The Lift is Rising. You Have 30 Seconds. Sell Me Your Story.

[kIlLaR_bEh]

You sprint down the hall, manuscript of the next big thing in hand, just as the lift doors begin to close.
Crashing into the doors, your draft explodes—pages fluttering across the marble like dying birds.

Fuck.

You slam your fist against the metal and flip off whoever didn’t bother holding the lift.

Then you freeze.

The door had opened.

And the one you just flipped off is still watching—expression unreadable, eyes quietly amused.

You step inside. Hands empty. Heart hammering.

This person could change your life.

A publisher looking for the next big novel.
A movie exec with talent for picking blockbusters.
A bored god searching for a story to build their next world.

It doesn’t matter who it is.

You have a story.
They want to hear it.

No manuscript. No second chances.

Just thirty seconds and a dream.

So... my story?

It’s about a boy who makes a desperate vow to save the girl he loves—only to follow her into a nightmare realm where memory rewrites reality and gods wear the faces of the people he failed.

The deeper he goes, the more he begins to fracture—until he’s not sure if he’s saving her, chasing her, or becoming something she’d never recognise.

A slow-burn fantasy, it’s tragic, it’s a little bit beautiful, and it asks how far you'd go for someone who might not even want to be saved.

Your turn.

The lift is moving. Floors ascending. Make it count.

 

[Corty]

Reincarnation. Fantasy world, in medieval ages with magic... knowledge from the 22nd century with perfect memory. Best part? Building mechs to fight monsters and become the ruler of a new country with five wives, and having a loving family to raise kids to pass down the lineage!

Also, optional smut chapters instead of fading to black. If you are into it.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

A fantasy in a classical style trying to get away of the clasical archetipe. instead of a lengthy description of the world were characters are introduced by their relation to the MC, every character has its own chapter, no hero road, all morally questionable, kind fo realistic in a fantasy world. This is for people tired of reading.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

[THIS POST HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY THE VOID]

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

Reincarnation. Fantasy world, in medieval ages with magic... knowledge from the 22nd century with perfect memory. Best part? Building mechs to fight monsters and become the ruler of a new country with five wives, and having a loving family to raise kids to pass down the lineage!

Also, optional smut chapters instead of fading to black. If you are into it.

Leans back, sunglasses already on despite being indoors. Sips overpriced coffee from a platinum tumbler.

Alright, kid. You had me at mechs in medieval fantasy. That's a poster. That’s a line of toys. The reincarnation hook? Done before—but the perfect memory twist? That’s your angle. We sell him as the man who remembers everything, in a world that’s forgotten itself.

Five wives? That’s marketing. That’s demographics. That’s sequel potential in five directions.

We’ll call it: “Steelblood.” Or maybe “Thrones of Gears.” I don’t know. Get the intern on it.

Optional smut? Love it. Theatres fade to black. Streaming doesn’t.

I want concept art on my desk by Monday. Make one of the wives a dragon. Or a lawyer. Or both.

Clicks pen. Elevator dings.

Let’s make a billion.

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

A fantasy in a classical style trying to get away of the clasical archetipe. instead of a lengthy description of the world were characters are introduced by their relation to the MC, every character has its own chapter, no hero road, all morally questionable, kind fo realistic in a fantasy world. This is for people tired of reading.

So... let me see if I'm hearing this correctly. No hero’s journey. No chosen one. No carefully tilted lens to make the mess of the world feel tidy.

You want to give each character a spine, not a function. Let them live in the dark spaces between what's expected.

You’re not offering escape. You're offering disillusionment in a beautiful coat.

Hmm. Still needs work, but you have something there.

She pulls a card from her coat and hands it to you without meeting your eyes.

Keep writing.

 

[SkaraVaden]

A woman gets isekai'ed on her favorite MMO, as part of a group of adventurers. Suddenly, the danger is real, but so are the emotions, the marvel and the world she loved. And, above it all, the character she loved are there. Closer to her than she ever dared to dream. And they have secrets that never made to the game. Sexy and potentially smutty secrets.

If the shadow of that strange presence did not hang over her, this new life would be perfect.

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

Have you ever played Oblivion? You know how badly programmed the NPCs are? What if those NPCs were real people, and they made up 99% of the world's population? What if you woke up one day and your ex-girlfriend (who now has horns and hooves for some reason) said you'd spent the last thirteen years as one of those NPCs? What if the only way to keep from becoming an NPC again was to kill monsters, any of whom could easily tear you in half? What if you were just some geeky wimp who likes to build robots in his free time and has never been in a fight? What if I told you that was the plot of my upcoming story, XNPC?

