File: lewd romance.webm (1012 KB, 720x480)

1012 KB WEBM

>>24954601
My webnovel idea. I'm currently building a backlog so I can release one or two chapters per week until I die... drowned in a sea of Patreon bucks, hopefully. Please tell me what you think of this simplified summary:
>American gets isekai'd to medieval fantasy world
>he swears to transform this backwards, primitive world into the perfect America the Founding Fathers had in mind when they signed the Declaration of Independence with his modern knowledge and newfound, ever-increasing magic powers
>people across the land love him as he liberates them from their abusive feudal lords and kings
>this love turns into hatred as he and his army impose conscription amongst the "liberated" peoples of his emerging nation as he struggles to take on one of the few warlords in the world who isnt a weak pushover
>he eventually wins and keeps on conquering and annexing nations, but tensions, conspiracy, betrayal, and rebellion only increase as his power grows and he gets more and more paranoid and insane
>Women, their beauty, seduction, passion, support, and betrayal are a big part of the story. MC is handsome, well-educated, artistic, seductive and falls in love relatively easily, so love and lust are always present in his mind and relationships.
That is the general blueprint. Every nation and the battle with or against its respective rulers, rebels, collaborators etceterea is an arc. I plan to end it with him conquering the whole planet and becoming immortal, or, continue adding arcs forever as he gets isekaid to new worlds and dimensions (not all of them medieval).

Someone mentioned this reminded him of Napoleon and Overlord (the anime i assume) in the previous /wng/. I've read Napoleon's biography, and I plan on watching the movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, yes. However, I must clarify, that I watched Overlord's first 2 or 3 episodes and dropped years ago without any intention of continue watching it, since I consider it boring and pointless (just like every piece of media in which MC starts overpowdered instead of growing one step at a time).

Opinions?

>>24954664
As a european, that sounds like shit, and if there is no magic it will just be lots of teaching how to make modern technology rather than political intrigue. Maybe the anime Gate is more similar than overlord.
I wouldn't read it though there is lots of idea guys but not so great executions

>>24954664
The honest answer is that anything can work if the execution is good enough. Though I have to say that sounds... ambitious and where's the "hook" for the typical RR reader?

>>24954664
>>American gets isekai'd to medieval fantasy world
Stopped reading here.

>>24954694
t. Citizen of an irrelevant country

File: atzi-aacap6gl0ry.jpg (179 KB, 400x600)

179 KB JPG

read atzi at anon's recommendation
I enjoyed it. probably would've dropped within the first 10 chapters if it weren't recommended
on a scale of self serious <-> ironic/silly it leans silly at first before finding its stride. dangerously silly, to the point of being millennial quirk chungus. the initial set up of "we're assembling the old heist crew for one last job" disgusted me
I generally appreciate the character writing. there's some iconic personalities here. at the beginning it's hard to engage with because of how pared down the prose starts. all you see is the protagonist being a hyper manic pixie girlfailure. you're actually able to appreciate her being a loser as her character rounds out. the first few chapters of "grug hungry, grug want pussy" are trite and lame as hell
as a mass slopsuming sloppoisseur, I'm starting to notice a pattern of stories with simple prose getting more complex and dense over the course of about 50k words, where it then settles at a normal western prose style. I wonder if this is a symptom of the author learning to write as they go, or if it's an intentional design to write in the style of early learning books meant to teach babies to talk, then settle into a more comfortable prose style once readers are hooked
Atzi specifically starts with a LN level of two line paragraphs and sentences with at most 8 words. it stays pretty minimal but does eventually start having some paragraphs and occasional descriptions
I'm 90% sure the setting is just a lift of the Dominions games. which is complimentary because the lore of Dominons is sick

all in all, solid slop. I enjoyed the read. if I were making a master list of mentally ill foidMC stories this'd probably be like B-tier
thanks for the recc

>>24954672
>if there is no magic
i mention MC has magic power at the end of the second ">". Thanks for the anime recommendation. I'll check Gate out. I do plan to promote my story here once it is available on RR, I hope you will give me the benefit of the doubt and do read it then.
>>24954675
You're totally right about the execution being the main thing above all else. I don't quite understand what you mean by "hook" or what you expected me to reply to that last question.
>>24954694
The MC being an American historian whose worldview clashes with the medieval Europe-like fantasy world is a key source of conflict in the story. He sees the kings and warlords of this world as the antithesis (enemies) of what he considers correct, namely, the ideas and deeds of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Payne, and other thinkers and warriors responsible for the independence of America.

