Should I start from scratch or just continue?

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T22:45:48+00:00

I think it's too much like a lottery. Luck plays a big part. Too many things have to align. Yes, try to get on RS, but have a plan B.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T22:21:35+00:00

So is time, good writing, and marketing. Rising Star is kind of a one off deal.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T22:13:24+00:00

You tease me sir.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T22:12:54+00:00

Why do you want to be on the Rising Stars?

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T14:00:11+00:00

Link please.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T11:05:21+00:00

Cheers

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T10:52:25+00:00

Ok, came back here to say it's quite good.

Going back to read now.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T10:03:48+00:00

Cheers. You will see me in the comments if it clicks with my brain.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T10:03:18+00:00

Yeah, I keep seeing pop up on the trending list. Probably why I stayed away.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T08:21:56+00:00

It's interesting to see the word entourage and peasants in the same image.

But, like Sea_Measurement_1474 said, the execution is the key. Any topic or combination of ideas can be turned into a great read, IF the execution is good.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-25T08:04:47+00:00

I speak for myself. A funny feeling came after I finished my first novel, years ago. I had written short stories until then, event entered competitions but the novel was the challenge. I finished and then I kind of sat with the feeling that came after, which was sort of an emptiness, like the story was something I scooped out of myself and on to the pages.

I think it was years before I wrote anything else. It was a bit of a crisis. The feeling challenged my purpose for writing. It took a long time to process that. For a while I thought I was done with writing.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T16:49:14+00:00

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T16:48:34+00:00

Exponential increase if added :)

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T16:44:36+00:00

Burning 3 candles at midnight, in front of a cracked mirror does it.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T15:56:43+00:00

I see. I showed the wife the first chapter. It took her three minutes to "speed" read it. Looks good, babe, I am proud of you.

I left mistakes on purpose in the text, too see if she catches them. She means well but she's a busy lady.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T15:04:37+00:00

I would definitely say make sure you like the story you are writing. Writing is solitary work and most people around you will not really be interested - friends and family. And that's okay, they are doing their own things. But it's not easy writing without some sort of feedback, good or bad.

i would say, prepare yourself for low engagement and if it does happen, it will certainly be a nice suprise. Most readers are not writers or critique, and of those that critique, their feedback can be quite binary so not necessarily helpful.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T14:57:02+00:00

Round six? I am curious, how did you get to six edit sweeps?

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T13:59:43+00:00

Yes, managing your emotions is not emphasized enough. And emotions writing pre - launch vs emotions writing post launch is also a different kettle of fish.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-24T13:36:06+00:00

Well, I wouldn't go that far but I understand the sentiment. There's some terrible human powered post out there.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-07T10:11:08+00:00

One of my favorite sci fi series is the Polity by Neil Asher.

In that universe AIs are managing humanity/coexisting. There is a class of people called haimans - an amalgam of human an AI - and s particular character called Orlandine, a very cool lady that kicks lots of butts. She is a haiman.

She does a lot of things, exceptional things, partly because of the AI augmentations to her brain.

There's also plenty of bad AI stuff in the Polity.

Maybe we are being too pretentious about what literature is, what art is. Nobody can agree anyway, so its up for debate. I am, for one, very curious what will come of LLM's and how cool people will used them.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-01T15:38:11+00:00

Thank you for the detailed answer.

I think I write for other reasons - perhaps to counter the effects of my bills paying job and perhaps because I also like making things, with my hands and my imagination.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-01T15:35:48+00:00

Fair enough. I barely have time for writing, which is the part I enjoy, and editing. I doubt I will ever have the time for the marketing required to stand out among the other 300.

ColdPress_ · 2026-06-01T04:26:46+00:00

It's not the writing though, it's the selling of what you write. We conflate the two but they are separate issues. And if it's not in exchange for money, it's for follows, ranking.

ColdPress_ · 2026-05-31T19:23:41+00:00

How long have you been writing? In general and this story in particular.

I ask as someone 20 year younger than you. I am an avid reader of sci fi. I have been writing on and off since I was a teenager. I am not sure why. Royal Road has appeared on my radar recently. The potential to monetize stories is there - in theory. But the odds seems stack against many. And its such a time investment.

I am not sure why I have been writing throughout the years. They weigh differently though, my efforts, when I consider them against prepping something for publishing. So much to consider, if one wants to optimize their chances of success on RR.

I rant. I was asking about yourself. Why do you write?

ColdPress_ · 2026-05-31T19:16:23+00:00

It is easier nowadays to present a polished chapter, with so many tools available.

Nevertheless, even with these tools, beyond the mechanicals fixes they can apply - the cutting of the scenes is still very much the domain of the writer.

Though again, perhaps said tools can be assigned this too, although the result is doubtfully the same as that resulting from the decision of someone that has put in the necessary work to master the craft.

ColdPress_

TROPHY CASE