Since we're talking about writing experiences...

[Hans.Trondheim]

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?​

 

[Envylope]

If I had to say, I had the complete opposite experience from you. I had the talent to do it but not really the drive. It took only a few months for me to get 1k readers on SH. I struggled with my own set of mental health issues though, and I realized that despite my writing being popular, it was shit.

I kept deleting stories and finding ways to improve with videos or tutorials online, and I even started to do creative writing in college. At the start, I never wanted to make money from it, but in the past year, I have started trying to do so.

I made an alt and signed a contract to see if I could do it, and I was astounded that even after only 1 month, my novel was able to make 1.2k. I started getting things like imposter syndrome, and my uploads eventually started slowing. I went from making 1.2k to 700 dollars to 400 dollars and so on.

Right now, I am trying to do it with Patreon, and the initial grind is slower. In some ways, this is good for me, and in other ways, it's bad. I kinda had to ration food and stuff, but being hungry was kind of liberating in a weird way. It made me only able to think about how I can make money, and it forced me to write.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

If I had to say, I had the complete opposite experience from you. I had the talent to do it but not really the drive. It took only a few months for me to get 1k readers on SH. I struggled with my own set of mental health issues though, and I realized that despite my writing being popular, it was shit.

I kept deleting stories and finding ways to improve with videos or tutorials online, and I even started to do creative writing in college. At the start, I never wanted to make money from it, but in the past year, I have started trying to do so.

I made an alt and signed a contract to see if I could do it, and I was astounded that even after only 1 month, my novel was able to make 1.2k. I started getting things like imposter syndrome, and my uploads eventually started slowing. I went from making 1.2k to 700 dollars to 400 dollars and so on.

Right now, I am trying to do it with Patreon, and the initial grind is slower. In some ways, this is good for me, and in other ways, it's bad. I kinda had to ration food and stuff, but being hungry was kind of liberating in a weird way. It made me only able to think about how I can make money, and it forced me to write.

Still better than mine, which was unpopular and shit. I can't even monetize that stuff, even when I need money to pay for my medicines and bills. lol

Still though, congratulations on your achievements.

 

[Eldoria]

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

I have 5 fictions. 3 fictions on hiatus, 1 fiction in draft, 1 ongoing fiction (main series). Forget the 4 fictions for a moment, the main series has reached over 200k words (not fully released) with 2 arcs (completed). Although the main series is still ongoing, I am satisfied to have completed 2 arcs.

Currently, I am trying to rewrite the chapters that need improvement. I can see the latest narrative improvement that is more immersive.

Honestly, I don't believe writing is about talent, for me, writing is about narrative competence. Everyone can learn it. The difference is only a matter of experience and the willingness to continue learning. I believe that even established writers started writing with a single stroke of ink. Every writer started as an amateur.

So, I will continue to learn, write, read, evaluate and edit until my fiction reaches a standard of "worth reading".

I am not pursuing fiction that has literary value with beautiful prose. I am pursuing fiction that is easy to read, easy to perceive, easy to imagine. So, readers can feel like they are living in a fantasy world. And my journey is far from over...

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I have 5 fictions. 3 fictions on hiatus, 1 fiction in draft, 1 ongoing fiction (main series). Forget the 4 fictions for a moment, the main series has reached over 200k words (not fully released) with 2 arcs (completed). Although the main series is still ongoing, I am satisfied to have completed 2 arcs.

Currently, I am trying to rewrite the chapters that need improvement. I can see the latest narrative improvement that is more immersive.

Honestly, I don't believe writing is about talent, for me, writing is about narrative competence. Everyone can learn it. The difference is only a matter of experience and the willingness to continue learning. I believe that even established writers started writing with a single stroke of ink. Every writer started as an amateur.

So, I will continue to learn, write, read, evaluate and edit until my fiction reaches a standard of "worth reading".

I am not pursuing fiction that has literary value with beautiful prose. I am pursuing fiction that is easy to read, easy to perceive, easy to imagine. So, readers can feel like they are living in a fantasy world. And my journey is far from over...

Till seger!

 

[Envylope]

Still better than mine, which was unpopular and shit. I can't even monetize that stuff, even when I need money to pay for my medicines and bills. lol

Still though, congratulations on your achievements.

I wouldn't say it was better. There is a lot that went into it that I didn't say. I would just say that it was different. My experience now is only better because of all of the BS I went through to get here.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I wouldn't say it was better. There is a lot that went into it that I didn't say. I would just say that it was different. My experience now is only better because of all of the BS I went through to get here.

The experience you went through is part of why it is better, and the reception as well. That's the concrete proof of quality in your works.

 

[Bald-san]

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?​

I have one fanfiction in published, a sequel I feel out of love of, an unpublished fanfiction of a very complicated novel (Lord of the Mysteries) and an original story in the first stages of the works.

