Audeince-participation stories?

[sunandshadow]

"Audience participation story" defined as: one author actually writes a story, they post it one chunk at a time in a forum, and anyone who wants to can make suggestions about what should happen next.


I randomly realized that, although I have often seen audience-participation stories on fanfiction sites, and although literotica has an interactive story section and multiple subforums about writing, not to mention co-writing and roleplaying going on, I've never actually seen an audience participation story happening. Have I just missed them all? Is there a rule against them? What subforum would they belong in?

 

[damppanties]

Possibly the Story Feedback Forum, Story Ideas Forum or the Writers' Challenges and Exercises sub-forum. I'm not sure readers on Literotica are active enough to come to a forum to tell you where they want the story to go. Authors, however, might. Don't know how many would be interested though.

 

[NoJo]

Hey, Sunshadow, what was Lit like in 1970?

 

[Weird Harold]

I randomly realized that, although I have often seen audience-participation stories on fanfiction sites, and although literotica has an interactive story section and multiple subforums about writing, not to mention co-writing and roleplaying going on, I've never actually seen an audience participation story happening. Have I just missed them all? Is there a rule against them? What subforum would they belong in?

You can set up an audience participation story by your definition with a simple author's note at the beginning and ending of the story asking for public comments on where the story should go next. You can do that in any category, but given the wide variety of directions such a story could take, I'd put it in Novels and Novellas -- assuming I'd write such a story inthe first place.

I think one reason you don't see many outside of the CHYOO section is that there is a bias against stories with "if I get enough feedback I'll write another chapter" author's notes -- stories that get abandoned because the feedback is on that kind of story is often "please don't."

Personally, I think such a story would quickly become unmanageable because this site is so large -- nearly a million members just in the forums, not counting th elurkers who just come for a story or two and don't even know there are forums here. I think if you check the stats on the fan-fiction sites where such stories are common, you'll find there are many fewer potential ideas on where a story should go.

 

[DeeZire]

I would only post such a story writing as Triumph, the Wonder Dog, so, with every suggestion, I could say: "That's a great idea...for me to poop on!"

 

[michchick98]

"Audience participation story" defined as: one author actually writes a story, they post it one chunk at a time in a forum, and anyone who wants to can make suggestions about what should happen next.


I randomly realized that, although I have often seen audience-participation stories on fanfiction sites, and although literotica has an interactive story section and multiple subforums about writing, not to mention co-writing and roleplaying going on, I've never actually seen an audience participation story happening. Have I just missed them all? Is there a rule against them? What subforum would they belong in?

I agree with what Harold said, but I'd like to add to his thoughts. I even threw this topic out there to my editor and a few email friends to see what they thought. They all agreed it's not the best of ideas.

Even if you write the story then post three possible scenarios for the ending and allow the audience to choose, you'd inevitably end up with someone pissed off that you didn't choose his/her favorite scenario.

I changed my mind about doing an audience participation story after giving it a lot of thought, over and above what people told me. I think there are far too many trolls that post comments on stories at Literotica as well as many troublemakers here in the forums. Too many writers haven't grown a thick enough skin to handle the comments flung their way by those people.

 

[sunandshadow]

Hmm, well the idea of an audience-participation story is not to please everyone, naturally the author would only use suggestions they liked and assume the readers would be mature enough not to have a meltdown if their idea didn't get chosen.

Weird Harold - I would not want to put a group participation story in the archive because of the possibly long delay on approval and the fact that the non-forum setting inherently discourages feedback.