I’m going to vent some of my thoughts here on something because that’s part of the point of this thread, right? Today I discovered that people on Reddit discuss my WIP. I was a bit shocked (I don’t go on Reddit unless I’m looking for specific answers and have never been on the r/HostedGames), so I did what I’m told to never do: read reviews. While nothing was harsh, I’m now trying to sort out the perceived shortcomings of the game in my head. While I’m aware I’m not a great writer (and I often remind people of that), some of it is hitting me harder than it should. There are two major critiques which keep coming up, and one of them I’m aware of, but the other caught me off guard.
Some of it made me laugh while being accidentally backhanded, like the person who thought English wasn’t my first language because some of the dialogue is clunky. I also liked a Gamer Mode joke (referencing the different “gameplay modes” I have).
The biggest critique is that my story is too linear. It’s making me look over the next part in a harsher light. I know Part 2 of my series is more linear – this is by design for the sake of my sanity – but I’m afraid it’ll be a bigger negative impact than I was first expecting. Part 3 will probably be only slightly less linear than Part 1, but now I’m considering making things branch more. This is the bit that is bothering me the most.
I didn’t even notice that my story was linear. I guess with the different career choices, I didn’t consider how linear the hero stuff actually was. I’m probably going to be mulling this over for a few weeks now.
The second biggest critique is in my super-powered game, that superpowers are meaningless outside of combat. I’m aware of this one and have been fighting it to no avail for a while now.
I’m sure it’s hitting me harder than expected in part because I’ve worked on it for so long, and part because I hadn’t heard the main criticism in the five years I’ve been working on it. If I’m feeling it this hard over minor Reddit thoughts, I know I’ll need to avoid actual reviews on its release.. Haha.
As someone who’s writing is that bad, don’t beat yourself about it and just thrive to improve, whether it’s prose, grammar, or simply flow. Just don’t think too much about it, and if it’s purely negative, then just ignore.
The other stuff, I am sure you will figure it out with time.
I mean the main plot stays same, sure, but it has the different work paths and the different hero-companion paths, so I’m not sure how it’d be that linear? It didn’t feel too railroady for me when I was playing the demo at least (although more MC reaction options are always good).
I know a lot of people say that if you can’t handle criticism, don’t make work for the public. The truth is that it’s not that simple.
These are projects we’re working on for months to years, often with little to show for it. We’re passionate about our worlds, our characters, and want to show them to others.
For someone to slam something you’ve been working on for five years straight not only hurts, but it must feel embarrassing and frustrating.
If the criticism is valid, then I feel it’s best to acknowledge it. That doesn’t mean responding or changing what you do, it could be something as simple as saying, “That’s true, but I don’t want to work on it right now.”
If you don’t acknowledge it, then it festers. That’s why a lot of people say not to read reviews. If you read a review that has valid points, but you have other priorities at the moment, then it doesn’t benefit you at all.
hard agree with this!! sometimes i’ll see feedback that really gets under my skin for whatever reason, but it’s gotten a lotttt easier to manage and integrate to my own process over time. i’ve settled on basically this ‘routine’ to deal with any negative feedback (constructive or otherwise):
see feedback, have a gut response to it internally
let that feeling/gut reaction be how it is for however long it sticks around
when the feeling starts fading a little, think about the feedback logically: is it actually accurate? or, if it’s not completely accurate, does it at least illuminate some other problem that does exist?
from there, decide if i want to change anything to fix the problem (if there is an actual, tangible error/flaw).
regardless of how it feels at first, usually i can sort feedback/critiques into “useable” or “ignore-able,” for lack of more graceful phrasing if i change anything because of feedback, that’s ultimately a win because the project gets better. and if i don’t, that’s also helpful because it gives me a stronger understanding of what my own opinions are about the writing—what i feel open to changing, and what i am absolutely set on for whatever reason.
anyways. i am sorry you came across that sort of criticism though, it’s seriously painful reading stuff that just cuts through all your confidence in the work and makes you doubt yourself so much. i’m optimistic that the doubt will pass, though, and you’ll have more clarity about your own goals and opinions on your writing as a result.
For what it’s worth, if anyone ever feels frustrated or critical or want to let off some steam, please review my WIP as critically as you want! I can absorb with unlimited amounts of criticism and I will improve the game with your feedback. Comes with the day job, kind of like the damage sponge/tank in an RPG.
sneaks in tidies up sets out snacks pours herself some tea
Greetings, fellow wordsmiths!
Apparently I’ve been away from the forum so long my WIP thread is locked from having gone dormant. Whoops!
A brief update: I’ve been working on The Eternal Library steadily for just over a year, so that’s a neat milestone. I’m enjoying writing on my own time, and have gone on a few worldbuilding detours when I’ve needed a bit of a break or renewed inspiration. I find having a Patreon page helpful for that. Creating content for fans of TEL keeps me diving deeper into characters and lore, and the game benefits every time I learn more about the story.
My latest creative detour produced a novella that tells the history of Minare and the legendary romance that started clan Tian. It was delightful to write something linear, and an intriguing challenge. I’ve never written a novella-length story, nor a tragic romance. All my games and previous stories have HEAs, but the events of the novella have consequences that come to a head in The Eternal Library. It was something I started writing while I was working on Their Majesties’ Pleasure, so it was satisfying to bring an old idea to life and finish a short project amidst a longer one.
As of tonight, the WIP for my game is just under 200k, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve just updated the public demo on CoGDemos. I’ll post an update on my WIP thread when it’s revived from slumber.
