How do you know in which order to read stories in a universe?
The listing that comes up when you press the link is that the reading order as suggested by the author or does that list have some other sorting imposed on it by the SOL system.
How does this work in a shared universe like the swarm one.
The way I use is to sort the list by posting date.
For the Swarm Cycle stories, you definitely need to read "Average Joes" first. There are several authors who then started filling in. Duke of Ramus, Lordship Mayhem, Nuke Danger, and a few others before it basically exploded around the time I joined in.
Akarge is right, as the chronological order is how the author wrote it, and thus it's the way they planned for the story to play out. The story may jump forward or back, chronologically, yet if you read it in a purely chronological order, it likely won't make much sense, as it's read 'out of order' to how the story actually plays out.
The story may jump forward or back, chronologically, yet if you read it in a purely chronological order, it likely won't make much sense, as it's read 'out of order' to how the story actually plays out.
Personally, while the occasional flashback is fine, if a series is written with entire books published out of sequence to the story's internal chronology, I find that very annoying.
To the point that there are dead tree series that I stopped reading over it.
If done well (i.e. properly paired) flashbacks and flash-forwards can be incredibly effective, yet that's a rarely taught skill, and there are even fewer books describing how to do it. To treat it like someone entering a room, if they enter it, then they've got to exit to the same place (i.e. OUTSIDE of the room or building).
But, I agree, as generally, most of VERY poorly written.
If done well (i.e. properly paired) flashbacks and flash-forwards can be incredibly effective
I don't consider the "books in series published out of sequence to the story timeline" as qualifying as flashbacks or flash forwards.
The first stories in the Swarm Cycle were originally on a different site, so the date they were posted here is not the same as the dates they were first posted (unless Lazeez backdated them). When a single author copies work to SOL, they can add them in order, but in a multi-author universe, that is not guaranteed.
That said, the universe has its own wiki, which is worth checking for questions like this.
As an example, Uncle Jim's Magic Ink is sorted by posting date, with the three shorter stories Closing Time, Conrad and Leila in position 6, 7 and 8.
In story-line chronological order Closing Time is number 3 and Conrad is number 4. But Leila is number 9 after Amelia and Greg which is in position 12 as the last posted story.
At least with the Magic Ink universe, the stories are better read in life-line chronology not in posting order and not in calendarial order (because the protagonists get transferred in alternate worlds back in time, then return to their original world and time).
Anne McCaffrey's Pern books on the other hand should be read in publishing order. I tried to reread them after many years in Pern's chronological order, but that was a fiasco. Anne McCaffrey had positioned later works all over Pern's time-line but introduced persons, things and concepts never mentioned in the intervening earlier works.
HM.
I have been wondering about this myself.
All the posts so far are from a Reader's perspective.
I was hoping for some Authors to post about how it is possible to Organize their universe of stories on SoL.
I have created several documents for me to keep track of the numerous WiP (Works in Progress), as well as my few completed stories.
I have several different "universes" that share characters, locations, and events. I use a "bible" for each to keep track of numerous things to minimize "errors" between various stories.
I also use these documents to keep track of various things that are likely to effect a character, but not appear in any stories. I "sketch" a history of all the MC, that influences how they speak, their vocabulary, foods they may prefer, places they have been.
I sometimes write a story that I "insert" into a "universe" of stories.
I have been redoing stories that I didn't intend to post, some written many years ago. Often I have changed the dates, which also requires I change technology, such as computers, or replacing flip phones with smart phones, or types of vehicles. Etc.
I have thought about posting a guide to each universe. To be clear, I haven't yet posted enough stories to create a universe. But I have a lot of stories that are getting "close" as in sometime in 2025, to getting posted. Of course I thought I was going to post several before February...
Anyway, I am interested in suggestions about how to make readers aware of the order that some of the stories "should" be read. Of course, most of the stories could be read, and few "require knowing" the order in relation to other stories.
I am interested in suggestions about how to make readers aware of the order that some of the stories "should" be read.
You should probably ask the webmaster.
I've checked universes and series of some authors, some are alphabetically sorted, some by posting date.
Ernest Bywater's "Life in the Suburbs" universe is neither alphabetically nor by posting date sorted.
IIRC, years ago the lists were always sorted alphabetically,
causing Ernest Bywater to force the sorting of his Clan Amir stories by changing the titles to "1 - Clan Amir: A Fighting Heritage", "2 - Clan Amir: Falcon Chick", "3 - Clan Amir: Falcon Fledgling", "4 - Clan Amir: The Day of Blood", ...
Looking at oyster50's "Smart Girls" universe, its mostly sorted by posting date with some exceptions. One of the exceptions is "Neighbors": its posting year is 2011 and it's in position 16 between two 2018 stories and after its sequels "Bill 'N' Haley" and "Bill and Haley and Deena".
But: "Neighbors" was originally a stand alone story with no connection to the Smart Girls. This connection was first made in its sequel "Bill 'N' Haley". Oyster50 eventually moved "Neighbors" into the "Smart Girls" universe where "Bill 'N' Haley" and its sequel "Bill and Haley and Deena" were already.
Knowing this chain of events, the probability is high that the stories in a universe are neither sorted alphabetically nor by posting date; they show-up in the order they are added to the universe!
HM.
Knowing this chain of events, the probability is high that the stories in a universe are neither sorted alphabetically nor by posting date; they show-up in the order they are added to the universe!
Thank you for that information.
Hopefully, I might be able to sort stories I post to a universe, later.
If not, I could post stories, then add them to a Universe later.
If there is a definite order to all the stories, it may be better to make them a "series." A "universe" does not generally have as much order.