Why is it so hard for traditional fantasy and Sci fi to be successful on online writing sites?

[BenJepheneT]

You're not wrong. In fact, you're right.

But that demand will never top the demand for smut stories.

I mean, queer and smut coincides HEAVILY in a Venn diagram and the latter coincides with many other sexualities too so it's not hard to imagine the catch all genre to be popular as fuck

Anyone would enjoy a good snuggle snuggle, c'mon

 

[LotsChrono]

I mean, queer and smut coincides HEAVILY in a Venn diagram and the latter coincides with many other sexualities too so it's not hard to imagine the catch all genre to be popular as fuck

Anyone would enjoy a good snuggle snuggle, c'mon

Oh for sure. For sure. I like writing Yuri, but mostly for the fluff. Though I've written a fair bit of 'lemons' myself, both yuri and non-yuri. Most are obviously not published though.

 

[LotsChrono]

SMUT, SMUT, SMUT.
srry jk lol.

but i can feel some are chanting for it...

Yes. I've gotten readers asking for more explicit scenes of yuri before.

pft

Bonk them with the "horny stick"

 

[Jemini]

I object to this notion! Portal fantasy is very traditional!

About the only difference between Isekai and Portal fantasy is what tropes it follows. My previous version of Key to the Void before the reboot did pretty well. The re-write hasn't hit it big yet, but it's showing some good hallmarks that it can with a little more of the right kind of effort.

BTW: With the exception of reincarnation as the manner of world-hopping, I am writing Key to the Void very much in accordance with the tropes of traditional fantasy. Fairly little wish-fulfillment, power fantasy, or harem involved here. Also, zero Yuri. (The characters are sufficiently powerful alright, but that is only against the starting grunts. As for the romance aspects, there is something of a potential for a love triangle to form far later in the series and the set-up for it is pretty clear. However, love-triangles are traditionally western writing while the Isekai bit is harem where it exceeds 2 potential love interests and removes the pressure to only choose 1.) It takes some views of fantasy creatures that are extrapolations from the traditional lore back in the dark fantasy days of Germany, and leverages it for some bits of social commentary. For instance, it asks the question on what the fae who kidnap children do with those children, and gives an answer. It also makes the whole bit on racial discrimination a lot more messy with both sides being against each other and both having their faults rather than the route most go with on having one side be perfect innocent victims and the other the incarnation of cruelty.

 

[Arkus86]

You could check out Quill, who does write in more traditional low-fantasy setting.

 

[lambchap]

Also you might want to check out topwebfiction, writing-related subreddits, or fiction blogs.


Edit: I want to add to that there's a high chance the stories from these sources are those in "traditional" fantasy. But we'll most likely come across Superheroes, Litrpgs, Dragons?

 

[AliceShiki]

It's not super hard for sci-fi and traditional fantasy to be popular, mind you... There are a fair number of stories like those in pretty much every webfiction site.

But you also have to be aware that some types of stories are just more popular than others... You just gotta accept that and live with it. If you're writing for a genre that is less popular than others, you have less chance of being successful... That's just how those things work. There's nothing you can do about it.

 

[WasatchWind]

If you're really only looking for traditional fantasy and sci-fi you should stick with traditional writing. As for variety, you really just have to look for them. There's definitely a wide range of stories. Its just hard to find one specific type because there's so many. You can put filters on your homepage so you won't see specific tags you don't like (gender bender for example).

I'm not looking for stuff to read - what I want is for more typical fantasy to come to site - isekai is not inherently bad or anything, just the exact method of it feels overused.

I want to see more fantasy novels that aren't reincarnation or anything like that. Just start out in a fantasy world, and give your characters an established place in your world.

I want this because it will be easier for those who do want to read fantasy to find it here. It may make a difference in what people want to see if there is more variety.

Scribblehub is still quite young in comparison to Wattpad, and I think that it could still be molded to accept different types of stories.

 

[WasatchWind]

My sci fi isn't just an excuse to genderbend...

If you don't like this site, maybe you should just find somewhere else. If online story sites don't work for you, maybe you should put your story on Amazon. I don't think that people who like "traditional" fantasy are ever going to go searching for it on an online writing site.

