Chapters written: 1,290 Chapters needing to be written: 134 Okay. Good progress, if I haven't completely miscounted. We're now up to 46 unique endings, 19 of which have epilogues; two of those go up to chapter 24! Endings and epilogues are tricky - I try to end on a bang (literally), and there's more room for playing with time and developments, so they tend to be longer chapters. Some of the epilogues have been quite popular...not so popular I'd do a spin-off story, though anybody else is welcome to do so. A lot of likes this week, but not as many as last time, and there was that little snafu with a branch that had to be moved - which more people appear to have read this time! - have to be careful about keeping more of the chapter-to-chapter details straight in the future. Also, still a number of chapters with zero likes; I figure that the fetishes are just too obscure or my writing is just plain bad on those, but they also tend to cap off less-popular branches, so...hard to tell where dislike begins and disinterest ends. If I ever run down the "Chapters needing to be written" I should either try to continue the dead branches or write early endings for them. But at current rates, that might take a while.
Chapters written: 1,330 Chapters needing to be written: 143 So, lots of chapters written. Keeping on top of the stories that hit the 5-like threshold, but there's still a sizable backlog of stories with 10 or more likes to work through. But still, staying on top of things is good, and at current rates maybe will eat into the backlog a little. There are 49 separate endings, of which a little less than half (22) have epilogues; some of the epilogues have epilogues (which themselves have epilogues). I'm worried about getting a little stale on some of these - an awful lot of the endings or epilogues have Lois Lane knocked up. Might try for a little more variety, although I'm still not good at "bad ends" and not in a hurry to include many actual rape scenes, although from the tally on the few chapters marked as such I think there's definitely an audience for it. Biggest surprise is probably the success of the Supergirl arc, that was one of those spur-of-the-moment ideas which proved surprisingly popular, even though the concept is pretty basic - Lois Lane has grown a dick and Supergirl wants babies - unrealistic as hell, and I stretch the sex scene out way too damn long. Less surprisingly is that the Lovecraftian twist "The Seed of Yog-Sothoth" is one of the least-favorite endings, If I had this all to do again I might have gone a different way...but then, there are hundreds of chapters left to write, so maybe we will go down a different trouser leg of time at some point...
Chapters written: 1,368 Chapters needing to be written: 160 Okay. Between an uptick in likes/bookmarks and my inability to write six chapters a day, the "backlog" has grown a bit. The good news is that they all represent second options needing to be written, as I've largely managed to keep on top of existing branches. The second Supergirl arc has proved fairly popular, and might even hit a chapter 20 ending. Part of the issue this week is that a number of End chapters and Epilogues have hit the higher threshold (10+ likes) for a continuation, and those are generally longer affairs, with often at least some sexytimes element. Nothing's gotten past chapter 24 yet, but considering we have 49 separate endings, to find that chapters are continuing, and in one case still branching at the chapter 20 mark is remarkable, and shows that at least a fair number of people like some of the storylines. That said, 38 chapters in 7 days tend to blur together a bit, so I'm not sure which ones stand out, exactly. I've played with adding a couple of illustrated chapters - not more than a handful of those in the whole 1,300+ chapters - but I am unsure if the result, simple as it is, actually adds much over the description. There's still a relative dearth of lesbian, dickgirl-on-male, and regular ol' straight sex, so plenty more to play with in the 160 chapters remaining - a number I'm sure will continue to fluctuate - and I do hope to include a little more variation in the endings, possibly more "bad ends" and non-pregnancy content. As popular as the pregnancy-themed stuff seems to be, I do like a little variety. In the vast trouserlegs of time, Lois can't get knocked up every time...
Chapters written: 1,401 Chapters needing to be written: 172 ...yeah, so even with writing 33 chapters in the last 7 days, there have been so many likes that the list of "to be written" chapters has increased by 12. A large part of that is archive-binging, but oof. This story might never end at this point. I mean, there are endings. 50 of them at this point! But yeah, there's lots of work to do. Also, we got out first Chapter 25, which is pretty impressive - keeping in mind that it requires double the likes (10+) for chapters 20 and above to get sequels. So people must really like the dickgirl-Lois-Lane-knocks-up-Supergirl branch. Most of the chapters-to-be-written are second options on finished branches; I'm prioritizing first options, so it's not quite as bad as it looks. But I'm also going to be out of town for a few days so...things might get backed up.