>>24954811
I'm not sure you understand the wng or rr audience if you don't know what a 'hook' is. What makes your story special and stand out from the bunch of dross released each day?

>>24954817
>What makes your story special
Well, the unique way I write, of course. I can't prove anything right now, but I'll make sure to surpass expectations once the story is finished and ready to release.

File: IMG_0683.jpg (117 KB, 1290x1586)

117 KB JPG

Amazon sales are doing well. I think my erratic posting schedule has completely fucked myself out of any serious growth on RR. I'll still update chapters as I write them, but mostly in hopes of catching an occasional reader who’s good at spotting grammar and typos and whatnot

>>24954823
You've set yourself to walk the hardest path. The average wn reader doesn't care about prose, they care about big titty anime girls on the cover or "I'm a reborn OP MC" titles.

>>24954506
I made a follow-up post here >>24954126
slipped by me the first time about the 90chapters in op's post, he'll be fine releasing it in parts and polishing it as he goes on, even 2 chaps weekly could be fine but what matters is consistency with writing output, that's the whole idea with making a buffer to give you space to edit existing unreleased chaps, or goof off playing vidya or whatever until the pipeline nears its end. if he already has 90 chapters lined up he virtually has nothing to worry about since he pretty much already did what I suggested in the first place

>>24954823
self awareness check
have you seen an amateur story promote its unique prosaic style and then went on to read it?

>>24954872
>The average wn reader doesn't care about prose
Some animetranny bashed me only just today in a review calling my writing plain, with good grammar as its only strong point. I rather take inspiration from Hemingway and communicate clearly, than try to be some flowery french faggot.

>>24954872
>>24954882
I know what you mean. I've notice what gets popular on RR these days. There are two OP Archmage Frieren ripoffs in the frontpage right now. It is so blatantly obvious that they are banking on Frieren's success that both MCs, one male and one female, have gray hair just like her. Of course I've noticed most readers only want to read detailed descriptions of explosions and monsters getting mindless hacked to smithereens by a brainless brute/childlike MC... All that is good and well, but I just can't force myself to throw character development (progression) out the window and start at the end, when MC already is an overpowered legend. All my manuscripts are about underdogs who work hard to improve their skills and become legends, that's the only type of story worth writing or reading for me... Am I nuts if I think I can make enough dough on Patreon to quit my current job and live off patreonbucks while insisting on this?

>>24954823
even more clueless than the average /wg/ refuge

>>24954913
>All my manuscripts are about underdogs who work hard to improve their skills and become legends
bro this is what 99.9% of successful royalroad stories are
why are you pretending that the new niche of OP archmages is suddenly the overwhelming meta and that you're doomed if you don't write one?

>>24954913
>Am I nuts if I think I can make enough dough on Patreon to quit my current job and live off patreonbucks while insisting on this?
yes? obviously? why are there so many people with this delusion
you only get to have creative integrity as a working artist if you're a part of the top 0.1% of success stories
did none of you have loving parents? a single responsible guiding figure? how are there so many people who think pursuing a career in the arts is a good idea
sure, you could find financial success doing literally anything. like becoming a professional gamer or a financial dominatrix. but those are pipe dream for idiots. like becoming a professional artist
write. if you finish a book, put it up. if you want to write a serial, might as well have a patreon, fuck why not. but if you're not willing to act like a jobbie and treat writing like a job then you shouldn't expect it to return like one. get real
seriously. set aside the delusions of grandeur. this temporarily embarrassed millionaire shit is so tiresome

>>24954937
>you only get to have creative integrity as a working artist if you're a part of the top 0.1% of success stories
cart horse

>>24954920
>why are you pretending that the new niche of OP archmages is suddenly the overwhelming meta
It may turn out to be just a flash in the pan, but right now it's obvious that this new breed of authors really is taking RR by storm
>https://www.patreon.com/ArcaneCadence
is already making more money than
>https://www.patreon.com/Sleyca
despite Max Level Archmage releasing only 6 months ago, and Super Supportive releasing almost 3 years ago. I swear this is a new trend and it's only starting. I'm not crazy!

