So, when do you read Story Hour?

[Nonlethal Force]

I just now used the controls at the bottom of the page to do a search for any posts having the "fiction" tag and posted within the last year. [It is one of the easiest ways for me to find my first story hour, which is now completed and hasn't been updated since 1-10-07. That means it's no doubt relegated to page 3 or 4 by now. But I digress.]

Anyway, I was stunned by how many threads with the "fiction" tag don't make it past 10 posts! I realize a few of them were one-post stories - the equivalent of the online short story. But my assumption is that many of them were started with great intentions and then abandoned.

So, my question to you is this: What are your criteria that makes you interested in a Story Hour? What criteria do you use?

I meant to include this as a poll, but I took too long So ...

Here are my suggested criteria. Any of them fit you?

1. You know the author ... or at least their work
2. The author employs proper spelling/grammer and knows when to start a new paragraph
3. The number of views is enough to catch your eye (please indicate what number catches your eye)
4. The post count is high enough to indicate that the author is going to finish the story(please indicate what post count tells you this)
5. The author uses (or doesn't use) colored speech
6. You saw the story hour advertised in a thread or in a sig
7. The title was interesting enough to catch your eye
8. The update schedule fits your need for the story (please post how often you like updates)
9. Other criteria not listed here (please post below)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just now used the controls at the bottom of the page to do a search for any posts having the "fiction" tag and posted within the last year. [It is one of the easiest ways for me to find my first story hour, which is now completed and hasn't been updated since 1-10-07. That means it's no doubt relegated to page 3 or 4 by now. But I digress.]

Why not use the Thread Tools and just subscribe to it?

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Why not use the Thread Tools and just subscribe to it?

Oh, I do actually have it subscribed - and when I need access to the thread, that's how I get into it. But the subscription page doesn't tell me the number of views. That is still somewhat of a interest. I check the number of views about once every other week or so. It's a bit of a curiosity, I suppose.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Ah, I didn't get what you were doing looking for it. That makes sense.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Hm...if you're only looking at the "Fiction" tab of things, you're missing out on probably the majority of the stories that are labeled as other things.

Of course, I would expect that expanding this you'd see much the same thing...a great deal of unfinished and low-view threads.

 

[Capellan]

What are your criteria that makes you interested in a Story Hour?

I don't know about anyone else, but for me first and foremost, it has to be an actual game. I don't read anything labelled as 'fiction' because that's not what I come to the SH forum for.

 

[el-remmen]

I don't know about anyone else, but for me first and foremost, it has to be an actual game. I don't read anything labelled as 'fiction' because that's not what I come to the SH forum for.

What he said.

Part of the fun of a story hour for me is imagining the players gathered saying the things their characters say and having the characters do what they do in reaction to the what the DM presents.

Among other criteria, is the use of paragraph breaks between all paragraphs and lines of diaglog (it is for this reason that I have been unable to get thru JollyDoc's Savage Tide - as much as I am curious how his Savage Tide is going).

And of course, grammar, spelling and a sense of setting are all important to me. . .

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I agree that it has to be an actual game.

I like it when it reads well as a story, rather than being a transcript of a game.

I tend to dislike story hours told from the first person perspective of one PC.

And usually I won't start a story hour until there are a decent number of updates to it - a few sessions at least. I usually cannot get into a story hour after only a couple of posts, I need enough to get a feel for the characters and the writing. If I don't have that, I will probably won't feel invested enough in it to subscribe to it, and will end up forgetting all about it unless updates are frequent.

Updates can be sporadic, but if they are, it has to be a great story to keep me coming back (Piratecat's and Saigiro's SH and Capellen's Q Ship). More frequently updated stories don't have to be as fantastic in quality, but I won't read something that isn't good (IMO, of course) just because they update a lot.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

I'm also in the "I only read storyhours, not fiction" camp. I pay attention to word of mouth, page views, title, and update schedule in choosing storyhours to read. Regular (preferably scheduled) updates are a big plus.

This raises a related question I've been considering recently. Are you more likely to read Storyhours broken into separate threads at logical points or one continuous one? In my Aphonion Tales Storyhour, I'm approaching a major turning point. I'm trying to decide whether to start a new thread, as a way to let people get in without necessarily starting at the very beginning (while still continuing the same story). But I'm not sure that the higher page view total of the old thread wouldn't be more effective at drawing readers. Thoughts?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

This raises a related question I've been considering recently. Are you more likely to read Storyhours broken into separate threads at logical points or one continuous one? In my Aphonion Tales Storyhour, I'm approaching a major turning point. I'm trying to decide whether to start a new thread, as a way to let people get in without necessarily starting at the very beginning (while still continuing the same story). But I'm not sure that the higher page view total of the old thread wouldn't be more effective at drawing readers. Thoughts?

When I came to a point in my story hour that this question came up...I asked the readers. Now, I don't get a ton of comments but the responses that did come suggested they prefer it in one thread.

Now, I know a lot of people like breaking things up into neat single threads for each storyline/adventure, but there are as many that think the opposite from what I can tell. My best suggestion is to pose that question to your readers.