Thread 24825158

Please Stop Stubbing Edition

Stubbed >>24821456

>What is /wng/ — Web Novel General?
A general for readers and authors involved or interested in the growing phenomenon of 'web novels', serialized English fiction posted to websites such as: Royal Road, Webnovel, Scribblehub, Wattpad, Archive of Our Own, Spacebattles, HFY, various personal author websites, and more

>Why read web novels?
Not for prose or tight editing or deep themes, frankly. As a whole, web novels are infamous for content sprawl and pacing issues. If you enjoy having millions of words to sink your teeth into to get to know the world and characters, though, you may be interested. Keeping up with other readers on a weekly basis to discuss the story's events unfolding is another perk, in the same way discussing an ongoing TV show might be.

>Why write web novels?
Ease of access & potential for Patreon earnings. Many successful authors gain an audience on their website of choice and funnel their readers into a Patreon. See graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators/writing for an idea of what some are earning.
Also, once an author has earned a fanbase, transitioning into an Amazon self-publishing career is several orders of magnitude easier than starting 'dry'.

>/wng/ authors.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSNZali-jIk2MASsAWVf8N7A8BlSyzPbAFV_BhsA5Ip3SWfMPWKxaXf8Pdb7f0TgFyWis31BzirtPeR/pubhtml


>Advice for Noobs!

##READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP##

Running your story like the business it is:
www.royalroad.com/forums/thread/116847

On writing web serials:
alexanderwales.com/how-to-write-a-web-serial/

Sanderson's Writing Lectures 2025:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEUh_y1IFZY&list=PLSH_xM-KC3ZvzkfVo_Dls0B5GiE2oMcLY

Recommended web novels
rentry.co/d2yvczro

Anon's guide to success
rentry.co/RRBasicGuide

FAQ
rentry.co/pytefpxn

>>>24825161
>captcha: TG00K lmao
actually a generational roll

I'm surprised people take the cultivation / wuxia stuff seriously. Not hating just don't get the appeal.

>>24825182
I totally see the appeal. Cradle was lots of fun. I just can't stand eastern translationslop prose

>>24825188
Cradle got me through the door too

>>24825182
When I first started getting into the main appeal was how different everything was. I was rather captivated by renegade immortal back when that was getting translated. I never did finish it, but those 800ish chapters I did read felt quite special at the time.

>>24825180
Like holy fuck look at this. It's worse than a high school author's attempt at creative writing. It's so painfully bad, and I actively try to like this slop.
How do braindamaged easternsloppers do it? How do you read this shit?

>>24825194
figure it out yourself /wg/ bro

>>24825196
i am not a /wg/ bro lol

>>24825198
sure lol

>>24825202
quiz me however you want, ignoring the easternslop sphere lmfao
there really is a divide between people who can deal with translated prose and not. I've read some serious western slop before but translation is where my tolerance ends.
i honestly wish i had your braindamage, there are apparently lots of good xianxiaslop stories out there

>>24825205
done with your melty /wg/ friend?

>>24825207
>quiz me however you want
>doesn't
okay RI fag you're really sensitive about this aren't you?

>>24825194
you need to first desensitize yourself to shitty translations and poor grammar by spending your youth reading half mtl'd fan translations of japanese webnovels. then you will truly be posed to accept the kino of cultivation

The problem with writing xianxia is that the readers are 3rd worlders and, in the edge case, low iq westerners. Which means that there's literally zero money to be made. Both are poor. That's why the big western stories, despite way smaller audiences by number, make way more money.

>>24825182
Why would people not take it seriously? It's just fantasy, it's more surprising people take RR slop and and japanese/western isekai novels seriously.

>>24825194
How do you read western webnovels?

>>24825241
Isn't Sky Pride doing quite well?

>>24825253
BoC too and FoD

>>24825251
>How do you read western webnovels?
Middling EFL prose is about 100x better than translation prose

>>24825254
>FoD
lumping in Forge with SP and BOC is kinda funny. you really needed a second example

>>24825254
>FoD
Which one is this again?

>>24825260
Not really, I just listed the first two I thought of
Ave Remi Xia or whatever is also a success but the name doesn't exactly stick in the mind does it?

>>24825261
Forge of Destiny.
Female protag does music cultivation makes friends with a spider or snake clan girl. Lots of focus on politics vs just killing everyone.

>>24825241
I like unseen cultivator quite a bit, it's an interesting take on the usual cultivation setting.

>>24825263
FOD is doing """"well"""" I guess. but in the context of this conversation is really isn't. It's probably the #150 performer, if that.
xianxia does not do well monetarily. exceptions exist but they are exceptions.

english speaking readers (the moneybags) really do not like xianxia

>>24825194
>and I actively try to like this slop.

>>24825241
The usual premise of western webnovel is some love story hero simp/goon bullshit. Even if some highly regarded western author writes it, it's still a shitty novel despite perfect English prose and professional editing (most webnovels is just slop on rr, with neither good prose not editing)

>>24825279
It's gotten resold for publication. I think once you've made it to that point you're a meaningful success.

>>24825280
See, this is the actual /wg/ fag

>>24825209
It's just No True Scotsman because in his mind, all of /wng/ must be fans of Wang Yawn. What's your favorite wn that isn't one of the bigger ones?

>>24825256
If there is no substance, no real depth to the story then good prose is irrelevant (most western webnovels are like that)

>>24825283
i didn't say xianxia couldn't find basic success, retard. reread the reply chain and rub as many brain cells together as possible, then reply to the actual topic at hand
xianxia readers. fuck me, man

>>24825290
i agree. story is what matters. however, the prose needs to be better than what a 5th grader can put out. it's a fundamental filter to most readers.

>>24825292
you said "there's literally zero money to be made" you stupid cunt

>>24825288
Nta but My longevity simulation is very good.

>>24825288
Give me a limit on what "bigger ones" means and I will answer
Most shit that is truly small is kinda awful though.

>>24825279
It took decades of exposure to Japanese culture, while Americans were actively occupying them and rotating servicemen in and out for decades (continuing to today) for Japanese pop-media to gain a foothold in the west.

China, and especially Chinese culture, has been a LOT more closed off to the West. You had the century of humiliation, the war period when they were occupied by imperial Japan, and then the rise of the CCP (which is largely anti-chinese folklore and culture), and it's only in, what, the last few decades that the CCP has loosened restrictions enough for culture to flourish again?

Granted the internet is accelerating things a lot but ten years xianxia as a literary genre was a teeny tiny niche, and twenty years ago it was effectively unknown. Twenty years ago was 2005.

So it's not that the west doesn't like xianxia, it's that 99% of readers have never even heard of xianxia, at all. We truly are on the cutting edge of literature here on 4chan.org/lit/.

>>24825296
eastern-prose reader confronts an english hyperbole for the first time, ignores all context
you are so cute

>>24825295
I guess that disqualified 98% of novels on royal road

>>24825307
Yes. Agreed.
Obviously most AI generated and first time stories suck fucking ass. Gee whiz that's such a shocker

>>24825305
It's not hyperbole when you outright made a claim of no successes lol.
You're goalpost shifting because you made a post based on how you feel rather than what's true and are now trying to keep going.

You do this almost every day in here. The moment someone points out you're wrong about "a majority of X" or "none of Y" you keep trying to redefine down to more and more specific arguments until something fits your assumption.

>>24825301
TWI, DCC, HWFWM. That level is the cutoff.

The crazy thing is I really, truthfully am not trolling for responses, I'm making common sense (to me) replies that get endless >>'s
I really despise you guys btw. Spoken as someone who really does read this shit

>>24825312
>FOD is doing """"well"""" I guess.
>but in the context of this conversation is really isn't
>It's probably the #150 performer
>exceptions exist but they are exceptions.
>exceptions exist but they are exceptions.
>exceptions exist but they are exceptions.
Wow, it's almost like I say that some xianxia stories do perform at a high level. And that FOD does okay but it really isn't worth mentioning and there's a hundred stories earning more, easily

>WOW YOU'RE JUST NO TRUE SCOTSMAN AND MOVING GOALPOSTS
I really fucking am not, you are just truly, genuinely retarded and cannot understand simple english.

