[Vent] For Authors who just need a moment to let it all out

[PancakesWitch]

I guess I have a small annoyance, it's not a complaint about anyone, it's just that I don't get comments even when there's a good decent amount of views, I'd like to improve what I lack on and it's kind of hard when i'm not getting comments. I can't tell if I'm improving or lacking? I'm probably going to update my first few chapters sometime because I got some feedback when I started writing and changed some stuff, now I'm not sure if it's enough and that I need to go back and change some things... But then If I change some things the story might shift. (IDK how to feel about it I mean I guess I'm doing something right if my amount of readers is increasing???)

comments are actually very rare, you need to get above average number of views to start seeing them. Most people will not engage or comment and will rather just read and then go read something else.

 

[J_Chemist]

I firmly believe there should be a pop-up which asks you why you're dropping a story. One that's simple with a couple options and a text box for you to share your thoughts as to why you're dropping the story. Not a review box but something that will tell the Author why you gave up on their work. Being able to just check out of a story and bail is such a blue balling PAB ghosting activity that it makes me hate writing and posting online.

While I don't particularly care for numbers or who reads my hunk of garbage, it's the one thing that irks me about statistics being visible and being able to see my numbers rise/fall. Knowing why someone disliked my story and the reason they gave up would help me immensely when it comes time to make revisions or prepare for the next Arc in the story. If it's a changeable/fixable thing or if I've just gone full retard for a few chapters, having someone speak up and say "hey dipshit, really didn't like how you did that" would be a great reason for me as the Author to fix the crap writing I've put out. If I don't know it's garbage, then I can't fix it.

Really hate this online webnovel bullshit.

 

[melchi]

This is prob something specific to me, but I've had a few people say that my story is not transgender enough. I put a poll asking if I should remove the tag but most people said it was still okay. Personally, I really don't like leaning into stereotypes so I don't. Also, at some point it breaks down in a fantasy world because things can happen that are not possible in a world without magic. It is also my opinion that stories that focus too much on gender identity tend to be painful to read, at least for me. I like to keep things somewhat light hearted ya know?

I've gotten comments and messages a few times to that extent. Idk, it just gets annoying to hear the same thing. After a while it is like orthodoxy police.

 

[Corty]

Really hate this online webnovel bullshit

In my experience, this applies to many things, not just writing web novels. But yes, I totally agree. Sadly most feedback would be still: cuz itz stoopid.

people say that my story is not transgender enough

Yeah, I outright ignore comments like that. I don't entertain that type of crowd with any of my attention because it is a futile endeavor.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

No name calling?
Fine.

This piece of shit on chapter 42, with the orange avatar, three comments down, second replies down. I hope you stub your toe while you watch your wife banging the entire football team.

And when that stub is about to heal, he stubs it again...forever.

 

[Thraben]

Obligatory: "The author owes you nothing and their creative drive to continue a project is the only reason it continues. If they abandon it because they are creatively done with the project, you are an overly entitled prick for complaining about the lack of free stuff from someone who owes you nothing."

Similarly, when an author asks for feedback, they're asking for CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM about the fiction, if you don't know how to give constructive criticism on a piece of fiction, DON'T, you moronic assholes.

Though I thank the 3-4 people total I've met that actually do know how to be constructive, I refuse to interact with readers anymore because of the rest of their fellows.

 

[DaisukeHanashi]

Your re-write didn't work out?

Seems like it. Guess gonna do re-re-write

Hold on, whatchu mean by i < 5 = gay?

Bro doesn't know about programming

 

[Enkiari]

Seems like it. Guess gonna do re-re-write

Hm... I personally would advise against another rewrite. Wouldn't that ruin the story's identity?
I feel it would be a better choice to finish the current work and then start a new one.
Or start a new story right away while chipping away at your passion project.

 

[Beta_Krogoth]

I had a commenter say that something that happened in the chapter didn't make sense (Because it wasn't explained right away due to the MC not knowing how and why it happened) so he rated it 2 stars and dropped the story. It has since then been explained but he will never know the answer

SAME! I had some toss pot come along and say because he didn't fully understand the MC by the end of chapter 1, it wasn't a good story! Rated me two stars and fucked off into the night! I was completely lost! I deleted his comments and blocked him, but his two star review persists because SH doesn't purge ratings for some reason.

Maybe it was the same guy?

*

As for my tears and rage, I guess I find the lack of comments a bit annoying? I guess? I'm grateful to have any reads for my eclectic little series but more comments and interaction would be neat, especially when the feedback i've received in general has been glowing. I've niche'd myself out though. Sci-fi is one thing, trying to tell a serious story that has both furries and futas in it is a hard sell to some. I don't regret my choice, I want to tell my stories, not some watered down, mass market appeal stuff. But equally, knowing that I could likely gain a bigger audience by cutting certain things out hurts.

 

[Seaspecter]

I had one reader DM on Discord wanting a detailed description of my MC's feet that was kind of weird.

 

[TheKillingAlice]

I had one reader DM on Discord wanting a detailed description of my MC's feet that was kind of weird.

Holy DingleWingle. Was it Tarantino or Schneider?

