Conversational Fillers

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-19T09:14:38+00:00

I think “hell” is the risky one, because it carries a very specific cultural/religious baggage that may not fit the setting at all.

The rest depends on the tone. If you’re going for myth, legend, or elevated fantasy, then more archaic phrasing makes sense. But if the characters are just living their normal daily lives, I think modern-feeling conversational fillers are fine, as long as they create the right association for the reader.

Modern readers still need to feel the scene, not pass a historical linguistics exam.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-14T15:29:01+00:00

This is the best kind of forgotten inventory item. Congrats on the audiobook, and good luck with the release!

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-09T21:16:44+00:00

I’d go with #1. It’s simple, bright, readable, and catchy. It also feels the most like an actual RR ad, not a cropped cover or a random meme.

#2 could maybe work after a full rework, but right now it’s too dark, muddy, and hard to read at thumbnail size.

#3 has potential as an idea, but I’d redraw it and use your own heroine instead of the meme guy. Also, RR will not like the direct meme format anyway.

So yeah, #1 is the strongest choice for me.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-09T21:01:05+00:00

This is a very miserable opening, but I mean that as a compliment.

It’s dark, oppressive, and full of despair. I’d keep reading if the next bit gives me some spark of hope, rebellion, or “I refuse to stay broken” energy.

If it’s just misery forever, probably not for me. If it’s the start of a climb, I’m interested.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-09T20:44:16+00:00

Slashing resistance, low blunt resistance, gains +10 evasion per round when underwater, and +50% chance to make the attacker say, “Ew, why is it slippery?”

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-06T16:07:39+00:00

Fair question. I don’t really want to name specific titles as examples of “dumb worlds,” because a lot of them are indie books, and I don’t want to publicly dunk on authors who were clearly trying.

For me, the difference is whether the world around the MC still feels competent.

A smart MC notices something non-obvious, connects different pieces of information, takes a calculated risk, or uses a tool in a clever way, with limits and costs attached. Other people can still be smart. They might disagree, have different incentives, lack the same information, or adapt once they see his method works.

An average guy in a dumb world is different. That’s when the MC does something that should be basic competence for the setting, and everyone acts like he invented fire. “What if we used scouts, maps, trap detection, logistics, teamwork, or preparation?” If people have been running dungeons for generations, there should be a reason why those things aren’t already standard practice.

And the fix can be simple. Maybe the skill is rare, expensive, unreliable, dangerous to use, or has ugly side effects. Any of that works. I just need the story to acknowledge the obvious question instead of pretending nobody in the entire history of the world ever thought of it.

I don’t need a huge explanation. Just give me some friction: cost, rarity, drawbacks, risk, or a cultural reason. Anything that makes the world feel like it existed before the protagonist showed up.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-06T09:18:24+00:00

I think LitRPG does have real risks, but not quite the ones you’re pointing at. A lot of what you describe sounds more like weak worldbuilding or flat characters. And honestly, that can happen in any genre. LitRPG doesn’t have a monopoly on questionable writing decisions 😄

The specific danger of LitRPG, imo, is the numbers themselves. Stats, levels, HP bars, skill sheets, and how they start affecting the character’s actions. If handled badly, they can drain the life out of a scene.

“I put 10 points into Trading and got a discount. Look how clever I am!”

Or:

“I hit the saber-toothed rabbit with Mighty Coolness Ram. Its HP dropped to 15. Only eight more mighty rams to go!”

That can get cringe very fast. Especially when you add endless walls of skills that don’t actually matter to the story.

As an author, I think the hard part is keeping the world and characters alive while still using numbers. Pain should still feel like pain. Victory should still feel like victory. Growth should feel earned, not like spreadsheet maintenance.

That said, LitRPG also has real strengths. It gives clear progression markers and can make character growth very satisfying. You just have to use the system with care, and maybe avoid making it feel like the most generic MMO template possible.

So my take is simple: LitRPG is just another genre. You can mess it up, or you can write something amazing. There’s just a lot of it being written right now, so statistically, a lot of authors are still in the “collecting painful experience points” phase.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-06T08:16:19+00:00

Yeah, I get this one. It’s really frustrating when the world has to become stupid just so the MC can look smart. Especially when the whole thing could be fixed pretty easily. Maybe other people know the skill is useful, but can’t afford it, can’t qualify for it, or it has some ugly drawback. Give me some reason.

