Why most of the authors drop their stories

#1
Hi!

I was just wandering, why many of the authors in RRL dropped their stories? When I looked at some of the stories, most of them ended up when they are just starting, why?

In my opinion, authors drop their stories because they saw their novel having only few followers, reviews, views, etc. I'm not saying that this is applicable for all of them, but for only 'most' of them.

They thought that their novel is not good enough because they lack viewers and followers, that's why they are discouraged.

As for why I'm saying this? It's because, me myself is experiencing this. I just started a novel and after observing my dashboard, it only had... 7 followers.

I asked myself. "Why do I write? Why do I spend my time doing this? After writing almost 13k words, I only got 7 followers?"

And then I found the answer when I searched myself...

"I'm writing 'cause at the first place, this is what I liked. This is what I've decided to do, and this is what I want."

For those authors out there, please search yourself. Your work is not trash! Your work is good! What? You only have 4,6,7,10 whatsoever followers? Besides, you're only starting, so, having these much readers is a good start! 

Remember, even if you only have few readers and followers that's a good thing! You're writing for those few readers and followers, not to those people who didn't even read your work! Unless, you want to write for those who do not want to read your work?

I just wanted to see books continuing, I want to see authors who are writing for their respective readers.

It's okay to rest for a bit in order to refresh your mind, but, never ever quit!

To the authors experiencing this type of 'discouragement' please bear in mind these things.

And for the readers, If you happen to read a novel, its not hard to put a good feedback like saying that "It's nice!" It's a simple word but it can help them be encouraged. If you're very kind you can make it long and put some words of encouragement. If you really didn't like the story, then say it constructively! 


Thanks for giving your time to read this post. I hope you learned something.

If you want to add something, please do it. This is only 'my opinion'. 

Sorry for the long post. Also I will take this moment to promote my novel. I am writing this novel for the readers, if you're not interested, fine.The link is in my signature. Thanks in advance.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#2
most ppl only really start reading a fiction after it cross the 20-chapters-line u know?
so it's not uncommon to have only 8 followers after 5 chapters
(except for a few fictions, which suprisingly not get pass ~30-50 even after >50 medium-length chapters)

the reasons why many drop/hiatus/etc. varies
1. most RRL fictions 're litRPG, VR, transfer/reincarnate, with ~15-20 out of 100 being xianxia, the tropes keep on being repeatedly used, so it's no wonder many 're not 'special' enough to come into sights, thus no followers, views, then discouragement, eventually, they go on hiatus/inactive/etc.
2. some just somehow get a nice idea for their fiction, they start writing the stories, but they end up at a wall because they only got that much idea to write, thus hiatus
3. some write as hobby, then they get stuck with RL :p there're many fictions written in long period of time('Forgotten Conqueror' for example) eventually, the authors will get stuck with something in RL and end up disappear
4. also, being hobby as it's for many ppl, some may start getting bored of writing and ike to do something else different at some point, i, for certain, can't keep on having something as hobby for more than a 2-months run, it get bored after a while and something else becomes more interesting
5. some get sick or other RL troubles and have to hiatus for a while, but when they come back, the fictions that they've been writting became 'outdated', so they just put them into hibernation
6. some unfortunate enough to get ill, sick, etc.
7. let's not forget disappearing without trace is pretty much a 'tradition' of RRL =))
(etc.)

RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#4
'mlovolm' pid='826527' dateline='1501181838' Wrote: most ppl only really start reading a fiction after it cross the 20-chapters-line u know?
so it's not uncommon to have only 8 followers after 5 chapters
(except for a few fictions, which suprisingly not get pass ~30-50 even after >50 medium-length chapters)

the reasons why many drop/hiatus/etc. varies
1. most RRL fictions 're litRPG, VR, transfer/reincarnate, with ~15-20 out of 100 being xianxia, the tropes keep on being repeatedly used, so it's no wonder many 're not 'special' enough to come into sights, thus no followers, views, then discouragement, eventually, they go on hiatus/inactive/etc.
2. some just somehow get a nice idea for their fiction, they start writing the stories, but they end up at a wall because they only got that much idea to write, thus hiatus
3. some write as hobby, then they get stuck with RL :p there're many fictions written in long period of time('Forgotten Conqueror' for example) eventually, the authors will get stuck with something in RL and end up disappear
4. also, being hobby as it's for many ppl, some may start getting bored of writing and ike to do something else different at some point, i, for certain, can't keep on having something as hobby for more than a 2-months run, it get bored after a while and something else becomes more interesting
5. some get sick or other RL troubles and have to hiatus for a while, but when they come back, the fictions that they've been writting became 'outdated', so they just put them into hibernation
6. some unfortunate enough to get ill, sick, etc.
7. let's not forget disappearing without trace is pretty much a 'tradition' of RRL =))
(etc.)