File: 1765904113969515.jpg (67 KB, 523x1000)

67 KB JPG

How do start small while stilI hooking readers, WITHOUT a prologue?

>>24954937
>how are there so many people who think pursuing a career in the arts is a good idea
it takes a little bit of delusion to pursue career paths of that nature, and so many people who end up succeeding will say in interviews 'I always knew I would make it'. This leads to even more people with the same delusion, not realizing that 99% of those people who 'always knew they would make it' don't, indeed, make it

>>24954845
Nice. How long's it been published on there and are you doing ads/social media promotion?
>I think my erratic posting schedule has completely fucked myself out of any serious growth on RR
Lol, same. Burnt through my backlog faster than I could write.

>>24954913
>Am I nuts if I think I can make enough dough on Patreon to quit my current job and live off patreonbucks while insisting on this?
>am I nuts to think that maybe progression fantasy can be successful on RoyalRoad and KU
Anon in >>24954340 was a prophet.

>>24954948
nobody saying it's not a popular new niche, but it's absolutely not the meta, your story idea is the actual meta and you asked 'can I still make it...? :('
it's just very ridiculous to phrase it like that.

>>24954955
we get posts like this every thread
it's as impressive a prophecy as saying the sun will come up tomorrow

>>24954949
That's a fanfiction sir

File: 1765869494131688.mp4 (867 KB, 720x1278)

867 KB MP4

>>24954962
Nigga what?

I'm asking how to hook readers into a story that starts off slow/low powered, without using a prologue.

>>24954971
start it where it's actually interesting instead

>>24954937
you're pushing back too hard in the other direction
it's not delusions of grandeur to make a living wage with writing. it's more than possible. it's just very difficult and you need a certain mindset (high productivity and focusing on the market to at least some degree)

it would only be delusional to quit his job first, but i don't think he implied he planned on that.

>>24954949
have a good premise
have good characters
have a good setting
write well

@the other anon who read and rec'd me Nowhere Stars a couple months back
You're the only anon to give me a good rec all year across here and /sffg/. Give me something else.

>>24954974
>>24954977
extremely helpful advice, I'm glad we have high quality discussions here in /wng/

>>24954984
Reverend Insanity

>>24954984
Mine is Empress of Fire.

>>24954986
ask shitty low effort vague questions, get shitty low effort vague answers
like really
>How do start small while stilI hooking readers, WITHOUT a prologue?
how can this be answered with zero context? it depends on your story. so you got generic responses

>>24954984
ive considered reading nowhere stars but I heard it meanders way too hard, also it's not very long which is a turn off

Slop readers want one thing. They want the feeling that things that were once hard are now easy

As long as you successfully capture that element, you can write basically anything and still be successful.

>>24954996
>also it's not very long which is a turn off
but why

>>24954975
>you need a certain mindset
>focusing on the market
thats the main thing
if you're not going to copy trends, network with shoutswaps and review swaps, and maintain a regular and high output schedule, then you shouldn't expect a living wage. this is the work of a self employed artist
if one's priorities is in writing well then they should value the act of writing and the pursuit of the craft. you can't both, as anon claims, have your hook be a unique way of writing, and have expectations of money coming from the project
there is nothing wrong with writing for the satisfaction of it and for the sake of making something. in the same vein there's nothing wrong with writing for money. but the two perspectives are antithetical to the other and people always coming in wanting it both ways

>>24954999
if I wanted shorter, well-written novels I would read tradpub
i read web novels because they're millions of words long. i like investing deeply into something

>>24954996
The irony is that the author seems to have health problems so releases are unfortunately few and far between. At the moment there is ~4 books of content.

