How Does it Feel?

[WinterTimeCrime]

My OCs are a piece of me, so it's nice knowing that readers identify with or enjoy the characteristics I implement into my character. It's like having a friend you never knew you had.

 

[Bartun]

It feels great knowing they are not just in my head. I try not to make them suffer too much.

 

[Cosmictapestry]

No.

While I do enjoy knowing that people like my story, it feels very... surface level. It's difficult to explain but the feeling is very detached. I like knowing other people are willing to read my story and it excites me to write for them, to continue the story, to put in effort.

However, the feedback is so minimal in terms of the registration in my head that I just don't ever feel like it's reality. I don't ever get the sense that people truly enjoy my story nor do I ever get the sensation that the chapters I put out are fun to read. It might be due to the lack of reviews, the low ratings I get every so often, and those pesky Follower/Favorite statistics showing me every time someone removes my book from their list, but I'm not entirely sure. I still consider my book pretty shitty and don't exactly know how it stacks up against other books so it's hard to gauge/understand how I'm doing. I think that's where the biggest pitfall for me is, really.

In the sea of thousands of people's creativity, it just feels like my book is another random pebble in the pile.

At this point, I do it with the hope that at least someone out there likes it.

Your writing is good! In fact, I've found many stories with excellent writing here that are actually rather underrated.

Meanwhile, there are stories with mixed tenses within a sentence that are top hits. So it isn't really a skill issue, but perhaps luck?

Reviews are generally rare on this site unless your work is really popular. Even then, critical reviews might still be hard to find.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Your writing is good! In fact, I've found many stories with excellent writing here that are actually rather underrated.

Meanwhile, there are stories with mixed tenses within a sentence that are top hits. So it isn't really a skill issue, but perhaps luck?

Reviews are generally rare on this site unless your work is really popular. Even then, critical reviews might still be hard to find.

It’s not luck. You think I gain readers with luck? I happen to make what’s popular because I like it. And I’ve gained 300 and 500 readers on alt accounts too. All while writing what’s popular

 

[miyoga]

Kinda funny to think about it, my protagonist is a rock, how's people view on it, a little rock.

Same, I had one person message me shortly after it went up if I was going to write any more stories like that one. Also, did your rock have a bro moment with The Rock, too?

 

[Cosmictapestry]

It’s not luck. You think I gain readers with luck? I happen to make what’s popular because I like it. And I’ve gained 300 and 500 readers on alt accounts too. All while writing what’s popular

My comment about luck wasn’t about your stories or all popular stories on Scribblehub. It was about a particular one I read yesterday, not on this site, but on Tapas.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

My comment about luck wasn’t about your stories or all popular stories on Scribblehub. It was about a particular one I read yesterday, not on this site, but on Tapas.

One of the main reasons J_Chemist doesn’t get more readers and same with Paul is because of long paragraphs. That’s not to say they are bad or should change it, but most web novels that get popular do not have them.

 

[NOTkaosin21]

One of the main reasons J_Chemist doesn’t get more readers and same with Paul is because of long paragraphs. That’s not to say they are bad or should change it, but most web novels that get popular do not have them.

How long do you think a paragraph should be?

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

How long do you think a paragraph should be?

On scribble hub at most around 6 lines with variability. Switching between one line paragraphs is fine. My average is probably 3-4 lines on PC

 

[Anon2024]

Since I wrote a few smuts, not really that good.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

One of the main reasons J_Chemist doesn’t get more readers and same with Paul is because of long paragraphs. That’s not to say they are bad or should change it, but most web novels that get popular do not have them.

Yeah, I'm far too classical in my formatting and style. Webnovels(the popular one), as you said, are often structured with smaller paragraphs in a list kind of style. This is mainly due to reading on phones and tablets.

 

[ThatStrangeFamiliar]

In a sense, the small interactions I've had with readers about my characters, makes them feel more real to me. It is impossible to view the characters I write and how they come across on the page from outside of myself. I made them, they have purposes that they don't always follow, they surprise me constantly with how they play out in the different situations I put them in, but I'm too close. I know them to well.

When I think a character says something funny and a reader thinks it was funny, I know it is funny.

When I think a character does something cool and a reader thinks it was cool, I know it was cool.

I don't write for myself. The stories are already in my head. I write to share my stories and any interaction, positive or negative, legitimizes my work in a way that I could not do alone.

 

[TsumiHokiro]

A part of me is curious about what exactly brought these readers to my novel and want to hear more about them, the readers, so that I, as an author, can feel motivation to write. I wrote as an impulse when I needed to deliver some feelings from inside my egg outside, and to continue it would be interesting to know more about how people receive these words instead of just knowing there are people receiving. This chick takes a while to understand complex things like people's words, so the few it has received back has not been enough for it to come to a clear decision of what it feels towards its own story and its readers' reception yet.

 

[doravg]

How does it feel knowing that your OC's are known to people? Albeit a select few people but still, how does it feel knowing that some people actually care about your OC's? That they may make head canon about in their spare time? That they look forward to reading more about these characters that you've created? Does it feel good? Do you think to yourself that maybe you shouldn't make those OC's suffer because someone else cares for them? Or are you like me, doing everything in your power to crank the suffering and depression to the max before shoving them into a meth pipe of a situation where they will surely suffer more? Do you like it? Are you happy?

How does it feel? Hm, good, when I get comments. I mean, my novels did get stolen a lot, back when aggregator sites were the rage. One got translated into Russian, so someone liked it enough, I think. I get hearts once in a blue moon, and I used to have some people who commented.

The thing is, I can't lie and say it doesn't feel good, but I am going on the writing high. If I skip even one day of writing, I start to feel depressed. I know it is an addiction, but people have gotten addicted to worse things. I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke, don't do drugs. Something has to numb the finality of reality.

Otherwise, I won't have even a drop of optimism left in me.

 

[Sylver]

I know one user who made their profile and named it after my OC, so it feels kind of surreal. Like I'm honored but also bashful

Feels wonderful really, it's part of why I took up writing! Because I use to fantasize and make up stories and head cannon from other peoples works, and I use to indulge in reading other stories as a way to escape real life problems and stress. If people are doing that off my work than I feel like I'm doing something right and that in itself makes the whole writing process worth it.

Because writing may seem easy but it's a lot more difficult than people would think, especially if you have a fan base invested in your work. Because then you're writing between the lines of keeping them engaged and not disappointing them with every twist and turn your novel takes.

But if people are enjoying it the way your post describes it, then it's worth it for me!

 

[greyliliy]

A part of me is curious about what exactly brought these readers to my novel and want to hear more about them, the readers, so that I, as an author, can feel motivation to write. I wrote as an impulse when I needed to deliver some feelings from inside my egg outside, and to continue it would be interesting to know more about how people receive these words instead of just knowing there are people receiving. This chick takes a while to understand complex things like people's words, so the few it has received back has not been enough for it to come to a clear decision of what it feels towards its own story and its readers' reception yet.

If it satisfies your curiosity, your writing was so witty and clever on the feedback forum I had to go see what you'd posted. I have not been disappointed yet. :D