Also, I need to vent some more. I mean, I get it, people just don't like putting in work for anything, but seriously?
So I actually got a review tonight, saw it in the morning, together with two chapter comments. Never seen the dude before, had never written a word or showed up anywhere else.
Read, apparently, up to chapter 24 and left a review that was remarkably... idiotic. So I sat down and took the review apart (every word is still there, I just paragraphed it in order to comment all of his points).

Spoiler: Read that if you're bored, maybe it will make you laugh

"This story tries to do way too many things and ends up disorganized at best."
Examples. Otherwise, how the fuck would anyone know what you are referring to?

"There's an underlying ruleset the world is following that the reader isn't introduced to."
Lie, because you are introduced to all the different aspects of it, later on even were magic itself originated from. At the very latest, you get whatever aspect of magic you need when you actually need to know about it, but usually shortly before that.

"There are questions with no relevance to the story which should be answered that just aren't."
That doesn't even make sense.

"There is no motivation related to the main character. Everything ends up open ended in a way that makes me think the author is trying to be mysterious, but instead comes across as confused."
Open ended how? That a chapter often ends with something that would be important next chapter? That is called a cliffhanger, mate.
(Also, it might not be grand a goal, but her motivation is simply to live. She wants to live freely, and she does express it later more clearly, but it's very obvious by what she says - trying to get out of the talks of an engaged marriage the body she took over was supposed to be thrown into.)

"There is no foundation that the story builds off of. The MC is dumped in a new world with no way to get her bearings or any reason to want to get her bearings."
I wonder what type of foundation he is looking for. There's a world, that world is being explained as best as possible and as much as it makes sense, whenever something happens that would call for an explanation. You start every story on a blank slate, after all.
And though she might not care about the world that she came from, which should be obvious why that is the case with her backstory, she still cares about what is going on and works on improving her situation. You see, an example would have helped clearing this up quite easy.

"It's like the story is trying to spray out the first twenty chapters of content in whatever method it can while hoping the story is comprehensible."
What does that even mean? That he thinks there's not enough story for 20 chapters or what? That sentence sounds all smart and negative, but there's no substance to it. It sounds like something he could then claim is "just his opinion" because it's hard to prove someone didn't actually "not" understand something.
Up until chapter 24, you follow the MC on her way and it's pretty linear - one thing happens, therefore another. It's not rocket science, really.

"For the combat scenes, it feels like the author doesn't have a good grasp of time. The characters freeze 'in a daze' often even when they have absolutely no reason to."
He put that in a comment, actually. At three points, he didn't like characters hesitating during that chapter. One was a guard – not a knight – who had been introduced for the first time when he was yawning at his post, lamenting about the fact that nothing ever happens in that region anyway, being in a situation that could cost him his neck (daughter of his lord ended up in grave danger) and having to slap his cheeks to call himself to action.
Another was an elderly lady who had encountered a monster almost two decades back in a more than a bit traumatizing event, so she froze up entirely when seeing something she recognized as a monster. Completely unrealistic and shitty of her, right? Stupid old lady, having to be saved.
And then the lady's husband, when she ran back into danger for someone who didn't directly have anything to do with the couple, especially not in the eyes of the husband who hadn't been around when they basically bonded, so he's confused for a sentence and doesn't instantly run after her.
Aside from that, two of those haven't actually happened during the combat scene but as a side event, when the adjecent town is evacuated and someone is sent to inform the main guard post.
Also, I just double-confused myself with the printbook and webnovel version. It was indeed the very first and single combat scene in 24 chapters that our boi is out here describing as "combat scenes".

"There are some sentences that have all the correct words but somehow feel like they don't explain anything."
Then give me one example of it.

"And the random paragraphs of exposition for why the monsters are appearing feel entirely unwelcome and only add to the confusion."
How is it that you don't want to know that, even though that would be part of that "foundation" you say is missing?

"There's a chapter with a dream sequence that ends up feeling almost exactly like the moments when the MC is fully conscious and basically made me put down the story."
Uhm, so a character is not allowed to actually act like themselves in a dream sequence? Noted.

"I couldn't follow the plot, I didn't understand the antagonists,"
Good thing he stopped reading. Imagine how confused he would have been once the antagonists actually showed up outside of that 314 word-scene at the end of chapter 24, which was the first reveal that there even are antagonists aside from the naturally existing monsters.
He could have ended up with an aneurysm.

"and there wasn't any explanation for how the magic worked."
That is also a lie. It may not have been all at once, but there have been several instances of explanation on the topic of magic up to chapter 24 and there are more as the story progresses. Also, wasn't he complaining about explanations regarding the monsters?
The monsters that are the sole reason that magic even exists in my story? Do you even brain, love?

"I don't recommend this unless you have literally nothing else to read."
That, btw, is just extremely unhelpful and disrespectful? In all seriousness now, I literally picked a story apart recently - with actual explanations and several examples given - but even though my review ended with the words that it all was a big nothing-burger of a story, I didn't say nobody should read it. On the contrary, I told people to go and see for themselves. Why would you feel the need to add something like this at the end of a review?

