Chapter Stories VS Universe Series

[Duleigh]

When writing a big story a writer can go with two options, the single story broken down into chapters, or the "Universe" series where it's a series of individual stories set in the same universe. Both have positive and negative attributes. The positive for the "Universe" series is that being individual stories, you enter one of the stories in a contest like the Nude Day contest. Another big plus is that a reader can jump in anywhere, grab any story and have a good read. A drawback is that each story must be properly constructed with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, that can be a lot of work.

The chapter story has a lot of advantages too, since it properly is only a part of a story, repetitious exposition isn't required, the writer can jump right into the "meat" of the story without explaining who each character is. It allows you to tell a bigger story, you can encompass a whole world and involve generations of characters. A Big drawback with the chapter story is that they don't get as many readers as a standalone story which sucks but it keeps the trolls to a minimum.

I'm just trying to generate some conversation on the pros/cons of the two story construction styles, any thoughts?

 

[MillieDynamite]

I write mostly stand-alone stories. When I write a novella, I tend to publish it complete with all chapters at one time. I've laid out longer stories that would go up in chapters but have yet to publish any.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Many of my stories weave in and out of each other, with a lot of character overlap. I know this, and I expect my closest followers might, but on any individual story, the interconnectivity rarely matters. It's more like Easter eggs, leaving these threads.

But then, it's not a "world building universe," it's the local cafe and the nearby street, with folk wandering through. Not elves or sci-fi, that kind of thing. Although I do have a few stories set in other worlds.

 

[Imstillfun]

When writing a big story a writer can go with two options, the single story broken down into chapters, or the "Universe" series where it's a series of individual stories set in the same universe. Both have positive and negative attributes. The positive for the "Universe" series is that being individual stories, you enter one of the stories in a contest like the Nude Day contest. Another big plus is that a reader can jump in anywhere, grab any story and have a good read. A drawback is that each story must be properly constructed with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, that can be a lot of work.

The chapter story has a lot of advantages too, since it properly is only a part of a story, repetitious exposition isn't required, the writer can jump right into the "meat" of the story without explaining who each character is. It allows you to tell a bigger story, you can encompass a whole world and involve generations of characters. A Big drawback with the chapter story is that they don't get as many readers as a standalone story which sucks but it keeps the trolls to a minimum.

I'm just trying to generate some conversation on the pros/cons of the two story construction styles, any thoughts?
View attachment 2182610

I once wrote a story called, ’the wedding party’. It was a series of six stories, all the stories could have been stand alone, but all the characters were interacting as well as had their own story. The story revolves around a wedding weekend. So each story had to weave in those interactions from different perspectives. I really enjoyed the challenge.

 

[NotWise]

I have six "Pixie" stories in EC. The separate stories could be chapters, but they're stand-alone stories that daisy-chain in a time series; the main male character in one story first appears at the end of the previous story.

Being stand-alone means that every story has Pixie's back story and some characterization for repeated characters. That's fine for readers who just pick up an episode in the middle of the series, but it has to feel pretty redundant for readers who pick them up from my catalog and try to read them in any kind of sequence.

Stories in the same universe don't necessarily escape from the declining views and votes you see in chaptered stories. The first two stories in Pixie's world have far more views than any of the later stories, and the last story gets very little attention. I planned two more stories in the series, but I won't write them because of the series' declining popularity.

The good thing about the stories not being chapters is that the readers can't complain that the story isn't over yet. I can stop at six without causing heartburn.

 

[Voboy]

I'm not sure there are "pros and cons," from my perspective. I've done both, and I did them because they felt right for the story ideas I had. Some ideas benefit from a long, drawn-out treatment; others? Not so much. The beauty of the "universe" is that character development is pretty much already done.

But they're not mutually exclusive. My chaptered stories are also included in my universe.

 

[EarlyMorningLight]

So, I think it’s worth sone further clarification between chaptered stories that are serialized (one contained story posted in installments) vs chaptered stories that are episodic or open-ended (“Futa Sorority House ch. 57”).

