity. For anyone interested, the current chapter breakdown at chapter 8 looks like: Chapter 09: 166 Chapter 10: 136 Chapter 11: 104 Chapter 12: 82 Chapter 13: 73 Chapter 14: 60 Chapter 15: 53 Chapter 16: 46 Chapter 17: 42 Chapter 18: 40 Chapter 19: 37 Chapter 20: 34 Chapter 21: 11 Chapter 22: 5 Chapter 23: 2 Chapter Nine has an explosion, since all of the Chapter Eights got one option and 38 of those have gotten a second option. From there, the deeper the chapter depth, the less likely you are to see a sequel...but the deeper a branch goes, the more likely it is to be complete. There are 34 branches that go all the way to Chapter 20, and even if nobody else liked a single chapter, there are five more chapter 20 endings scheduled.
Just a head's up for the 4-6 people that follow the story (not sure if you read the thread), but I'll be traveling/out of town for a week or two, so updates will be a bit more sporadic until I settle back home in September.
Just want to say, I'm still following the story and enjoying it, particularly the possibilities of Lois getting lots of piercings and tattoos as a result of the card game. I look forward to seeing where that story branch will lead.
If it gets enough likes, I'll keep going with it! I'm always in a quandary with the gambling arcs because I'm sticking with the 20-chapter storyline limit, so pacing can become an issue - would be real easy to draw those out (which anyone is welcome to do). Writing the last couple weeks has been off because I've been traveling, but once I get home I'll pick it up again.
Then I hope you get enough likes! Personally, I write or draw whatever I feel, but it certainly helps to get some positive feedback.
Well, the way I figure it, it's the only way to judge which chapter to write a sequel to. If a chapter gets 5 likes, it gets one option; if it gets 10 likes, it gets two. If an End chapter or Epilogue gets 10 likes, it gets one option, if it gets 20 likes, it gets two. Otherwise, I'd keep writing this story 'til I die.
Chapters written: 1,182 Chapters needing to be written: 138 I have returned from journeys, and should resume normal posting. Still a lot of chapters to write, and many still sitting on the threshold of getting either a sequel (5 likes) or a second option (10 likes), so if you see anything sitting at 4 or 9 and really want to see the storyline continue, smash that like button. Still playing around with different ideas, different fetishes. I honestly can't say if any of the fap scenes work for people, or even the characterization and relationships. I've been debating some sort of "fetish guide" post beyond the tag system - something like the Kryptonite App post, but for the Blaze section, a kind of quick-guide to the various branches. Not sure about that yet, as it would be a little labor-intensive, but would help users find their way...any desire for something like that? Any desire for anything? While we're on the subject, fetishes I've largely avoided for various reasons: Watersports: Okay, there is one pissdrinking scene, but that's because Lois turned evil. I'm not generally into golden showers or public toilets. Scat: No scenes of this, no plans on it. I have included a few enema scenes, because I don't like to pretend that butts magically clean themselves. Weight Gain: Possible via magic or super science, but something I've largely avoided so far because of the compressed schedule (everything supposed to be happening in the course of one wild night); I have touched on it at a few points in a few of the epilogues. Bimbo: Only really one branch; bimbo is a weird fetish to me, as there is a heavy degradation and transformation element and at the end of the story I like the idea that the character is still Lois Lane despite anything else - she might be knocked up, have grown a cock, brainwashed, with bigger tits or horns or a ginormous vagina, but I like the idea that she is still recognizable as herself. Same goes for out-and-out mind control. A little editing with memory or reprogramming is interesting, but I like it to be Lois acting on suggestions, not completely controlled. Objectification: Literally, Lois becoming some sort of object, like a chair, toilet, dildo, dress, etc. I could do it, but it feels like the kind of branch that would be really tricky to carry off for the full twenty chapters. I do like a challenge, though... A bigger cast: I like the idea of bringing in more characters, DC heroes and villains, etc. but response to such efforts so far has been less than positive. Sissy: Aside from the Jimmie Olsen branch, which appears largely dead and unpopular, no real plans for this. Furries: There are a couple of furry and furry-esque branches due to the wonders of Kryptonite, but again, not many people seem interested in centaur Lois Lane getting plowed or inseminated like a mare in heat. I think maybe the branches are buried too far down for furry enthusiasts to really find them. All The Way Through: Okay, I did this for one branch, and that's because Lois get infected with a demonic parasite that replaced her entire digestive track from lips to asshole. Unbirth: Not really a favored