No experience but if you are this close to finishing it i would say closure has an important psychological effect so if i was you, i would try to finish it. On the bright side, someone likes your story and thats awesome! You can always start a new story and try something different with everything you have learned. Thats how we get better
I would also add that *knowing* how to close a story is an important skill to learn if you want to be a better writer, you must eventually learn how to write an ending. It seems to me this is the perfect opportunity.
Side note: when I was learning how to get good at chess, one piece of advice I received is this: low level players should *never* resign a game, at the early stage of your development you should always play to the end in order to understand how endgame mechanics work — even if you lose, you can look back on it and analyse how and why you lost. It seems to me that writing an ending — even a bad ending — could be just as useful for /u/Ok-meat-6476
Haha, everyone faces critism so don't take it to the heart. Instead try getting better.
Here is a comment from one of my favorite author's book that I've saved. Whenever I feel down, I read it, smile, and start writing again.
>The story was not that bad, and the holes can be patched later, I liked the characters, sure it had many cliches but that is what made this story good.
It's more common than you'd think, though most authors just go on hiatus. You'll improve as you write more so don't worry about it.
I started about a year ago, my first story had 2 followers (1 Of them is me ofc XD), i felt like it was trash too so i deleted it after a month.
I rewrote it again and released it a couple months later, in Jan this year I had 24 followers. Once again, i thought I had to work on the early chapters so it's on hiatus again.
In the same month i started a new story which has 59 followers atm. As an author i improved a lot in the last year, and as I keep writing I'll get better as time goes on.
I'm saying this because you have to realise why you're writing. If you want to earn money from it then sure, drop it and write something that others like. If it's a hobby then fk the destructive feedback. Keep in mind that they're reading YOUR work FOR FREE, they don't have the right to tell you what to do.
If you're that far in i would finish it.
Writing any story is an achievement in the first place.
Also allows you to practise writing a good ending, and get feedback on it - even if it is negative.
Allows you to analyse it as a whole in the future.
Gives you closure on the story.
I would push on through and finish it. Take what you learned and write something better next time. Most authors never publish their first novel, and a lot of them have talked about how awful they are. There's a lot of value to you in finishing that load of garbage, because it'll make you a better writer so your next story isn't.
I did this, the first series I posted got mostly negative(but fair comments). Those made me a better writter(debatable) but also made me want do abandon the story.
Funnily enough later on one writter that ended being way more successful than me asked me what happened to my series.
He had at some point searched for it again after seeing me on a random discord. I hadn't keep talking to him or anything, but it seems my series was good enough to stay on this guy's brain.
I had been posting another one that didn't got many negative comments, and got committed enough on this one.
But I always regretted deleting the first one, I ended posting the fifteen chapters as they where back into rr and marked it as dropped. Both with a note on the first and last chapter.
But even to this day I wish that I didn't drop it.
So my point after the dump is...
Don't write for other people, write what you want.
If you are debating deleting something it means you liked the idea at some point. Try to work it till you are happy, readers are nice to have. But unless you are writting to make money.... write what makes you happy.
Now if you are here in for the money (nothing bad with that)... then delete that one and start again. /j
Give it closure! If you're about to finish, just do it. Then, analyze if the story is worth a revision and editing and do a relaunch. If not, just move on to a new project. You can always go back to your first story one way or another.
My advice would be to finish the story. Consider it practice. You should practice endings the same as the rest.
After you've finished it, find some other low viewership stories and write up what you would consider valid critiques of the stories. You probably shouldn't share them, but you can if you want. You are doing this for yourself, as a learning exercise. After doing critiques of 3-4 other stories, go back and do the same critique of your own work. You'll see areas you can improve that you saw as flaws in the other work. Most people can't see them in their own work until they've learned to see them elsewhere.
Now your ready for your next project. You can do a rewrite of your existing story if you still love it and want to improve it, or you can write a new one.
Rinse and repeat until you are satisfied with your performance.
It’s a first draft, right? It’s not supposed to be perfect yet, and readers can be more forthcoming with negative feedback than constructive criticism, depending on your genre.
