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I like to think of web novels as 'fluid', like a river. They're stories in motion, changing as the tale develops, giving them an almost 'live' feel as you read them in progress. You can't get that from a regular novel ;)

When I started writing online I was writing poetry, short stories, and flash fiction which eventually led me to serial novel writing... and I haven't gone back since. For me, I wanted to attempt an original take on the unoriginal zombie genre with my long-running serial novel that's been...

I want to say, tell everyone it's a 'superhero story', even if it's not and then hope they read it anyway... lol. My point is, you can advertise all over the place, you can pay money to get it done, and it still might not matter. Sometimes you get lucky with the timing and tell the right...

I believe that as long as you keep your readers informed a hiatus is fine. We're not writing machines and need breaks, too. Just be clear with them what you're doing, but more importantly, let them know when you think you'll return to the story on break. Leaving readers in limbo is never a...

I seldom review a work I don't enjoy on some level. I believe that's the key to including that personal aspect to reviews. For me, even a diamond-in-the-rough is motivation enough to review a work because even if a story is a mess... there's still the raw potential of that diamond that reels...

Some great advice above. Remember, there's no rule that demands you start your story at the 'start'. Just pick a scene somewhere in the middle of that mystery... and start writing. Build questions surrounding the opening scene and drop the reader right into the fire. I enjoy a story that...

I believe a sound review should encourage and educate the writer in a respectful way (even constructive criticism can be written encouragingly) without going into a full-blown critique. That should be handled between the reviewer and the writer behind the scenes. A good review stays focused on...

When a reader takes the time to write a well-balanced review, it shows. Those are the reviews I appreciate, encouraging or critical, because they tell me that a reader was invested enough in my story to actually give it some thought. On the other hand, I loathe reviews by readers who read an...

Not enough horror stories (smutty or otherwise...lol). Last I looked only 63 carry that tag here.

There's a lot of great advice above for writing a story. I would add, if you're just planning on writing a story, that's one thing, but if you're planning on writing a serial story, that's something entirely different. Once you start publishing a serial online there is now the added demand to...

I currently like to have a 6-8 episode buffer. Since I post twice a week, that gives me three to four weeks of wiggle room for when life gets busy. Generally, I try to stay a month ahead of my serial.

Thanks... and I will ;)

For me, it depends on what's happening in the chapter. Actions scenes and scenes with a lot of dialogue tend to move much quicker so I'll let them run longer. If there's a bit more building narrative that slows down the pace, I'll run shorter chapters. My average is between 3,000 to 5,000...

Having a set schedule is a good thing, especially if you want readers to hang around. Readers have demands on their time, too. If someone is waiting on your latest update, they might be okay if your late a day or so... but once your updates become erratic, and they're always late and then...

I believe that whatever you post at the start of your story works as the first impression. A prologue, especially a long one, can turn people off your tale if it's not done carefully, i.e., some unnecessary history lesson full of names and places no one will remember... and all that before the...

As you can see from all the above responses... don't worry about it. We all enter this gig with our own vocabulary at our disposal. It's our job as writers to choose what works best. Sometimes the right 'big' word fits, keeping us from being verbose, and other times those big damn words are...

Hello Everyone, You can just call me Scott. I've been writing for a while and been at this serial novel gig since 2014. I found this place through Novel Updates a week ago and I like it. This site is real easy to use. I enjoy reading lots of different genre stories, and I'm all about the...

I can't imagine starting to write a story with the ending already worked out. For me, that takes the enjoyment and the sense of discovery right out of it. Maybe if the story is a small one, I can see having the ending ready and working toward it. But in many cases, story elements and ideas...

When it comes to writing sad/tragic events, I trust in my characters to lead me where the scene must go and how much and what kind of emotion is left behind in the aftermath. Every character is different and will react in different ways, depending on the situation. I'm often caught off guard...

Lots of good advice above. I, too, thank anyone for bothering to critique my work whether I agree or not. Sometimes readers get invested in your story so much that disappointment is inevitable when a story doesn't go the way they expect. I can accept that. I just watch out for...