So, I originally started uploading onto this site as a sort of fun hobby that would be enjoyable for both myself and those who read my story. However, it's becoming less of a source of happiness and more of a source of stress and grief. It puts a real damper on your day to wake up and see a person slap down a bad rating because they didn't like a particular chapter. So my question is this: is my fic really bad enough to warrant a less than 2 star rating? It's at the point where I'm considering deleting it and starting from scratch, so I'd appreciate honesty. The fic is here.

I don't think you should worry about it too much.

First and foremost, you are writing a story because you enjoy it. It's the same as, say, a beginner artist drawing his first doodle. He might improve he might not, but nobody should make him stop because the doodle is not up to standard.

He draws because he enjoys it. It's a hobby.
(sorry I had to use artist as an example, as I am one myself)

Are you trying to be a professional? Trying to write a critically acclaimed piece of epic literature?
Or are you writting for the sheer joy of it?
If I were to venture a guess, you just want to bring your story, your imagination, your interest into a more... corporeal form. And hope to share it with others.

The people in this site are usually very critical toward people's works even though it's supposed to be for beginners.
(I mean, if a story is supposed to be self-insert masturbation fantasy, then don't expect it to be a grand tale of laughters and tears. Also there's nothing wrong with self-insert masturbation fantasy, at least in my opinion)

It's demoralizing, I know, nothing I can do to help you with your self-confidence.
Other than... you know, just try to have a clear direction. "What do you want this story to be?"
And don't be too discouraged if someone doesn't want the same thing.

I'll give your story a try and see how it is. (I'll leave some more comments there)
From the start though, I have to say I don't like the title.
Don't misunderstand, nothing wrong with it.
Just not really my thing.
But it may click with other people.
I do get where this style of title comes from though, JP novels, I presume?
Don't grill me if I'm wrong.

(If it were me I'd choose something like "Conqueror of empires, Seeker of romances, Lovers of fluffiness")
But hey, that's just me.

2.5 stars is not too bad of a rating. Most people who do not like your work will give you a half star. Imo, your story improves a bit after the first few chapters. Chapters 7-11 were particularly good compared to the beginning. And you can't forget what he ended the review with.

Quote:
Story itself is good and would have definitely keep reading if there was a more modest(this does not imply weak,or lacking self-confidence) character. GREAT POTENTIAL.

With some editing (fix those style inconsistencies!) and a few tweaks, maybe you could bring up the next reviewer's ratings a bit. My rating for the current story would be around a 3.75(if I could rate that :p).

I'd say you're above average for this website. Spelling and grammar are well done, (maybe either than small discrepancies here and there).
Your style needs work though, quite a few switches between present and past tense. I'm not a fan of all the telling... and some sentences just need to be rephrased sometimes, to make things flow easier and make things clear.

A few more things I could mention, but they're mostly style choices (you could read this, for reference): http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=52998

'Chiisutofupuru' pid='647333' dateline='1462902036' Wrote: I'd say you're above average for this website. Spelling and grammar are well done, (maybe either than small discrepancies here and there).
Your style needs work though, quite a few switches between present and past tense. I'm not a fan of all the telling... and some sentences just need to be rephrased sometimes, to make things flow easier and make things clear.

A few more things I could mention, but they're mostly style choices (you could read this, for reference): http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=52998

Thank you for the guidance! The guide you've posted has enlightened my sense of what I should use and when I should use it. I'm definitely going to follow it religiously and improve myself from "above average" to "really really above average".

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'SereneSolace' pid='647160' dateline='1462891417' Wrote: 2.5 stars is not too bad of a rating. Most people who do not like your work will give you a half star. Imo, your story improves a bit after the first few chapters. Chapters 7-11 were particularly good compared to the beginning. And you can't forget what he ended the review with.

Quote:
Story itself is good and would have definitely keep reading if there was a more modest(this does not imply weak,or lacking self-confidence) character. GREAT POTENTIAL.

With some editing (fix those style inconsistencies!) and a few tweaks, maybe you could bring up the next reviewer's ratings a bit. My rating for the current story would be around a 3.75(if I could rate that :p).

Thank you for your kind words. The review I mentioned in my original post wasn't mentioning that particular review (I personally think that a lot of its criticism (smug MC) has been rendered obsolete) but rather a person who, after reading one of my latest chapters, decided to slap down a bad rating turning it from 2.5 to around 1.7 stars. I'm definitely go back and rewrite my chapters to get rid of inconsistencies and hopefully make it better.

'AmanoMai' pid='647154' dateline='1462891095' Wrote: I don't think you should worry about it too much.

First and foremost, you are writing a story because you enjoy it. It's the same as, say, a beginner artist drawing his first doodle. He might improve he might not, but nobody should make him stop because the doodle is not up to standard.

He draws because he enjoys it. It's a hobby.
(sorry I had to use artist as an example, as I am one myself)

Are you trying to be a professional? Trying to write a critically acclaimed piece of epic literature?
Or are you writting for the sheer joy of it?
If I were to venture a guess, you just want to bring your story, your imagination, your interest into a more... corporeal form. And hope to share it with others.

The people in this site are usually very critical toward people's works even though it's supposed to be for beginners.
(I mean, if a story is supposed to be self-insert masturbation fantasy, then don't expect it to be a grand tale of laughters and tears. Also there's nothing wrong with self-insert masturbation fantasy, at least in my opinion)

It's demoralizing, I know, nothing I can do to help you with your self-confidence.
Other than... you know, just try to have a clear direction. "What do you want this story to be?"
And don't be too discouraged if someone doesn't want the same thing.

I'll give your story a try and see how it is. (I'll leave some more comments there)
From the start though, I have to say I don't like the title.
Don't misunderstand, nothing wrong with it.
Just not really my thing.
But it may click with other people.
I do get where this style of title comes from though, JP novels, I presume?
Don't grill me if I'm wrong.

(If it were me I'd choose something like "Conqueror of empires, Seeker of romances, Lovers of fluffiness")
But hey, that's just me.

Thanks for the advice! I was really feeling down after some backlash over a chapter that even caused some people to drop the series entirely, but after reading this is I see that it's only a part of the process of writing a story. As you said, I'm writing because I enjoy it, but I always felt that what's the point of telling a story if no one will listen? Of course this is completely ridiculous given that people listen to my story, it's just that the people who like it are the quietest, the people with criticism are of few words, and those who don't like it are the loudest. I've always had a problem with the title, I just didn't (and still don't) know what to call it when I started it. I'll definitely consider your suggestion. Also, I got the name from a steam achievement for Civilization Five called "The Once and Future King". Just an interesting little bit of info. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say about what I've written!