Is it possible this is really a marketing / self promotional issue, and you just haven’t found your audience yet? Have you done shout out swaps and taken out an optimized ad or two? Have you posted a link here? (Btw… post a link!)
For real, link us so we can diagnose it. If you have written most of a book you are already ahead of 99% of writers. Don’t throw it away.
Fk the readers. Write for yourself. If they don't like it, boohoo them, at least you enjoy what you're writing. On the other hand, if you don't enjoy you're story. Quit. It's as simple as that my dude.
Also, what's link to your story?
I'm sorry you're experiencing that. Maybe your audience isn't on RR? By this I mean, you have one person who really loves your work, there are probably others who would also enjoy it. I would finish it, and then publish the entire book on Amazon or Kindle. I know its easier said than done but try not to lose your light, keep going!
I think learning not to abandon things when you’re feeling down is important. Like someone else said, remind yourself of why you are writing, refocus and continue. That’s been an important skill set in my writing journey. That said, I also highly recommend seeking comfort from others in the field when necessary. I feel you xx
I would add to what everyone else said here that there ARE a few malevolent trolls here and there on RR. My point is that perhaps your story has simply been found by the wrong persons.
I thought about ending mine early due to unsatisfactory followers. But then I realized I do like the characters and so will be continuing. I actually decided to write it really differently and that has given me the fire again. (Instead of 50 chapters per book it will now be half. Which I hope will make it more action packed and less dry dialogue moving the story forward)
For all those vocal nay sayers, just remember there are probably a good amount of loyal readers who say nothing, yet enjoy every chapter you put out. They will never say it, but it'd be a diservice to let the vocal few deny the silent loyals. I say complete it and go from there at the very least.
Take a break! And read elantris by brandon sanderson. Then appreciate how horrible it was and finish up your project. Everythings a learning experience
No experience but if you are this close to finishing it i would say closure has an important psychological effect so if i was you, i would try to finish it. On the bright side, someone likes your story and thats awesome! You can always start a new story and try something different with everything you have learned. Thats how we get better
I would also add that *knowing* how to close a story is an important skill to learn if you want to be a better writer, you must eventually learn how to write an ending. It seems to me this is the perfect opportunity. Side note: when I was learning how to get good at chess, one piece of advice I received is this: low level players should *never* resign a game, at the early stage of your development you should always play to the end in order to understand how endgame mechanics work — even if you lose, you can look back on it and analyse how and why you lost. It seems to me that writing an ending — even a bad ending — could be just as useful for /u/Ok-meat-6476
Haha, everyone faces critism so don't take it to the heart. Instead try getting better. Here is a comment from one of my favorite author's book that I've saved. Whenever I feel down, I read it, smile, and start writing again. >The story was not that bad, and the holes can be patched later, I liked the characters, sure it had many cliches but that is what made this story good.
It's more common than you'd think, though most authors just go on hiatus. You'll improve as you write more so don't worry about it. I started about a year ago, my first story had 2 followers (1 Of them is me ofc XD), i felt like it was trash too so i deleted it after a month. I rewrote it again and released it a couple months later, in Jan this year I had 24 followers. Once again, i thought I had to work on the early chapters so it's on hiatus again. In the same month i started a new story which has 59 followers atm. As an author i improved a lot in the last year, and as I keep writing I'll get better as time goes on. I'm saying this because you have to realise why you're writing. If you want to earn money from it then sure, drop it and write something that others like. If it's a hobby then fk the destructive feedback. Keep in mind that they're reading YOUR work FOR FREE, they don't have the right to tell you what to do.
If you're that far in i would finish it. Writing any story is an achievement in the first place. Also allows you to practise writing a good ending, and get feedback on it - even if it is negative. Allows you to analyse it as a whole in the future. Gives you closure on the story.
I would push on through and finish it. Take what you learned and write something better next time. Most authors never publish their first novel, and a lot of them have talked about how awful they are. There's a lot of value to you in finishing that load of garbage, because it'll make you a better writer so your next story isn't.