I’ve seen plenty of the former that work well, but I’m wary of the latter, as they generally seem like a vehicle to rehash the same kinks over and over again without having to establish a new setting or characters.

 

[NotWise]

So, I think it’s worth sone further clarification between chaptered stories that are serialized (one contained story posted in installments) vs chaptered stories that are episodic or open-ended (“Futa Sorority House ch. 57”).

I’ve seen plenty of the former that work well, but I’m wary of the latter, as they generally seem like a vehicle to rehash the same kinks over and over again without having to establish a new setting or characters.

I think that's usually what the open-ended stories are. At the very least, that's a good description of my "Pixie" stories.

 

[MajorRewrite]

The “con” I find when reading chaptered stories is the quality drops quickly after the first chapter. It seems that most of the inspiration is poured into that first installment.

My stories are set in a universe, but like electricblue it really isn’t a big deal. The crossovers are for my own amusement more than anything else.

 

[Bazzle]

I think the problem is that people write 1-2 lit page chapters not thinking of the complete character arc?

Because they don't write it as a whole before publishing. Plot holes etc will develop as the characters drive the story. Interest from reader and author then wains?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

To add something more to the conversation, I currently have seven stand-alone stories here that are part of a universe. I have submitted them as single posts, parts containing multiple chapters, and as individual chapters. I get both appreciative comments and complaints about each method, so I'll just do what works easiest for me and do single submissions from now on.

Regardless of how I break them up for submission, the story is complete before anything gets posted. When authors don't do this, you can usually see a decline in the story in subsequent chapters. The inability to go back to something already posted to "spread the wealth" is taken away.

I also have two series published here. Stand-alone stories that follow a common theme or concept. I can add to them at my leisure or ignore them completely and no one would care.

 

[yowser]

The “con” I find when reading chaptered stories is the quality drops quickly after the first chapter. It seems that most of the inspiration is poured into that first installment.

There's a French literary award, Le Prix de la Page 112, based on the premise that any decent, garden variety writer is capable of writing a good first sentence, first opening, first page, but that it is later in the work that the writer's quality really is evident. (So open a book to page 112, see if the work has any merit, if so then start from the beginning.)

Perhaps a similar strategy could apply to chaptered Lit stories? Go to a middle chapter, evaluate, then read the whole thing from the beginning if it looks promising.

 

[Duleigh]

Perhaps a similar strategy could apply to chaptered Lit stories? Go to a middle chapter, evaluate, then read the whole thing from the beginning if it looks promising.

Hmm, I can see that, I have a couple of long form stories written in the Plan/Pants fashion and both I believe have been hanging in there quite well. Even the side stories have been rocking, I wouldn't have a problem with a Frenchman sticking his prix into Page 112

 

[PennameWombat]

When writing a big story a writer can go with two options, the single story broken down into chapters, or the "Universe" series where it's a series of individual stories set in the same universe. Both have positive and negative attributes. The positive for the "Universe" series is that being individual stories, you enter one of the stories in a contest like the Nude Day contest. Another big plus is that a reader can jump in anywhere, grab any story and have a good read. A drawback is that each story must be properly constructed with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, that can be a lot of work.

I don’t understand why you put these as exclusive categories. When I write in a shared universe, I have three types of stories.
- The main chaptered (numbered) stories. While each chapter is meant to have a beginning - middle - end, I don’t rehash everything that came before and don’t reintroduce the running characters, just new ones.
- Serials set in that universe, but focusing on different main characters and with more independence. These interleave with the above, so any in-universe characters can appear, but each story is intended to be able to be read alone, but if you read all of the entries you’ll get more depth.
- Standalones set in that universe. Involve their own characters as well as others from the broader universe, mainly in cameos. These also can serve as broad expansions of quick scenes in the chaptered stories. I’ve had a couple of comments that indicate someone ran across an overlap such as these, which makes me feel good that someone noticed.

I like this because, for me, I can draw on events and characters that I already know. What I have to do is to try and weight the elements properly, how much introduction to do, etc.