These pointers are correct, some authors doesn't get attention when they started writing, some are lacking concept, many are just bored because of they are, etc. Etc.

When I clicked the 'surprise me' button, I always ended up to the dropped novels that only had at least 5 chapters. I don't know why, but that's one of the reason I got this conclusion.


'Anime-Sensei' pid='826529' dateline='1501190658' Wrote: *Coughs.* I myself have dropped over thirty stories, it is hard for something to keep my attention, I like writing, but I suck at staying committed to one story.

30 stories?! That's quite a number. Commitment is hard to obtain. We got busy, works, classes and others, that's why, commitment is hard to do because there are more important matters we must attend to.

In your case, writing is an art. Bringing those readers to your world is the job of authors. I can only say that, you must do one art and a world at a time. If you write simultaneously, it will wreck your brain and keeping attention to one novel will be a hard work for you.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#5
In this site, I have four novels that I just dropped. But if you read each one, following the order I made them, you can see improvements on each passing one, pacing, story, characterization, etc.

I drop my stories because, sadly, they served their purpose. I want to get better, so I practice. There are fictions that I start by doing massive characterization, world building, action, stuff like that. Each iteration of stories I make have something that I like and not. Like a fireman after a fire, I sift everything in sight and learn all about it all I can.

I know there's the argument that you should finish what you started but I'm just going to reply with a saying I grew fond of because it describes most of my work; "You can try and polish that turd all you want, but on the end of the day, it's still a piece of shit." and I'm not going to stay and finish something that I consider a bore, especially when I have something else I can work on with, something that will git' me gud.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#6
'Tanaka Tomoyuki' pid='826536' dateline='1501220669' Wrote: I don't really care about followers or view. In fact, the less followers I get, the happier I am.

What really puts me off is a bunch of people coming in, giving my story 0.5 stars for no legitimate reason (is my story really that bad?), or leave insults or abuses in comments and reviews. I had a few calling me a piece of s***, or trash, or a loser, or some other less-than-flattering name.

If you get abused for writing and posting your story, don't you think it discourages you from continuing to write that story?


You're right! Those mean reviewers are trash.(sorry if anyone is one of them) 

Why take time just to give some sh*t reviews, they are just wasting their time and didn't even help anyone.

It's not that we don't accept negative feedbacks, but, they can do it in a right way! Right?


'TheManWithLongReach' pid='826537' dateline='1501225052' Wrote: In this site, I have four novels that I just dropped. But if you read each one, following the order I made them, you can see improvements on each passing one, pacing, story, characterization, etc.

I drop my stories because, sadly, they served their purpose. I want to get better, so I practice. There are fictions that I start by doing massive characterization, world building, action, stuff like that. Each iteration of stories I make have something that I like and not. Like a fireman after a fire, I sift everything in sight and learn all about it all I can.

I know there's the argument that you should finish what you started but I'm just going to reply with a saying I grew fond of because it describes most of my work; "You can try and polish that turd all you want, but on the end of the day, it's still a piece of shit." and I'm not going to stay and finish something that I consider a bore, especially when I have something else I can work on with, something that will git' me gud.

Hey there,

I respect your perception bro. But let me say a few words.

So what, if your work is a piece of shit? I'm a dog I do sometimes eat shit. I'm a plant, your shit fertilizes me and it helps me grow! 

Your shit maybe a shit now, but remember, shits are delicious foods before that help you fill your stomach.

Shits are not totally trash, at some point they serve some useful purposes too.

P.S. I'm not eating shit hahahahaha!
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#7
I think starting something new is more satisfying than finishing an ongoing project. That's about it.