I hope December is treating everyone well. May the words be with you!
This didn’t really get to me. As stated, I laughed over it and I’m aware that I have a lot of room for improvement.
I suppose this is the most important part. Linear and railroading are synonymous in my head, probably from my TTRPG background.
Luckily, I don’t feel I was slammed. It wasn’t a harsh criticism, just one that came up often, and I wasn’t ready for.
I agree that I need to acknowledge valid criticism. I’ve been trying to do that for a few years now. In retrospect, after a night’s rest, I think these feelings are from the fact that I don’t remember anyone giving me this specific criticism in the last five years. I tend to react fine when I’m already aware of an issue with my story. Being linear isn’t terrible; it makes things much easier to manage, but I would have thought someone would have said something sooner. That’s why some of the critiques don’t bother me; I’m already aware of it.
It feels like linear came up more than any positive aspect.
I know I’ll be fine, I’m already feeling better. Thanks everyone for your words and support!
Just yesterday, I was wondering where you’ve been and hoping things have been well. Glad to see things are doing well.
Just wanted to share that I’m excited to push a small update later today. I wanted to put it out yesterday, but I got so absorbed in the editing process that it was near midnight by the time I was winding down. I always underestimate how long editing takes and how draining it is compared to writing.
Question: Have y’all gotten any better at estimating workload / timelines over time? I swear, it feels like a section will take a couple of days to hammer out, next thing I know, it’s been over a week.
I’m also super excited to start working on my main project. I’ve been doing a good bit of research and planning for it, so I think (and hope) I’m about ready to tackle it! The biggest takeaway from my current project is how to efficiently code and all the different commands and tricks there are to make a project dynamic. I won’t lie, it’s been a lot, but the learning process has been really rewarding. Also, I might start sharing snippets like some of y’all.
@Dvalor53 I’m glad you’re doing better! I love the subreddit (especially for recs), but I think there’s an inclination toward criticism there. Nothing wrong with that inherently, but it can be a lot from an author’s perspective. I also come from a TTRPG background. Being told your game is “railroady” as a GM is exactly what I don’t want.
I remember there was some discussion back in the day about how the MC was forced to… rage quit, for the lack of a better word, at one point. Did the commenters specify something else?
I tend to find it gets easier to estimate the longer out I go, personally (barring unforeseen circumstances). If I aim for keeping, e.g. an average of ~10k words per week, I can usually get that done even during a week where my day job is extremely busy. If I find myself with a completely free day, where in theory I have more hours available than I normally would have over the course of a week, I tend to significantly overestimate what I can do in that time.
Hello, hello, I’m relatively new to creating interactive fiction, so I have a question for other writers: How do you keep yourself motivated? I have these short bursts where I write a couple of hundreds to a thousand words, then I burn out. While I’m not on a time limit, I’d at least like to be able to write consistently.
And while I’m at it, how do you deal with wanting to rewrite everything?
Accept that motivation is like any other emotion: it comes and goes.
Write on days where you don’t feel like looking at your work. Adjust your word count goals, but remember that you have to devote some time each week to your work even if you don’t feel that intense, hyper fixation feeling. Try to bounce around in the timeline if you can’t keep going linearly.
Of course, if writing your work is always a struggle and has long stopped giving you a sense of pride, you’ve probably hit burnout stage.
Decide whether you need small goals and rewards for motivation or to take a break entirely.
Remember, your first draft is just to get your work out your brain. You can’t edit what isn’t there.
Your second and third drafts are there to be stronger than your first draft.
Even then, you’ll just have to let go of perfectionism.
i feel this majorly. the only thing that’s worked for me to stay consistent is giving up on being ‘motivated’ at all, instead i just write however much i’ve decided is the amount i MUST write regardless of how i feel about it.
currently my ‘routine’ for everyday work is at least 1 sentence (this is my ‘bare minimum’ goal that, without fail, i have to clear everyday), but my ‘real’ goal is 300 words, and my ideal outcome is anything above 550 words. since i’ve decided on that being my daily workload, it’s been a lot easier to get words on the page. it helps because i decided on those goals myself, knowing what pace is sustainable but also exciting to stick to, so i keep to it as a promise to myself kinda.
it’s taken a lot of the ‘getting started’ paralysis out of the equation, because i know that no matter how long i put it off/dread starting for the day/feel really uninspired, the writing will happen anyways. and i’m actually tracking my word count daily now, which has been really inspiring over time as i get to see in a very concrete way how much progress i’ve actually made.
Just received very good feedback on my game from @Hamartia as well as a nice authenticity check from a Hong Kong reader. I love it when I get actionable comments, even more than when I receive compliments. Makes my day!
I’ve noticed that many writers are very good at estimating how much they can do, if they don’t estimate it in terms of words written. Writing down the actual words is only a small part of the writing process. So using word count to measure how much you’ve done is extremely noisy.
I can currently only get better. As I expected the next update to come out within two months and uh… its been two years. My estimation skills are akin to the oracle of Delphi.
That makes me feel so much better as my updates are always a pretty good play at Zenos Paradox. So far from getting them done when it feels like it should be a lot closer.
if i change anything because of feedback, that’s ultimately a win because the project gets better. and if i don’t, that’s also helpful because it gives me a stronger understanding of what my own opinions are about the writing—what i feel open to changing, and what i am absolutely set on for whatever reason.
Whoops!
I’ve just updated the public demo on CoGDemos. I’ll post an update on my WIP thread when it’s revived from slumber. 