Be honest anon. Are you ESL?

>>24825312
Anon he's trolling and you're on the hook.

>>24825309
Then why are people posting and promoting those stories here on /wng/ ?

>>24825281
>>24825241
This is like 99% of eastern webslop too.
Story just made up as they go along.
Random timeskips for no reason to go up in power by a fraction of what they achieve later in the story with no timeskips.
Harem but they don't know when to stop and keep adding more and more girls without even fleshing out the original ones.
Regression revenge story and the MC finally gets their revenge but they fucked 1 thing up and have to go all the way back to the beginning.
MC starts the story as genderbent but then lives as a lesbian anyway, a western novel would just write a story about a lesbian but then that would be totally lgbt or something right?
Random ideas and subplots introduced that are never mentioned again. Long winded exposition dumps of worldbuilding that never even comes up in the plot
This is just the Korean and Japanese ones.

Why is everyone being a passive aggressive soifaggot today? You ladies on your periods?

>>24825322
What are you talking about?

>>24825322
The 98% I disqualified were the 98% trash stories that nobody knows about.
If you mean 98% of commonly talked about RR stories, then I disagree
(I'm responding to the actual /wg/ fag, I suspect)

>>24825328
You are. Did you notice his ambiguous statement that doesn't actually take any definable stance, yet is stated in an inflammatory way as though he's seeking to upset people?

xianxia will only become kino when a writer localizes it in terms of /pol/.

>>24825334
I bet you're conflating people rn btw. I'm the main anon getting tons of responses, flaming xianxia
Once again, xianxia readers failing basic literacy tests

>>24825328
I meant the novels commonly mentioned here.

>>24825334
What are you even on about?

>>24825345
>I meant the novels commonly mentioned here.
Yeah, I don't agree. I think the popular RR stories are half good and half bad. I am not on your side, /wg/ fag.

I just think eastern slop is trash.

But... /wng/ doesn't hardly ever mention any webnovels during our threads...

I finally did it. I started writing my first 1500 words. Nothing is gonna stop me now.

Reminder to subscribe to Max Level Archmage's Patreon

>>24825347
Japanese novels are trash, not sure about Korean novels (probably trash), and in fact most Chinese novels are trash but not RI (and few others). I am not /wg/ btw

Western webnovels are all trash. I haven't discovered a single webnovel that wasn't trash. Some started out strong and turned into trash later on, most were trash from chapter 1.

>>24825375
Nobody asked your opinion RI spammer. Anything you endorse is automatically poisoned

>>24825372
>female lead
>isekai
>drama
>slice of life
No thanks

>>24825382
remove the isekai and that's my dream story
any recs?

Wait didn't the statisticsfag show up roughly the same time as the RI spammer? Is it the same guy?

would my western WN get banned if it had an arc where the MC goes schizo, enslaves an entire people, then proceeds to work them to death in building grand projects such as canals, giant border walls, pyramids, etc. in order to punish them for being massive pains in his ass?

>>24825369
That's awesome anon, keep it up!
I forced myself to meet my average from a few weeks ago today after I had a bit of a fall off. We're all gonna make it.

>>24825382
Picrel

>>24825385
Depends on what you mean by slice of life. Some people want to read about actual daily life with no overarching narrative, other people just mean "slow paced fantasy that meanders towards a conclusion."

Any Japanese fiction with "slow life" in the title might be what you're looking for but be aware they may sneak a larger narrative in there at some point.

>>24825396
Fined by the ADL

>>24825398
>Depends on what you mean by slice of life. Some people want to read about actual daily life with no overarching narrative, other people just mean "slow paced fantasy that meanders towards a conclusion."
>Any Japanese fiction with "slow life" in the title might be what you're looking for but be aware they may sneak a larger narrative in there at some point.
If you rec, anon, I will read it. Give me peak

>>24825377
RI every single chapter is peak, there is strong premise, literally the best mc in existence, excellent plot and story. Not a single western webnovel can compete with RI. It makes western authors seethe (and not just them, even chinese authors seethe). For various reasons western authors are incapable of writing such quality work.

>>24825405
lol

>>24825398
Can you explain the meaning of that picture?

>>24825405
you were literally mindbroken earlier and gave up responding despite being called out
how can you possibly respond now

>>24825412
Which post?

>>24825158 (OP)
Post your slop, and I will read the first chapter. I might even rate it on RR.

>>24825413
you can't even read now?

anons what should i do if the world the mc of my wn got isekai’d to ended up just being Eärwa

>>24825416
I can, but I am still not sure which post you are referring to.

>>24825424
>I can read, but I can't understand the words
really setting a new standard here RI fag

>>24825404
Isekai, drama, slice of life, male mc? That's actually fairly restrictive. The closest I can think of off the top of my head is Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! It's a little light on drama, but there is some present.

A fair number are not isekai, they're native fantasy. A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch is male MC, but all the characters are native.

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ is drama, slice of life, male mc, but it's not only not isekai, it's not even fantasy. I suppose it's a regression story, where a guy goes back in time and relives high school but less retarded. I actually like that one a lot.

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life is MMO, so not really isekai, and it's VERY light on drama, but heavy on MMO slice of life. Not to everyone's taste but enjoyable enough.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill is probably the closest to what you're looking for, but I got tired after about ten volumes and fell off, though I mean to get back into it. S2 of the anime is currently airing. But again, very low on drama.

All these recommendations are from J-Novel Club, which are licensed and translated Light Novels that generally were based on webnovels from narou before they were picked up for professional editing and publication.

I tend not to read slice of life on RR, and the one I do is FeMC native-fantasy, and even then it's low drama and not even really slice of life, since there's clearly a narrative that's being built up, just very very slowly. (Taste of Magic: General's Echo [Cozy (yet Dark) LitRPG])

>>24825423
>mc did not get transmigrated
>he got "isekai'd"
Throw your novel into trash.

>>24825432
Bro I asked for fmc, remove the isekai

>>24825411
When people say they don't read FeMC near me, it feels like they're stabbing me with knives, like in the picture.

>>24825428
Don't just continue this pointless back and forth convesation. Specify the post and I will address it.

>>24825438
No, because you know what I'm talking about, and if you don't, you are an insect only worth baiting

>>24825436
Oh I am sorry I said that (near you), anon. I didn't realize it might hurt your feelings.

Okay but we've all subscribed to Max Level Archmage's Patreon by now, right?
What'd you think of the most recent Patreon chapter?

>>24825435
Oh fuck lmao, the caffeine's wearing off.

Uhhh, Spice & Wolf if you don't mind Lawrence as a co-lead, Haruhi Suzumiya series, Sorcerer's Guild Receptionist (really good), anything by FUNA even though it's isekai, it's really good, Modern Villainess: It's not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash (this is 10/10), The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (also 10/10), Apothecary Diaries, A Tale of the Secret Saint.

These are also all licensed and professionally translated. Dahlia In Bloom deserves special mention even though it's isekai, it's a very minor part of the plot and I think it's worth overlooking.

If you're not used to finding Japanese LNs, check
nyaa
.
si

>>24825433
are you upset because i used a japanese term or because you despise any eastern influence in general?

>>24825441
It's okay anon, I get to post the picture when that happens which makes me laugh and I feel better.

>>24825446
I can't afford to subscribe until my own patreon covers my $150/month energy drink habit.
Almost there! Maybe by December I'll be making enough if my writathon novel hits RS.

>>24825452
why'd you delete Glass Cannon?

>>24825448
I despise this particular japanese trope, and other manga/anime tropes that found their way into (web)literature

>>24825446
unsubbed. tell that dork to release the saturday chapters we were promised.

>>24825460
fuck man i'm busy okay. it was supposed to be a for fun project but then i started taking it more seriously and the chapters take longer and longer. plus i have editor notes I have to work through and all the peripheral stuff takes more time than you think, like narrator and artist coordination and so on

>>24825455
Not me, but damn that made me sad. I'm going to start archiving anon's work I want to read but not right now. Glass Cannon was really interesting as a premise and I liked the MC.

No, I'm the paranoid schizo who refuses to name her work lest it be associated with 4chan and thereby tainted forevermore.

>>24825465
It's okay MagicRhythm, you just go at your own pace.

