I'll admit that even when I really like a chapter, I forget to "like" it. The whole like system is relatively new to me. I keep forgetting it's there. With regards to SoN vs. this fic, they are both good. I was kind of wondering where this was going, honestly. I was in for the ride.
The Stopwatch (Worm AU)
- Thread starter Elpis
- Start date
-
- Tags
- worm taylor hebert alt!power
TW33K
Generic Title
- Location
- where the wild things aren't
Being relatively new to worm fanfiction I've never read Spirit of Nature so I can't compare the fics.Alright, he comes the post I've been thinking of since a few chapters ago.
You see, Stopwatch has been kind of an experiment for me. When I was writing Spirit of Nature and realized that every chapter there was one less person that read it, or just didn't like it, I became rather downtrodden. You see, Spirit of Nature is something I put effort into, I have worked hard to make it work, revising it multiple times before I was completely satisfied with it, though I still get complaints about things I have to iron out there. Due to that, writing it was slow. Weeks went by before I wrote a chapter, edited it twice with two friends of mine and then posted it.
So I thought, maybe it was the AU setting? Maybe it was the update rate? Maybe people were just unhappy that Taylor wasn't stomping her way through the entire place like she owned it? Because well, a chapter where the group got their ass kicked I had 40 people less than usual that hit the 'Like' button. (Personally, I prefer discussion over the likes, but it does show how the numbers dwindled.)
Then I wrote this. I would write and publish. No effort. Absolutely none. If I found myself stuck with an idea of what to do, I would simply read the thread, get inspired, add more things, continue. Rinse, repeat, word count rising. When someone complained strongly about the paraplegia, I decided to extend it. I didn't plan anything, I just wrote.
And well, look at this!
It's arguably my worst work (not counting With Fire Came Disparity, as much as I liked the premise, I didn't really manage to go anywhere with it), after a while I didn't even care about the typos, the plot holes, the inconsistent character that some people blamed on the concussion, others blamed on shard-shenanigans. Word of God blames it on me
Within 5 days, this surpassed all discussion of Spirit of Nature, it surpassed the number of readers, and it made me realize just how far I've gone with a simple premise of "Taylor-centric, Alt!Power, Brockton Bay", once more, like in With Fire Came Disparity. It feels like my effort is wasted in Spirit of Nature, as if the amount of work I put into it doesn't actually matter while I write, only how quickly I can write it. I don't really like feeling that my efforts are wasted.
On that note: I have decided to leave Stopwatch where it is. I apologize for the inconvenience. I wish I could have had more fun writing this.
The reason I liked this one was the irreverence in Stopwatch you don't really find in worm fics, it was nice to see a Taylor that wasn't so mopey. That and this fic is pretty funny at times.
I'm actually not that bothered that this fic is stopping since I was probably going to stop reading in a couple chapters anyways. I really didn't like the way Taylor handled Danny attacking her, and the fic had changed tones, and lost most of what I liked about the earlier chapters.
Considering you were phoning this in it's not surprising that I was losing interest. But that also has me interested in seeing what you can do when you actually care about the fic. So I'll probably end up reading Spirit next day I have a decent amount of time on my hands.
Also this was posted from my phone so hopefully it's coherent.
@VereorNox
I think you try to compare two different things but actually you are comparing the same thing on two different subjects.
As a writer (tried long ago) I know that the feedback of the reader is everything. It is simply painfull if the invested work and the recived feedback are widely apart. I understand.
As a reader I enjoy the easy reading and be happy of content keeps comming. But what is easy reading? It is easy if you don't have to invest in immersion. After reading worm and N different alt-power fics the world and the usual points of divergence are expected and accepted.
What does that now mean?
Spirit of Nature is a crossover with an original setting and thereby can only draw on one fanbase instead of two and can not have the die-hards who love both. Because of that the reader has to invest the time in learing the new setting. That makes it not an easy read.
Stopwatch instead is a bog standard Taylor POV alt-power. The first chapter made it clear that it is close to a crac-fic (as in "I write this idea and will not care"). Reading something funny with regular and fast new content draws people. Especially the ones that do not regulary have the time to read something immersive or long (like Worm). That made it a really easy read.
In the end there are three types of reader
What do I want to say with this?
Both of your storys are good but for different reasons and the reason that garners the most feedback are the updates. By simply keeping to write Stopwatch you attracted people despite the weaknesses of it.
Did I make sense?
I think you try to compare two different things but actually you are comparing the same thing on two different subjects.
As a writer (tried long ago) I know that the feedback of the reader is everything. It is simply painfull if the invested work and the recived feedback are widely apart. I understand.
As a reader I enjoy the easy reading and be happy of content keeps comming. But what is easy reading? It is easy if you don't have to invest in immersion. After reading worm and N different alt-power fics the world and the usual points of divergence are expected and accepted.
