Young Writers Society

I haven't participated in a Storybook yet although I look at the forum each day. My reasons for not participating are:

A. There haven't been any I have an interest in and I am not confident enough with the way it works on YWS to start my own. I want to join in a couple belonging to other people first.
B. The forum seems so quiet it didn't seem worth it.
C. When then has been something that's taken my interest there are requirements to write a lot of words each time you post. And if there aren't requirements then you can see how much others have written and it is just way too much pressure for me.

For me to join in, I'd like:

A. Storybooks with shorter posting e.g around 200/300 words.
B. Well I'm just shy and feel surrounded by posters who know each other really well. It would help maybe if YWS had a Storybook Festival with plenty of featured Storybooks started by staff. This would help people join in, learn the ropes, get to know each other... Maybe get the confidence up to join in the regular Storybooks. Maybe if YWS offered points for participating, like you do on Review Days then more people would try it out.
C. Maybe have a tag for the title of posts saying Newbies Welcome.

Basically I just find the system high pressure and uninviting for people who are either new to YWS, new to role play, or that prefer to write less. More isn't always better. Sometimes shorter posts are better quality.

Because Ita said so. And it was fun^^

- What can we do to make YWS' Storybook Experience better for you?
I'm not sure.

- What do you think are the main flaws or weaknesses that Storybook Writing on YWS has?
People don't really seem to very motivated to continue after a certain point, apart from those who are really dedicated. I also find that sometime a few people make the SB centred around their characters and block the others out (I am inadvertently guilty of that...)
Maybe try and make it more diverse, with different genres.

- What would you like to see happen to make it a more appealing option for writing?
Maybe find a way to get people more interested in them. Make a bit for fandom-SBs, since it's pretty specific.

- Finally, what are some ideas you have for the way Storybooks and handled on the site to improve the overall experience?
Maybe make a minimum limit on posts. Some of the posts I've seen are ridiculously short, with hardly any action or movement or change at all. Long posts are fun, even if they take longer to write (just go look at the Long Live the Living SB. We have some nice long posts there.)

In how many storybooks have you participated in the last six months?
six

How many of those storybooks were active for more than a month?
three

How many of those storybooks had more than 75 posts?
none

My favorite storybook I ever participated in was Long Live the Living run by AriaAdams and Alvarin.

Up to 5 Past or Present AMAZING Storybookers:
@AriaAdams
@Alvarin
@Animal
@Blackwood
@ChocoCookie
@crazycraz
@littleauthor
@LadyPurple
@megsug
@ShadowVyper
@sylverdawn
@VeerenVKS
@100xstupid
and the list goes on...
Who said that rules had to be respected

- What can we do to make YWS' Storybook Experience better for you?
Personally I appreciate the SB's the way they are. I really do wish though that there was a bit more holding people down to SB's. I mean, SB'ers are usually in multiple storybooks, for few of which do they have any inclination to keep going. SB's die to easily.
I don't know what will help . . . stiffer rules. Looser rules . . . More decoration. . . No idea.

- What do you think are the main flaws or weaknesses that Storybook Writing on YWS has?
People have no ties to SB's. They quit them too easily.

- Finally, what are some ideas you have for the way Storybooks and handled on the site to improve the overall experience?
I personally think it would be great if the SB's were more competitive. YWS reviews are great for this reason. If there was something on your profile like there is for review numbers, it would be very . . . good. Just a thought.

In how many storybooks have you participated in the last six months?
5 . . . 6?

How many of those storybooks were active for more than a month?
2.

How many of those storybooks had more than 75 posts?
1.

My favorite storybook I ever participated in was _____________ run by ___________
The Second Wonderland Rift, by Alvarin.

Up to 5 Past or Present AMAZING Storybookers:
AriaAdams
Shadowvyper
Aquestioning
Dante (Argh - LoyalHeart).
Alvarin

- What can we do to make YWS' Storybook Experience better for you?
I really like SBs and it makes me sad when nobody posts anymore after a while. I wish the SBs could stay alive and not die like they have been lately.

- What do you think are the main flaws or weaknesses that Storybook Writing on YWS has?
Inconsistency.

- Finally, what are some ideas you have for the way Storybooks and handled on the site to improve the overall experience?
Maybe a reward system? Special stars or points for completing a post that is a certain length so people don't take advantage of it.


A short survey.
Me gusta surveys.

In how many storybooks have you participated in the last six months?
I might be wrong but I probably have been in around 9-ish SBs.

How many of those storybooks were active for more than a month?
1 or 2.

How many of those storybooks had more than 75 posts?
I'm not sure. But not a lot of them.

My favorite storybook I ever participated in was Sky Ninjas Vs. Sky Pirates run by Rydia.

Up to 5 Past or Present AMAZING Storybookers:
1. @Aquestioning - yes you, Mark Ruiz Boston and other names of your characters!
2. @AriaAdams - I think I've only been in one SB with you. But it was awesome so you're here.
3. @Blackwood - YES! You are here!
4. @janika -Yes.
5. @CowLogic -You're here because you're funny.

I'm not a big storybooker, but I love the forum no less than any other, so here's to its revival!

What can we do to make YWS' Storybook Experience better for you?

See my answer to the third question.  And: Honestly, aside from what I say below, the only way to revive the storybooks is by a community effort. There are a few things here and there that can be done on the site to improve things, but mostly we just need to raise awareness and such.  :) So everyone: <3 the storybooks!!!!!

What do you think are the main flaws or weaknesses that Storybook Writing on YWS has?

