I don't have any one writing station. Sometimes it's at my desktop in my very messy section of the basement. Other times I'm on the couch with my laptop. Right now, I'm in class, bouncing between doing assignments and writing my novel (and also getting distracted).

I don't think I've ever used that brush. I now have a new one to try.

Which brush did you use?

Not a LitRPG writer (just fantasy). I use LibreOffice writer (think Word) for part of my notes and worldbuilding, as well for my manuscripts. I use LibreOffice calc (think Excel) for the other part of my notes/worldbuilding and for my character profiles. I use Krita (as of now) to draw my maps, though in the past I used Gimp. These programs are all free, and give me everything I need. I find all the fancy stuff included in other software to be unnecessary. I might not have everything neatly packed into one window, but I manage. The great thing is that I can keep all of this stuff stored on my external Linux drive, and take it with me anywhere.

I do also doodle and make notes in my journal (and previously a notebook) from time to time, but generally I just transfer what I plan to keep into the digital realm by the end of it.

I'd say the first option.

To start, it actually shows a caravan (that also looks first-class). That means the text and the image are congruent. The second option looks like a generic anime (especially the dude in the suit). The second one really just makes me think I'm in for some slice-of-life anime in [generic Japanese or European countryside location], whereas the first option feels like I'm in for a cool Victorian-type setting with fantasy elements and fancy carriages.

Frankly, I don't want to read about two people having sex. I'm glad it isn't going to be explicit, but I don't need sex described in purple prose either. The series you mentioned (Lord of the Rings) doesn't have sex scenes, and it's an amazing work of fiction. You can have two characters express romantic interest in each other without having to run to the bedroom. If anything, I would say that I'd be more convinced of a romance between two characters being about love (instead of lust) if their romance was shown in less sensual/sexual ways.

To answer your question in the title: yes.

Obviously, I don't speak for everyone (in fact, probably just for myself in this case, given the circumstances). Of course, this fact won't stop me from speaking openly here (regardless of the feedback). Though, I will brace for impact since most of r/writing probably won't share my views on morality.

From my experience with it, perspective is easy to learn (1 and 2 point at least), but it's hard to master. What I mean by that is trying to put characters in a scene. Trying to keep them in proper perspective (and size) is quite tricky.

There are people who get excited to read a chapter comprised of nothing but notifications?

I know that LitRPGs aren't my thing, and I'm going to be out of the loop on these things, but I didn't know it went this far.

Maybe LitRPG level up notifications have something to them, but when I think of reading notifications, I think of checking my email because my phone notifies me when I get certain ones. Needless to say, that doesn't excite me.

I just can't really wrap my head around the appeal of LitRPGs in general, but I guess it might be similar to those who love old CRPGs like Morrowind or Daggerfall, where lots of reading and stats are mingled together.

That's why I like Tolkien. He manages to not be heavy-handed with his Catholic themes. The ideas are there, but there isn't a big neon sign pointing to them. That level of expertly weaving in themes and ideas is something I'm still working on. I think my current novel (on RR) may be a bit heavy-handed, so I'm trying to improve that with my next novel (and when I redraft the previous one). Sometimes when I read back through what I've written, it does feel like certain characters essentially become a walking catechism book (which certainly will take even those who agree with the ideas out of the story).

Perhaps part of my problem is that my writing naturally comes out more mechanical and blunt. I have to really concentrate to avoid it.

I started posting once a week a little too late to avoid the burnout. I started with a backlog of over 40 chapters before posting my first chapter. On 5 chapters per week, I saw my stock dwindling faster than I could replenish it (I do have a life outside of writing, and I'm not consistently fast), then I dropped to 3 chapters per week. That change gave me some relief (though I probably should've made my changes sooner). But it wasn't long before I ran dry. My backlog became fictitious, and my motivation (and energy) for writing soon followed. I thought a weekly upload would fix things, but it was too late for that. I couldn't even work up the mental energy to keep up with a weekly chapter.