>>24825390
We're both from /sffg/, but no, we're not the same.

>>24825469
>her
That already really narrows it down.

>>24825465
you'll never see my $10 again; this is the price of your hubris
>artist coordination
if this leads to Saffra art in some way I will take it back

>>24825402
They didn't do any of that. The builders were farmers that worked in the offseason. Slaves have pretty much never been used for skilled labor anywhere until ww2.

>>24825486
>if this leads to Saffra art in some way I will take it back
I really should. Finding artists is hard though
Just reference the ad for a general idea

>>24825469
>I'm going to start archiving anon's work I want to read but not right now.
with the fanficfare plugin in calibre it takes two clicks to download a RR story as epub.

Are there any blatant or obviously AI written stories in Rising Stars or other top categories? I want to look at them.

>>24825496
i can't remember the name but there was a big success literally tagged as AI recently. some soldier story with tiny chapters. really depressed me

>>24825494
I use WebToEpub and coincidentally it's the same number of clicks.

>>24825496
pic reached #2 rising stars a month ago

>>24825502
well then I don't know what you're waiting for

>>24825465
i’m starting to suspect that the obscurecanto shitposts aren’t actually shitposts

>>24825520
but you'll never actually know for sure ;)

>>24825516
I was being lazy and didn't think Glass Cannon would edge me like this ;_;

>>24825482
wait, but most writers are women. is this thread different

>>24825555
Let's assume that you aren't joking and that you realize where you are.
Look at the author tab/sheet of the spreadsheet in the OP.

It's kind of tough getting people to read a fiction without spoiling it for them at the same time.

>>24825505
Is this the sameo one as >>24825128 ?

>>24825607
Why is she twelve feet tall

>>24825608
that review is on
>The Gamble King [A Mage, Time-loop, Isekai litRPG] which is currently #9 RS
also #10 is a challenger to magicrhythm
when are we getting max level bard

>>24825610
She ate her vegetables.

whats the best FREE AI image generation site for covers at the moment

>>24825622
don't do AI cover, literally drawing a stick figure is better

The small paladin post from the previous thread is now the highlight of my writing career: >>24823175

We're all gonna make it!

>>24825627
I'm not even good enough for that...

>>24825634
then do something extremely minimalistic

>>24825650
Something you might also try is brushing (I don't know the exact term). You start with the largest brushes to get the outline, and then use smaller brushes to add details to make it less blurry.

>>24825634
>>24825627
Do use an AI cover, but not like this: >>24825622

If you use a website you typically end up with crap because you don't really get the process nor can you tweak things. If you have a GPU with at least 6-8 GB of VRAM I suggest hitting up the /g/ or /b/ threads about local image gen and learning.

But if you really need a website then civitai likely offers the closest alternative to learning to use these tools. I'm unsure if you can make a good cover with that though.

Pic related, something I gen'd a long time ago

>>24825666
A good example that AI can't generate good taste, satan

>>24825666
>Pic related, something I gen'd a long time ago
And it still looks bad.
Hand positions are awkward, and where is the light supposed to come from?

>>24825158 (OP)
>make it to Best Rated on RR
>hardly earning anything on Patreon
why?

>>24825690
Could be because there's a small amount of people that really like it but it lacks RR mainstream appeal so low conversions.
Could also be a (much less extreme) case similar to Cat Bodega or whatever it's called where they get a lot of follows/reviews from networking but not as many conversions as all the RR activity would suggest it should have.
Could be people counter-signalling against RR mainstream by supporting this kind of story even though it's still not something they would like personally
Could be all of the above

>>24825690
You've stubbed and your RR page is basically just an amazon ad with a small synopsis that says very little about the story. What incentive does anyone have to subscribe to your patreon?

>>24825709
>it lacks RR mainstream appeal
explain?
>>24825734
this makes more sense. first chapter got published 7 years ago, and last 3 years ago, so it makes sense that the fiction page and the patreon attached to it are dead

Realistically speaking, why wouldn't you read/write FeMC? It's like playing videogames; would you rather spend your day staring at man-ass?

>>24825709
All of Bodega Cat's reviews say it starts interesting and neatly written, but it devolves into intelligibility. So i assume the problem is author being ESL and/or dependent of AI generating content for him.

>>24825798
Personally I don't really care and read both (as long as characters aren't annoying snarkbags) but "staring the at man-ass" argument really doesn't work for web novels imo.
The "I just like cute/sexy" one flies better I think

>>24825798
I'm not trans.

>>24825798
I don't mind femMC stories but I am missing true girl gamer thinking (for litrpgs).
Where are the women that want to magic their tits to double Ds?
Where are the women that pick fashion over stats?
Where are the women that find silver-fox male NPCs hot ?

>>24825798
I don't read them because they're usually repulsive when done by others, but I write them myself so that I could get feMCs that aren't repulsive.

>>24825666
Since we’re on the topic, is this good enough for RR or should I at least pay someone to fix the hands

>>24825821
her hands look mostly okay. dont pay until you've tried getting it doctored on /wsr. The image looks great overall. Good luck!

>>24825812
Ah yes, the 1-dimensional woman archetype

>>24825842
I'll take it as opposed to "gamer , but has tits"
I mean , where is the female Jason Asano ?

>>24825853
"Gamer girl isekai"

>>24825866
How is that NOT "gamer but has tits"?

>>24825798
In a video game I control the character, in a novel I don't. FeMC means a passive protagonist that lets the story happen to them rather than the other way around. It means that there's no real romance/relationship either (or if there is, I probably don't want to read it).

FeMCs are also uncontroversial. They will never go against whatever is in vogue in modern day politics. This results in FeMCs being basically interchangeable in terms of personality and how they act.

The only exception is if the feMC is a victim, but that goes even harder against the proactiveness, so I don't want to read that.

tl;dr feMCs are usually boring

>>24825821
Fix them yourself. Content aware fill and drawing over the outlines makes it pretty easy.

>>24825821
What you people should consider above all is that most people will see the cover only as a tinyass thumbnail on the side of their window. No one can see the fucking hands and fingers. The much bigger issue is that the image is just a drab, blue-gray mess from a distance, and you can barely tell what's in it. Your eye will skip over a bland mess like this without even being conscious of it. It signals nothing about the story and doesn't invite to click on it.

>>24825798
I haven't read much but most of the time FeMCs are just a dude but with tits and pussy down to their attraction to woman. So i doesn't really change much

>>24825908
nta but ai also fixes this in like 5 seconds

>>24825918
much better!

Okay I'm starting to wonder now.
Is being decent at photoshop enough to give your story a boost vs all these ai covers that are competent but not necessarily well composed?

>>24825908
Does this have the same problem ? I already slotted both into RS with inspect, and don’t really see what they’re failing to convey compared to that. Maybe I’ll just make the lady take up more of picture? It’s pretty hard for me tell how improve when I’m already so bias in favor of whatever I’m deciding

>>24825923
>AI is le bad!
Readers couldnt care less about how it gets done, just do it, you dunce.

How do I imagine a nerdy female character WITHOUT glasses?

>>24825929
Read the actual post before you reply you idiot.
It's not about them just being AI it's about none of the ai images being done to intentionally draw the eye.
Look at how muddy and evenly-focused these are before a dark outlined title is even slapped over them.

>>24825918
Clear improvement, though I think it could still do better. The dark doll jut melts into the dark dress and the chair swallows the figure.
>>24825927
Yes. Come on. You only see the moon and those snotclumps clearly, while the character who should be the most important element is an unidentifiable shadow of a nigger.

>>24825936
I'm not an idiot. I understood what you said, and my point is, you can make a terrible or amazing cover regardless of the method you use, be it AI or human stylization.

>Can You Conquer the World With Martial Arts returns after a 2 month hiatus
>ends 10 chapters later
Kind of a shame but after looking at its patreon I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

At least the ending was pretty good.