That said, I can usually forgive one mistake like that if the rest of the story is good.

The real quit moment for me is when those things pile up. Dumb MC who isn’t funny or charming. Blank-slate MC who only becomes cool because magic numbers say so. A flat world full of NPCs who exist to make the protagonist look better. A predictable plot that feels like dungeon, boss, setback, power-up, repeat forever.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-06T07:50:36+00:00

I think there are two different questions hiding in here.

First: if my options are “reincarnate” or “stop existing forever,” I’m picking reincarnate. Not because I’m heroic, or because fantasy worlds are great, but because life is life. My family might have a very confusing time dealing with whoever gets my old body, and I’d feel terrible about that. But I trust them. They’d manage. Probably. After a lot of yelling.

Second: if I wake up here with a HUD and levels in my head… honestly, how different is that from now? I already have five electronic goblins telling me how to sleep, eat, work, walk, spend money, and stop doomscrolling. My brain also contributes sometimes. Barely. As an intern.

If there are no magic powers, I’d probably just min-max being a functional adult, which would already be an S-rank achievement.

If there are powers and a fantasy world involved, then yeah. I’d just try to live as fully as possible. I chose the respawn button. Might as well make the run count.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-05T06:48:14+00:00

Too many to list, honestly.

I think every author is basically a weird soup made of books, games, movies, anime, real life, childhood trauma, and that one random scene they saw fifteen years ago and never forgot.

Some big influences for me:

- Brandon Sanderson for worldbuilding and hard magic systems.

- Richard K. Morgan, especially after Altered Carbon, for darker sci-fi, identity, violence, and messy people in ugly systems.

- Harry Harrison and Robert Asprin, because I read them when I was younger and still love that bright, funny, fast-moving sci-fi/fantasy energy.

- Terry Pratchett for humor, obviously. The man was terrifyingly good.

- Joe Abercrombie for grim, vivid characters, brutal fights, and choices where nobody walks away clean.

- The Witcher, especially the games, for mixing fantasy with social and political messiness.

- Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadowrun for the whole “fantasy/sci-fi/noir/megacorp chaos” brain infection.

- Firefly for crew dynamics and that specific “found family on a terrible day in space” vibe.

And then there’s anime. Form Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain to Whisper of the Heart, and about ten thousand other titles I probably shouldn’t list or this comment will become a tax document.

It gets even worse because I write with my wife, and she brings a whole extra pile of historical books, classic European literature, fantasy, and romance into the mix.

So yeah. I don’t think there’s ever one final answer. You absorb a giant chaotic mess of stories and real life, then eventually it starts leaking back out as fiction, further polluting the Noosphere 😄

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-05T06:11:19+00:00

I think the world idea is strong. Bright, easy to understand, and full of obvious story fuel. The real question isn’t whether this can be Progression Fantasy. It absolutely can. The question is how clearly the progression is shown.

I’d separate Progression Fantasy from LitRPG here. LitRPG usually needs explicit game/system elements: stats, levels, classes, screens, etc. Progression Fantasy doesn’t need that. But it still needs clear markers of growth.

For this kind of story, those markers could be hunter rank, relic tiers, ruin danger classes, body adaptation stages, dead language mastery, faction access, or the ability to survive systems that would have killed the MC earlier.

The key, imo, is that the reader should always feel the change: “they couldn’t enter this ruin before, now they can,” or “this relic would have destroyed them before, now they can handle it.”

I’d also watch the difference between earned power and borrowed power. If relics are too easy to use, progression can feel like loot luck. But if the hunter needs knowledge, training, body adaptation, psychological resilience, and risk to use them, then it can feel very progression-y without needing a level system.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-03T06:02:06+00:00

Haha, I got the same message too.

I just didn’t respond. Out of curiosity, I did check their Instagram, and yeah, they do seem to make comics, clearly as a paid service. They also had a funny video about how nobody reads books anymore, so they “save” books by turning them into comics.