After tripping over myself enough, I decided a hiatus would be necessary. I was quite attached to this story, so I didn't want to scrap it for lack of motivation, and I knew that forcing myself to keep going would result in an avalanche of worthless chapters of the bare minimum (or maybe even less than that).

I've been on hiatus for months. That doesn't mean I'm not writing. I'm just not posting what I have. If I had done a weekly release schedule from the start, I think I could have avoided that burnout. With a prologue and 10 chapters posted on release, I could have held out for probably 6 months on just my backlog, not including any chapters I write in that time.

The meta may be daily releases, but I have a life beyond RR, and daily chapters would not be possible for me. If I did manage it, then my story would be a dumpster fire with each release. If weekly releases is what you can manage, then don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You'll enjoy the process far more, and you won't need a half-year hiatus to recover. I've already decided that, since I'm so close to finishing my story, I'd wait until I had the whole thing written, then just bulk post the remaining chapters.

I've certainly learned my lesson the hard way, and I hope you don't have to. My next story will go way smoother.

Personally, I wouldn't trust AI (certainly not ChatGPT) with beta reading. I don't really care what the AI thinks of my writing in terms of the more subjective elements. When it comes to spelling, or perhaps grammar, the AI can get by well enough. Language learning is what it's built on (in this case at least), so editing can work to an extent. But I'm just not convinced that the AI will be useful for comedy.

My overall experience with ChatGPT in particular has been a very mixed bag. Sometimes it gives me something useful, and other times it gives me hogwash. It's hard for me to put into words properly, but I just don't think an AI can give me the quality feedback I can get from a real person.

No. If I get focused in my writing, I just churn out words, but I don't ever shed tears while writing.

Frankly, I don't know. A page could contain a few words or a lot of words.

If I write with line breaks every sentence, I can fill up a page pretty quick.

Dialogue-heavy scenes inflate my page count.

I could also mess with other aspects of the formatting.

But if I'm writing dense prose, describing settings, beefing up descriptions with a heavy dose of lore, or whatever, then it will be much harder to fill up a page. That's why I always go by the word count, because it gives me a more concrete idea of how much we're talking. It's the difference between saying "I have a few pieces of gold" and "I have a few ounces of gold". One is vague, and just leaves my imagination to figure it out. The other is concrete, it won't change, and I can more easily reference how much it is in my head.

For RR in particular, I don't think page count (even though it gives a rough estimate) has any meaning at all. One chapter (regardless of length) will just be something you scroll from top to bottom. There really aren't pages. Each chapter can actually just be thought of as scrolls of varying length, since you don't even have to "turn the page" until you reach the end of the chapter.

I can't think of any novel that benefited from having sex in it. If an author can't write a story (whether or not it has romance in it, or is centered around romance) without including sex, then there's a problem. And that problem is the author. Maybe they use a sex scene as an easy way to say "Character A and Character B love each other". Maybe they don't have any concept of love outside of sex. Or maybe they just wanted to include some sex, but didn't want to go all the way to smut territory.

Either way, it's unnecessary. There's nothing edifying in reading about two people having sex.

I don't think I've really had that problem with the stories I like on RR. If an author is taking the next step toward being a true professional, then good for them. If I'm going to buy a book, I want a physical copy, so I probably wouldn't mind adding another book to my shelves if their work is good enough. Now if it's only available digitally, I'd probably have to pass. Nothing personal, I just prefer to hold the book in my hands (and turn the pages).

I have found a few on RR that were stubbed before I got there. But the ones that are already stubbed are generally long enough that I probably wouldn't feel like diving into it, even if it wasn't stubbed.

The thing I've had to deal with (which is always a sad thing when it happens) is having a story that I'm reading suddenly vanish from the site. There was one time where I was reading a story (I think it was called When Rains May Come, or something like that), and the author (I guess) took it down. I was really getting into it. It wasn't fantasy, but it was still an interesting story. Then that same author posts a new story... and it's a LitRPG.

Sadly, the saying "sex sells" rings true in a lot of cases with marketing. I will condemn any ad or story making use of such things to gain an audience or profit or whatever.