>>24955004
>tradpub
>well-written
kek

File: cat brain palsy miraculou(...).webm (2.88 MB, 720x1176)

2.88 MB WEBM

>>24954971
Why I am seeing this creepy ass webm in this board so often now? lol
It also seems to accompany the word 'nigga' most of the time lmao

>>24955000
>people always coming in wanting it both ways
this is a definite issue, and I agree with most of what you said
>but the two perspectives are antithetical to the other
but it's not binary like you're suggesting. it's a balancing act. people who 'write for money' don't only write for money. they just make compromises, and some do so much more than other people.
you can focus more or less on the market and more or less on advertising etc and it raises or lowers your odds. but even without turbo-focusing on making money I still wouldn't call it 'delusions of grandeur', you just have to pay SOME attention to it and be aware your odds are lower

>>24955004
webnovels can be well-written and regular length novels and you can be deeply invested in them too you know

>>24955007
yes yes, lets skip the dreadfully boring 4chan thing where, actually, everything ever sucks balls and implying otherwise gets this exact default response

>>24955013
don't even try to pull this /wg/ pseud retardation here

tradpub is the exact same shit as webnovels

>>24955011
i simply can't get super invested in characters or settings etc i only read about for 6 hours
i end up liking long works much more simply because I get to spend more time with them

>>24954994
How the fuck does "context" change the answer, retard? This is not a question about specifics, it's about story structures and devices. If you were to speak about a specific story, you wouldn't be answering the question even if it worked.

Obviously, a prologue is an example of a structure that can add a hook or set the tone in a story with an otherwise slow start.

>>24955019
fuckface I just said I don't read tradpub at all because the stories are too short. i'd rather have super long slop. how is that /wg/ pseud retardation? stop letting the boogeyman mindrape you

>>24955013
yes yes, lets skip the dreadfully boring normalfag thing where, actually, all current/recent tradpub do not traverse the exact same themes and plot points ad nauseum

>>24955026
you sound dumb as fuck

this might be the lowest iq general on 4chud

>>24955022
>This is not a question about specifics,
Exactly. It was a generic as fuck question and you got correct, generic responses. Then bitched about it
Are you retarded?

>>24955033
don't just lash out because you got caught acting like a tard. just say oops, my bad, misread the situation

File: Pytf7vuBnQ.png (332 KB, 1091x991)

332 KB PNG

>>24954984
oh hey that was probably me
I haven't found anything quite like Nowhere Stars. it has a melancholic tone and unique world
Re:Cursed is probably the most aesthetically similar. Eldritch setting, anti-social sickly fMC who has a biologically themed power. unfortunately that's where the similarities end. nowhere stars has a strong emotional heart and a sincerity that most slop doesn't. re:cursed is a fun enough read. it has a cool setting, even if it's fairly standard pulp in every other way
Necroepilogos has a similar prose quality but a very different style and direction. nowhere stars has a unique descriptive voice because of the mahou shojou dreamworlds, where necroepilogos has a tech babble thing going on. both have rich descriptions though. necroepilogos' biggest front facing appeal is its cast of mentally ill and evil women. the setting is dreadfully dreary and almost comedically grim dark and a spiritual ennui over hangs everything due to it. not the same melancholy as nowhere stars but maybe adjacent
those are probably the closest stories I know to nowhere stars. I also think it stands out as a serial. it's not the most well written thing but it has heart and originality (odd considering it has a "kitchen sink" setting that derives from all sorts of things)

>>24955039
you couldn't even keep up with a conversation that you yourself started you retard

It honestly is extremely funny how quickly everyone starts calling each other retarded in 95% of discussions
Never change anons

>>24955036
>DURRRR RITE GUD!!!!
log off retard

>>24955041
the only one not keeping up is you. you hurt yourself in your confusion

>>24955043
If there weren't so many sub 70iq mouthbreathing neet retards spamming this website, there wouldn't be a need to call them as such.