>>24825941
Ah ok. I understand what everyone meant with the first comment now. This is like a ten minute fix on photoshop taking out the blue from femMc, brightening the picture, and blurring out the background. Thanks anons. Here’s a bonus cover for all your troubles

>>24825927
Just look at Max Level Archmage for anything related to success. At least the original cover. The thumbnail is the most important part. AI or not, it is immediately striking; bright, contrasting colors. Bored face unironically gives it immediate personality, and makes it relatable. Simple, without complicated detail in the background, especially not if it steals protagonism. Action poses look tacky and generic. Don't make it overly 'sexual', like excessive cleavage or a very beautiful girl (that isn't stylized); many readers will avoid it because they don't want to see themselves reading that, something that screams 'for your male viewing pleasure'.

Your cover isn't inherently bad here, but the only contrast is the eyes (which you can't see from the thumbnail unless you make her bigger), and the ugly blobs in the back, which is not what you want the readers immediately looking at. It's too dark, but the black dress and hair would work well if the skin was brighter, or the background instead.

>>24825973
forgot image.
>>24825972
Also notice how she's looking at you. Makes it more personal somehow.

>>24825972
Now it looks like a book cover, congratulations.

>>24825182
It's like, imagine if self-improvement was spherical and easy. Just sit there daydreaming about being better at everything than everyone and blowing them all up with magic lasers, and after a few hours, *ding* you got yourself a brand new elixir furnace golden core and you're magically better at everything and now all those Stacies who didn't offer you a blowie on sight will know fear as you fly down from the sky and sword them into piles of meat and gu. The ultimate incel neet fantasy. It fucking rocks. Why'm I gonna waste time reading literature and doing pushups and cooking nutritious meals and bathing practicing my yoga and karate moves and taking fencing lessons and socializing in low-pressure environments and attending bible study and volunteering at a soup kitchen and budgeting my expenses and gong to bed on time so I can get to work on time rested enough to do a good job and maybe earn a promotion, all just to become a better and more well-rounded person, when clearly maladaptive daydreaming is the meta, wth some expensive exotc drugs thrown in as accelerants, ideally. It's the ideal propaganda for an authortarian state, that's why the CCP funds it and why Disney's getting ready to pivot to it as soon as the next Starwar flops, and eventually all other genres will be declared pornographic and be outlawed, and y'all'll wsh you'd said damn the TOS and just written the smut you really wanted to write anyway.
Anyway, I enjoy some light cultivation in my fic, just like I enjoy some light litrpg, some light smut, and some light action. Get bogged down in genre conventions to the point you mistake them mfor plot, though, and all you get is boring.

>>24825981
Are you the Scoundrel writer?

>>24825981
You're literally describing typical MC vs typical young master.

>>24825631
It's really fucking good, I read it, I see it in my brainmind, including details that aren't in the description, because you didn't waste both our time insulting my imagination with long-winded descriptions of your vision. You delivered the broad strokes and let my mind fill in the details, and kept the pace tight, allowing the prose to land as swiftly and smoothly as the action it describes. Love it.

>>24825666
It looks fine from a pure art perspective but for cover art meant to advertise your book on RR it's just too detailed and loses definition the moment it's not full screen. I feel like most people should stick to something stylized instead of realistic unless you're willing to zoom the picture in really far.

>>24825994
No, still in the brainstorming phase of my slop. But if scoundrel is written in a voice as manic and paranoid as mine, I'll gladly give it a try.

>>24825955
>ending was pretty good
did it answer the question in the title? was the world conquered with martial arts?

>>24826016
No I mean the writer seems very concerned with self-improvement. Which is fine I guess though I find it kind of weird he then made the MC transmigrate into a tall handsome guy and all he had to do was get a hair cut and dye it back to black and not bully people. Oh and hes a natural born fighter with great instincts.
Still enjoyed the story despite the constant cooking chapters and the anime-ish stuff like forehead flicking and eyes "crescenting into moons". Though I might drop it in the future if it drags on further without getting into more serious stuff with the step-mother/step-brother threat.

>>24826032
It did. You can.

>I don't want to learn Chinese
>I don't want to read a translation
>S-SAVE ME CHAT GPT!!!
kekaroo

One of the things that's great about Reverend Insanity is that the other characters aren't just retards that are only there for the MC to defeat. They act rationally, they have their own plans and schemes, and in many cases they actually overcome Fang Yuan despite his advantages.

Too often in webnovels, things only seem to exist as far they relate to the main character.

Monthly reminder that raising a gu is like raising a mistress.

>>24826096
>t. giant sun immortal venerable

>>24826089
No

>>24826089
He was stronger and had a better plan. Sadly, he was beaten by tricky advertising from the MC.

does anyone knows, links to patreon allowed on webnovel website? I plan to release some free chapters and sell rest via patreon subs

>>24826120
saar do not redeem

>release 30 chapters on webnovel
>release another 20 on patreon/gated behind paywall
>thereafter release 2 chapters a week
is this a good game plan or not

Barely related because it's for a fanfic, but is Amino any good for promoting stuff?

>>24826141
maybe

>>24826141
Release just over a month's worth. That way if someone wants to keep reading they at least have to sub every other month.
If you release 2 months worth they can do a month on and 2 off.
Also waiting 2 months for free chapters to catch up if they were ahead but had to stop subbing probably means they just drop it.

What's the appeal of the webnovel website? I've only entered briefly and it seems like all the content there is utter shit, even compared to RR

>>24826159
Huge community.
Without contract, you can upload your novel on all websites that can bring subscribers.

>>24826161
But given the quality of the content, I can only assume it's entirely made up of third worlders

>>24826159
Has some books that aren't elsewhere. Is the most obvious way to get paid for authors.

Does feel like a misstep to use it though.
Only thing from there I actually read is The Hitting Zone and that would do so well in a royalroad/patreon scenario instead it's making £30 on patreon plus whatever webnovel pays.
I think it's only on there because it's 6 years old, that probably seemed like the sensible move at the time.

>>24826169
Oh, so webnovel pays its writers with ad revenue, then?

>>24826179
You have to pay to unlock chapters on it unless they've changed business plans recently

>>24826153
I'll aim for 40 chapters on release, then 10 paywalled.

Do anons keep a buffer of already written chapters before they release? Like the next 10 chapters are already written, and you just write ch11 before releasing ch1.

>>24826099
Although many have low opinion of Spectral Soul, I actually like him.

>>24826203
yes that's called having a backlog
rawdogging chapters is a bad idea

does well-written smut even exist? or is it an oxymoron?

every so often people come into these threads like they invented the wheel while cars are zipping past

>>24826215
If you have to ask then don't bother writing one.

>>24826220
>>24826224
someone's cranky

>>24826220
>always the exact same dumb question
>always a complete newfag tourist
>always the exact same spoonfeeding responses
>never posts again, only for the loop to resume from the beginning

>>24826215
Kushiel's Dart is good but the prose is pretty purple.

>>24826228
That's right. We should get back to discussing RI.

My turn to ask a newfag question.
Does joining the discords and getting beta readers and the like actually help build hype/attention?

>>24826225
I've been on and off reading smut in literotica for almost decades now. OF COURSE there are well written smut stories , the art exists since ancient times

do you have racism in your webnovel?

>>24826245
Most royal road novels are discriminatory.
Fang Yuan does not discriminate. He murders men, women, children and the elderly equally. Yet in most rr novels females rarely ever get killed, let alone children

>>24826258
Because in current year if you have a female character dying/suffering you get hit with the incel bat and it becomes impossible to remove

>>24826232
you will struggle more trying to find beta readers than getting normal followers, not sure where you got this idea
the discords in general are for networking for shoutouts, that's the sole practical benefit they provide, not whatever you're imagining right now

So you have to pretend to like other people's shit writing? Or how does the shoutout stuff work? I'm assuming by shoutout it's the author's note at the top of the chapter.

>>24826297
You don't have to read their stuff at all. I've certainly never bothered.

>>24826297
i doubt anyone actually reads the shit they shout out. it's just an incestuous botnet where every chapter on every fiction within this hivemind has links to various stories. probably 80%+ of RS stories, if not more, are part of this botnet at any given time

if statistic autist man is here I would actually be really curious in an analysis of the top 50 and what % is spamming shoutouts

>>24826302
And how do you join this botnet? Do you post until someone notices you, or you apply somehow?

will (you) ever make it out of the ordinary abyss?