The chapter story has a lot of advantages too, since it properly is only a part of a story, repetitious exposition isn't required, the writer can jump right into the "meat" of the story without explaining who each character is. It allows you to tell a bigger story, you can encompass a whole world and involve generations of characters. A Big drawback with the chapter story is that they don't get as many readers as a standalone story which sucks but it keeps the trolls to a minimum.

I'm just trying to generate some conversation on the pros/cons of the two story construction styles, any thoughts?

I see them as three styles, not two. Yes, chapters and even serials will see drop-offs in readers. But working in a universe allows me to call on lore that I’ve built up. I just have to be careful how to use it and how much to explain, based on the story.

I also do stories that are complete standalones, such as my recent Summer Lovin’ entry.

Alice says ‘hi!’

View attachment 2182610

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Chapter stories, definitely. As much as I enjoy worldbuilding, I tend to get attached to characters and protagonists, thus making this an easy choice.

 

[Duleigh]

I don’t understand why you put these as exclusive categories. When I write in a shared universe, I have three types of stories.

They're not exclusive, just popular ways of getting a big idea published on Lit. I didn't include stand alone "one off" stories (your third option) because by nature they're outside of the Big Story. I was just trying to get some conversation rolling.

I do the same thing as you in that my numbered chapter story has several standalones in the same universe. Standalones come in handy when you have an idea for a "stroker" that doesn't fit anywhere in the narrative OR if you have an idea that you want to enter in a contest. (A chapter of a Big Story can't be entered in a contest)

One thing I have found handy is to develop a tag that is unique to the story/universe I messed up and missed a few stories in my Stormwatch universe but I learned my lesson, now in my We're a Wonderful Wife universe the Big Story and all standalones have the proper tag. I just need to advertise the tag more in the story post scripts

 

[Voboy]

I'm mildly intrigued by the concept of "multiple universes," @Duleigh

Like, you mention two... any reason why you felt you needed both of those? I'm curious; I spend a good amount of effort making certain all my stories fit into my one universe, which is a lot of what makes it enjoyable for me. Even my SF series (set far in the future) and my stories set in ancient Rome or Anglo-Saxon England are connected to the characters in my contemporary tales. It's fun!

 

[JGittes]

...

... (A chapter of a Big Story can't be entered in a contest)

...

I am pretty sure this is not correct. I've seen quite a few explicitly described chapters in continuing series entered in contests. The entries are not explicitly named 'Story of X; Ch n+1', but the introduction clearly states where the particular story fits in the series. What is not allowed is to have separate, multiple-chaptered stories in one contest.

 

[Duleigh]

I'm mildly intrigued by the concept of "multiple universes," @Duleigh

Like, you mention two... any reason why you felt you needed both of those? I'm curious; I spend a good amount of effort making certain all my stories fit into my one universe, which is a lot of what makes it enjoyable for me. Even my SF series (set far in the future) and my stories set in ancient Rome or Anglo-Saxon England are connected to the characters in my contemporary tales. It's fun!

I actually have three universes

One universe is set in Western New York and the time period is Now, and it's for the most part a happy romance.

The second universe is set in Minnesota and the time period is Then and it's a story that shows an interracial couple in a very white area overcoming serious difficulties from the day they met when they were 16 up to December 2024.

The third universe is on a different planet and its only connection to this world is in Downtown Tokyo Japan, and that connection going to end in a few months

 

[Duleigh]

I am pretty sure this is not correct. I've seen quite a few explicitly described chapters in continuing series entered in contests. The entries are not explicitly named 'Story of X; Ch n+1', but the introduction clearly states where the particular story fits in the series. What is not allowed is to have separate, multiple-chaptered stories in one contest.

From the rules of the Halloween contest (and it's been in other contests also

• All submissions must be stand-alone stories created for this contest theme. We will not accept individual chapters of a larger work submitted separately. If you have a multi-chaptered contest-themed submission, please submit all chapters together as one story submission.