That wasn't a personal attack against you, or anything like that. I personally don't like genderbender stuff. I'm not advocating for it to be cast off the site, all I'm saying is I want some variety.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

@WakerOfWinds i heard of fanfiction.net it probably would be good for you, since your story is fantasy, but its a fanfiction foremost.

I want to see more fantasy novels that aren't reincarnation or anything like that. Just start out in a fantasy world, and give your characters an established place in your world.

Eh i gotta be honest with you, that is my same feel with fanfiction.

I also want to go to places where there's less fanfiction of already existing original work, and see more originality with stories. I want to find originality, not some 54 variations of Harry Potter or Sasuke when I can just read the one true original and canon one...

Unless that existing story kinda sucks or leaves a lot of questions, (i've seen some stories that makes me feel like i want to write a fanfic on just to put more depth/closure into characters).

Why not make your own original characters and stories instead of basing it off another's existing story? Forget about using other characters and worlds. Eventually you'll write so much, your story might completely go on a different path that you can't even tell what it was a fanfiction of and the only thing they have in common would be the name. Why not just remove the shared names and storylines and turn it into something completely new then? (Look at Cassandra Claire, 50 Shades of Grey, and the After Movies)...

It'll save you a lot of pain when you want to monetize it, cause monetizing fanfiction, regardless how much you wrote through your blood sweat and tears, is still monetizing a story that's off of an existing story/characters done by another author.

Sorry I kinda ran off-topic here. Coming back to the thread's discussion...

---

My take is to just write and put it out there bud. No matter how it feels to be kinda out there writing fantasy on platforms that are more geared towards romance, isekai, etc. You'll never know until you put your whole effort in and see how many readers you get.

Maybe you'll make a break into it and you'll start the next trend of SH fantasy fiction. That's what I'm plan to do - just write it out and see how much traction it gains - since I don't think my stories necessarily fit the popular tropes on here. But I'm just gonna push it out and see what happens. Maybe it'll open new boundaries for stories. ;)

 

[IWannaBeAMergirl]

That wasn't a personal attack against you, or anything like that. I personally don't like genderbender stuff. I'm not advocating for it to be cast off the site, all I'm saying is I want some variety.

Well, it personally sounds more like you're whining that stuff you don't like is more popular. And I also think it's very charitable to yourself to consider your fanfiction on the same level as "normal" fantasy and sci fi. Granted, I have enjoyed reading it. I think it's good.

But that's no excuse to put yourself on a tower above all the other writers here, just because you think what we write is weird or bad.

 

[AliceShiki]

I want to see more fantasy novels that aren't reincarnation or anything like that. Just start out in a fantasy world, and give your characters an established place in your world.

I want this because it will be easier for those who do want to read fantasy to find it here. It may make a difference in what people want to see if there is more variety.

If it makes you feel any happier, the only story I have written here is a standard fantasy story without isekai/reincarnation/whatever.

And the one I'm currently writing, but haven't published yet is also a standard fantasy~

I'm not a particularly popular author though, and I can point to a ton of problems my first novel had, but... Well, I'd say I got a decent amount of popularity for a first story that honestly lacked a fair bit of quality, so I'd say there is plenty of potential for "normal" fantasy~

 

[Ai-chan]

Long title, yes, I know. And yes, I know about royal road.

In reading stuff on the forums, I'm finding myself more and more surprised at the lack of variety on Wattpad, Scribblehub, Inkitt, etc.

I feel very out of my element. There is so much... sameness on the site. Looking at the stuff that's on the front page or what is recommended to me, it always, always is more of the same.

I'm not asking for requests or anything like that - I just want to ask, is anyone on this site writing non isekai fantasy, and Sci fi that's not just a means to do a gender bender?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Ai-chan is waiting for a novel-writing competition that pays good money. Until then, it's all hidden in the corner of Ai-chan's google drive. Why not just share it? Because competitions require exclusivity, you know, those "never been posted anywhere before xx.xx.xxxx". If exclusivity is not a requirement, Ai-chan has no problem sharing it now.