>>24826306
you just join immersive ink and ask for shout outs. the botnet wouldn't be so pervasive if it wasn't easy to get in
the hard part is getting shoutouts from big names, which are the most effective by far. not sure how you go about that, probably by being a little more involved in the community

i really recommend you just run an ad or two, only debase yourself like this if you're dead broke and have to

If you don't care about money per se, in such a way so as to put a constant burden on yourself to write (as Patreon does), and are just writing for fun, but obviously wouldn't mind free money, does linking your Paypal and saying something like 'donate if you like the story' work at all? Or would I just look like a money-grubbing fool AND also not get any money?

>>24826390
No. Of my 400 followers, the grand total of 2 have tipped me on ko-fi in two years, while all the content is available for free. If people are given a choice not to pay, they obviously won't pay, but if you paywall even one punctuation mark, they'll start to throw money at you. I don't even pretend to understand how this works.

Man I can't get into Pale Lights. I get the author is going for quality prose, but I think his ambitions outpace his ability in that department, and it's just tough to read, moreso than some of the more plain or even esl webnovels I've tried. The characters and concepts seem decent. But on a purely technical level, all the awkward construction/phrasing makes it a chore (and the misuse of commas, which doesn't seem intentional doesn't help parsing: comma splices and missing commas between independent clauses galore). I'm only a couple chapters in. Does it get better?

>>24826413
I personally think EE's prose is some of the best in web fiction

>>24826413
>the misuse of commas, which doesn't seem intentional doesn't help parsing: comma splices and missing commas between independent clauses galore
Ahhh. The defining mark of the truly mediocre writer. I think we all go through that phase at one point or another.

>>24826413
independent clause commas are dying out, get with the times old man

>>24826424
>>24826443
I think it's far from the worst sin in writing, and can even be done intentionally for stylistic reasons without really bothering me, but it should be done to improve readability, not hamper it.

>>24826413
EE's technical stuff like punctuation and grammar can be fucky sometimes, but his flow and use of language is heads and shoulders above even most published writers, and that's what I care about. Weird colon usage or technically wrong commas don't matter to me. His sentences are engaging to read

If I read a book from an established author, with an actual publisher, and they intentionally leave out commas for stylistic reasons, I will believe it. If you're writing a web novel competing on the same page with authors that could make ChatGPT weep and you miss out commas, I'm going to assume you're a shit writer.

>>24826461
You should read some recent novels lol. They barely line edit contemporary fiction, genre fic editing is basically just running spellcheck.

>>24826461
>from an established author, with an actual publisher,
>established author
sure. EE is.
>actual publisher
means literally fuck all

>>24826453
>has good flow
>when the symbols that control flow are fucked
>has good language
>when grammar is fucked
I'm getting conflicting messages

What do we think about swearing?

>>24826473
niggers. next question!

>>24826466
Self-publishing a shitty YA fantasy series does not make one an 'established author'. I tried reading the first few chapters of APGTE and was bored to tears, and the prose was shit.

>>24826475
post your favorites or forever silence yourself, wench

how do I convincingly write schemes, plots, and other mind games

>>24826479
RI, LOTM, MLA

>>24826480
be smart

>>24826447
For sure. That's why I said mediocre instead of bad. A bad writer doesn't even know what commas are supposed to do; a mediocre writer knows what they are supposed to do but he doesn't know how to use them. So they get overused in some places and underused in others. Enough skill to stand and walk, too little to avoid falling. I know this because I too am a mediocre writer.

>>24826482
kek

>>24826473
I see a lot of swearing in RR fictions and frankly, it's just juvenile. The more you spam bad language, the less effective it gets. If have to start your story with FUCK, you're not being dramatic, but mostly just showing off your low IQ. I will read no further.

>>24826473
Rarely appropriate, and the closer you get to the very bad words the less appropriate it gets.

Any time cursing is actually appropriate you should just use "He cursed." rather than "Fuck."
Cursing is so juvenile in writing, and that's coming from someone who curses irl too much. Just doesn't work in prose

>>24826302
This isn't something I care about and seems like too much of a bother. I'll refer you to this guy instead and what he's done. Maybe you can convince him to do the stuff you want.

https://stepan.chizhov.com/do-review-swaps-influence-top-1000-books-and-other-adventures-of-ratings-on-royal-road/

I strongly suspect that my saccharine, dreamworld, true-love romance will perform far better on the male-centric RR than it did on the female-focused Wattpad.

>>24826473
At first I intended to have minor swearing present, but no F words.
Then a few chapters in I decided the MC should only swear sparingly, at really big moments, and bad guys could swear.
Then I decided I didn't like seeing swears on the page and it degraded my MC so I stopped doing it entirely. Plus, there are age concerns and technically my book should be readable down to 12 but since there's an explicit but not graphic torture scene I bumped it to 15.
Now I'll make a slight joke of when a character swears, without actually including the swear word. I think this fits my style best.

If I really wanted someone to insult or express really juicy emotion, I'd bust out a thesaurus and make it shakespearean. No need to use foul language when there are so many good words out there already.

>>24826473
I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, swearing can come across as juvenile and it quickly loses any potency.

On the other hand I've never trusted anyone who doesn't even occasionally swear in real life. There's something deeply wrong with those people and I'll have no part in their fuckery.

>>24825622
just run the open source models locally on (you)r gaming pc

>>24826480
Create a scenario that presents a problem for the characters and then have the characters figure out how to solve that problem using the tools and information available to them. Have other characters react with their own solutions to the new problems presented by the original solution.

>>24826033
>concerned with self-improvement
Yeah, I'ma pass on it, then, thanks. Got all the self-improvement I can stomach, and nought for it but a mouthful of ashes and a belly full of blood. I'm here to read works devoid of literary value solely for pleasure and maybe if I'm lucky get paid for ranting and raving and maladaptive daydreaming. Just not interested in pretending it is what it ain't, sorry if I gave the impression that I expect more of anyone else. Cultivation kicks ass because it sucks, so when I say something's shit, I don't mean it ain't the shit.

>>24826474
Niggers, indeed!
>>24826473
The fuck do you think you are, bitch? Navy SEAL Gorilla Warrior yadda yadda fuck shit fuck. If you're human, write like one. If you're an NPC, get ChatGPT to do it for you, and you won't have any of those pesky words that remind people of the things we aren't to think of, lest we react and inconvenience the lords and their bottom lines. Don't look at the fnords, nigger, only characters who obey the law and pay taxes are allowed to have a happy ending. Better yet, just fuck yourself to death. The fact that you feel the need to ask permission is proof positive you were born without a soul. Just sit down on a rusty spike and let it slide all the way up.

>>24826473
In dialogue it's usually fine (it needs to sound natural, but then the dialogue itself already needs to sound natural, so that's touching on a larger issue).
In internal dialogue, it usually comes off a little juvenile, but again, it can be ok with the same qualifications as above.
In narration, 99% of authors would benefit from not swearing at all. It's pretty tacky. There are authors who use it to good, usually comedic, effect, but you really need to have an ear for it.
And if you're an ESL, I'd recommend that you not even bother trying, even in dialogue.

>>24826473
I don't mind it in dialogue, and in my own writing I can't help but use it sparingly. However overall I do think that you can easily write a just as effective sentence or scene without swearing. Furthermore, there is a subset of readers who will be put off by excessive swearing. Whether that subset is big or small, I'm not attached enough to shrink my potential audience for nothing in return

>writing book according to outline
>shit this is expanding a lot
>will I ever get to the end?
>halfway through writing today's chappie I'm basically right on the cusp of the climax
Uhhhhh damn this is the power of outlines huh.

>>24826603
Holy shit, what a throwback. Feels like a decade since I've last seen the navy seals copypasta

>>24826473
I don't like it, should be used sparingly.

>come up with a good premise
>come up with a good ending
>barely create a few random plot points in between (though not nearly enough)
>…
>can’t for the life of me figure out how to actually write or pace a story
It’s over

>>24827026
Same... until very recently
Just think of the beginning and end for every chapter
>MC starts climbing a mountain
>MC reaches the top
Now write the things that happen in-between

>Making a couple hundred USD off Patreon while living in a third world country must be nice. Maybe even nicer than living in most first world countries.
Is this true?

>>24827080
No lol.