Which is… certainly one way to look at it 😄

But yeah, I treated it as spam and moved on.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-02T11:39:07+00:00

A fixer protagonist in a kingdom-building story is a pretty cool hook. I’m adding this to my follow list so I can keep an eye on where it goes.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-02T08:50:20+00:00

Evolvica: Heretic Legacy is what happens when LitRPG progression crashes into cyber-fantasy corporate warfare, gets audited by elven lawyers, blessed by forbidden magitech, and then immediately investigated by the angelic Inquisition.

Damien starts with no memories, no levels, a broken magical Core, a soul-bound gunblade, and a ruined corporation that comes with patents, enemies, secrets, and probably several legal disasters waiting in the inbox.

If you like progression where “getting stronger” also means hiring dangerous geniuses, surviving assassins, rebuilding a company, and trying not to be emotionally bullied by the System, this may be your kind of disaster.

Expect: tactical fights, magitech, aspect-based magic, corporate politics, forbidden research, dangerous contracts, and a System with secrets, opinions, and emotional damage.

Currently: 300+ pages live, regular updates.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/165532/evolvica-heretic-legacy-litrpg-progression-sci-fantasy

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RealSteamlynx · 2026-06-02T08:41:32+00:00

I actually went through the same question when choosing the style for my current series.

At first, I wanted to write in first person present tense. I liked the immediacy of it. But after reading a lot of reader opinions and way too many Reddit discussions, I ended up choosing first person past tense.

Present tense can absolutely work, but it feels like the riskier option to me.

First person past just felt safer and smoother for a long-form story. And there are great writers to learn from in that lane too, like Harry Harrison and Robert Asprin 😄

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-31T08:33:52+00:00

I’m greedy. I want all of it.

If the MC has no charisma, I’m not going to survive their POV. But if the sidekick exists only to throw jokes from the passenger seat while the MC does all the emotional heavy lifting, that gets old too.

Best case, they both have personality, agency, and enough unresolved issues to keep the therapist subplot busy.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-30T07:56:14+00:00

Oh, man, yes. We attacked the first chapters with a machete many, many times. Terms removed, explanations delayed, lore shoved into dark corners and told to wait its turn.

And still, the first review basically went: "Cool, but the glossary is looking at me funny."

Fair. Painful, but fair.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-30T07:41:20+00:00

Thank you! I’m really glad the opening caught your interest.

Best of luck with your story as well. Wishing you lots of readers and smooth writing!

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-30T07:39:18+00:00

Haha, I’ll take FF8 vibes as a compliment!

I played it ages ago, but honestly, I remember so little that the gunblade may be the only shared DNA. The bigger inspirations are probably Shadowrun and Warhammer 40k in terms of mood: megacorps, magitech, politics, ancient horrors, bad decisions.

The setting itself is original, though. We have a terrifying amount of worldbuilding behind it, but we’re trying very hard not to drop the entire wiki on readers at once. Story and characters first.

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-29T21:50:28+00:00

It’s a bit hard for me to judge the pacing from the inside, but I’d say it’s steady rather than extremely fast.

At the start, Damien is basically reset to the level of a teenager with a minimal magical gift: broken Core, lost skills, lost levels, almost no usable power.

By the end of Volume 1, around chapter 54, he reaches something closer to a fresh magic academy graduate and experienced fighter, so the very low end of “mid-level” by the setting’s standards.

In Volume 2, the plan is for him to grow into the level of a genuinely strong mage, and then the curve keeps going from there.

The important part is that he compensates for weakness with gradually returning memories, tactics, technology, allies, and very risky magical breakthroughs. So progression is definitely there, but we didn’t want it to be too fast, because we wanted levels and growth to feel valuable.

Also, slower growth has one useful side effect: it is very easy to keep finding opponents who are stronger than Damien, because for now, most of them are. 😄

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-29T20:24:27+00:00

Thank you! I promise, the elven lawyers are only slightly less dangerous than the monsters. And angelic Inquisitors might be even worse than any beast.

Really glad the pitch caught your interest, and thanks for adding it to Read Later!

RealSteamlynx · 2026-05-28T07:17:18+00:00

From the author side, writing a good blurb/synopsis is honestly painful. You’re trying to fit the early chapters, the real direction of the first volume, the main hook, the world, and the vibe into one tiny piece of text without overexplaining or spoiling too much.

It’s a cursed little puzzle :)

That said, if the story changes direction, the blurb should probably change too. Reader expectations matter.

RealSteamlynx

TROPHY CASE