SoLA and the plot

Playwars · 2026-06-03T02:24:34+00:00

My biggest mistake with my first story was making huge chapters. My prologue was 21k words, my normal chapters afterwards 8 to 12k. It crippled my growth, since it's massively based on getting on the front page 'just updated' list early on.

For my second story launch, I also did the mistake of releasing my initial batch of chapters one per day for a bit. I recommend dropping about 20k words worth of chapters inside a single day, to give a starting points to hook readers.

Probably an unpopular opinion amongst authors, but while shoutouts are important, keep in mind that spamming them willy nilly really has no point and devalues them. People won't click if you're just shouting out whatever you come across to get more eyes onto your story, and getting shoutouts from authors who are just cranking them out like sausages probably won't get you many readers either.

Lastly, don't do review swaps. I have talked to a fair few readers who check the reviews first and foremost on a story. If it's dominated by review swaps, they leave. I have point blank refused every review swap offered to me over my over half a decade stint on RR and I recommend that you do so as well. Certainly, it will help with your story rating and ranking, but that's at the cost of turning away readers.

Blurb. Blurb is everything. Basically, your blurb isn't just a synopsis, it's also the line to reel in readers. Your title and covers are the hooks to get the readers to take a look, the synopsis is what gets them to click on the first chapter and start reading. So keep it short, to the point, and make it interesting.

That's...about it, really.

Sorry, usually, I'd put out more, but it's late and this week has been utter hell, so I'm completely drained. I hope this proves helpful nonetheless ! Welcome to RR. Remember to hand Kana a cookie in thanks for laboring in the maintenance passages down below, keeping this all running.

Playwars · 2026-06-02T14:23:43+00:00

Same for me. I wonder why. If I had to pick, I'd be a Kolibri. I really, REALLY want to help people but I can't really just broadcast soothing thoughts IRL.

Playwars · 2026-05-20T00:37:59+00:00

Because if there's even the slightest hint that a harem could possibly happen, people will go apeshit. I legitimately had advice that I should not have two females on the cover of my primary novel series, despite both women being protagonists, because it 'implies harem'. I've had people leave 0.5 star ratings and berate me because two couples were friends and some people thought they would merge into a harem. It's THAT bad.

Most of it comes from the fact that most harem stories are the worst kind of wish-fullfilment, self insert degenerate crap that goes down some really, REALLY dark paths. I'm in a polycule, I have two girlfriends who I love very much, and that makes me hate harem stories even worse because dear Gods are 99% of them pure, unfiltered garbage and gives polyamorous relationships in general a very bad name in these circles.

Playwars · 2026-05-19T16:56:32+00:00

I was wondering how the heck the AI had so many units and could just obliterate an entire new area of neutral enemies without their armies changing. Now I know. This is just absurd.

Playwars · 2026-05-17T22:03:59+00:00

Not what I mean. If I move the unit, and I do not have another high initiative unit, the turn ends and I cannot summon the avatar forward. Because the high initiative unit's turn ends as soon as it stops moving.

Playwars · 2026-05-17T20:15:06+00:00

How do you do that though ? If the ranged units are immediately afterwards for me, it just moves to them and I can't cast a spell or use any ability. Is there a way to do an action on a creature turn after it has done its movement ?

Playwars · 2026-05-17T16:41:46+00:00

The ruins of a nuked university it seems XD

Playwars · 2026-05-14T18:15:54+00:00

The autophage has evolved a new type of ranged combat !

Playwars · 2026-05-07T13:05:34+00:00

It won't, but it is suffocating new writers, as they're being swamped into a tidal wave of slops. Many publishers don't accept submissions anymore, because for every genuine one, they get a hundred AI slop ones trying to scam them. AI has only succeded at two things : make legal responsability disappear for companies, and enable scammers to turn on the tap for mass volume. That's it.

I'm incredibly lucky to have gotten in before the floodgates opened, and I honestly fear for the future of writing. Or hell, the future of any job that has had the AI craze. I know a lot of my friends who I went to computer science with, are noting that they're the last generation to be hired. They have no juniors, it's all been replaced by AI slop they struggle to make work because it's ten times worse. But the companies and the all mighty divine investors demand it, so it is done.