fetish of mine, although there are a couple branch points that could serve as a good set-up for it if there was ever any interest. Horror: There is one branch (I keep saying that) where Lois has the idol and has fallen foul of some Scp-wiki-esque thing that retroactively makes her pregnant and I feel like that could be really interesting if I took it further, but right now that branch seems to be stalled. Rapid Pregnancy: I generally avoid rapid pregnancy and inflation just because of verisimilitude - it works better for her to grow gradually over time, even if magic or science shenanigans are at play (hey, I worked out an explanation for the prego-ray in the hucow branch!), but some folks really like unrealistically big/fast pregnancy transformations (like those u/warhammer1231 chapters). Cuckolding: This is the kind of fetish that you sort of have to lay the groundwork for early; in this story the general assumption is that Lois Lane knows Superman and Clark Kent, but doesn't know they're the same person and isn't in a relationship with either of them - those assumptions could change if carefully managed, but we're well into alternate timeline territory already. Speaking of which... Mother/Son incest: Yes, in current comic continuity Lois & Clark have a son. Even if I aged him up, I don't plan on having adult or barely-legal teen Jon Kent fucking his mother. I'm not against the general idea, but again, tricky to work it in with the current setup without some kind of time travel. Even the existing incest branches aren't terribly popular. Selfcest: I totally kind of want to do this, and there's a Kryptonite branch which is perfect for it and all set up for it, and basically nobody likes it. Drunk Slut Lois: There is a drunk branch, but all the sub-branches tended to the fantastic. There's not a "straight" branch where Lois just gets hammered and fucks random people. I'm not against the idea, I'm just not sure where I'd put it at this point since the initial set-up was about coming to the bar with a mission rather than just stress relief. Spanking/Whipping/Hardcore bondage: Again, not against it, and some light play has been included where appropriate (even the whole "living latex" branch), but I haven't really embraced it with safewords or anything too kinky yet. Snuff, Goru, & Breathplay: There's been a little violence, at the catfight level, but actual bloody gore isn't my cup of tea. I might be down for (and have written) a little body horror/medical play/piercings, even some chloroforming, but I'm just not somebody that gets off on poking an eye out and having a demon skull-fuck Lois Lane. Romantic Lovey-Dovey Superman sex: I'm down for it, but nobody upvotes the branches. Rape!: I have teased rape at one or two points, but again, I prefer it when Lois makes her own decisions (bad as they may be!) rather than to be forced against her will. I did have Lois rape a sleeping Blaze once, though...double standards. Blueberry: I haven't received any requests for this. I wouldn't be against writing a blueberry branch, but I don't think it would do much for me personally. Maybe if this keeps going until April 1st, 2020 I'll add Willy Wonka as a third antagonist/villain. ...I'm sure there are some others I could name, but it's been a long couple of weeks, so I'll let it rest here for now. Until tomorrow.
1200 chapters. No math nonsense, just wanted to say: 1200 chapters. Not all me, but still. Feels like an achievement.
Chapters written: 1,209 Chapters needing to be written: 130 Progress! Also, there were a massive influx of likes yesterday. That happens sometimes, users binging on chapters, and it all adds up to determine which storylines get continued and how soon. It's interesting because you can generally tell when users are using the story-tree to guide their reading - focusing on longer branches. We're at 38 chapter 20 endings right now, which isn't bad at all considering the branching nature of the narrative - while there are 130 chapters that currently meet the threshold for a new sequel chapter to be written, there are 216 chapters which haven't qualified for a continuation yet, and so represent "dead ends" at least so far as none of them go anywhere at the moment. Which, if I ever run out of chapters that do need updates, I might start to whittle away at - either lowering the bar for continuations or writing ending chapters for them. Cross that bridge when I come to it.
Chapters written: 1,250 Chapters needing to be written: 142 Quite a lot of likes the last couple of days, so while a good number of chapters have been written (41 in the last week!), the number of chapters needing to be written has actually increased (+12). So much for keeping up with demand... On the plus side, we're now up to 42 endings, and several new epilogues. Some of these chapters I've tried new things (tickle fetish, gut-fucking, etc.) and some of them I've tried to give the readers explicitly what they want, as near as I can determine what that is. It's tricky to keep the tone consistent sometimes, but no real complaints yet... I won't say there's something for everyone, but there's quite a lot!