Not even doing the math this week; hundreds of likes, mostly from a couple of archive-bingers, and I'm slowly trying to whittle away at the chapters that most-need to be written according to likes/bookmarks. The epilogues are lower on the list than the <20 Chapters, but the longest branch just got a little longer with 26: Epilogue: The Return of Lex Luthor. Mostly because chapter depth is reported on the front page but total number of chapters aren't, so it might draw more readers. Maybe. Besides that, for some reason I wanted to experiment with the shifting-back-and-forth in this one.
Chapters written: 1,452 chapters Chapters to be written (green): 27 Chapters to be written (orange): 206 So, to explain: When a <20 chapter hits 5+ likes, it gets a sequel, and in the spreadsheet, I color it green. When a >=20 chapter hits 10+ likes, it gets an epilogue, and in the spreadsheet, I color it green. When a green chapter gets its sequel/epilogue, I color it yellow. When a chapter with a sequel hits 10+ likes, it gets a second sequel, and in the spreadsheet, I color it brown. When a chapter with an epilogue hits 20+ likes, it gets a second epilogue, and in the spreadsheet, I color it brown. When a brown chapter gets its second sequel/epilogue, I color it red. Green has priority, then orange. Red means stop. So, the archive binge has continued for some folks, and some of the branches have attracted enough attention that I'm still way behind where I was a couple of weeks ago. Back when I had 134 "Chapters to Be Written," they were all brown. I was actually digging into the backlog. Since then...well, green has priority. Those chapters get written first. Then I'll start in on the browns, starting with the ones with the highest number of likes/bookmarks (currently sitting at 15). So if you're wondering why a branch hasn't moved in a while...I am working on it. Slowly, but daily. Also, we're now up to 55 unique endings, and the longest branch is 26 chapters deep. I know lots of stories have branches 80-90 chapters deep, but that's still a lot! Most of these chapters have a fair number of words.
Chapters written: 1,500 (1,487 by me) Chapters to be written (green): 21 Chapters to be written (orange): 216 State of the story: 62 endings Deepest chapter: 27 Whittling away at the greens, because those are the branches that have priority. Oranges are still racking up, but those are second options on existing branches. Part of the issue is the epilogues, which I keep adding to as they get enough likes/bookmarks because...it lets me branch out a little, both in format and ideas. But total number of chapters-needing-to-be-written has decreased, so I'm doing something right, even if I'm not sure if I can keep the four-chapters-a-day average pace. Sometimes I think I should do shorter chapters...dunno. The cocaine and cumpire branches have both been surprisingly popular - I don't normally do a lot with drugs, but it's one of those ponds that is okay to splash around in. The "Cumpire Lois" branch could be a story in itself, lots of fun possibilities there. I kinda think I might have done it too fast, but they don't give out prizes for literary quality on CHYOA so...meh. It is kinda fun to get feedback from people, see what they like and don't like, what works for them. I have no idea if the sex scenes I write are actually "hot" by any standard except likes, really.
Chapters written: 1,529 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 225 Okay! Worked through all the green chapters (again). So now working on getting through the backlog of second options. As usual, these go in order of likes/bookmarks, so the most popular ones get their sequels first, and so on down. If you want to see a favorite chapter get a new branch and go off in a different direction...like/bookmark. And comment! I actually try to follow comments/suggestions when people post them.
Chapters written: 1,565 Chapters to be written (green): 2 Chapters to be written (orange): 224 So, while the numbers might not look like it, this feels like progress. 63 endings now, and I like to think the quality hasn't declined since the branches have been getting decent numbers of likes and bookmarks. Let me break the numbers down one bit further: Highest orange chapter: 13** That means, of the chapters that need a second option (orange), the ones next in queue have 13 likes and 2 bookmarks. Which means I've worked through all the 14+ like chapters. Now, some of the chapters with one option (yellow) have gone from 9 likes to 10 (i.e. yellow -> orange), which is why it looks like not much progress, even with 30+ chapters written - but yeah, whittling down the pile.
