Zirrboy's Questionaire

[Zirrboy]

Nah, I wanted him to be unlikable. I got tired of all those mc's that are portrayed as likable dudes for the sole purpose of the reader's self-insert.

Valid interest. But (without having read your story, so this is just my general opinion) subversion for its own sake and without any derived aspects is rarely better.

"Normal Guy" MC minus likeable goals usually ends up as the passive "No goals" kind for example

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Valid interest. But (without having read your story, so this is just my general opinion) subversion for its own sake and without any derived aspects is rarely better.

"Normal Guy" MC minus likeable goals usually ends up as the passive "No goals" kind for example

It's not about subversion. My MC was in trouble, and his negative qualities were highlighted. Those negative qualities were dictating his actions. I felt that this was more realistic and fitted his character. And I'm not trying to justify his personality through other characters and won't do so in the future. I got tired of two-faced main characters with likable goals, thus I made him. His goals are likable, gaining power, and so on. But he isn't.

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

I usually avoid reading anything that has more than 4-5k words per chapter.

This is my story's average word count.

View attachment 9364

Holy crap that is more than me!!!! And I thought my chapters were long!!! I am at 5k average.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Holy crap that is more than me!!!! And I thought my chapters were long!!! I am at 5k average.

Trust me, you're towing the fine line of being too long. You're alright. Don't be like me. The notion of "average word length" don't apply to me. I am inconsistent with my chapter lengths. You will find a stretch of 6 - 8k chapters 7 times in a row before being hit with a 10k or 12k chapter. My most recent chapter is 14k words.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

What sort of plot aspects do you hate as a reader, yet found yourself eyeing for your own works?

For me it's keeping unlikeable characters in the cast.
I've rage-quit a book for this sort of putting up before, but now I don't want to simply cut ties with an up until now central character.

There’s a lot of stuff that is a turn off, weak willed mc which will probably not change in the future, and really sudden plot twist in the middle of the story. It basically details what the title promised

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Normally I don't like the "Follow so and so..." as the hook in a synopsis. Its generic, and just doesn't reel me into the story. But sometimes there are exceptions where there really isn't any other way that can substitute to make it better. Most times there are, but few times it may be the only thing that works. I may have to use something along those lines for a story that doesn't have a climax for a plot. Navigate with ____ thru blah blah blah .....

 

[Zirrboy]

Normally I don't like the "Follow so and so..." as the hook in a synopsis. Its generic, and just doesn't reel me into the story. But sometimes there are exceptions where there really isn't any other way that can substitute to make it better. Most times there are, but few times it may be the only thing that works. I may have to use something along those lines for a story that doesn't have a climax for a plot. Navigate with ____ thru blah blah blah .....

Without looking at concrete examples, I'd say it's possible to avoid the phrase itself, but making it more than "person has to x" could be difficult i can imagine.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Without looking at concrete examples, I'd say it's possible to avoid the phrase itself, but making it more than "person has to x" could be difficult i can imagine.

I managed to find a way to end my story's ideas synopsis without the "Follow the..."

Yes, it is more brainwork. "Follow the..." is much easier...but it also creates an impression of just another story with another similar plot. It's hard to fall into the story naturally cause it feels like it's telling you how to instead of letting you read the story and figure it out yourself. There are some cases, however, where its fine to use it.

 

[Zirrboy]

Setting up a character to die, only to find them miraculously saved/surviving.

Plot armor ftw. But I think this is similar to my own issue, at least on an abstract level.
And wanting tear jerk without the sacrifice in character development.

Trust me, you're towing the fine line of being too long. You're alright. Don't be like me. The notion of "average word length" don't apply to me. I am inconsistent with my chapter lengths. You will find a stretch of 6 - 8k chapters 7 times in a row before being hit with a 10k or 12k chapter. My most recent chapter is 14k words.

Personally, I have no issues with chapter length as long as everything that is there exists for a reason.

There’s a lot of stuff that is a turn off, weak willed mc which will probably not change in the future, and really sudden plot twist in the middle of the story. It basically details what the title promised

If I go by my own experience, it starts with "I don't want to make a Mary Sue".
MC character development is a daunting task, so they usually stay as they are, and of all flaws to give, weak-willedness is among the more compatible with wish fulfillment.

 

[greyblob]

Plot armor ftw. But I think this is similar to my own issue, at least on an abstract level.
And wanting tear jerk without the sacrifice in character development.

Sacrifice a loved side character. It's for the greater good.