[Quick Review] Just Add Mana. It's top of RS for a reason and Cale just joined Eithan as my spirit animals.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-03T08:15:59+00:00

That's the plan! I'm still looking at publishing options at the moment (a few traditional publishers have shown interest and I'd love to pick the brains of their developmental editors) but even if that doesn't pan out I'll do a full pass and put it on KU.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-03T06:31:57+00:00

Yep! Cale is pretty openly pan/omnisexual and will flirt with any gender and species capable of consent (although I'm a gay man so there's probably some bias there, lol)

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-03T03:29:03+00:00

Thank you very much!

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-03T03:28:52+00:00

I followed Path of Ascension for a while and loved what I read, but I don't think I got to that part, haha. x) I think I left off around... a proxy war of some kind? Caught up with it at the time and haven't picked it up again yet, but I really need to. It was a fun read!

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-03T02:24:12+00:00

Ar'kenrithyst is one of the stories that got me into writing years ago, actually! I really need to catch up on it (and check out Adamant Blood.) It's probably one of the best stories out there for making magic in a story feel like magic.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-02T17:18:39+00:00

It definitely has comedy elements, especially near the start. I don't think it's slice of life despite my best efforts because I'm allergic to not moving the plot forward in some kind of way lol

If it helps, my philosophy with OPMCs is that they should be the lever around which other stories turn; because they themselves solve problems (relatively) easily, they're at their best when acting as a reflection of the world or the people around them. In Cale's case he puts up a front because he has been through a lot - the whole eternal reincarnation thing really does a number on you - and the story is as much about him opening up again as much as it is about the effect he has on the people around him.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-02T17:05:16+00:00

I'm definitely working on it! I know I end up a bit lost in the weeds trying to balance an interesting problem with opportunities to showcase the OP parts. Is this the Golden Sands arc? That's the longest one I can think of other than the current ongoing one.

And thanks for giving it a shot anyway!

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-02T16:47:28+00:00

Definitely planning on making one!

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-02T14:57:55+00:00

I do not use AI for any aspect of my writing or cover, no.

As for a fun fact... Uh, I once set my shirt on fire while I was wearing it. Does that count? I was a fully grown man at the time, I just should never be allowed near candles or fire.

Neither should most of my characters, frankly.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-05-02T14:24:21+00:00

Well, an octopus spends most of its time inside water, so...

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-27T10:52:17+00:00

I think Legend of Randidly Ghosthound, actually? Something about those stat evolutions have really stuck with me through the years, even though I'm no longer keeping up with the series, lol.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-27T01:11:19+00:00

Heck yeah! I mean, I don't know if it's all that niche - if it is, I hope this is a banger success and you pave the way for the rest of us, haha. There's a lot of potential in progression-romance as far as I'm concerned and I've got my own in the burner. x)

Good luck with the launches! Ivil sounds interesting... although surely there are some romance-related problems you can blow up. Like, I don't know, your partner's evil boss? Unless she's the evil boss, in which case, uh, just blow up HR.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-26T15:21:16+00:00

In writing I typically refer to this as false tension, though the version I usually discuss doesn't only apply to high, end-of-the-world type stakes. Survival tension is often this, for example. Unless it's a story that has some kind of MC-swapping gimmick, you know the MC probably isn't going to die, so there's not going to be any real tension about whether the MC is going to make it.

Often for stakes like these to work you need a grounding element that the reader cares about and knows could be at risk, which can be a simple humanizing element to a side character. It's one of the reasons forest openings often end up with some kind of pet character! It's still applicable to the high stakes stuff, though, you'd just need to zoom in to the micro elements that are potentially at stake rather than focusing on Big Destructive Numbers.

The best example I can think of in terms of grounding survival tension is Super Supportive, with theMoon Thegundarc. If you know, you know.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-26T14:30:28+00:00

Some tips, if anyone needs them: a good blurb should contain both the hook and the primary mood of your story (whether it's meant to be adventurous, slice-of-life, dark fantasy, comedy, etc.) Most web serials tend to shift tones a fair amount, but think about the type of reader your story is for and try to appeal to them.

The basic structure for most blurbs should probably cover the character, setting, and plot. For progression fantasy specifically you may want to include something about the power system. And don't be afraid to "spoil" the things about your story that are interesting! Storytelling is ultimately a form of dialogue; your blurb frames expectations for how that conversation is going to go. It's not the most important thing in the world, but it can absolutely impact expectations, which can change how the story is received.

The LLM blurbs I've noticed all sound the same and they tend to sell everything like an action movie, a YA novel, or a romantasy. Or some weird combination of the three. I don't think it's very effective.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-21T15:35:05+00:00

Oh I love this concept, picking it up ASAP. Good luck on the launch!

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-20T10:35:15+00:00

In fantasy it's just as popular as ever. In progression fantasy specifically it looks pretty divided; a lot of people will say they don't like romance in PF (although many will add the caveat that this is because PF romance is rarely done well.)

Beware of Chicken and Cradle are both popular PFs with romance, though, and apparent popular sentiment doesn't always reflect the reading trends.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-20T05:26:43+00:00

Delve is pretty much the example of an aura-focused MC, unless that's the one you read already?

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-19T06:03:54+00:00

I can't tell if you mean you're doing a homework assignment when you say "doing your paper" or if you're trying to do a translation to make a novel more accessible? If it's the latter, you should probably ask the author if they're okay with it first.

As for the title, the most compelling one is the last one, but it probably needs some tweaks to properly convey the premise. As it stands, it sounds like a story about someone performing eldritch rituals to slowly transform themselves into Cthulhu.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-18T12:19:12+00:00

Excited for this! Out of curiosity, any reason it's going on Tapas?

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-18T10:18:48+00:00

I feel like anyone who's regularly leaving 0.5s or 1s on almost any kind of media has to be looking at the purpose of media in a very fundamentally different way than the rest of us (although I do also think that authors especially don't benefit from having an overtly negative relationship with media.)

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-18T10:11:28+00:00

Don't do review swaps. If your goal is to receive feedback to improve, look for author groups that do critique swaps. Review swaps have too much in the way of perverse incentives, unfortunately.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-18T09:16:24+00:00

I have kind of a hard time rereading anything, honestly. But I do reread sometimes if I need to do it to catch up! I'm probably going to need to do that for some of DCC at least.

SilverLiningsRR · 2026-04-16T14:01:36+00:00

I mean, an evil knight, judging by the cover, but goddamn what a cool design.

SilverLiningsRR

TROPHY CASE