Two things to announce:
1) Postings of Webs We Weave will become more infrequent. They'll get done when they get done.
2) Once Webs We Weave is finished, I won't be posting any more chapters or books in the Starforged Sagas unless there is vested interest.
I'm not going to sit here and bust my ass every week to pump out 4,000+ words per chapter--pouring my soul out--only to be greeted by falling viewership, no uptick in the Kudos, and barely any comments. My work isn't sissy fantasy shit. It's researched, painstakingly crafted, psychologically impactful material. It's disheartening to work this hard only to see something that feels low effort, doesn't have 1/4 the word count, and is basically a "retelling" of a 30-year-old movie get twice the views, three times the kudos, and three times the comments in less than 12 hours.
I do appreciate the audience that still follow the stories. I know all of you will read no matter when the chapter comes up. It's the observation that the interest at large is waning that is so disheartening.
Comments
Only speaking for myself
I've been enjoying your stories greatly but I've fallen behind a month's worth of postings or more due to some personal circumstances on my end. You have my thanks for everything you've chosen to share, however belated it may be.
Life is weird.
I do hope that those personal circumstances work themselves out in a positive way.
As I said on the discord...
Write for yourself. It's something a lot of authors from both BCTS and Fictionmania keep telling me.
What you write will not always connect with everyone. The last story I posted here is proof of that.
Different authors present their stories in different ways. Their styles are different. This directly relates to what you write and to whether it connects with everyone. What I may not enjoy will be enjoyed by someone else and maybe many others. And that is ok.
No sage advice; no pretense
I'll get right to the point and unashamedly beg. I'm guilty of reading and not commenting. I do leave a kudo, however. l'm deeply invested in reading "Webs We Weave" and am anxiously waiting for the continuation of "Chasing Horizons."
Please finish these two. I can understand your frustration with the seeming lack of interest in your work. I'm an author and have experienced the same phenomena when posting a series. That seems to be the way it is with series. But please finish what you've started for the sake of those of us who are actively following them.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
What was started...
I have every intention of finishing the projects and seeing my plans to the end. The frustration is with the schedule, not so much with the narrative. Writing a whole chapter and editing within a week is quite the undertaking.
Writing and editing a chapter in a week is quite an undertaking.
I get that. That's why I won't publish a story until I've finished the whole work. Even doing it like Emma Anne Tate does, with a 10-to-15-chapter buffer, is to daunting for me.
I have too many unfinished stories sitting on my hard drive, that I've gotten bogged down on, to chance posting any part of a story that's not finished.
I think taking a little extra time to get it right and going where you want it to is good; you wouldn't be the first author to post as chapters get finished rather on a weekly schedule. I'm actively following, "Fairy Blade." Each time a chapter is posted, it's like bonus read that day.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
The danger of writing fanfiction
I personally don't read them if I'm not familiar with the original work. I usually find that I lack the background information to make the story work. That applied to "webs" because the only name I recognized was spiderman and I really haven't followed the evolution of that character for fifty years. You did a very nice job with the superman/supergirl story and if you post another story with characters I find recognizable I'll happily read it.
Aca-scuse me?
The Starforged Sagas are not simply fanfiction. Yes, there are nerdy references to Marvel and DC properties, but that's just because I'm a nerd. Unlike fanfiction, you don't need to know who each character is to understand the story. Seeing as you're a Superman fan, you'll understand the name references and even pick up on the little details I put in Beacon of Hope. Kristen is not Clark or Kara or any other Kryptonian. She's a human with powers like them. Even their character flaws are different. Same with Saoirse: though there are references, she isn't Peter or Gwen or anyone else but Saoirse.
Fan fiction is taking an established character with the established background and putting your own spin on it. A derivative work is nodding to something, but creating an entirely different character, background, world, etc. My work is derivative, not fan fiction in the strictest sense.