...why do you keep pressing the emergency stop button like that?

The lift halts.
Something... ancient watches.

Thirteen years asleep in your loop, and now you think waking makes you special?
You were an NPC yesterday. You’re just a glitch today.

Go ahead.
Kill a few monsters. Build your toys. Pretend that makes you real.

We’ll be watching.
We who wrote the code.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

Leans back, sunglasses already on despite being indoors. Sips overpriced coffee from a platinum tumbler.

Alright, kid. You had me at mechs in medieval fantasy. That's a poster. That’s a line of toys. The reincarnation hook? Done before—but the perfect memory twist? That’s your angle. We sell him as the man who remembers everything, in a world that’s forgotten itself.

Five wives? That’s marketing. That’s demographics. That’s sequel potential in five directions.

We’ll call it: “Steelblood.” Or maybe “Thrones of Gears.” I don’t know. Get the intern on it.

Optional smut? Love it. Theatres fade to black. Streaming doesn’t.

I want concept art on my desk by Monday. Make one of the wives a dragon. Or a lawyer. Or both.

Clicks pen. Elevator dings.

Let’s make a billion.

already finished, 76 chapters, 209000 words. It was a failure, people want pure emotions and feelings, a hero, pure as silk or tainted, but good at heart (just misundrstood gentle sould that is mean, but doesnt mean it) they dont want a "protagonist" (if there is such a thing) that is morally ambivalent or is nothing special, just a regular guy. It is weird, one reader told me once that he dropped it becouse the "MC" spied on the girl he liked having intercourse with a Knight for money. The two "lovers" knew the "MC" and his brother were watching, but they didnt care. "So inmoral" said the reader... Ironic, we all know who sasha gray is... everyone chokes the chicken, but we are repulsed by the idea of a human MC.

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

already finished, 76 chapters, 209000 words. It was a failure, people want pure emotions and feelings, a hero, pure as silk or tainted, but good at heart (just misundrstood gentle sould that is mean, but doesnt mean it) they dont want a "protagonist" (if there is such a thing) that is morally ambivalent or is nothing special, just a regular guy. It is weird, one reader told me once that he dropped it becouse the "MC" spied on the girl he liked having intercourse with a Knight for money. The two "lovers" knew the "MC" and his brother were watching, but they didnt care. "So inmoral" said the reader... Ironic, we all know who sasha gray is... everyone chokes the chicken, but we are repulsed by the idea of a human MC.

dropping the act, i don't think the problem is as simple as "people don't want realistic MC even though they say they want realism." I think what they mean is relatable realism. They don’t mind flawed characters, but they need a way in. Some thread of vulnerability, regret, or longing they can connect to. If that emotional thread’s missing, then even very honest or human choices can just feel alienating or ‘wrong’ to them.

if a reader can't connect to a character, then ofc they won't be interested in them. This connection can be broken too, once formed, like the example you gave of the main character watching the girl he liked get fucked?

Like no shit sherlock, did you think everyone relates to that feeling?

cuckold much?

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

A woman gets isekai'ed on her favorite MMO, as part of a group of adventurers. Suddenly, the danger is real, but so are the emotions, the marvel and the world she loved. And, above it all, the character she loved are there. Closer to her than she ever dared to dream. And they have secrets that never made to the game. Sexy and potentially smutty secrets.

If the shadow of that strange presence did not hang over her, this new life would be perfect.

Alright, I’m already sold on the “favorite MMO comes to life” hook--that’s a ticket for the fans and the curious alike.

The “sexy, smutty secrets” add spice, and that shadowy presence? Perfect for a looming plot twist or sequel hook.

We’ll want close-ups on those “characters she loved”--pull the audience in with tension and unspoken histories. And hey, nothing says drama like a perfect world with a dark stain.

Get me a pilot script. I’m imagining glossy cinematography, a killer soundtrack, and a whole lot of “Did they really just say that?” moments.

Lights, camera, level up.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

dropping the act, i don't think the problem is as simple as "people don't want realistic MC even though they say they want realism." I think what they mean is relatable realism. They don’t mind flawed characters, but they need a way in. Some thread of vulnerability, regret, or longing they can connect to. If that emotional thread’s missing, then even very honest or human choices can just feel alienating or ‘wrong’ to them.

if a reader can't connect to a character, then ofc they won't be interested in them. This connection can be broken too, once formed, like the example you gave of the main character watching the girl he liked get fucked?