>>24827085
I know Canadians who live like kings in Argentina and Australians who live like kings in Thailand by simply working basic remote jobs, webnovel writing (Patreon bucks) included.

>>24827090
Then do it.

>>24827080
It really depends on how tolerant you are of not living with the usual amenities and being surrounded by a different culture

I'm really enjoying Sky Pride, anything else you guys think would be up my alley?

>>24827114
Reverend Insanity

>>24827129
Isn't the protagonist very edgy? That doesn't appeal to me very much but I'll check it out.

>>24826482
how the hell does this shit taste vibe with trab-pub cock-sucking?

>>24826413
I find it better than most anything I've read on trad-pub the last 10 years

>>24825415
still waiting

>>24827193
We don't write in /wng/

>>24827100
I want to, but I just wanted to hear other people's experiences on this website... because I'm kind of scared of third worlders (they often smell bad).

Give me some progressionfantasy/litrpg to read

requirements:
No comedy shit
Fantasy

preferrably your favourites.

I actually tried to finish Primal Hunter because i got hooked on the idea that side characters are going to save the story after the tutorial but unfortunately it's still dogshit at chapter 352

>>24827225
What are YOUR favorites?

>>24827080
third worlder. yeah you can live off of $600 but only for yourself, even then, it's not comfy.

$1200 is the comfy spot for a single guy that's just enough to eat out every week and get groceries and all that.

If you wanna live like a comfy dude in america, eating out all the time and having a good unit to live/rent in? $3000 - $5000 is peak comfy.

Anything beyond $5000+ is just luxury at that point. You'd have to go out of your way to drink or do drugs to run out of money in a month.

>>24827236
Practical Guide to Sorcery

I also liked Shadow Slave somewhat mainly because of the conflicts between the main cast and their growth. It got stale after a bit though.

I liked TWI until they started fucking bugs and lizards on the regular.

>>24827245
>not liking TWI's bugfucking
dogshit taste on your end
>finds shadow slave boring
okay, I take back what I said.

Lord of the Mysteries for you if you wanna feel pretentious for knowing about the occult.

Eternally Regressing Knight if you're into Edge of Tomorrow/All You Need Is Kill deathloops into getting stronger shit.

>>24827241
It completely depends on where someone lives in the US, since the cost of living extremely varies.

>>24827256
i will not read chinkshit, also i already read LOTM and it was trash. I did finish it though because it was my first time reading chinkshit and i wanted to give it a chance.

>>24827265
have you read katalepsis?

>>24827265
glad to know you hated LOTM. I hated it as well and thought all this so-called 'worldbuilding' hype on it was bullshit.

Trust me, that's considered the best chink novel btw so it only gets lower than that no matter where you look.

There's a reason why the CN scene only references old works instead of new ones because everything is dogshit or censored to shit it eventually becomes dogshit.

>>24827264
I lived in SF because of my parents but I worked in an overseas branch for my company for a while.

$8k aint shit in SF but you're a god anywhere else in SEA. though my rent was accommodated by my company so that probably factored as to why I was comfier since I didnt pay for rent.

>>24827225
Read /wng/'s biggest success: New Life as a Max Level Archmage
It took Royalroad by storm and broke all records for a reason!

>>24827276
Just tell me straight up if there is whoring around. I just cant stand it. But i like it if there is romance sprinkled in.

Otherwise it seems cool i'd like to give it a try.

>>24827289
Actually was thinking about it. I read some reviews saying there's no story so i shelved it. Also am a bit reluctant on isekai, it mostly sucks as a genre. Not much better than chinkshit.

>>24827290
No whoring around but it's a poly romance. I read it for the story, the romance was something I had to tolerate (at least after it turned poly, starts with 2 women only)
Great story and prose though. I say at least try, since youre willing to read all of fucking lotm of all things.

>>24827296
Read it and then subscribe to the author's Patreon pls

>>24827299
i am unironically subscribed to PGTS authors patreon.

>>24827296
>I read some reviews saying there's no story so i shelved it.
My god you read royalroad reviews? those tards are even dumber than anons. Absolutely untrustworthy
Read it if the blurb and title at all appeals to you--it tells you what it is. If not, dont. a big reason it succeeded so hard is that is clearly signals what it is and executes well on that.

why is it we get shit on but fantasy fags rave about Name of The Wind like it's gospel? fucking faggots

>>24827265
Read reverend insanity.

>>24827289
it's too popular, the contrarian in me don't want to read it out of spite frieren overlord bootleg.

>>24827225
Practical Guide to Evil
Years of the Apocalypse
Player 0.4

>>24827316
Doesnt Years of the Apocalypse have whoring around with some academy jocks or something? Fuck no.

I will also not read Azarinth healer because of that.

I tried PGTE but it didnt hook me with the predetermined roles and stuff, just doesn't seem interesting.

>>24826038
No, the whole point is that you can't, retard. She wouldn't have achieved shit if not for her weak ass sidekick.

>>24827310
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu6MaN9tT_8
they are feminized gay women

>>24827305
Webnovel reviews are even worse, completely contradictory reviews right next to each other.

>>24827322
If you had good taste you wouldn't be asking for recomendations.
Read them you twat

>>24827374
>Webnovel reviews
There's only 3 kinds of reviews there
>OMG, THIS IS PEAK, FR FR
>Don't bother, MC gets cucked *skull*x3
>5stars- by notabot 5000

>>24827376
That doesn't make any sense. I don't have an infinite amount of time to waddle through all the trash.

>>24827383
I mean , clearly you do from your replies to recomendations.

>>24827383
Yet you're here in /wng/, Wickedly Nasty Garbage. Curious.

>>24827090
In Brazil we have all-you-can-eat BBQ and sushi buffets for less than 8 usd. So getting around 30 patreon subscribers would make you unable to starve. We also don't pay water, gas or electricity because socialism or something

>>24827381
Kek

Has any crafting/cooking novel solved the problem of the activities being pretty boring, 'specially once they get repeated over and over

>>24827442
If your crafting slop actually writes the crafting part, you have missed the point. Craftslop is all about sending the MC on random missions to fuckass nowhere to fight whatever you can think of for the latest ingredient he needs.

I can't think of a chinese story I've read that isn't a crafting novel but it's rarely a very important thing in the grand scheme of things
>Nightfall - calligrapher
>Reverend Insanity - gu crafting, other things
>I Shall Seal The Heavens - potion crafter, monster tamer, dungeon renovator, bullshit artist
>Coiling Dragon - sculptor

>>24827310
Name of the wind is hated and mocked in /sffg/
Also, let's not pretend that wns don't have (at least the westoid ones) a lot of cuckshit shoehorned into them
Check the previous thread about the one were the best friend of the MC wants to fuck his bully

>>24827515
> the one were the best friend of the MC wants to fuck his bully
There's a lot of problems with Iron Prince but it's not cuckshit (at least so far), sorry

>>24827520
I don't really think that part's cuckshit but it does represent the point in the book where all characterisation went to shit quite nicely

>>24827520
Its still cuckshit adjacent thougheverbeit

>>24827530
kek it's like in Shadow Slave where it's revealed Effie got pregnant by some random guy. It's not NTR since MCs love interest is Nephis but it's still just so out of nowhere the author starts looking a little sussy.

>>24827310
People associate web novels with Japanese isekai slop

>>24827502
Are you saying that it's important in those stories?
Because refining gu and collecting resources is extremely important in RI.

>>24827520
Any good webnovel will have multiple problem/resolution cycles. You just need to keep the stakes raised and consistently trend upwards until you reach the peak of the story.

Readers want to see that the story is progressing and that things are being achieved, but also that the problems are piling up and the conflict is escalating.
If you don't raise the tension enough, the novel becomes boring. If you crank it up too high with no mini resolutions, it's unrewarding.

thinking about the progression system for my story
should the protagonist have 1 pet and level it up
limited multiple pets of each type and level them up
or like pokemon, unlimited and leveling them up

>>24826189
You can do that on Tapas as well, and you have the option of time gating chapters as well.

>really confident in my world
>think my MC is a strong character too
>no idea how to write a compelling conflict
>no idea how to write good prose
>no idea how to write a good story
>don't want to blow my load on a shitty story and ruin my setting
I-I guess I'll make a new setting...