Past the first stage, when the novelty of the project wears off, you need something to keep you going.

Personally, I'm doing this novel to practice written english, as hobby, and because I love building up and exploring new worlds. I'm putting it effort to see my current projects through.

I'm rather new to this site. I didn't know dropping a story was common on RL, but it makes sense since most people here do it as hobby. It's something that happens a lot in other sectors as well, like coding and engineering.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#9
Some of you guys might not be here yet like a year ago when the last update is not yet implemented. There are no "Trending stories" yet at the time, instead, there is an RRL feature called "Top reviews" and the latest reviews were posted on the home page. 

I remember that you need to use the "Full review" and not the driveby review in order to be mentioned on the home page. Therefore there is a character count. Sure, there are many glowing reviews as well but what I remember the most was the douche reviews. 

Review titles are like:
-"Time again to destroy someone's hopes and dreams!"
-"[INSERT CLEVER REMARK HERE]"
- "Since I need to fill up the minimum characters for my review to be posted then oqwcrnwernwqenrcpwn3ecnriwepnwbpvwejbpvawijncwbroiwbvrbwe"

Believe me, I 'm not making those titles up. Those are actual review titles.

Lol, I'm glad that feature was taken down forever.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#10
Dropping a few stories is fine, but if you suddenly find yourself starting stuff without finishing then it becomes a problem.

People improve with everything they write. That said, if you never finish anything then you never practice finishing. If your aim on this site is to become famous within it, then finishing a story is a way of telling readers "Look! I won't let you down."

If your aim on this site is to get better at writing, then by not finishing you're not getting all the practice you can.

Falling out of love with a story is fine. Put it away for a week or two, but please come back to it. You feel in love with the concept enough to begin it, so why the hell don't you finish it? I recently wrote an 89,000 word novel (not published on this site or anywhere else) and did a full line edit. Did I want to give up and write something else partway through? Hell yeah I did. I wrote a bunch of 3-5,000 word shorts in the months I wrote the other one. But I never gave up on my first idea.

Look at it this way: finishing a story is way harder than starting it. Screw the follower count.

RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#11
'TrainerOfLegend' pid='826768' dateline='1501783987' Wrote: Dropping a few stories is fine, but if you suddenly find yourself starting stuff without finishing then it becomes a problem.

People improve with everything they write. That said, if you never finish anything then you never practice finishing. If your aim on this site is to become famous within it, then finishing a story is a way of telling readers "Look! I won't let you down."

If your aim on this site is to get better at writing, then by not finishing you're not getting all the practice you can.

Falling out of love with a story is fine. Put it away for a week or two, but please come back to it. You feel in love with the concept enough to begin it, so why the hell don't you finish it? I recently wrote an 89,000 word novel (not published on this site or anywhere else) and did a full line edit. Did I want to give up and write something else partway through? Hell yeah I did. I wrote a bunch of 3-5,000 word shorts in the months I wrote the other one. But I never gave up on my first idea.

Look at it this way: finishing a story is way harder than starting it. Screw the follower count.

Yeah, you're right. Why start a project if you will not finish it? Never start something that you're not planning to finish. That's all! Before you do something, think first.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#12
Eh, writing is a huge time investment. My story is at 112k words right now and it's nowhere close to done. That's my fault of course, for being overly verbose and not tightening the focus to get a "complete" story more quickly but it's a lot of hours invested in a project that isn't particularly close to completion.

Asking people to 'complete the story' is asking them to put in a lot of their personal hours finishing a hobby project they probably aren't getting any sort of compensation for. People pick up and put down hobbies all the time, I don't blame authors on this site for losing the spark and drive to complete their projects - it's a lot of work they're doing for free.

That said it's nice when authors do finish their stuff.
~writing is hard~

RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#13
@tanaka

my advice to you is that you may get rid of your story off the internet, discontinue it, but never throw it away. Keep it.

Because in the future, if you decide to keep writing, go back to your previous works and read them. If they look like shit, good, that means that you've improved. If not, well, keep working, you'll get there through practice.

I've burned through a lot of pad papers writing stories long hand. I also had a lot of discontinued folders of novels in my google drive, I've run through novel ideas like coffee filters but that doesn't mean that they were wasted. Whenever I decide to stop working on a novel, that meant that I have found something wrong in it, pacing, characterization, plot, anything that is essential to making a good story.

