I submitted a story I started over the past week or so for #48 Evolution. If the contest is based on voting over this whole week I'm in trouble as I pretty much am sneaking it in at the deadline. Enjoy.
J2theS0
- Apr 6, 2022
- Joined Sep 28, 2018
I've thought of throwing up something for one of these writing contests, but frankly writing a web novel terrifies me. Having to write a chapter a day and expecting it to be fantastic quality is a big challenge. Yeah I could throw a crap filler chapter up there easily, but who wants that? Not only that half the time in a novel you get near the end, then realize oh dang, that beginning part no longer makes any sense. Let me change that, now my whole story flows better and this ending just works. Yet in a webnovel it is impossible to do. It's like a long Improv session rather than a planned comedic routine, it is a completely different skill. No wonder elements of these stories end up changing through out, or skills the MC knows seem to be forgotten about later, all of these things are what an author would go back and verify their continuity once the book was finished, but you never really get that chance while writing a webnovel, you just have to hope people don't notice as you change things to more suit your story.
- Edited
TheOGDuanChen There are many types of readers and over the years I have found that most people like familiar things. Look at the most popular selling novels. Usually Romance or coming of age stories (see Harry Potter, 90% of Fantasy Series etc.) Its a formulaic script that works to make money, thus people continue to use it. As an author you really have to be popular in order to make a living and following these scripts is a good way to do it. Now don't get me wrong to make a good book like this you still have to have a lot of imagination, talent, skill and persistence, yet many do still follow a pretty basic formula.
I agree with Take_The_Moon on the part of a good MC. If you have a great MC, your story can be cliche'd as you want. People will still read it.
It takes a truly talented author to come up with a completely different story, magic system, idea, world, run with it for awhile, then abandon it to write a completely new world with new laws, new characters and new Stories. One I really like at the Moment for this is Brandon Sanderson. Yet he got popular helping finishing out a cliche'd Wheel of time series so shrug.
For the Entries, how many chapters should be submitted?