At most you'd got some events where you got payouts from nanowrimo if you finish your novel during nanowrimo. Ai-chan would definitely feel more motivated if Scribblehub would incentivize authors to finish existing novels instead of asking authors to post completely new novels. @Tony , any chance of that?

 

[WasatchWind]

@WakerOfWinds i heard of fanfiction.net it probably would be good for you, since your story is fantasy, but its a fanfiction foremost.


Eh i gotta be honest with you, that is my same feel with fanfiction.

I also want to go to places where there's less fanfiction of already existing original work, and see more originality with stories. I want to find originality, not some 54 variations of Harry Potter or Sasuke when I can just read the one true original and canon one...

Unless that existing story kinda sucks or leaves a lot of questions, (i've seen some stories that makes me feel like i want to write a fanfic on just to put more depth/closure into characters).

Why not make your own original characters and stories instead of basing it off another's existing story? Forget about using other characters and worlds. Eventually you'll write so much, your story might completely go on a different path that you can't even tell what it was a fanfiction of and the only thing they have in common would be the name. Why not just remove the shared names and storylines and turn it into something completely new then? (Look at Cassandra Claire, 50 Shades of Grey, and the After Movies)...

It'll save you a lot of pain when you want to monetize it, cause monetizing fanfiction, regardless how much you wrote through your blood sweat and tears, is still monetizing a story that's off of an existing story/characters done by another author.

Sorry I kinda ran off-topic here. Coming back to the thread's discussion...

---

My take is to just write and put it out there bud. No matter how it feels to be kinda out there writing fantasy on platforms that are more geared towards romance, isekai, etc. You'll never know until you put your whole effort in and see how many readers you get.

Maybe you'll make a break into it and you'll start the next trend of SH fantasy fiction. That's what I'm plan to do - just write it out and see how much traction it gains - since I don't think my stories necessarily fit the popular tropes on here. But I'm just gonna push it out and see what happens. Maybe it'll open new boundaries for stories. ;)

My fanfiction is kind of just training wheels for me - I'm using it to practice writing fantasy, and not feel bad if it turns out not being very good.

Well, it personally sounds more like you're whining that stuff you don't like is more popular. And I also think it's very charitable to yourself to consider your fanfiction on the same level as "normal" fantasy and sci fi. Granted, I have enjoyed reading it. I think it's good.

But that's no excuse to put yourself on a tower above all the other writers here, just because you think what we write is weird or bad.

Again, I'm not trying to bash your work. Perhaps I have worded my thoughts badly.

While there are genres I'm not fond of, I don't see anything wrong with genderbender. If there's anything I actually have a problem with, it is harem and smut. That though, I'd just my personal aversion to pornographic material and erotica - and if people want to write that, I don't think it is my place to judge what others like.

I only glanced at your works, and they seemed like decent quality, even if it is a topic I'm not interested in.

 

[Businesssn]

My sci fi isn't just an excuse to genderbend...

If you don't like this site, maybe you should just find somewhere else. If online story sites don't work for you, maybe you should put your story on Amazon. I don't think that people who like "traditional" fantasy are ever going to go searching for it on an online writing site.

I don’t really think there is a traditional fantas. Fantasy is based of the person you ask

 

[Businesssn]

Also go to royal road they are the zone for fantasy fictions

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Also go to royal road they are the zone for fantasy fictions

More than just isekai and litrpg right? I heard these two are the mostly popular ones on that site. Idk thu.

 

[WasatchWind]

More than just isekai and litrpg right? I heard these two are the mostly popular ones on that site. Idk thu.

Royal road I haven't delved into a lot, but that sounds about right.

 

[Businesssn]

More than just isekai and litrpg right? I heard these two are the mostly popular ones on that site. Idk thu.

Like that’s the place to got for liters and isekia. Everything else their is pretty b tier

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Like that’s the place to got for liters and isekia. Everything else their is pretty b tier

Interesting. I don't think my stories fall into that sort of fantasy then. Oh well. Still will check it later on more to see how it goes.