Chapters written: 1,620 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 226 It's a long road to Berlin, but we'll get there... Number of Chapter 20 endings: 72 (9 more than last week!) Highest orange chapter: 13* I still have no idea what people actually like about this, but it feels like progress, even if the numbers seem less than encouraging.
Chapters written: 1,663 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 217 Chapter 20 endings: 78 Highest orange chapter: 13 Wooo... okay, so the sum total decline is only -9 for 43 chapters written. But still, progress. Really just a testament to the popularity of the new branches and the occasional epilogue (beyond-the-end) storylines. Also, for anyone that wasn't aware, the story has inspired an original spinoff: https://chyoa.com/story/Supergirls-Terrible,-Horrible,-No-Good,-Very-Bad-Day.24965 This isn't a direct connection, but it involves Supergirl visiting a very similar club, and running into her own difficulties.
Chapters written: 1,703 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 224 Chapter 20 endings: 80 Highest orange chapter: 12** Falling a little behind with the holidays. But a nice new branch expanded by 11Kestrels, starting with 11: Waller's Ultimatum which is looking very promising.
Traveling, so no updates this weekend. 86 endings and 1,734 chapters. Haven't count the "to be written" pile yet but...lots.
Chapters written: 1,774 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 224 Chapter 20 endings: 90 Highest orange chapter: 12* ...believe it or not, this is progress. Not much progress[/i], but that's more because of the large number of likes than anything else. We've had a couple popular branches, and others which are definitely not catching on. Which is okay. They're not all winners. The Lois Lane cannibalism/stuffing ending for example is just weird and even I'm not sure where I was going with that one. Live and learn.
Chapters written: 1,852 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 204 Chapter 20 endings: 94 Highest orange chapter: 12 Okay, unless I screwed up the math on that, made some decent progress. The most popular branch recently have been the Bat Breeder epilogues, which surprises me a little, but now there are two branches which are 27 chapters deep. Both of which involve Lois Lane growing a penis and impregnating various women in the DC universe. People wonder why the futa storylines, and why the impregnation storylines...hey, it's what the readers want. I'm not going to complain.
New chapter from a new contributor: Who You Gonna Call? by @Beast79. Not quite the way I'd have approached the second option, but then that's the whole point of having additional authors!
Chapters written: 1,940 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 192 Chapter 20 endings: 102 Highest orange chapter: 11**** Been a while...wrote a lot of chapters...and had a couple new authors have come in! Always welcome. So progress proceeds apace. It remains that some branches suddenly and inexplicably pick up interest, and then lapse on the threshold of continuation for weeks or months on end. I don't pretend to understand it. Feedback is still very limited, but I respond to requests and comments when I can. Sometimes I fire off a chapter in 20 or 30 minutes that hits the threshold for a sequel within a couple hours, other times I spend an hour or more on a chapter and it goes neglected. Of all the work I've put in this last couple weeks, I thought Epilogue: Lucky came out the best...but I grant that it's a lot slower and subtler than some folks might like. Then again, I've never heard anyone complain this story doesn't have enough sex in it! Still, I think there's some definite lessons learned when I get to my next story...whenever this one is finished to my satisfaction.
Chapters written: 1,975 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 189 Chapter 20 endings: 108 Highest orange chapter: 11** Okay, writing 35 chapters only for the "to be written" count to only go down 3 might seem like poor returns, but I am actually chewing through the backlog. Lots more to be done, and I like to think not all of the chapters are terrible, although some are certainly better (and longer) than others.
Chapters written: 2,001 Chapters to be written (green): 0 Chapters to be written (orange): 177 Chapter 20 endings: 115 Highest orange chapter: 11* Not a lot of likes this week, so this is largely working through the backlog. At over 2k chapters and 100+ endings, the story is probably a little unwieldy at this point and maybe discouraging new readers. But, I'm determined to finish this thing up! If nothing else, it's good practice to see what not to do whenever I get to my next story.