I tried rewriting the sequel of Sophia Demiurge 3 times already but I can't seem to realign my love of my first series ti the second one. I feel like it's something unnecessary and just prolonged a story that's supposed to end at a certain point

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I have one fanfiction in published, a sequel I feel out of love of, an unpublished fanfiction of a very complicated novel (Lord of the Mysteries) and an original story in the first stages of the works.

I tried rewriting the sequel of Sophia Demiurge 3 times already but I can't seem to realign my love of my first series ti the second one. I feel like it's something unnecessary and just prolonged a story that's supposed to end at a certain point

That's one of the reasons I find it difficult to write fanfics, so I never went that route. Tis quite easy to fall out of love with the story because it isn't ours to begin with.

 

[AntonYBLaksmi]

I simply allow the elf king to use my body as a vessel to spit flames. Nothing more nothing less. . I am also in contact with goblins and ghouls. Sometimes it feels like maybe the spirits of the dinosaurs are using my body to put soul into text.

 

[AstreiaNyx]

@ 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.​

I mean, it is impressive how you managed to push on through sheer passion despite lacking results. There is a word for this. Grit, perhaps, an admirable trait. I wish you all the best.

Right now, I am trying to do it with Patreon, and the initial grind is slower. In some ways, this is good for me, and in other ways, it's bad. I kinda had to ration food and stuff, but being hungry was kind of liberating in a weird way. It made me only able to think about how I can make money, and it forced me to write.

As someone who frequently browses trending books, I think I know yours. You’ll be trending on SH soon and I don’t doubt you’ll climb higher on RR’s rising stars. It’s an impressive feat to achieve and I hope it all goes well for you.

Currently, I am trying to rewrite the chapters that need improvement. I can see the latest narrative improvement that is more immersive.

I am not pursuing fiction that has literary value with beautiful prose. I am pursuing fiction that is easy to read, easy to perceive, easy to imagine. So, readers can feel like they are living in a fantasy world. And my journey is far from over...

You can pursue something that is both beautiful to read and easy to read. But I feel you. I don’t know how many editing passes I’ve made on a chapter.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I mean, it is impressive how you managed to push on through sheer passion despite lacking results. There is a word for this. Grit, perhaps, an admirable trait. I wish you all the best.

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.

I simply allow the elf king to use my body as a vessel to spit flames. Nothing more nothing less. . I am also in contact with goblins and ghouls. Sometimes it feels like maybe the spirits of the dinosaurs are using my body to put soul into text.

@Bartun another (pseudo) dino-bro here!

 

[Dawnathon]

I'm still trying to figure out this webnovel format. It's a lot different from story blogs and forums I used to use. The story I'm posting on SH hasn't gotten any traction, and poking around has me making a few guesses as to why. Nonstandard cover art that isn't appealing, a prologue that asks too much investment from the reader, even the chapter titles having a weird pattern that only makes sense later on. Almost any casual reader is going through a few filters, but...

I just re-purposed my writing goal to telling stories, even if no one reads it.​

I'm in the same camp. I'm noticing the reader count in terms of what it says about the story's mass marketing appeal, but I wouldn't change anything. I just like the story ideas that spawned all these typed words, and I'd rather share that core story instead of prettying it up.

Besides, my SH readings have had me cross paths with Teratovore, which isn't that much like VoraCity, but I appreciate it all the same. Especially the similar sketch-ish eyeball cover art.

So, I will continue to learn, write, read, evaluate and edit until my fiction reaches a standard of "worth reading".

I am not pursuing fiction that has literary value with beautiful prose. I am pursuing fiction that is easy to read, easy to perceive, easy to imagine. So, readers can feel like they are living in a fantasy world. And my journey is far from over...

I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive, but if you had to pick one to focus on, easy-to-read is definitely the better choice. Though, how do you personally decide where the "standard of 'worth reading'" is? I'm curious where other writers set those kinds of goals.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive, but if you had to pick one to focus on, easy-to-read is definitely the better choice. Though, how do you personally decide where the "standard of 'worth reading'" is? I'm curious where other writers set those kinds of goals.

Problem with most of the 'rules' and 'standards' in writing is that, many are subjective (depending on the perspective of the individual reader), and prone to bending, as per the marketability of the work (if it sells, then fuck the rules). My mistake is that I focused on what I want to tell, not what the readers want to read, and realized that too late/unwilling to follow coz of personal reasons, especially when preliminary feedback wanted sex (coz my genre is isekai and harem).

Any case, I'm at the crossroads now. I'm just waiting for confirmation if I will continue or give up and move on with this stupidity (and waste) of mine.

 

[ShrimpShady]

Mind if I vent a little? Please don't call an emergency meeting

I've been "working" on this sort of novel since late 2024. It doesn't fit the webnovel format, nor is it the type of story that readers here typically look for, so it likely won't ever be published here.