>>24827618
>gets attached to his creations instead of the joy of creation itself
ngmi

>>24827618
I've already written the story in my head. I'm just too retarded and impatient to write it all out and it's killing me as well

>>24827630
serious question, do we really just have to detach ourselves from the story?

>>24827634
Detaching is a bit much, but you have to be able to kill your darlings if needed.

>>24827634
You have to become the Demiurge of your setting. Everything in your story submits to and has to follow your Grand Design.

>>24827610
Each pet should matter emotionally and narratively and contribute to the MC's character arc.
But there's no need to put a limit on it unless you're planning to hit the reader with emotions when MC has to let one of his pets go.

>>24827632
>>24827618
Just write it. You'll learn a lot through the process of doing it and you can always go back and rewrite it later with what you learned on the first draft.

>>24827634
Anon, do you think G*d is constantly monitoring us and adjusting the (world) stage? No, He just created us and detached Himself from the world and people He created.
Every single good author does the same, because in doing so, we're imitating Him and getting closer to His divine nature
>T. Peter Thiel

>>24827652
>reality is god's cringe OC
figures

>>24827641
>>24827645
>>24827652
but I'm not God... I actually love my characters even if they aren't real. fuck attachment issues I should just write in a different genre to avoid this shit.

>>24827658
reminds me of this

>>24827634
Try >>>/lit/wg/ or >>>/x/

>>24827700
sloppa is the most forgiving for everything working out. in fact they get mad if it doesn't. you're in the right genre.

Alright but seriously why is MLA so popular? It's just an overlord clone

I am cultivating my worm.

>>24827873
Because it's fun, unlike Overlord. Overlord has an emotionless MC with no goal that does evil shit for no reason. The fact that it got popular is astounding.

But MLA is a copy of The New Gate, not Overlord anyway.

>>24827873
>overlord clone
baka showing your lack of culture. It's much closer to being something like Leadale, or that one summoner story whose name escapes me
And its popular because it has endearing characters, decent writing compared to other trash in the genre, good pace, cliffhangers good enough to keep people coming back, decent opening (mini?)arcs and pacing for those arcs. And moments that different groups of readers all want to see. Author also seems to have had a good plan for getting to rising stars.

>>24825981
didn't read but, this but unironically

>>24827610
If the story's focus is on pets then it's either #1 or #2. Pick #1 if there are other characters (pet trainers) that travel with MC. Pick #2 if MC is a loner.

Whatever you do, don't do what Path of Ascension did with its system dropped pets, where side characters lecture MC over how the government will take away MC's pet for 10 years to re-educate them "and prevent abuse." That just killed my interest in the story.

>>24826473
it's fun when authors come up with absurd fantasy curses like "meshe's milk!" or "god's wounds!"
but don't overuse the same ones all the time or you'll start to sound like a parody of yourself

>>24827520
yeah i thought iron prince was pretty crap and never did anything actually interesting with its premise by the time i dropped it but i still think the "childhood friend ntr" fags are a little bit schizo

>>24827883
I also did that a few times today but not to smutty webnovels.

Will you guys be particapating in the writathon?

>>24827520
>>24827921
>nerdy MC in a school setting
>gets bullied
>really hot chick spends a lot of time with MC
>protects MC any time she can
>then she secretly sleeps with MC's bully
>starts advocating for the bully
>MC just lets this pass and remains friends with her
It's set up exactly like cuck shit. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then don't be surprised when people call it a duck.

At the very least MC should've stopped being friends with her.

Oh yeah, did I mention that she's also the character that is constantly on everyone's case for keeping secrets? MC even asks her not to date the bully early on.

>>24828026
I want to, but I've never written anything beyond a scene. I'm not even sure what I would plan or prepare beforehand.

>>24828055
It's not cuckshit, it's more like your best friend who is like your sister gets together with a guy who tried to kill you. So it's actually worse.

Ironprincefags are in hard denial about the cuckshit

I can see the acronym MLA without thinking muvluv alternative

>>24826213
Rawdogger here, this anon is correct. I fucked myself, and the only way to undo it would be to go AWOL and build up a backlog before returning. With my limited free time, it would likely result in a 2-month hiatus.

>>24826245
No. I don't trust RR readers to handle it maturely. Even if I made it a point to say, "orcs are biologically driven to violence, and all attempts at integrating them into society have failed previously. They are objectively incapable of living with humans." The average RR reader will replace "orc" with "black man" and then cry irl racist, unable to understand that a fantasy world works on different standards. Because of that, I have decided to avoid it entirely.

>>24827329
That's great and all but the MC just walked in and did it lol

>>24826390
>>24826400
I've had a similar experience as this anon. 300 followers and 0 donations in the 5 months since I started. I will note that I have had a few readers visit the Patreon and join as free members, but with nothing paywalled, they naturally do not have any incentive to pay. I don't blame them, seeing as I would not pay for literally nothing either.

Fact is, we aren't streamers forging a parasocial relationship with our viewers (readers), so handouts don't happen as often.

>>24828231
Maybe we should try to stream writing!

The majority of patreon subscribers are americans. Do what you want with this information.

>>24828327
https://www.youtube.com/user/pirateaba

has anyone read "The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon" and does it contain cute elf scenes

>>24828340
Huh, watching someone write is really interesting. I'm jealous how well he/she writes, but I suppose that's what experience does.

>>24828336
>not writing cuckshit
it's over before I even started.

>>24828336
They've been programmed so thoroughly to think any good done voluntarily is communism=evil, and only profit gained through extortion is the good kind of support. At the very least, you have to blackmail them emotionally with the "family dying in hospital" gambit.

>>24828371
It's easier to convince them to pay if you lock your chapters behind an overpriced handheld software + subscription service and later sell the first drafts as remasters for 80$

>>24828340
>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vV7Gmb3WhM
>set up a Q&A interview with fans
>but you refuse to talk
>instead have fans awkwardly voice your every typed reply
Unexpected aura loss

>>24828401
>set up a Q&A interview with fans
>actually talk
>fans are surprised by my indian accent
Fuck this I'll kms

>>24828406
>born Indian
tuff luck buddy, try to change your accent at the very least.

Should my male protagonist be cut or uncut

>>24828401
tranny-coded strategy. Obviously his falsetto is not up to par and doesn't want to be called out.

>>24828410
Cut, but the plot is a revenge story against the jews for inventing circumcision

>>24828410
cut from the story and changed for female protagonist

>>24828433
b-based...

>submit story to writer's workshop
>one critique was "where are the lesbian characters?"
My story doesn't have lesbians in it, because not every novel in the world needs to have LGBTQ representation, YOU WHORE.

>>24828465
Unless your protagonist is male and is the one fucking the women, writing any woman with a man is a good way to alienate your audience

>>24828465
You're unqualified to writing female protagonists. Please refrain from doing so in the future until you recognize your missteps

>>24828026
No. I'm curious if it's better to publish a new story during it or wait until it's over though if you're not taking part.

>>24828026
I will be writing my story at a leisurely pace, then, only after the low quality rushed stories finish dropping and readers yearn for better written slop, I will upload.

>>24828537
Honestly, I'd wait till January.

>want to write original story thats been on my mind for months
>decide to read a few of the most popular works from the same genre while writing
>it's all just my story but better
k

>>24828055
>>24828064
Glad I never finished that book then. I wouldn't even mind that development per se, but I imagine both he and the story treat her like that isn't fucked up?

>>24828562
Being bad is the first step to being good. Keep writing it and integrate what you learned from those other stories

>>24828562
Anon, please. Look at RR and tell me that originality matters. It really, really doesn't.

>>24828573
I don't think his point was about originality lol. He said it's
>his story but better
so they're executing the tropes he likes better than he is

I guess you can interpret this situation as the two cakes meme, but that image is kinda falsehopecore

be honest, how good are the best webnovels, because from what I read here, most of them are just bad.

>>24828583
They are written to pander to the lowest common denominator

>>24828583
What are you comparing against? Are you a literature fag or a published SFF fag? Because I think the best web novels are equally as good (well, maybe a bit worse) as the best published fantasy novels
I've been keeping up with recent popular fantasy releases and I haven't found one I really liked since Murderbot. I've had more luck having fun with stories in the serial scene

>>24828588
kinda.