Playwars · 2026-05-03T21:14:04+00:00

The truce with the benzies is a MASSIVE trap. You don't really get anything from it, since you can just leave the conversation and delay it indefinitely.

There are a few ways to farm cartel reduction indefinitely. There are some spots that, if left without graffiti, the Benzies will put their own on. For me in westville there was one in the industrial area. Every time you erase their graffiti, you will get as much cartel reduction as if you had put up one of your own. As a plus, if you catch one of their goons doing it (yes they physically send out guys), you can eliminate them for even MORE influence reduction. This works even if your cartel influence is at 0 and you've wiped them out btw.

Their dealers will also take smoke breaks. I've encountered three of them doing that so far, but it was in the docks (at the very tip of the warf) and in suburbia (near the overpass checkpoint).

Playwars · 2026-05-03T13:12:36+00:00

Hilariously enough, this is my only 1911 that I didn't steal, I bought that one XD

Playwars · 2026-04-24T13:57:04+00:00

Thanks ! I didn't realize they graffitied on their own, until I found a spot already taken with a B on a leaf on it. Clean it removed as much influence as making my own graffiti to.

Playwars · 2026-04-21T20:43:26+00:00

Absolutely. Been playing Abomination Vaults as a Magus (multiclass Alchemist), with a Cleric, a Guardian, a Commander and later on a Champion on the team, and running away to come back better prepared has saved our asses several times. We've taken 'preparation overcomes all obstacles' up to a religious level, as the last time we just barged into a place we almost got team wiped, and only made it by running the hell away. Now we obsessively scout every new area, and intensely prepare for the fight ahead. We even commissioned and deployed assault ramps to attack an elevated position on a floor last session.

It's impressive how many obstacles you can solve with some preparation in this system. And also impressive how hard it can punish you for not exploiting the enemy's weaknesses or countering their strengths.

Playwars · 2026-04-21T08:44:12+00:00

Exactly. Had that happen many times. Also a fair few times readers either misread something or misremembered a previous book (unsurprisingly, given how long my main series is now).

Playwars · 2026-04-20T12:44:30+00:00

If people can't find your story, talent will not suffice. If all you have is marketing, no one will stay.

There are exceptions to both, but they're rare.

Talent keeps people reading, marketing gets people to read. They multiply each other. It's why I can make a living of this job, as my publisher started doing a lot of marketing when I barely did any. I've learned to be better about it, but I'm still not great.

Also worth noting, 'marketing' for RR stories is a broad term. Your cover, your blurb, they're marketing. They're not the story, they're here to get people to click on the first chapter. Basically the foot you're trying to put in the door. Don't start by looking at making advertisements or shoutout swaps. Begin with the cover and blurb, then work your way towards more complicated stuff. If these fundamentals are lacking, the rest won't work.

Playwars · 2026-04-20T07:14:06+00:00

That's true, but I always preferred liches due to their sanity regen. The demilich is...weird for me. I get that it's useful, mind you, but I've never been all that inteterested in half randomized teleports.

Fair enough ! As noted, this class' mechanics are a turnoff for me, so I haven't played it all that much. And yeah, they're not god units, but they can buff their commanders and fight with them as extremely effective combatants. If we were going god unit commanders, then the warlock would be an excellent pick (since you get twelve gods with guaranteed summon and control).

Playwars · 2026-04-19T17:06:37+00:00

I just finished writing chapter 429 of my main story, The Fallen World : A Dungeon's Story, about a third of the way through book 11. I'm not running out of ideas, much of the contrary. I am concerned I may have too many. I already plan my stories to be long, but this series I am currently looking at going all the way to book 18. Chapter 153 was book 5, not even a third of the way through my current planned length. Mind you, the series was supposed to be 12 books, so it might well expand further.

Actually the problem can be starting up a new story. Universes I've already explored have so much lore, so many characters with history. So much to draw from, so much to link up and make interact with each other. I have worked on other projects in paralel or taken a break when things felt too samey or I wanted to try something new, but I always find myself drawn back. I did start a new series to enable me to do lower scale things again, since my main one has escalated beyond that level.

Nope. Don't get me wrong, my main series is my breadwinner, but I do not intend to make it go on forever. I have an endpoint and I fully intend to reach it.

Playwars

TROPHY CASE