Rinse, repeat.

You fail, and you try again.

(also, I am working on a rewrite of this new world of magic to anyone that cares. I think its dope, for now.)
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They are wrong. Its only changing.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#14
For me the number one reason are the troll reviews. Especially when some author is new and he was bombarded with lots of negative reviews in his work. I can even remember the time that there is this massive quitting of authors in RRL and those writers became just readers. Men those "The Group" were totally harsh on their reviews and their review always remains on top of the work of an author with a different frame than the rest which would be the first to be seen by new readers who have not even read the first page but read the reviews first. Imagine a nearly 3k workds full of negative words then maybe 5% is good. I think we just need to be smart and not read review on your work when you are not done with your work to not get distracted.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#15
Well, there's also the fact that stories get progressively harder to write the longer they get. The sheer amount of details and plot threads you have to keep in mind just to avoid obvious plot holes can surprise first-time writers. There are other such less obvious factors that you only truly realize and overcome with experience. Many writers know where they want to get in the story, but they don't know how to get there effectively. Thus they give up. Many realize that they only had a partial idea and don't know what to do with it.

These kinds of things are something every writer has to face. Some get through them, but many don't.
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#16
I will not drop my story. I have been working on it since 2015, and even though I may take massive hiatuses (my record being 7 months, which would definitely exclude me from professional level writing), I don't want to drop it. I do understand that sort of thought though, because I cannot say that through the two years that I have spent on and off on this work I have had dark thoughts whispering to me about how easy it would be to just cast it aside and leave those few fans disappointed. Various reasons apply - real life being a big one, a lack of confidence in my ability, other works distracting me (I'm drawing a manga right now which is taking up my time).

But whatever writing will throw at me, I can say that I'll make the right choice for me and stick with it. Why other people make a different decision I don't know, but I would say a lot of the reason is confidence and a lack of prior planning before starting. When I first wanted to start writing this piece, I made myself wait and plan for a month to get rid of my hype, and then at the end of that month I made sure that I was still excited by the commitment that I would be putting myself into. When I start writing because I feel like writing, I stop after a chapter. When I write because I believe in what I'm writing, I commit to it for a long time.

A bit off topic, thanks for listening to me ramble... maybe this will help me get off my latest hiatus (currently approaching my record).
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RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#19
I think most authors suffer from procrastination.

Procrastinators tend to be very creative people, but when it comes to finishing projects...

Rather, once the story has solidified enough inside a procrastinators mind, interest in the story dies down and focus is displaced.

I've written many things over the years mostly short stuff, the few times I attempted long novels all ended up like that. However, this time will be different.

Because I've become infatuated with a specific genre(Japanese reincarnation novels), however am saddened that that genre is ridden with annoying tropes and absurdaties. I wanted to write my own web novel in that genre, but keep things more on the realist side. Which is hard when considering magic, but that's why in my novel magic won't be omnipotent and my protagonist, while given an advantage, is definately not all powerful.

Also, I wanted to obscure the divide between the weak and powerful that exist in those novels as well. A weakling shoving a dagger into a strong character can still kill it, for example. And so it doesn't matter how strong you are, there's always the danger of being killed or injured. I want that to exist for my protagonist.

I want him/her to be couragious and strong, but also smart. Well, I only started writing that webnovel today, and so far only got six chapters, the first is still pending on this site. :P

RE: Why most of the authors drop their stories

#20
Dropping stories aren't always a bad thing. I spent 10 days straight trying to write a story and it didn't pick up. It wasn't original and I realized that, so I searched for something original that I could write. With that, I found my newest story which is now 11 chapters in and has 50 pages but has 189 followers compared to 16 chapters and 137 pages with only 25 followers. This is also something else to keep in mind. Am I saying that you should just drop a story if it doesn't pick up? Heck no! You should keep writing that story unless you are unhappy writing it. I became unhappy with my first story because it just looked like a clone of most other stories. I think the second a story is no longer enjoyable for you to write and is actually a bother is not a story worth writing. This is the only reason to drop a story.
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All my friends are dead
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