Since we're talking about writing experiences...

Hans.Trondheim said:

Problem is, grit won't get me anywhere. That's why I'm having @Nolff and @Tempokai look into my works to determine if I should continue or just wrap up everything and move on.

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Daeron said:

Not gonna lie, the way you told us your experience, made me thinking that you're good company for story telling, along with Chicharon and San Miguel,

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Nolff said:

Got it, boss. Continuing my read on your novel.

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Hans.Trondheim said:

@Everyone gather up! We got an emergency council in order!

Anyway, seriously, if I was in your situation, I see three options:

1) Take a break, even if it takes a long while. This is to refresh your mind for ideas and concepts. I did this with my latest novel, OyasumiSe7en, so if you check on other sites, it took me almost a year before I continued from Volume 1 to Volume 2. Volume 3 is quite a chore to write, I must admit, but I guess it's a necessary grind so I can easily write the current Volume 4.

2) Drop the story, even if it's painful. Sometimes, we have to accept that such ideas don't work, kinda like what I'm experiencing right now, though mine is about writing altogether. Low to non-existent views, sometimes you'll see the stats and get discouraged by the dropped to total reader ratio; you'll really question if you will continue hurting yourself for sake of what you love.

3) Change the story. OyasumiSe7en is derived from an older novel of mine, DECK. When I tried to continue writing that old novel, I received ugly feedback, so I thought, I can't continue this. So, I changed the story altogether. However, I didn't drop all the ideas; I reused the concepts that can blend well with the new storyline.

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Hans.Trondheim said:

I finished my long running novel, The Human Saint is Bored around December of 2024, having it started writing it May 2019. I guess the lack of work I went through from 2020 to mid-2023 helped me complete my story @ 5 Arcs, 21 books/volumes, around 440 chapters, and 1.3 million words. Along with that are 140+ illustrations like covers, back cover, character intros, in-chapter drawings and other stuff which I did during the months I was not writing.

So, what did I feel after that?

Let me start by telling you how I feel when I finished a volume, which is volume 1. I was happy and hopeful. Disregard the panning I received from Royal Road, and I was really motivated by then. Fast forward to finishing Arc 1 (of which, the last volume is th 5th book), and I was happy and content I finished an entire arc. So, I continued with 2nd arc, then 3rd arc, then 4th, and finally, the 5th arc.

By 5th Arc, I realized that my hardwork in writing won't suffice to cover the talent part, of which, I admit, I have none. It was a moment of despair, one that @RepresentingWrath 'documented' in one of his threads about 'losing focus on writing.' Still, by the end of 21st volume, I celebrated my small win, which was finishing an entire series with more than a million words, and content that I did my assignment (like research, and trying to be as consistent as possible).

But, the euphoria was short-lived. The celebration was limited, and honestly, I was like a smoke that just passed. By then, I admitted to myself that I'm no talented writer, and I just re-purposed my writing goal to telling stories, even if no one reads it.

So, why am I sharing this? Well, not that I'm being dramatic over it; I mean, popularity isn't my thing, and I'm at fault for what my author career has become, choosing to prioritize what I want over what the readers want. By now, I'm fine with it. And with the widespread use of AI, I'm still glad I took up writing because I get to have a 'mental exercise' from time to time (I can piss off Duterte stans with minimal effort). Also an excuse to do my own drawings, and I just can't stop telling stories, if you understand where I'm coming from. lol

Ah, yeah, and also an outlet for my condition, which is clinical bipolar type II. I can't be bored, or I'll think of self-destructive ways to unalive myself.

Any case, what's your writing experience? How's it going so far?​

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Sylver said:

So I believe the common denominator, that being me, is the problem. Maybe my characters suck maybe my ideas are bland, or maybe my story is boring

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Failnot said:

Having a good experience so far, but I'm struggling to be consistent with my output. Getting out one 1500-2000 word chapter a week should be easy, but I can't seem to write it satisfyingly quickly. It makes me want to go write unrelated stuff I'm not as invested in just to get some practice in, but that'd just distract me from the main task even more

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Failnot said:

I've been getting a little bit of reader engagement on Royal Road which is also nice. I've been baffled by some feedback I've gotten, but what can you do lol

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Sylver said:

I'm gunna take the opportunity to vent my frustrations a bit

TLDR: I'm complaining about not growing my audience.

I write smut, romance, and monster girls. That should make it easy to grab an audience, but that's not the case. It's got smut, action, mystery, magic, and cat girls.

I'm past chapter 150 averaging 40 views per chapter, and don't get me wrong im super grateful for that! But still, I log on daily and see similar stories emerge and bloom in popularity. Hundreds of readers, hundreds of views, hundreds of favorites, lot of comments and reader interactions, and lots of followers (that they earned/deserve )

Im struggling to grow my audience after writing for 3 years and I'm not sure why

So I believe the common denominator, that being me, is the problem. Maybe my characters suck maybe my ideas are bland, or maybe my story is boring

It's something that's been on my mind for a good while. And I'm not going to let this prevent me from finishing my story. It's not perfect, it's not introducing themes that would impact your beliefs or change our perspectives, and I am no George RR Martin or JRR Tolkien. And it is a strong possibility that when I finish my book and get excited for the sequel, there won't be many (maybe any) readers that are excited too.

I did receive some new comments last week so I'm making progress. It's slow, and I feel like I'm working a lot harder when other stories achieve it much sooner.

But it's my story I want to tell, because hopefully those 40 readers are at least enjoying it

Anyways, that's my writing experience. Stress about growing my audience, but I've got enough passion to continue the story for the small audience I do have. And getting a new comment always feels rewarding

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CharlesEBrown said:

Or maybe the more "successful" authors are just better at marketing - they may have groups they chat with regularly off-site, private message chains somewhere, and other ways of contacting fans and drawing them here to help get their numbers up.

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Hans.Trondheim said:

Marketing is really helpful in pulling in readers to the work. You'll be surprised at how some stories that deserve attention are covered in proverbial digital dust, and others that only rely on popular tropes, and/or characters are popular simply because some authors would rather have the 'merits' of the book speak for their writing skills (it won't).

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Sylver said:

Gosh, and how do I work on Marketing?

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Hans.Trondheim said:

Beats me. I also need that skill myself.

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Sylver said:

Ah cx well, thnx for the honesty and response.
Hugs

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Hans.Trondheim said:

What @CharlesEBrown said. Marketing is really helpful in pulling in readers to the work. You'll be surprised at how some stories that deserve attention are covered in proverbial digital dust, and others that only rely on popular tropes, and/or characters are popular simply because some authors would rather have the 'merits' of the book speak for their writing skills (it won't).

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Eldoria said:

Well, this is just a personal opinion, but it's quite sad to see fiction that prioritizes quality narrative and content being neglected compared to cliché fiction with a thousand template titles.

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