But as far as your point about shoutout swaps goes, I'm a bit more on the fence about it. Personally, I won't agree to a swap if I find the other story to be an immoral dumpster fire, but others might not be so particular. Some might do it to help another author. I don't think anyone should support immoral stories, but all I can really do (to any good effect) is try to put something I would want to read on the market, support good authors whenever I find them, and also pray for those who support/use sexualization in fiction.

I've found it much more enjoyable to pretend RS doesn't exist most days. I don't usually find anything I care to check out, so I just come to this sub to find what I want. I can't say who does or does not vet the stories they shoutout swap with, but my personal tastes aren't a good enough reason to suspect anyone. LitRPG is the most popular on RR (much to my displeasure), but there's not much I can do about that. I suppose it also helps that I'm no longer doing this with the mindset of trying to make money, so I can relax and tune out the rest of RR while I let the catharsis flow through me each time I hit the button to post a chapter.

As a final note on the advertising, I will address the type of ad which I've seen enough of to last ten lifetimes. That ad type is the meme ad. Some do give (in small amounts) relevant information to the story, but most that I've seen are just garbage. If someone uses a meme ad, it's enough to make me avoid what they're selling. Nothing personal, I just hate meme ads. I'm not saying you can't use them. I was just overdue for another micro-rant on meme ads.

I have no fear of this. Nothing is original. In fact, I take elements I like from my inspirations, add my own flavor to it, and hope that I haven't made too much of a mess. If someone says that my novel reminds them of Lord of the Rings, then I know I've done something right. You'll also find (through the search feature) that many have already come here before you to post the same thing. Don't believe me? I searched "original", and here are the results.

Mine is traditional fantasy.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/86694/royal-road-of-the-cross-a-trial-by-fire

I've been told that the worldbuilding in my story is its greatest strength. I've also been told that my style is a bit stiff, and could use some work. I don't know if mine constitutes epic fantasy, but it is definitely traditional fantasy.

I also wouldn't mind getting a link to your story. I'm always looking to add some books to my reading list.

I reckon it is, but I wasn't sure what the two rectangles meant.

?

I've started getting back into the writing groove. I hope to be able to have the remaining chapters of my story finished and posted before Easter. Then I can finally put it to rest for a while... until I go back to redraft the whole thing.

Personally, I'm not super picky about prose, but I do still prefer old stuff. My preference for old stuff comes from different reasons.

Perhaps if those newer novels were hard boiled their prose might taste better. I prefer mine scrambled.

On a more serious note, it might also be that you're just not finding the hidden gems. When looking at what is mainstream, naturally you'll find plenty of slop. Mainstream is not synonymous with high quality (these days, usually the opposite).

The tag system seems fine to me. It seems like most authors put a "what to expect" section in the blurb anyway, and most of what they put there just repeats what they crammed into the title.

I'm perfectly fine with hitting the plus button next to the tags to see all the ones listed, then scrolling down the (generally short) blurb to see the "what to expect" section. I know I'm an extreme outlier compared to the rest of the RR readers, but surely they can take the few seconds required to hit a button and read that brief "what to expect" list.

I'd be alright with a title that had a subgenre tag (not on RR's tag list) tacked on (epic fantasy, thriller, romantasy, etc.) since it's just a couple of words extra (and not a whole sentence). But I will not accept having the first tag on the list (generally LitRPG) being tacked onto the title.

There is actually an example I'd like to highlight as a good example of proper use of the title, tags, and blurb: Penitent. It keeps a title that's short and to the point. It lets the tags do what they're supposed to do. It keeps the blurb short and sweet, and it has a list of things to expect. The cover is also nice. The only nitpick you could really have is that the "what to expect" section doesn't have "what to expect" in big bold letters right above it, but again: nitpick.

Whether or not the story itself is well-written, I don't know. I just looked on RS and saw it, and I thought it was a good example of what I'm talking about.

I guess, in some way, I can see the merit in this system. I have realized that it's helped me to filter out quite a lot of what I don't want. But at the same time, I don't often actually look on RR to see if there's anything interesting. I just come here on the RR sub to lurk (and maybe connect with fellow fantasy authors).