The first 25000 or so words went really well. I was getting shit done, the content was alright, and there were some parts that I thought were really impressive. I kept that momentum up until around mid 2025, when I shifted my focus away due to other real-life obligations. Progress became a lot slower, but I was still making progress up until I reached a real snag in the story. Basically, I had trouble writing what came next. In that period of hesitation, I ended up getting even more busy with real life stuff and had to just put the story on the backburner.

Late 2025, I tried to continue the story little by little, but I just weirdly lost steam. I started noticing major plot holes, weaknesses in how the story's structured, lapses in the story's focus, and parts that just aren't compelling. Now, whenever I try to pick the story back up, my mind just draws a total blank. It's been stuck right at the last third for like a year

I wonder how I can get back into it. Really don't want to scrap the story because I've already done so much work on it

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Mind if I vent a little? Please don't call an emergency meeting

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

I've been "working" on this sort of novel since late 2024. It doesn't fit the webnovel format, nor is it the type of story that readers here typically look for, so it likely won't ever be published here.

The first 25000 or so words went really well. I was getting shit done, the content was alright, and there were some parts that I thought were really impressive. I kept that momentum up until around mid 2025, when I shifted my focus away due to other real-life obligations. Progress became a lot slower, but I was still making progress up until I reached a real snag in the story. Basically, I had trouble writing what came next. In that period of hesitation, I ended up getting even more busy with real life stuff and had to just put the story on the backburner.

Late 2025, I tried to continue the story little by little, but I just weirdly lost steam. I started noticing major plot holes, weaknesses in how the story's structured, lapses in the story's focus, and parts that just aren't compelling. Now, whenever I try to pick the story back up, my mind just draws a total blank. It's been stuck right at the last third for like a year

I wonder how I can get back into it. Really don't want to scrap the story because I've already done so much work on it

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.

 

[Eldoria]

I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive, but if you had to pick one to focus on, easy-to-read is definitely the better choice. Though, how do you personally decide where the "standard of 'worth reading'" is? I'm curious where other writers set those kinds of goals.

You should understand that The relationship between author, fiction, and reader is like a symbolic contract. The author provides a narrative to the reader. Readers know the narrative is "fictional," but they are willing to be bound by the "lie" to achieve a sense of experience.

Reading fiction means allowing the lie to "hypnotize" you. So, you can experience the "truth" of the sense of experience the author has crafted through narrative.

The questions are:

1. How can you hypnotize readers through fiction?
2. How can you transfer an imaginative world to readers' minds?
3. How can you make readers understand your imaginative world without confusion, without getting lost, without falling into white space syndrome, without head hopping, without experiencing cognitive obstacles due to chaotic narratives?
4. Can your fiction be understood by readers in just one reading without repeating?
5. How can you make readers feel like they are living in your imaginative world?
6. How can you influence your readers' emotions so that readers can laugh, get angry, feel uncomfortable, cry according to their interpretation of the story's narrative?
7. How can your readers get a sense of "truth" from your story?

All of these are about making fiction worth reading.

Therefore, I often ask for feedback on readers' reading experiences to help me achieve worth reading standard.

Here's one of my feedback request threads. Click here.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

You should understand that The relationship between author, fiction, and reader is like a symbolic contract. The author provides a narrative to the reader. Readers know the narrative is "fictional," but they are willing to be bound by the "lie" to achieve a sense of experience.

Reading fiction means allowing the lie to "hypnotize" you. So, you can experience the "truth" of the sense of experience the author has crafted through narrative.

The questions are:

1. How can you hypnotize readers through fiction?
2. How can you transfer an imaginative world to readers' minds?
3. How can you make readers understand your imaginative world without confusion, without getting lost, without falling into white space syndrome, without head hopping, without experiencing cognitive obstacles due to chaotic narratives?
4. Can your fiction be understood by readers in just one reading without repeating?
5. How can you make readers feel like they are living in your imaginative world?
6. How can you influence your readers' emotions so that readers can laugh, get angry, feel uncomfortable, cry according to their interpretation of the story's narrative?
7. How can your readers get a sense of "truth" from your story?

All of these are about making fiction worth reading.

Therefore, I often ask for feedback on readers' reading experiences to help me achieve worth reading standard.

Here's one of my feedback request threads. Click here.

Good points to consider.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

Good points to consider.

... and that's why I nicknamed Eldoria? "the Oracle".
Its like a "Ted Talk".
I could likely comb the archives here, and assemble all her little "Ted Talks" and put together a creative writing textbook that a university English department would use.

The usual thing:

me: what do you think of this thing X, eldoria.
eldoria: types out a short doctoral dissertation from the "Thematic Narrative Styles class" at Columbia University.
me: oh wow. thanks!
me (in my head): "christ, now I have to look up like 16 different things, like I don't have enough to do already... *grumble*grumble*grumble*... "

its all good information, but I *swear* she must be a creative writing professor at some university somewhere. Nothing else makes sense to me.

 

[Daeron]

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?​

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,