As far as I can tell, one of the main problems is that there are lots of people who join storybooks without the ability/ will to really keep pace with them. As a result, each storybook is left with only a small portion of members that actually care about it.  They can try to keep it going, and sure, it might stay living for longer, but without enough characters active it's extremely difficult to keep the story up.  Except, I'm not sure how to solve this problem. I suppose starters just have to be more strict about not joining unless you have time, but that doesn't always work very well.  

I also now feel very guilty, being one of the few left with interest in my OWN storybook, to have let it sputter. But since I know there are still some people that will continue, though it only be like 2 other members, perhaps action on our parts will make the other members start working again.

Finally, what are some ideas you have for the way Storybooks and handled on the site to improve the overall experience?

I think one way to start the storybooks picking up speed again is to have links to them ALL over the site so that people will see them more and more.  More advertisement of the storybooks forum could help the activeness immensely, especially with all the new members we have recently.  And since there are so many new members, it would help to have more detailed FAQ and rules about commitment to be put up as well. Perhaps there are a lot of users out there who either haven't found the forum, or don't know how to use it properly, which might be why there is a lack of good activity lately. 

I'd like to see a genre format: SB's catogorized by what they are. Romance, fantasy, and action-adventure in their respective forums. I realize that, as a SB progresses, the genre can shift, but I think that mostly, they should be sorted out by their main emphases.

This is a great idea.  I totally agree with Eloquent.  This would help so much both with finding a storybook to participate in and getting each one more equally visible to possible members.  That way, you could find the kind of storybooks you'd be most likely to join much more easily. Also, it would make it harder for good storybooks to go unnoticed, as they so often do.  All around good. 

Survey:

In how many storybooks have you participated in the last six months?

2

How many of those storybooks were active for more than a month?

Both; the first ran for about two months. The second, my own, has run for 2 months so far, at least kind of, but it's been slowly sputtering. I will be making attempts to stop its death in as much as I can.

How many of those storybooks had more than 75 posts?

Neither.   :/

My favorite storybook I ever participated in was Camp Demi-God run by Sunshine. That was back in the thriving time of Storybooks, and also a popular one.  It's super fun when you can actually continue a story with lots of people!

Up to 5 Past or Present AMAZING Storybookers:

AriaAdams, Alvarin and many other awesome people who have already been mentioned a lot- YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.
And also, in my experience:
Aquestioning 
Redbird
yubbies21

And so many others.

<--- Sorry for sitcking my adorable. cartoon cow face in your line of vision again

But I would just like to say, that as a YWS noob, I didn't feel threatened by the SB forum. It was pretty chill and I liked easing into it. So in that spectrum, I'd have to disagree with everybody else. The only reason it took me a few seconds to start doing it was because I thought it wasn't cool. But then, eventually I realized it was cool. So bravo for winning my approval Storybooks.

Who wants to contend my personal experience???? Come at me!

I didn't do SBs as a new member because, well, I didn't know exactly what they were. I knew they were popular though...

Then when I found out, they didn't originally appeal to me because I found that the biggest posters were often "best-pals" with other SB posters, which excluded newcomers. There was also a lot of drama, and people kept using the same characters and story scenarios. They quality of the writing was bad as well. I thought it was a waste of time.

Now, it seems we're seeing the same things kill the forum, hmmm....

Maybe it's the people, and not the forum, that need to change. I'm not black-naming anyone, just please, try and be more understanding and considerate of the less experienced of us.

Try and be more creative in your approach to writing in the SBs as well.

Revolution and revival starts with the people, after all

Oo, oo, oo, oo! I forgot — an automatic link from each SB to its DT and vice versa would be amazing It would make navigation easier and quicker, as well as encouraging DT discussions.

Automatic? How so...

That's what I was wondering, because from what I've seen, People have already started doing that....

Same here.

I think she meant a little button on the side of any given page of the thread that can take you directly to the SB. You guys are thinking of when they put a link to the DT in the first post. I honestly don't care, it's just one extra thing to click.

- What can we do to make YWS' Storybook Experience better for you?
I just wish people wouldn't quit in the middle of a storybook, and that storybooks got more publicity so that people could know a wonderful one came into existence that they'd love.
- What do you think are the main flaws or weaknesses that Storybook Writing on YWS has?
People. It's annoying when people just give up.
- Finally, what are some ideas you have for the way Storybooks and handled on the site to improve the overall experience?
I really just don't know. As many other people have said before me, it's mainly a commitment issue, and there's no way to make people continue. If you did, that'd negate the purpose of this forum anyway. Maybe just make rewards for commitment? People could get gifts if they stuck with a storybook until the end? It drives me crazy when I'm the only one trying to keep a storybook alive.
In how many storybooks have you participated in the last six months?
Ten or twelve. I haven't even been here for six months, though
How many of those storybooks were active for more than a month?
Two or three.
How many of those storybooks had more than 75 posts?
Same.
My favorite storybook I ever participated in was The Monstrumologists run by Redbird. It's still going on, but I feel it's one of the few storybooks I've been in that's actually going to finish. And it's fun It's a small storybook with nine people; I've noticed the larger ones like Sky Ningas and Pirates seem to die sooner, and the ones with more rules.
Up to 5 Past or Present AMAZING Storybookers:I can't pick just five!

CowLogic got it right It wastes time if you have to go to the first page of your SB every time you want to visit the DT.

Not much time though... and I know some SB's out there don't even have a DT!

Besides that, now we have the ease of simply checking our notifications...