Like no shit sherlock, did you think everyone relates to that feeling?

cuckhold much?

You didnt get the point either. You see, how do I explain... Is about social estructure, europeans, americans or people that generally has the time to write in this time and age has no idea what poverty is, not only that, they do not know the kind of mental shift poverty entrails. Lets take for example a very modern and popular one, the fcking harry potter, mistreated by his uncles, treated as a servant, living under the stair... poor harry... Dude is a five star life style in the south of dominican republic or haiti...
You call it cuckhold much?
But you know that every teenager back in the 90ies would take the oportunity to watch the show?
It doesnt seem like much now we have the internet and stuff, but back in the day that was a jackpot.
You get it now?
People, humans are degenerated by nature (that is something I hate about RR martin, but he got it right), is just now days we have more "options".
IS like the damned Isekai, everyone wants to dream with the chance to get of this life and "do better", becouse they think "with all I know I would do better" the truth is a DOA.
Anyway, my plan failed misserably, or should I say, I dont have the skill to get the point across with my writing. But, I am improving, a lot. I am far from writing my magnus opus yet, I just hope my best is up to par.
Still, it is undeniable that I failed to understand the psychology behind writing a succesufull story, but I will keep trying and i will get it right. I have 30 more years left in me yet, should be enough to get at least one Hit. Just one, that is all I need (I would prefer to be like S. King and churn out decent books one after another, but lets be real here, I aint no king).

 

[LeilaniOtter]

"NYC Noire: Murder in the Water:" - A 1940s private detective wolf and a sultry influential sea otter join forces to solve her friend's murder - and uncover a terrible secret that could ignite a mob war.

 

[GwynLordofTinder]

You sprint down the hall, manuscript of the next big thing in hand, just as the lift doors begin to close.
Crashing into the doors, your draft explodes—pages fluttering across the marble like dying birds.

Fuck.

You slam your fist against the metal and flip off whoever didn’t bother holding the lift.

Then you freeze.

The door had opened.

And the one you just flipped off is still watching—expression unreadable, eyes quietly amused.

You step inside. Hands empty. Heart hammering.

This person could change your life.

A publisher looking for the next big novel.
A movie exec with talent for picking blockbusters.
A bored god searching for a story to build their next world.

It doesn’t matter who it is.

You have a story.
They want to hear it.

No manuscript. No second chances.

Just thirty seconds and a dream.

So... my story?

It’s about a boy who makes a desperate vow to save the girl he loves—only to follow her into a nightmare realm where memory rewrites reality and gods wear the faces of the people he failed.

The deeper he goes, the more he begins to fracture—until he’s not sure if he’s saving her, chasing her, or becoming something she’d never recognise.

A slow-burn fantasy, it’s tragic, it’s a little bit beautiful, and it asks how far you'd go for someone who might not even want to be saved.

Your turn.

The lift is moving. Floors ascending. Make it count.

My Mom said the jokes were funny and my Dad said the sex scenes were good.

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

You didnt get the point either. You see, how do I explain... Is about social estructure, europeans, americans or people that generally has the time to write in this time and age has no idea what poverty is, not only that, they do not know the kind of mental shift poverty entrails. Lets take for example a very modern and popular one, the fcking harry potter, mistreated by his uncles, treated as a servant, living under the stair... poor harry... Dude is a five star life style in the south of dominican republic or haiti...
You call it cuckhold much?
But you know that every teenager back in the 90ies would take the oportunity to watch the show?
It doesnt seem like much now we have the internet and stuff, but back in the day that was a jackpot.
You get it now?
People, humans are degenerated by nature (that is something I hate about RR martin, but he got it right), is just now days we have more "options".
IS like the damned Isekai, everyone wants to dream with the chance to get of this life and "do better", becouse they think "with all I know I would do better" the truth is a DOA.
Anyway, my plan failed misserably, or should I say, I dont have the skill to get the point across with my writing. But, I am improving, a lot. I am far from writing my magnus opus yet, I just hope my best is up to par.
Still, it is undeniable that I failed to understand the psychology behind writing a succesufull story, but I will keep trying and i will get it right. I have 30 more years left in me yet, should be enough to get at least one Hit. Just one, that is all I need (I would prefer to be like S. King and churn out decent books one after another, but lets be real here, I aint no king).