 

[RejectReality]

From the rules of the Halloween contest (and it's been in other contests also

It's about multiple chapters of the same story in the contest, which happened because it had reached ridiculous proportions where as many as 20 chapters of the same story were being entered.

Any standalone story, regardless of whether it connects to other stories, is eligible.
=====

My work as Dark is primarily a universe. I equally enjoy the mainline chapter story, side chapter stories, and side one shots. My current WIP is a side story that's a pseudo sequel where a peripheral character takes center stage and the mains from the original story take on secondary and even cameo roles.

 

[Voboy]

Any standalone story, regardless of whether it connects to other stories, is eligible.

Yep. All my stories connect, including contest entries, and many of them are loose sequels or prequels. I point that out in my notes that I post with the stories.

The key is that every entered story, whether it connects or not, needs to stand on its own two feet. Entries need to be self-contained.

 

[RejectReality]

Yep. All my stories connect, including contest entries, and many of them are loose sequels or prequels. I point that out in my notes that I post with the stories.

The key is that every entered story, whether it connects or not, needs to stand on its own two feet. Entries need to be self-contained.

Honestly, enforcement of that is imperfect, to say the least. I know of at least one incident off the top of my head where two entries in a contest had their own titles, but the second one literally picked up immediately on the heels of the other. It was a chapter. There was no beginning. If you didn't read the first entry, you had jack-all clue who these people were or what was going on. The first one had something of an ending, making it legitimate as far as I was concerned, but the second absolutely could not stand on its own.

Neither was ever a contender, and the voting/comments appeared to reflect punishment for trying to pass the second off as a standalone work, so I just shrugged and left well enough alone. The rule satisfies its intended purpose for the most part.

 

[TheRedChamber]

So, I think it’s worth sone further clarification between chaptered stories that are serialized (one contained story posted in installments) vs chaptered stories that are episodic or open-ended (“Futa Sorority House ch. 57”).

I’ve seen plenty of the former that work well, but I’m wary of the latter, as they generally seem like a vehicle to rehash the same kinks over and over again without having to establish a new setting or characters.

Earlier in the year I spent some time writing up a plan for a episodic series involving a professional dominatrix that would have worked mostly on a 'kink-of-the-week' basis while having the main characters develop in their own personal lives. There's would have been a lot of 'hey, that's weird, but who I am to judge, let's see how to make it work.' - at one point I had the Wikipedia list of fetishes open and was working my way down it going 'pyrophilia - sure I can make a story out of that, mummification - okay, exactly how Ancient Egypt would I go with that...'. I had about eight 'seasons' worth of plot bunnies by the time I'd finished. I do agree generally that episodic stories can be hard to pull off in erotica because there wouldn't be any relationship development - I've read a lot of 'let me tell you about another hot chick I got with in my youth' type stories that repeat the same beats again and again.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I have to say, I find the way in which a lot of people have started to talk about their fiction in terms of 'universes' interesting. I'm guessing that a lot of this is to do with the Marvel Cinemtic Universe, although the concept existed before that - for example, Isaac Asimov had all his Laws-of-Robot short stories involving different characters, but the same basic concepts playing out in different ways before finally also tying those stories in with his Foundation series. It certainly makes sense for Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror where the same other-worldly concepts and settings can form the basis for a whole range of different stories. But it's initially slightly strange to me how people have also started to use it their every-day setting fiction and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I suppose there are plenty of possible, if not 'other-worldly' then at least 'out-of-the-ordinary' concepts that could be involved in erotica - the invitation-only swingers club for beautiful people, that make a shared universe make sense. But increasingly people seem to use it for when characters wander in and out each other's stories, and I feel that this is something that's done way more recently than it used to be, or possibly just way more possible in this medium. A common complaint about modern comics is that you need read (and presumably buy) all of them to keep up with the stories of the various superheroes who keep coming in and out of different runs. I guess with a free erotica site, there's less harm in saying 'hey, if you're interested in knowing more about this character, his story is right over there.'