Search results

I don't think a story has to specifically convey a message. However, most stories, even written without an intention to do so, will have some emergent message that is not there because the author thought to put it in, but comes about as a common individual observation based on character behavior...

Usually within the first few seconds of proper music. How much of the video it is exactly varies, because it's typically difficult to tell when there's a long buildup. I have had a number of songs, however, that start out mediocre but are amazing in the later parts, or vice versa. So I guess...

Generally speaking, if we're introducing magic systems on top of physics, the only thing that really matters is how they interact with each other, and there's virtually infinite ways to go about it. If the magic is stored in some separate metaphysical or supernatural part of their being, the...

A lot of great stories I've read had close to a million words, or more. Shorter stories are good as well, and there's way more of them, but I generally don't want to read a hundred thousand words and get invested in the story only to find out it ended so fast. I think about 3-5 volumes is the...

I personally don't like it. It starts out quite well, the worldbuilding is great, but it does not feel organic to me, and it just stops being interesting after a while. It lacks any meaningful stakes, which is not a bad thing in itself but often makes the story feel like seeing a pre-planned...

If you want to publish it, then Novelupdates, Scribble Hub's sister site, is for translations. Not sure if there's an audience for that though.

I prefer not give too much detail, since all of that can come bite me in the ass later - hard systems are very difficult to keep consistent and balanced if you start explaining them in detail. If I get to a point in the story where I explain magic, I usually try to find that sweet spot between...

This all depends on the technology. Slapping an additional layer of basic armor can be done in hours, but upgrading the hull could potentially take weeks or months if you have to disassemble the ship to put on new armor. Similarly, depending on technology, upgrading the shield can be as simple...

I think a better distinction is whether a story is predictable or not. Straightforward stories can be unpredictable, stories with twists can be predictable - the key is to write a story that is somewhat predictable so that readers don't get lost and confused with the changing narrative, but not...

If it is done properly, those characters are fine. Particularly important here is presentation - if the character is there to make the main character look better, it's probably very bad. What I particularly don't like however are stories where the main character has those traits and keeps...

I would consider what a zombie is to answer that question. If a zombie is completely mindless, it won't be enraged by the fence, and it won't avoid it either - it will just bump into it again and again until chance pulls it in a different direction. If it has some vestiges of survival instinct...

I think some of it is marketing. Most of it is likely the feedback they have received and let get to their heads.

You can check out Thistlelight, I'm not sure it's on SH but I saw it briefly on RR. It got on Rising Stars for a while, iirc. I think the vast majority is around high school or college age, but a lot of them won't really care if a character is old.

I like how your pfp ties into the question. I prefer to distinguish two parts to this issue - the indescribable as the actual entity, and the perception of it. The entity is not affected by whatever you see and whatever you call it; what changes is your perception of it - you are generalizing...

Chocolate it is then, but that just tipped the scales.

I tried to answer this seriously, but working with the information I have, I genuinely don't know. Do you count tanned under chocolate?

Ideally, both. If I had to choose one, probably fantasy. A problem I have with a lot of romance stories is they often seem to hyperfixate on romance and neglect many other aspects of the story. If it doesn't have that issue though, romance is also great.

If my life affects the story in a significant manner, I'll inform the readers, but I try to keep it concise, without unnecessary detail.