I mean do you have that experience with poverty? Even if you do, like you said yourself, most of the western world doesn’t.

That is the beauty of stories, when you can weave together a piece of literature that not only entertains, but teaches. Your goal was clearly to teach your audience about your feelings on the matter, and you said what was on your mind. But you failed to understand one thing, which you have clearly already realised.

That stories are entertainment first. They have to be.

No matter what you are trying to teach, what you’re trying to say, it does matter if it isn’t read.

But you’ve already learned that.

Honestly your thoughts are compelling and interesting to me.

Just like in the isekai genre where characters get second chances, where readers say they would, too, change if they got the chance, they wouldn’t change.

Humans are creatures of habit.

Same way I told myself I would actually do my homework this break, that of course I would put in the hours, and stop failing most of my classes. Instead I ended up spending all my time writing, and am only doing worse in school. English is good though thankfully.

I want to change. But it is difficult to change habits. I understand what you are saying.

Like how Harry Potter grew up in a 5 star hotel compared to the poverty some have to grow up in.

Don’t sell yourself short. I can see fantastic ideas in your mind that if written correctly could easily stay with and resonate with an audience for life.

Now lets get back to the game.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

I mean do you have that experience with poverty? Even if you do, like you said yourself, most of the western world doesn’t.

That is the beauty of stories, when you can weave together a piece of literature that not only entertains, but teaches. Your goal was clearly to teach your audience about your feelings on the matter, and you said what was on your mind. But you failed to understand one thing, which you have clearly already realised.

That stories are entertainment first. They have to be.

No matter what you are trying to teach, what you’re trying to say, it does matter if it isn’t read.

But you’ve already learned that.

Honestly your thoughts are compelling and interesting to me.

Just like in the isekai genre where characters get second chances, where readers say they would, too, change if they got the chance, they wouldn’t change.

Humans are creatures of habit.

Same way I told myself I would actually do my homework this break, that of course I would put in the hours, and stop failing most of my classes. Instead I ended up spending all my time writing, and am only doing worse in school. English is good though thankfully.

I want to change. But it is difficult to change habits. I understand what you are saying.

Like how Harry Potter grew up in a 5 star hotel compared to the poverty some have to grow up in.

Don’t sell yourself short. I can see fantastic ideas in your mind that if written correctly could easily stay with and resonate with an audience for life.

Now going back to business, I got something else to sell, you.
Imagine 30 years in the future. AI is part of life, we all know computers can do a lot of things better than humans... cool, a new golden age humans + computers and ai. But then we get a weird warning from AI, humanity is under the greatest threath we ever experience, Bio mechanical cephalopods probabky from outer space invade us and our Ai cant help us in the battle field, so we turn to old reliable infantry. no more drones, soldiers in giant exoskeletons are our champions, but there is a price to pay.
Have you ever hit your elbow and felt that intense pain through your arm?
imagine feeling that all over your body every time you baord the cockpit of your machine... would you do it?
Can you live in pain? Can you carry on your mision while you see your self turning into a living corpse in the mirror?

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

"NYC Noire: Murder in the Water:" - A 1940s private detective wolf and a sultry influential sea otter join forces to solve her friend's murder - and uncover a terrible secret that could ignite a mob war.

Alright, you had me at 'private detective wolf'. You kept me with that cover art of the 'sultry sea otter'. Mob war? Classic stakes. But here’s the real question... does he light a cigarette with a trembling paw while she swims circles around him in a velvet voice?

Mob war and animal roles? Cute. But I want style. I want mood.

Poster’s easy: foggy pier, trench coat, moonlight on fur.
Tagline: In a city of predators, trust is the first to drown.

Alright, kid. You got my attention. Tell me who kills who, and why I’ll regret loving them.

 

[kIlLaR_bEh]

Now going back to business, I got something else to sell, you.
Imagine 30 years in the future. AI is part of life, we all know computers can do a lot of things better than humans... cool, a new golden age humans + computers and ai. But then we get a weird warning from AI, humanity is under the greatest threath we ever experience, Bio mechanical cephalopods probabky from outer space invade us and our Ai cant help us in the battle field, so we turn to old reliable infantry. no more drones, soldiers in giant exoskeletons are our champions, but there is a price to pay.
Have you ever hit your elbow and felt that intense pain through your arm?
imagine feeling that all over your body every time you baord the cockpit of your machine... would you do it?
Can you live in pain? Can you carry on your mision while you see your self turning into a living corpse in the mirror?