What does that now mean?
Spirit of Nature is a crossover with an original setting and thereby can only draw on one fanbase instead of two and can not have the die-hards who love both. Because of that the reader has to invest the time in learing the new setting. That makes it not an easy read.
Stopwatch instead is a bog standard Taylor POV alt-power. The first chapter made it clear that it is close to a crac-fic (as in "I write this idea and will not care"). Reading something funny with regular and fast new content draws people. Especially the ones that do not regulary have the time to read something immersive or long (like Worm). That made it a really easy read.
In the end there are three types of reader
- the who want an immersive and complex story
- the who want something easy to read
- and the who simply want more Worm-content in any form
What do I want to say with this?
Both of your storys are good but for different reasons and the reason that garners the most feedback are the updates. By simply keeping to write Stopwatch you attracted people despite the weaknesses of it.
Did I make sense?
- Location
- Australia
It doesn't even need to be quick, so long as it's consistent. One of the techniques serial authors can use is to build up a buffer large enough that they can release "scheduled" updates without stressing themselves out. Daily, weekly, monthly, even half-annually or more, so long as it's consistent the readership will build/maintain their own enthusiasm: "yeah, next update will be out in a month!" (a week later) "ooh, next update will be out in three weeks!" (a week later) "woot, next update will be out in only two weeks!"... it's a psychological hook.
In fact that's exactly what advertisers use and bank on (literally): "Only X shopping days until {insert event here}!"
Of course it still has to be something enjoyable, but I've certainly been enjoying both Stopwatch and Spirit Of Nature.
(it also solves the "the forum glitched and didn't show the 'OP has posted a chapter' announcement" problem - if readers know that story X comes out every Y period, they'll check rather than assume the forum is infallible).
The drawback with buffering your work is that it delays reader feedback, of course, so it's not all positives, but it is a possible tool in the box.
Disclaimer: not an author, just married to one.
I second this. I've been a fan of TheGrum for literally decades. Until he started Heromaker's Legacy, he had a very consistent update rate. He'd usually update somewhere around Christmas, give or take a week. So your update rate doesn't have to be frequent.
Hotdog Vendor
Author of 'Sisters of Rail'
- Location
- (5 + 3 * sqrt(5)) / 8
- Pronouns
- She/Her
And here I am more invested in this short story than I ever was in Spirit of Nature. It was slow enough that I've forgotten what the characters' motivation was, and the concept of 'Taylor ends up in a world where people think she's a goddess, also not-Madison follows her around like a puppy' (assuming I'm thinking of the right fic) actually seemed more cracky to me than this story.
zhuull
SB still lying to protect Racists what else is new
I hadn't followed any of the in-thread discussion and have just finished reading through the whole story, so this post makes all the strangeness of the last few chapter suddenly make a lot more sense.Alright, he comes the post I've been thinking of since a few chapters ago.
You see, Stopwatch has been kind of an experiment for me. When I was writing Spirit of Nature and realized that every chapter there was one less person that read it, or just didn't like it, I became rather downtrodden. You see, Spirit of Nature is something I put effort into, I have worked hard to make it work, revising it multiple times before I was completely satisfied with it, though I still get complaints about things I have to iron out there. Due to that, writing it was slow. Weeks went by before I wrote a chapter, edited it twice with two friends of mine and then posted it.
So I thought, maybe it was the AU setting? Maybe it was the update rate? Maybe people were just unhappy that Taylor wasn't stomping her way through the entire place like she owned it? Because well, a chapter where the group got their ass kicked I had 40 people less than usual that hit the 'Like' button. (Personally, I prefer discussion over the likes, but it does show how the numbers dwindled.)
Then I wrote this. I would write and publish. No effort. Absolutely none. If I found myself stuck with an idea of what to do, I would simply read the thread, get inspired, add more things, continue. Rinse, repeat, word count rising. When someone complained strongly about the paraplegia, I decided to extend it. I didn't plan anything, I just wrote.
And well, look at this!
It's arguably my worst work (not counting With Fire Came Disparity, as much as I liked the premise, I didn't really manage to go anywhere with it), after a while I didn't even care about the typos, the plot holes, the inconsistent character that some people blamed on the concussion, others blamed on shard-shenanigans. Word of God blames it on me
Within 5 days, this surpassed all discussion of Spirit of Nature, it surpassed the number of readers, and it made me realize just how far I've gone with a simple premise of "Taylor-centric, Alt!Power, Brockton Bay", once more, like in With Fire Came Disparity. It feels like my effort is wasted in Spirit of Nature, as if the amount of work I put into it doesn't actually matter while I write, only how quickly I can write it. I don't really like feeling that my efforts are wasted.
