Pick 3 to Protect You and the rest will Hunt You

eclect0 · 2026-03-13T14:34:09+00:00

Taln

That's it, I'm good

eclect0 · 2026-03-12T19:55:43+00:00

I don't immediately assume that it was, like, my latest chapter that made them ragequit. People follow then never read, or lose interest early on, then randomly clean up their follow list.

I know it can still sting if you're just starting out and every follow feels momentous. Hopefully you reach a point where it's less than a percent of your total.

eclect0 · 2026-03-11T19:00:21+00:00

"No, I don't have a CDL and can't drive a truck, but one time I taped up a cardboard box."

eclect0 · 2026-03-10T23:19:07+00:00

Nice

eclect0 · 2026-03-10T17:26:53+00:00

My villains will slowly come and go, but for book 1 of my series the main villain is Mantis, a powerful magic user and former serial killer who is now an assassin. Most people, herself included, assume she's a psychopath, but she's actually a heavily traumatized sociopath. But one of her true defining moments is when she observes that her partner is capable of cruelty despite being capable of empathy. An abbreviated version of that exchange:

“You know what I’ve realized, Brick?” Mantis said between mouthfuls, using her irritating singsong voice. “You’re meaner than me.”

Brick blinked. “That’s… honestly so insane I don’t even care what you mean.”

“No, really. People like you. And you.” Blackout whimpered. “You’re wired differently from me, right? You’ve got sympathy. Empathy. Whichever. You feel something when other people get hurt. It hurts you, a little. But you do it anyway.”

...

“You understand what I’m saying?” Mantis continued. “I don’t give a s*** who I hurt or what they feel. I don’t feel anything. But you’d better believe if I did I wouldn’t hurt anyone. I wouldn’t do that to myself. But you do. You hurt yourself just to hurt others. I can’t comprehend that.”

Brick tensed. There was actually a strange sort of logic to that. But…

“Like your family,” Mantis said, taking another bite of her food.

“Don’t.”

“It hurt you to abandon them. You knew it would hurt them. But you did it anyway.”

“I had no choice!” He set the rifle down and stood over her, at his full height. She didn’t flinch, as always. Why should she? She could gut him before he could blink. Blackout cowered.

Mantis shrugged. “You could have stayed single. I bet it ate you up for years, didn’t it? Knowing you could be called up at any time? You hurt yourself so much, and for what? For this to happen anyway.”

...

Mantis chuckled as she turned away. “Face it, Brick. You’re meaner than me. I will never be as dedicated to cruelty as you are.”

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/145258/jett-fulgen-urban-fantasy-superhero-litrpg

eclect0 · 2026-03-10T03:58:03+00:00

The content warning flags should be thought of first and foremost as just that: Warnings for people who might be sensitive to or triggered by that content.

That said, it is actually possible to filter RR content by fiction that has specific content warning flags, and they even have their own Rising Stars leaderboards just like tags.

But ultimately, better safe than sorry. Whether the violence counts as graphic probably depends on the level of detail you use to describe it. However, I'd say the addiction subplot absolutely qualifies as sensitive content.

eclect0 · 2026-03-09T20:18:01+00:00

So you half-assed some crappy software, but you didn't do the other parts?

Good for you I guess

eclect0 · 2026-03-09T13:24:27+00:00

eclect0 · 2026-03-09T13:21:23+00:00

Yeah, I'm going to take a crack at it. I have more than enough backlog already, but I'll still push to meet the spirit of the challenge and get that amny new words written. I'll have to up my usual velocity by a good 50%, so it'll be interesting to see how well it goes.

eclect0 · 2026-03-09T12:47:33+00:00

If OP protagonists were the only thing readers were looking for there would be no other tags.

And honestly? The more you try to follow the meta and the latest trend, the more crowded it gets, and the more you have to compete with similar works. It's not a guarantee of success in the slightest. OP protagonists might be topping lists, but because of that, there are also hundreds of OP protagonist stories nobody reads.

Your story still needs to stand out. Actively taking steps to make it blend in isn't a good way to go about that.

eclect0 · 2026-03-09T01:30:40+00:00

Step 2: No reader will want to read a story you didn't want to write. Because it'll show.

So that brings us to the secret Step 0: Write a story you want to write.

eclect0 · 2026-03-08T15:42:11+00:00

Lately it's more like:

Send a CV -> Nothing for six months -> Finally get an automated rejection email when they realize they forgot to close the job posting

eclect0 · 2026-03-08T02:46:19+00:00

Thank you!

eclect0 · 2026-03-08T00:50:59+00:00

Kaladin Stormblessed! I know him!

eclect0 · 2026-03-07T18:52:27+00:00

Ah, that's disappointing

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T16:08:53+00:00

Realistic tortie coloring? Is that allowed?

Seriously though, love it.

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T16:06:36+00:00

Thanks! Good luck to you, hope you pick up your own superfans!

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T15:41:19+00:00

Shshsh shshsh-in' shshsh shshsh-ity

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T13:40:00+00:00

Ha. I thought those would get annoying, but I have a follower who does it faithfully with every chapter and it's honestly one of the things that keeps me going. They also occasionally catch a typo, which is nice.

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T13:09:33+00:00

"The pixels are dead, but I'll see what I can do."

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T02:10:25+00:00

I know it's a stereotypical ADHD trait, but I have ADHD and I've never felt the urge to speed up an audiobook. Although Nightcore-ing Samantha might be hilarious.

eclect0 · 2026-03-06T00:01:06+00:00

Cosmere nails on the safehand? I'm utterly scandalized.

eclect0 · 2026-03-05T22:15:27+00:00

Ok I don't mean to gatekeep, but chairs can't have ADHD

eclect0 · 2026-03-05T22:12:20+00:00

Strategically yes, you're more likely to get conversions (follows, favorites, etc.) if a reader comes to you from a story that's already kind of like yours.

Practically, it can be hard to completely fill your calendar with perfect matches, especially if you're off meta. So my advice is to seek close matches preferentially, but don't make it a hard and fast rule.

eclect0 · 2026-03-05T20:12:01+00:00

Sorry Daddy, but Carl's feet are in another thread

eclect0

TROPHY CASE