>>24955046
>DURRRR RITE GUD!!!!
the question was 'how do I write good', seems appropriate

File: horny huge underboob.jpg (849 KB, 2886x4096)

849 KB JPG

>>24954998
Most level-headed post in this dumpster fire of a thread.

>>24955043
dropping a casual retard accusation is like a nutcheck that reveals if the other person is a mentally unhinged sperg or not
if you call someone a retard and they react like those two are, rage replying with zero conversational substance, it's a signal to check out of the discussion. if they can tank a casual insult while maintaining a back and forth then they pass the vibe check

what anon sees:
>How do you start small while still hooking readers, WITHOUT a prologue?
what anon reads:
>HOW RITE GUD?

quality literally doesn't matter

advertise well and you can write whatever the fuck incoherent ESL babble you want, people will lap it right up

and this is not a webnovel exclusive concept

he repeated the question thinking he isn't proving my point lololol

>>24955060
snake oil salesman have known this shit since the first pointy rock changed hands with the first big stick
there exist both cognizant human beings that can appreciate good work, and brain dead drooling cattle that'll drift towards the shiniest dangling keys. choose your audience

concession accepted

>>24955067
>there exist both cognizant human beings that can appreciate good work, and brain dead drooling cattle that'll drift towards the shiniest dangling keys. choose your audience
why are you in the web novel thread

>>24955040
>necroepilogos has a tech babble thing
Unrelated book but reading it put this way, I think I now know why I dropped Godclads.
I reckon I'll get back to mahou shoujo manga. The problem there is skirting that line between trauma(tic events) and how they influence a person and those around, while avoiding the outright misery suffering porn prevalent in nip fiction. I tried reading Magical Girl Site recently and it was absurd. Mahou Shoujo Tokushuusen Asuka is next on my list.
I wanted to try out Necroepilogos (and Katalepsis) but the 'sleepy London town ex dee' in the latter story, and the overall lesbian themes are a big turn-off. Which I don't even understand myself because while I don't actively seek it out, I've learned that I can tolerate most yuri in my manga. I also don't read h- so as flimsy as it is, it's usually a plot thing and not fucking.
I love Nowhere Stars and I am genuinely grateful that I was able to find it. Have a good day, dude.

>>24955067
there is no distinction when it comes to good advertisement, it attracts both

>>24955071
I've read more webnovels than you

>>24955060
god I wish writing space opera war epic was that easy with this mindset. Ashgar Chronicle is shaping up to be ok but it has the benefit of being litrpg and a big author part of the high order

what TeX editor and version control do you guys use?

>>24955085
google docs

>>24955073
I went from necroepilogos to katalepsis and they're very different. I admit that the prose is tight in both, the author knows how to handle the medium, but katalepsis is hell to read if you're not a twee tumblr girl. I dropped katalepsis and think it sucks but really like necroepilogos
give necroepilogos a shot. if you're a manga reader then my pitch is that necroepilogos is if blame! focused on the body horror aspect of the setting. it's 100% inspired by nihei
however if you really hate technobabble then that'll probably be a fairly hard filter

>>24955085
I just use Scrivener.

>>24955085
No one ever uses TeX.

>>24955085
this nigga power fantasizing in LATeX

File: BLAME! Academy and So On (...).jpg (1.24 MB, 2037x3056)

1.24 MB JPG

>>24955094
BLAM! has one of the most "why does this exist?" side stories ever. But yeah ok I'll rip necro and throw it on my ereader. It can't hurt anything.

File: A8D069F9-2395-4290-874C-B(...).jpg (227 KB, 640x525)

227 KB JPG

Cultivation sects/clans are literally just gangs

>>24955100
Strictly speaking, LaTeX and TeX are different applications. You *can* use TeX directly, but that's like trying to write Chrome only using machine code.

>>24955043
It's because, by now, we've all got used to identifying the posters who come in here and just pick fights.
There's point in discussing anything with them.

>>24955117
so is the government

>>24955117
if the wu tang members were born 20 years later we'd have hood xanxia stories