On that note: I have decided to leave Stopwatch where it is. I apologize for the inconvenience. I wish I could have had more fun writing this.
I'm glad to know you weren't actually trying to put much effort into telling a coherent story here, it really shows and I'd honestly been mentally composing a pretty scathing post about the ridiculousness of some of what the characters have been doing along with what seemed to be a near criminal lack of concern for pacing and characterization that's become glaringly apparent in the last few chapters.
This clears everything up though and I think is an excellent place to stop the story as I can only see it going downhill even further from here.
I must say I'm a bit sad about how working on Spirit of Nature has made you feel.
On the one hand it was a really interesting premise and you could really see the effort you were putting into the world building.
On the other hand it often, especially in later chapters, came off as extremely disappointing to read mainly because it seemed like you were going for a big epic fantasy story ala Lord of the Rings, but it usually came off more as generic worm-verse superhero shenanigans and angsting.
Anytime it seemed that the story might be dipping into deep or profound thoughts it would suddenly get interrupted with a questionably placed and plotted fight scene or similar.
The less said about the last chapter I bothered reading with the sudden super powered capes that mysteriously know Imp, mysteriously appearing out of a convenient portal to kidnap people away before there could be meaningful exposition the better.
That was just bad.
Criticsism aside you are an actual good writer and I will definitely look forward to reading anything you put out in the future.
Well, personally I like both SoN and This one here. I'm a bit bummed that you're dropping this one, but I have to assume you intend to continue SoN at least?
I made an account just recently so that I could follow SoN because while I was reading it over spring break I said to myself no less than six times, "Man, this is turning out so cool!"
Very engaging and the work you put into it shows.
I made an account just recently so that I could follow SoN because while I was reading it over spring break I said to myself no less than six times, "Man, this is turning out so cool!"
Very engaging and the work you put into it shows.
Hey just wanted to throw in my thoughts. I have SoN watched so i read it when it comes out. I liked both fics but...this on seems more enjoyable. Not sure about the last few chapters, but im used to Taylor getting screwed and rising above that happens in most fics...so the problems i had with this fic didnt seem that bad. I might have stopped reading in the next few chapters depending on what happens. I have really bad depression so really dark fics turn me off.
SoN on the other hand has different problems then this fic. A whole new original setting can be really promising, however I dont feel yours is that strong. Its also very slow. You get 2-3 chapters waiting for the characters to gather...then tylor gets attacked randomly out of no where by a monster that doesnt fit in worm setting very well. It turns me off a bit from the fiction. You have all these new OCs, some of who i like, in fact most are done well except for these really strong impossible to fight super powerful villians that appear for short periods to attack and then disappear. I feel like your tail is wandering, slowly, without telling me enough to keep me interested.
Taylor has a different feel in both fics. In this one she is way too happy compared to worm. Alot of what made her character in worm though was a slow battle with different foes she "shouldnt" have beated, followed by more fights mixed with some ptsd and continuing trama. She went from a loner girl who wanted to be a hero into khephri. This fics taylor is similar to how Taylor was originally that i can kinda see her becoming like this. In SoN she spends too much time reacting compared to worm, just waiting around. She was always attacking and pushing her enemies in worm. It gives a slight disconnect. That being said parts of chapters does capture her character i thought.
So...summery, this fic is more popular i think due to more action, and being a setting much closer to worm. The Taylor shone here isnt like the one in worm, but could be her with the different changes added. In SoN I think you missed part of Taylors character.
SoN on the other hand has different problems then this fic. A whole new original setting can be really promising, however I dont feel yours is that strong. Its also very slow. You get 2-3 chapters waiting for the characters to gather...then tylor gets attacked randomly out of no where by a monster that doesnt fit in worm setting very well. It turns me off a bit from the fiction. You have all these new OCs, some of who i like, in fact most are done well except for these really strong impossible to fight super powerful villians that appear for short periods to attack and then disappear. I feel like your tail is wandering, slowly, without telling me enough to keep me interested.
Taylor has a different feel in both fics. In this one she is way too happy compared to worm. Alot of what made her character in worm though was a slow battle with different foes she "shouldnt" have beated, followed by more fights mixed with some ptsd and continuing trama. She went from a loner girl who wanted to be a hero into khephri. This fics taylor is similar to how Taylor was originally that i can kinda see her becoming like this. In SoN she spends too much time reacting compared to worm, just waiting around. She was always attacking and pushing her enemies in worm. It gives a slight disconnect. That being said parts of chapters does capture her character i thought.
So...summery, this fic is more popular i think due to more action, and being a setting much closer to worm. The Taylor shone here isnt like the one in worm, but could be her with the different changes added. In SoN I think you missed part of Taylors character.