I'm comparing them to classic writers in literature.

>>24828026
Yeah I'm a huge penny pincher so I want to try out author premium for free before I commit to paying for it.

I'm also hoping that getting a regular length, self-contained novel out will help boost me compared to my current sprawling epic fantasy that sucks in the beginning so I don't even feel good asking for shout-out swaps for it.

>>24828591
well obviously you shouldn't compare web novels to literature. your complaint isn't about web novels, you dislike genre fiction as a whole. Go clog up /sffg/

>>24828594
I'm comparing the quality of the prose.

>>24828602
I feel like you aren't very intelligent if you compare prose quality between a web novel and a piece of literature
Do you also pull up youtube Lets Play videos and find yourself disgruntled with how their oration skills aren't on par with political speeches?
Just wildly retarded tbdesu

>>24828602
nobody gives a shit about prose

>>24828608
missing my point.

my question was how good are webnovels measured to classic authors.

>>24828583
Better than modern ssf (meaning the last 5 years)

>>24828610
terrible, obviously???? are you stupid?

>>24828613
It's a basic question, anon.

I've seen japanese hentai doujin artists that are pretty damn good, even when compared to classical painters.

So it makes sense there would be at least a webnovel writer that actually knows how to write.

>>24828617
You don't get rewarded for knowing how to write as much as you get rewarded for writing more; the best webnovel authors will always strike a balance, and the ones that don't, simply don't succeed in the webnovel business.

>>24828619
well, you need to write a lot to become good.

my question was if there was webnovel writers who know basic writing technique, like rethoric.

>>24828617
>I've seen japanese hentai doujin artists that are pretty damn good, even when compared to classical painters.
that's a big kek
i think you don't understand art

>>24828625
I like this marisa painting.

>>24828623
It's possible some have the chops for it, but they're writing million-word fantasy behemoths at an incredible weekly pace. To see how skilled they truly are in shorter-form, more refined writing, they would have to actually write that--and they don't.
No, the fantasy slop they push out at a rate of six novels a year cannot compare to famous literature.

>>24828631
that's more an issue of not wanting to improve their craft, than an issue of the theme of the story.

You can write loli pantsu harem orgies, using the same rethorical tricks and references of classical writers.

Being fantasy anime shit is unrelated to the technique used to write the work.

>>24828638
Give some examples of 'rhetorical tricks and references' that you mean.

>>24828649
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ySexnqxsg

Do you know stuff like alliteration, zeugma, pleonasm, elipsis, anaphore, onomatopey, etc?

Or stuff like the lyrical quality of the prose?

caring about prose is like caring about video game graphics

>>24828661
I think the lyrical quality of a prose is important.

>>24828657
You think this stuff matters to readers who are just looking for a fun story?

>>24828664
Do you think it matters to people who listen to music that the musician knows what a chord is? They don't, but you can probably tell the difference between one who's mastered the concept and one who hasn't.

>>24828662
no you don't

nobody who actually enjoys reading cares about prose

>>24828664
Let me ask this way, do you think the plot will be good if the prose is bad?

Bad prose is an indicator the writer lacks the study of the technique to write.

Yes, there are writers wtih bad prose and good plot, but bad prose is an indicator of a lack of technique.

>>24828669
I think I rather read good prose and good plot, instead of both being mediocre or bad.

>>24828675
you'd rather not read at all so you use every excuse you can to avoid it

prose is just your buzzword of choice

>>24828667
I think you're misattributing what techniques make a story engaging. Like the other anon said, video game graphics aren't what makes a game. The vast majority of readers couldn't give a shit about prose, and an author's ability to write excellent prose is maybe of tertiary importance at best (with what sells like hotcakes these days, I'd argue anything beyond workmanlike prose is an outright detractor to your ability to entertain the masses).
The comparisons you're drawing just don't apply.

>>24828678
missing the point.

would you rather listen music to someone that knows both theory and practice and does a good job over someone that randomly string two notes randomly without care?

Or read a manga with bad story and bad drawings?

>>24828680
There's also technique in writing the plot.

Character orchestration, tropes, story pacing, plot twists, character development, bittersweet endings, suffering build character, dramatic plot archetypes, character archetypes, symbolism.

>>24828694
>Character orchestration, tropes, story pacing, plot twists, character development, bittersweet endings, suffering build character, dramatic plot archetypes, character archetypes, symbolism.
Then in the techniques relevant to entertaining readers through an engaging story, yes, I think the best genre fiction rivals literary fiction, easily
Literary authors are generally respected for their prose, themes, symbolism, etc. In fact, their ability to entertain is usually pretty bad, because that's not the point.

>>24828694
don't give a shit about technique or drawings or whatever other retarded analogy you want to use

all that matters is whether or not it's good and prose has no bearing on it

>>24828700
I guess the issue of our disagreement, is that you consider the prose a complete separate issue from the plot.

To me both are important, and there's no excuse of giving more importance to one over the other.

I do agree that classical writers lack of good plot is a major issue with literature.
But that doesn't mean that bad prose can be excused because is genre fiction.

>>24828711
bad prose is a symptom of bad technique.

>>24828718
bad prose isn't a symptom of jack shit and you'd know this if you read more

pointless to argue with a plotfag that disregard prose.

>>24828694
>Or read a manga with bad story and bad drawings?
you're falsely equating prose as something key to genre fiction's purpose, like story and drawings are to manga (and btw, art quality is arguably not, since ONE's webcomics are beloved)
>>24828712
you can have your own opinions all you want, that's perfectly fine. but the absolute undeniable truth of the matter is that the vast majority of readers don't give a shit about these techniques you're talking about. this is a you preference
>But that doesn't mean that bad prose can be excused because is genre fiction.
your preferences are not fact lol. all you have to do is make basic observations to see that prose isn't foundational to good story, because some of the most beloved stories of the modern age have really unimpressive prose

i myself only need it to clear a certain low bar, and then I stop caring. I want unique ideas, a fun plot, engaging characters

>>24828612
>>24828583
I read a lot of new SFF releases about 4-5 years ago and I'd say the good webnovels are as good as the good new releases. Also they're barely less edited, SFF publishing is so cheap and low rent these days.
I've not read anything that touches the classics like Chalion but that's true of published fiction too.
I'd say published books have slightly more originality too them but they have their own plots that get repeated over and over. Like I read so many fucking novels about a revolution/royal coup.

>>24828718
I can accomplish high-tier prose but only after distilling 20+ hours on a single chapter so it becomes unviable past the first few where the reader gets baited in

I need one of my main characters to be female for allegorical reasons. Do RR readers already drop at the sight of male and female main duo, or does there also need to be clear signs that it's heading towards romance?

>>24828583
>>24828825
>Do RR readers already drop at the sight of male and female main duo,
Yes. Literally nobody wants this but authors still insist on writing such garbage (and then cry later when nodody reads it).

Does my story needs to be pure .txt?

Because I want to make something like a PDF with music in godot.

Baking

>>24828838
You can do what you want but pdfs suck to read

>>24828834
>>24828825
I don't know who gave you this retarded idea but simply reading the novels proves it wrong

>130k words into my backlog
>keep having to go back to rewrite scenes because they suck, or inject whole chapters because I didn't establish something plot-critical, or the pacing is just fucked
>still fucking unpublishable
I'm such a mess, producing a web serial might be beyond me now. But I think there's potential for something fun in this story and I don't want to waste it by just throwing it out there unfinished.

>>24828834
Like Pale Lights?

New Bread
>>24828846
>>24828846
>>24828846

>>24828844
>>24828850
Do we have several idiots or just one guy who keeps loudly proclaiming what readers will or won't read with no real backing for the claims

>>24828617
>I've seen japanese hentai doujin artists that are pretty damn good, even when compared to classical painters.
As both an artfag and hentai enjoyer, reading this made me retch.

>>24828212
>biologically driven to violence, and all attempts at integrating them into society have failed previously
That's exactly what happens with blacks thougheverbeit

>>24828588
>the best webnovels are equally good to murderbot
So they're all shit, got it