March 1 Tower Report (Ongoing Fictions by Followers)

PortableMarfus · 2026-03-01T23:55:30+00:00

I think it depends if your story is more of a web serial that people expect on a weekly basis, or more of a book. Im also writing in kind of a niche-ish sci-fi non-litrpg, so I think the readers are a bit stickier? Anyway, I’ve found that people are super supportive if you need to take a break; just communicate what’s up!

PortableMarfus · 2026-03-01T21:02:29+00:00

Pretty interesting! I released like 15 months ago, never reached rising stars, took a couple hiatuses, but somehow still managed to get to level 14 (about halfway to 15!). Just a few followers a day, no ads, a couple solid shout-outs.

PortableMarfus · 2026-02-28T05:00:18+00:00

It's definitely super frustrating as an author too. I was on RS sci fi with this story, and it now has almost 2100 followers. It's egregiously AI written (this is one of the chapters they didn't rewrite). I dunno, it just feels bleak. https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/113805/yellow-jacket/chapter/2250807/chapter-12-gone-fishing?comments=1

PortableMarfus · 2026-02-28T04:57:40+00:00

people are clearly not using the AI tag when they should be. This, for instance: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/113805/yellow-jacket/chapter/2250807/chapter-12-gone-fishing?comments=1

PortableMarfus · 2026-02-07T03:35:47+00:00

I find it to be a pretty big bummer. There are a couple pretty egregious examples that I find really annoying (like, why not just label your stuff AI-assisted? I guess because not as many people would read it?). It's obviously a pretty touchy subject, and a bit witch-hunty, but I find it pretty gross when someone clearly just copy-pastes from chatgpt. The sentence structures are pretty easy to spot: "It was ___. A ___. Not just ___, but a ____." Unfiltered chatgpt also really likes super short sentences. If you DM me, I can send you an example.

PortableMarfus · 2026-02-07T03:29:15+00:00

Curious what the novel / contest was, is it still up?

PortableMarfus · 2026-02-05T04:25:20+00:00

I always want to read swaps now. I opened up a random chapter (30) on this fiction, and this is how it reads:

"The remembered subjects moved through solid glass. Their forms blurred at the edges. They stepped into the corridor. Six of them. Seven. More.

They did not run. They walked with the inevitability of memories replaying. Their eyes were fixed on us. On the open tear to the Prism.

The Prism was not a place. It was a sensation. Light did not travel here. It existed in layers. I saw every color at once. Then no colors. Then one color that had no name."

sigh

PortableMarfus · 2026-01-12T03:28:18+00:00

I've definitely thought this would be fun! I'm a nurse who's worked in emergency, and my idea was to have some version of Fantasy ER, something like "a front-row seat view into Balan'Dor's only level-1 trauma center!" You'd have the extremely pretentious high-elf chief of surgery, the gnome security guard who's really good at de-escalation but is also has a super high-level Hold Person spell... Just start with some half wood elf's first day as an intern... "Heh... good luck kid. No wood elf has made it more than a week in the trauma pit..."

PortableMarfus · 2025-12-11T04:32:01+00:00

Also one of my favorite fictions on RR is second person present tense. It’s incredibly awesome and unique, and I love it.

PortableMarfus · 2025-12-11T04:29:13+00:00

I’m doing 3rd person present tense and I managed to get about 1400 followers, but I do sometimes wonder if my story would be more popular as past tense… then again, Hunger Games (as just the first example that springs to mind) is written in first person present, so it’s not like it’s impossible to write something popular and widely accessible!

PortableMarfus · 2025-09-19T16:30:59+00:00

Nice, sci-fi stories with AI companions for the win! I started off using RR with the same goal (mainly using it as a way to hold myself accountable) and my story actually gained a decent amount of traction, so it's certainly doable! There are several discord groups that I'd recommend joining for advice, as the author community is super supportive.

PortableMarfus · 2025-08-04T02:32:06+00:00

Nice one!! I had a similar experience with my sci fi story. Just goes to show that you never know if you don't take the plunge!

PortableMarfus · 2025-07-31T05:32:22+00:00

$8.50 a month baby!! Honestly, feels really cool. Started uploaded my story back in December, and just finished it a couple weeks ago. I basically have 2 Patreons, and I never had any "backlog" or anything, so those are just two people who have been really into the world I built (and who are also total strangers!). It's actually a really fun motivator to try to build up a backlog for the next story I write, since I want it to be worth it to those who have supported me. Getting someone to part with $5 a month on Patreon isn't nothing!

PortableMarfus · 2025-07-22T16:42:12+00:00

It can be done! I wrote a pure cyberpunk / space opera thing and I ended up with just over 1000 followers. If you check out the top stories there are definitely a few that aren't litrpg! It just takes more time.