Okay. Business hat on. Here's what I'm seeing:

Premise:
Near-future Earth. AI and humanity coexisting, until they aren't. Threat arrives. Biomechanical cephalopods from deep space. AI folds. Humanity falls back on its ancient fallback: the flesh. We suit up, pain and all.

Genre bones?
Yeah. Evangelion. Maybe a touch of 86. The mech suit isn't salvation. It's suffering. You're not piloting a machine--you're surrendering your body to a cage that hurts you. Good. That’s a mood.

But here's the issue: what's new?

Pacific Rim had neural linking and drifting memories.
Darling in the Franxx had... suggestive seating. Marketable.
Gundam gave us child soldiers and political tragedy.

Yours has... chronic pain?

Don’t get me wrong. Existential suffering can carry a story. But right now, you're not leveraging it. Is it metaphor? Is it body horror? Is it identity breakdown? What does the pain say that a reader hasn't already heard? If the twist is “war is hell,” well, welcome to the mecha club.

You're late.

And your worldbuilding?

Thirty years ahead isn’t far enough unless the sociopolitical changes are violent and personal. The tech leap feels soft. AI disappears from the battlefield but not from life? Why? What broke the partnership? Why do we still use exosuits, painful, outdated tech... if we could build something better?

TLDR;

You're writing about people turning themselves into weapons. Fine. But if your defining feature is suffering, you need to give that suffering meaning. Otherwise it’s just noise. And worse, it’s familiar noise.

So--

What makes your pain different?
Why this protagonist?
And what do we lose when we win this war?

If you can answer those questions, you might just have something worth reading.

It is weird, one reader told me once that he dropped it becouse the "MC" spied on the girl he liked having intercourse with a Knight for money. The two "lovers" knew the "MC" and his brother were watching, but they didnt care. "So inmoral" said the reader... Ironic, we all know who sasha gray is... everyone chokes the chicken, but we are repulsed by the idea of a human MC.

btw cross ange already did the whole "MC watches girl he likes get raped" if you wanted to try that again.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

About the fantasy; the MC didnt see her et "raped" she was doing bussiness. Poor man/woman only have two things to sell. Your life and your body. People like us, we kind of sell our life, 8 to 5 for a wage.

About the science fiction:
1) The AI is our ally, M.A.R.T.A helped humanity create the exoskeletons, AI cant come up with anything new, but it is good at finding solutions to a puzzle when all the pieces are known, she is just faster. She cant help in combat couse our dear aliens are great hackers, like insanelly good hackers.

2) The machines hurt becouse my background is in medicine. like you said just a few years have passed, my propossal is not irrational, we already have nervous sistem implants like neuralink or neuro stimulators used in medicine to treat chronic pain, parkinson and some others. I just took that to a new level and gave it a spin, but there is a catch, electricity stimulation on nervs has it consecuences, plus we are using some alien tech into it too.

3) we dont use "children as pilots" we use anyone compatible and willing, we just lost to many man in the fight, now most of the volunteers are mostly kids (17-18 years old) who have bought into the propaganda. Like in real life we had rambo posters.

But wait, there is more... how ever, I wont give any more spoilers.
I will only say this: Everything is this story is "kind of possible", maybe it could be done with the actual tech. Still the point of this story is not even that... there is just a bit more to it.

Also: This was supposed to be the back ground for a seriers of small stories (40-60k words per story) about how humanity developed until they broke out of the solar sistem and explored space in search for the homeland of "the enemy". There was suppodes to be 3-4 more stories that lead to humans "colonizing" planets untill they get wrecked by rulers of the known universe "the dralks" in another book (already writen) called "Down there in the stars". But none of my stories seemed good enough so I scrapped the whole thing and kept the two stories as stand alone.

 

[SkaraVaden]

Alright, I’m already sold on the “favorite MMO comes to life” hook--that’s a ticket for the fans and the curious alike.

The “sexy, smutty secrets” add spice, and that shadowy presence? Perfect for a looming plot twist or sequel hook.

We’ll want close-ups on those “characters she loved”--pull the audience in with tension and unspoken histories. And hey, nothing says drama like a perfect world with a dark stain.

Get me a pilot script. I’m imagining glossy cinematography, a killer soundtrack, and a whole lot of “Did they really just say that?” moments.

Lights, camera, level up.

You really got me there! We would need a streaming service, I don't think theatres are ready for throuples