 

[Seaspecter]

Holy DingleWingle. Was it Tarantino or Schneider?

It was definitely a sir this is a Wendy's moment for me.

 

[LuoirM]

I got one comment after a whole year and it was "No character development for the FMC at all"

Damn

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Obligatory: "The author owes you nothing and their creative drive to continue a project is the only reason it continues. If they abandon it because they are creatively done with the project, you are an overly entitled prick for complaining about the lack of free stuff from someone who owes you nothing."

Similarly, when an author asks for feedback, they're asking for CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM about the fiction, if you don't know how to give constructive criticism on a piece of fiction, DON'T, you moronic assholes.

Though I thank the 3-4 people total I've met that actually do know how to be constructive, I refuse to interact with readers anymore because of the rest of their fellows.

Imma steal this via screenshot and use it as my creed.

Also, a web novel site is a website, not a goddamn airport. We, as authors, don't care about readers who want to leave. If ya gonna leave, then leave.

If you are frustrated with the story you just read, you should try re-reading the tags and synopsis. 50% of your problems will be solved if you know what you're getting into.

 

[HypnoticNovels]

My readers have been very nice to me this is mainly a vent on myself, but sometimes they ask really good questions that I literally can't answer without spoiling and I feel bad They pick up on my hints and foreshadowing so well that it's actually crazy.

Luckily, there is no possible way for them to guess where my story is going yet >:D you bois ain't getting all the answers from me

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

I get too attached to my works.

It seems impossible for it to be published without me feeling afraid of me being angry after gettin bad

My plan is to create "beater stories", the stories I wont get mad or disapointed if it got shit upon and make fun of.

I'm inspired from Hobby car owners and Hobby watch owner who have expensive car for show-off piece that they always worry, but they also have shit car for daily drive and daily use that they could abuse and not worry at all.

Their relationship with the beater is the best, because they only receive, receive, and receive a lot while only need to give zero near-feee investment because its so fuckin cheap to buy and maintain damn the beater.

Because even if the beater burns down and explode in the sea of fire, it wouldn't affect mich their live and barely affect their mind if at all.

Like this : https://m.youtube.com/shorts/4N0Bneii9Jo

I have made 10+ draft and feel too attached to each one of them. Maybe if I create more, the more distant they feel and I wouldnt care about them anymore ?

 

[HypnoticNovels]

I get too attached to my works.

It seems impossible for it to be published without me feeling afraid of me being angry after gettin bad

My plan is to create "beater stories", the stories I wont get mad or disapointed if it got shit upon and make fun of.

I'm inspired from Hobby car owners and Hobby watch owner who have expensive car for show-off piece that they always worry, but they also have shit car for daily drive and daily use that they could abuse and not worry at all.

Their relationship with the beater is the best, because they only receive, receive, and receive a lot while only need to give zero near-feee investment because its so fuckin cheap to buy and maintain damn the beater.

Because even if the beater burns down and explode in the sea of fire, it wouldn't affect mich their live and barely affect their mind if at all.

Like this : https://m.youtube.com/shorts/4N0Bneii9Jo

I have made 10+ draft and feel too attached to each one of them. Maybe if I create more, the more distant they feel and I wouldnt care about them anymore ?

You should publish them, my guy. So what if people don't like them as much as you do? It sounds like they're already written and waiting around :D if even just one person finds enjoyment in it or is inspired by it, I'd count that as a W. They can't really contribute much to people if they're sitting in your drafts.

Plus, people might actually like them :p don't assume that everyone is waiting to rip your stories to shreds

 

[AverageMaidLover]

I can't stand when people comment about characters making "dumb" decisions. Yes, it was a "dumb" decision, because it's supposed to be. Sometimes people make dumb decisions.

Or when people have weird expectations of characters. Yes, these two characters are acting like shy virgins because they both literally are, and I never presented either as otherwise.

Or when they expect characters to be static the whole time. Yes, he did say he wouldn't do this but now he is, we had 300k words of character growth in between.

 

[Corty]

I can't stand when people comment about characters making "dumb" decisions. Yes, it was a "dumb" decision, because it's supposed to be. Sometimes people make dumb decisions.

Or when people have weird expectations of characters. Yes, these two characters are acting like shy virgins because they both literally are, and I never presented either as otherwise.

Or when they expect characters to be static the whole time. Yes, he did say he wouldn't do this but now he is, we had 300k words of character growth in between.

I felt that. It feels as if character development or change in a character’s personality or decisions is a bad thing. As if they expect them to be perfect and infallible every moment but then they also complain if they are.

The amount of people who decide on a character’s personality after 3-4 chapters, without even entertaining the thought that through the story it could evolve and change is astronomical.

 

[AverageMaidLover]

I felt that. It feels as if character development or change in a character’s personality or decisions is a bad thing. As if they expect them to be perfect and infallible every moment but then they also complain if they are.

The amount of people who decide on a character’s personality after 3-4 chapters, without even entertaining the thought that through the story it could evolve and change is astronomical.

Yeah exactly! Part of the payoff of the story can be showing how characters grow over time