What's the problem?

[Xtra3847]

The reason I ask is because I have a Neopets one on CHYOO that is pretty much open for people to add on, but I did have a few guidelines.

-M/F pairings only
-No humans, petpets, or TNT created characters (Like Hannah or Kass).
-No fanmade species or colors.

People have given low ratings (probably because it leads nowhere right now), but that's pretty much the point. The point was for others to continue it, and all i provide is main characters and basic plot. But there hasn't been anyone doing that yet.

Does anyone know what the problem may be? Is it the guidelines I put up. Is it the fandom I used? Or is it just not a good story overall?

You can see it at http://www.chyoo.com:81/index.php/main.story.cover/4453

 

[amalgam]

Well, to start with, I don't know what TNT is, who Hannah and Kass are, nor a single Neopet species. Do Neopets talk? Is the owner human? I kind of assumed Neopets to be a kid's game, so I'm not sure whom around here is going to know much about it; although I don't see ignorance as a good reason to give low scores. That being said, the quality of your writing is not atrocious, and there's no reason to blame the limited scope of the story thus far. Maybe you just got unlucky.

 

[Zingiber]

The point was for others to continue it, and all i provide is main characters and basic plot. But there hasn't been anyone doing that yet.

Chyoo is only a medium-traffic site, so you're facing a number of issues.

1. Chyoo readers x Neopets Fans = small fraction
2. Less active stories are less visible, so even if there are Neopets fans on Chyoo, they may not see it if you're not adding threads.
3. Stories do better if the editor does a lot of development, leaving jumping off places for other contributors. Plus contributing frequently makes the story more visible.
4. More restrictive guidelines may lose you a few %, but visibility is probably most important. However, a guideline such as "No fanmade species" means that you're looking for authors who are already very familiar with Neopets as they're described elsewhere. You need to provide lots of encouragement for people to learn this, or invite your friends who are also Neopets fans. Or develop the story enough that people can follow your lead.

Does anyone know what the problem may be? Is it the guidelines I put up. Is it the fandom I used? Or is it just not a good story overall?

You can see it at http://www.chyoo.com:81/index.php/main.story.cover/4453

So if you want your story to thrive:

1. Add a thread a week, at least. Two would be better. More frequently when it's new. This helps visibility and provides more points for other contributors to fit their ideas in.
2. Write threads that reveal your characters, provide some plot hooks, and provide possible decision points for new contributors to jump in. Maybe there's a Neopets show coming up, and the characters have to choose who to train with to do tricks for the show -- lots of different ways to develop something like this.
3. Provide an "About Neopets" explanatory thread to describe your characters and maybe provide a link to a fan site, to get less experienced people interested. Say what you think is interesting or charming about them.
4. Promote your story by posting to the Chyoo Authors forum, especially when another contributor submits a thread you enjoyed. Always provide a link to your story and to any thread you reference.
5. Write threads to show what kind of scenes and storyline you enjoy. An editor must also be an author, at least until the story has a "feel" to it and attracts multiple contributors.
6. Write threads for other authors' work whose styles/themes might be similar to yours (or simply work you enjoy). Invite those authors to contribute to your story. Many authors are flattered if you mention specific threads of theirs that you enjoyed, and suggest that their style might work well somewhere in your story.

Best of luck. Happy writing!

-Z

 

[Torg]

I have several stories with much broader appeal than Neopets that have no contributions. It just matters whether someone gets interested enough to add, and whether you have updated the story enough to get it into the Most Recent Five list on the front page.

 

[Xtra3847]

Well, to start with, I don't know what TNT is, who Hannah and Kass are, nor a single Neopet species. Do Neopets talk? Is the owner human? I kind of assumed Neopets to be a kid's game, so I'm not sure whom around here is going to know much about it; although I don't see ignorance as a good reason to give low scores. That being said, the quality of your writing is not atrocious, and there's no reason to blame the limited scope of the story thus far. Maybe you just got unlucky.

TNT-Short for The Neopets Team, a term used on the site when we refer to the staff.

Hannah and Kass are two characters from the interactive storylines that pop up once in a while.

And yes, neopets talk. You can see that if you choose to be Poogle_Six. Also, the owner is Human, but he's not there right now (in the original, which was not a CYOA, he was at work and wouldn't be there.)

And Neopets was originally made for college students, but it attracted kids as well. So, because of that, it's gotten more and more kid friendly over the years.

Anyways, I have put a link to this at a yahoo group that's centered around erotic neopets pictures and stories. Hopefully someone there will decide to add on to it. And I'll probably do a couple of my own in the near future, but I was hoping for others to be the ones to add on most of the time.

 

[wicker]

Welcome to my world! I'm apparently in a minority of chyoo authors who enjoy erotic time stop and/or mind control with humor/mild humiliation.
My threads on "Humiliated," "The Erotic Adventrues of Wonder Woman," "Three Wishes," etc are very lonely!

 

[amalgam]

Yah, I'm a minority too, but I'm a little more committed.