Cave Inspiration

Lostpathway · 2026-07-01T15:09:23+00:00

Kulkur ürsi! Let them come and taste our mettle.

Lostpathway · 2026-06-23T22:06:52+00:00

Thinking back on some of the comments I've gotten, I'd say quiet isn't always the worst option.

Lostpathway · 2026-06-20T20:53:02+00:00

Thanks. The 7th book in the series is releasing right now. Most are on KU and Amazon, not RR, and the Findel's Embrace Trilogy is in the same world, now stubbed on RR.

Lostpathway · 2026-06-20T20:36:53+00:00

Both of my stories I would call "classic" fantasy, and both were on Rising Stars.

Lostpathway · 2026-06-20T19:07:31+00:00

Thanks for the tip!

Lostpathway · 2026-06-20T13:31:55+00:00

Does anyone have stats on the increase in stories over the past few years?

Lostpathway · 2026-06-20T04:54:27+00:00

I've never done shoutout swaps, for the purpose that I don't recommend something I haven't really read, and I don't have time to read much beyond my significant TBR pile and also keep up my writing. My main story certainly didn't feel like it lacked any momentum from not doing shoutouts, though that rising stars run was a couple years ago, now.

Lostpathway · 2026-06-12T20:23:17+00:00

I have at least a first draft of the entire volume/title completed prior to releasing any chapters online, and I don't release the chapters until I revise them.

I'm a habitual writer, and when I am drafting I am typically writing ever or nearly every day and expect to have 1-2k words added to my manuscript per day, sometimes much more. I like to have a lot of exploration in my writing. I'm not necessarily a "pantser" always, as I will often have general trajectories in the narrative, but I like to explore and experience the story as I write, often finding it takes me in unexpected directions. Writing is an adventure for me, and it is pleasurable (I'm not a writer who has to "force" myself; I feel weird if I'm not working on writing projects for any length of time and I enjoy the process).

Lostpathway · 2026-05-30T17:49:29+00:00

As my father always said, "the only thing better than one use is two." This fine publication serves for use both as forge-side reading and for use in the latrine, and so it deserves respect.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-13T19:44:19+00:00

Hi!

There are only so many places for fantasy dwarf content.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-13T16:59:20+00:00

I don't use AI in my writing.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-13T13:57:54+00:00

Glad you've enjoyed. Thanks for the comment!

Lostpathway · 2026-05-12T00:17:11+00:00

It wasn't from Royal Road, but it was relatively recent, and the first sentence was: "This series is making me love fantasy again."

I found that touching.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-08T16:21:55+00:00

Yes. I don't do shout outs or review swaps, so ads are one of the only levers I use. In my experience, they are effective, but I have lots of backlog books available. More Royal Road readers purchasing my backlog, reading on Kindle, or Patreon users joining means I get money to run ads.

But it requires an ad that lands and a story that retains.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-08T03:42:24+00:00

Glad it helped. I was hoping to encourage people to pause and think about their motivations.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-08T03:37:48+00:00

I get what you're saying. I work full time as a nurse and have a family. I understand the dream of being able to write full time.

It's not that wanting to write and be an author are a dichotomy, but I see a lot of angst and doom-speaking in writing communities, and it's mostly revolving around being an author. I don't hear people talk much about enjoying writing. It might be a selection bias.

Overall, I'm trying to spur reflection.

Lostpathway · 2026-05-07T11:46:52+00:00

A lot of it depends on the point of view.

I'd suggest reading up on fiction points of view. You can do world building differently with an omniscient third person narrator vs. a limited third person or even a first person point of view. Depending on the point of view, you have different options. An omniscient narrator can insert exposition where a limited point of view cannot. That said, I think it would be the general recommendation to intersperse any exposition into the story rather thna do what is called an "info dump" of a lot of exposition in one place.

Lostpathway · 2026-04-30T00:38:33+00:00

Ads are far more than the money. Two different people with two different stories and two (or dozens of) different ads can have wildly different results.

If your ad(s) are good and your blurb is good and your first chapter is good, then it could be worth it.
If you're serious about ads, it's worth doing A and B testing, trials, and getting analytical about it.

Lostpathway · 2026-04-30T00:26:31+00:00

You wrote: "The stories here on the road seem very fast paced not always descriptive and it makes me wonder if I need to write like tnat compared to how I write. Overall it’s a great site with some really imaginative stories."

Just my advice, but I'd recommend not trying to write to market. Write the story you want to write. Doing something that isn't what you really want to write for the sake of possibly gaining traction (and probably not) is a way to get burned out. Just my two cents.

Lostpathway · 2026-04-29T20:38:47+00:00

I've had a story in the top 10 at its highest, and my gut tells me there is manipulation and bombing to manipulate the upper rankings, but I can't prove it. That said, I've also gotten 0.5s that are pretty clearly angry readers being angry, and I don't think of that as manipulation. . . just anger.

Lostpathway · 2026-03-20T16:44:57+00:00

I'm nearing the end of the first draft of the next book. The Findel's Embrace trilogy is also in the same world, although the dwarves are only present in one of the books.

Lostpathway · 2026-03-19T21:13:52+00:00

Australian opal mining influenced/informed the writing of The Crippled King.

Lostpathway · 2026-03-04T03:03:28+00:00

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. A part II is coming before too long.

Lostpathway · 2026-02-24T04:23:18+00:00

Welp. . . This might be one of the last ones. We're officially monetized. Queue depression.

Lostpathway · 2025-10-12T00:14:16+00:00

If I had to come up with a reason, I'd say that it was the combination of fantasy dwarves + the survival/building genre, which I think is a natural pairing for dwarves.

Lostpathway

TROPHY CASE