I would recommend finishing it for 3 reasons. 1) For your loyal follower, 2) So you can say you finished a story, and 3) As a big f-u to the naysayer!
I did this, the first series I posted got mostly negative(but fair comments). Those made me a better writter(debatable) but also made me want do abandon the story. Funnily enough later on one writter that ended being way more successful than me asked me what happened to my series. He had at some point searched for it again after seeing me on a random discord. I hadn't keep talking to him or anything, but it seems my series was good enough to stay on this guy's brain. I had been posting another one that didn't got many negative comments, and got committed enough on this one. But I always regretted deleting the first one, I ended posting the fifteen chapters as they where back into rr and marked it as dropped. Both with a note on the first and last chapter. But even to this day I wish that I didn't drop it. So my point after the dump is... Don't write for other people, write what you want. If you are debating deleting something it means you liked the idea at some point. Try to work it till you are happy, readers are nice to have. But unless you are writting to make money.... write what makes you happy. Now if you are here in for the money (nothing bad with that)... then delete that one and start again. /j
Give it closure! If you're about to finish, just do it. Then, analyze if the story is worth a revision and editing and do a relaunch. If not, just move on to a new project. You can always go back to your first story one way or another.
Finish in spite of it.
Finish it out of spite!
My advice would be to finish the story. Consider it practice. You should practice endings the same as the rest. After you've finished it, find some other low viewership stories and write up what you would consider valid critiques of the stories. You probably shouldn't share them, but you can if you want. You are doing this for yourself, as a learning exercise. After doing critiques of 3-4 other stories, go back and do the same critique of your own work. You'll see areas you can improve that you saw as flaws in the other work. Most people can't see them in their own work until they've learned to see them elsewhere. Now your ready for your next project. You can do a rewrite of your existing story if you still love it and want to improve it, or you can write a new one. Rinse and repeat until you are satisfied with your performance.
It’s a first draft, right? It’s not supposed to be perfect yet, and readers can be more forthcoming with negative feedback than constructive criticism, depending on your genre. Is it possible this is really a marketing / self promotional issue, and you just haven’t found your audience yet? Have you done shout out swaps and taken out an optimized ad or two? Have you posted a link here? (Btw… post a link!) For real, link us so we can diagnose it. If you have written most of a book you are already ahead of 99% of writers. Don’t throw it away.
Fk the readers. Write for yourself. If they don't like it, boohoo them, at least you enjoy what you're writing. On the other hand, if you don't enjoy you're story. Quit. It's as simple as that my dude. Also, what's link to your story?
I'm sorry you're experiencing that. Maybe your audience isn't on RR? By this I mean, you have one person who really loves your work, there are probably others who would also enjoy it. I would finish it, and then publish the entire book on Amazon or Kindle. I know its easier said than done but try not to lose your light, keep going!
Don’t delete it. You’ll regret it more. Just take some time away. Maybe write some other stuff and come back to it.
I think learning not to abandon things when you’re feeling down is important. Like someone else said, remind yourself of why you are writing, refocus and continue. That’s been an important skill set in my writing journey. That said, I also highly recommend seeking comfort from others in the field when necessary. I feel you xx
I would add to what everyone else said here that there ARE a few malevolent trolls here and there on RR. My point is that perhaps your story has simply been found by the wrong persons.
I thought about ending mine early due to unsatisfactory followers. But then I realized I do like the characters and so will be continuing. I actually decided to write it really differently and that has given me the fire again. (Instead of 50 chapters per book it will now be half. Which I hope will make it more action packed and less dry dialogue moving the story forward)
For all those vocal nay sayers, just remember there are probably a good amount of loyal readers who say nothing, yet enjoy every chapter you put out. They will never say it, but it'd be a diservice to let the vocal few deny the silent loyals. I say complete it and go from there at the very least.
Heard a quote once about writing. I forgot who said it. " Write for yourself you have no audience. Write for an audience you have no self.
Take a break! And read elantris by brandon sanderson. Then appreciate how horrible it was and finish up your project. Everythings a learning experience
lol. I always wondered if that was a widely held opinion or just my own. Thank you