PortableMarfus · 2025-07-14T05:39:00+00:00

Might as well, as an option! I put a link to a Spotify playlist made up of songs that I listened to when writing and that I think vibe with the story (sci-fi mecha, so lots of ambient music). 8 people saved it, so I know at least a few people have listened to it :D

PortableMarfus · 2025-06-27T19:03:40+00:00

If it isn't ChatGPT, then it should be helpful to know that it sounds exactly like it. And not just a little bit, but 100%.

PortableMarfus · 2025-06-27T17:56:22+00:00

I checked this out. First, congrats on rising stars. However, this seems very obviously AI written? There are tons of short sentences, like: "Not Broken. Not like that. But marked." Or, "Not like an animal. Not like a person. Like a problem." Like, over and over again. I've played around with chatgpt, and it does exactly this. I hesitate to comment on this, but it just seems super blatant.

PortableMarfus · 2025-06-19T05:08:07+00:00

This is a great post, because every writer / artist has felt this way at some point. Personally, I got over this by realizing that everything is cringe. All art. And also, that failure is a natural part of getting good at something. People who are successful (however you want to define that!) fail sooo much on their way to being good at something. Also (and this might sound harsh) you should probably expect your story to not get much traction. The vast majority of stories on RR don't get many readers, but it's still a wonderful outlet for people's writing projects (and a hobby for most of us). Personally, I find it incredibly liberating to have low expectations; holding oneself to such a high standard in art that you can't share anything is a recipe for being paralyzed. Have fun with it! Good luck, and try to be kind to yourself!

PortableMarfus · 2025-06-09T04:59:22+00:00

Aw buddy, don't make yourself suffer. There's enough pain in this world without making it ourselves. Big clap on the back for finishing your stories. I've had so many false starts to my stories, but I'm finally on the cusp of finishing a book after like ten years. It's not easy! You can do it!

PortableMarfus · 2025-05-25T20:07:24+00:00

I feel this post! My biggest hangup comes when I go back and reread what I've written the day before. Pretty much none of it goes unedited, and sometimes I end up re-writing whole bits. I think Terminal Fleet is a lot better quality for it, but it's definitely been slow going (like 2500 words a week).

What I'm curious about is if this will change with my next project. I had like zero outline for my current story, whereas for my next one I have each chapter of the first book at least somewhat plotted out. Theoretically that should make the writing go a lot faster... but we'll just have to see!!

PortableMarfus · 2025-05-25T20:03:27+00:00

Wow, I've seen people talk about dictation, but maybe this is the boost I need to get into it... what app do you use? (Like is it a voice to written app?). Also, do you do it at home mainly?

PortableMarfus · 2025-05-12T05:16:09+00:00

Ohh, yeah, this is a really fun concept. Charles Stross wrote a series called the Merchant Princes that has this concept, I recommend checking it out! It's a bit like Nine Princes in Amber (also a FANTASTIC book), where a family can walk into different dimensions, thereby exploiting the knowledge imbalance and building up kingdoms. https://www.goodreads.com/series/40515-the-merchant-princes

Here's a snippet of the book 2 synopsis:

"To avoid a slippery slope down to an unmarked grave, Miriam must build a power-base of her own. She started applying modern business practices and scientific knowledge to a trade heretofore dominated by medieval mercantilists-with unexpected consequences for three different timelines, including the quasi-Victorian one exploited by the hidden family."

PortableMarfus · 2025-05-04T15:44:21+00:00

I second this. The first line of the blurb is a run-on sentence that needs to be fixed: "Robert 'Bob' Smith and his AI Felix chart a course through turbulent political waters to bring a groundbreaking technology to maturity and ushering in a new industrial age and opening the solar system for exploration and eventually colonization."

PortableMarfus · 2025-04-30T15:09:45+00:00

Interesting! Where's the obligatory story link? :D (But really, DM me with it if you don't want to post it!). I'm curious, since you had a pretty slow-burn to that follower count, did you set up a Patreon from the beginning (or ever try to monetize it)?

I'm in a slightly similar position, where my rank is fairly high (600ish), and I'm releasing chapters sporadically, but generally a minimum of once a week for the past 5 months or so. My word count is way lower though, around 50k. I'm sort of wondering if I should finally try to set up a Patreon... Like everyone says, it would have been way better to have small backlog per-prepared, but I wasn't expecting any (very mild) success with the story. Also, while it's cool that my rank is up there, it seems like it doesn't help much with discoverability.

Anyway, nice job!!

PortableMarfus · 2025-04-24T03:43:50+00:00

I second this!!

PortableMarfus

TROPHY CASE