An Important Survey
Added 2024-08-17 18:46:29 +0000 UTCHi everyone,
I need your input on an important decision.
When I outlined the books, I structured the Lumis story into five parts:
I. John and the gang in Lumis.
II. Earth from a whole new perspective—NOT Al or Mahya, but a new Earth's resident POV.
III. John travels alone.
IV. Earth again, but from another fresh viewpoint.
V. The entire gang is together again, preparing for a new world.
However, after receiving a lot of negative feedback about the second book being set on Earth and the negative response to the three side stories that served as the epilogue of Book 2, I’m rethinking this approach.
The Last chapter was the end of part 1 of the book, so I need to figure out what to write next. Since you’re the ones supporting the story, I believe you should have a say in this decision.
Here are the options:
1. Continue with the original outline with no changes.
2. Proceed with John’s part in Book 3 and simultaneously start a separate Earth-based spin-off on Royal Road. On Patreon, I’ll organize it as a separate collection, since creating a new page isn’t an option.
I’ll write three chapters a week for John’s story (e.g., Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday), with the remaining chapters dedicated to the new book. Although it’ll appear in sequence on the main feed, you can skip anything by going directly to the collection.
3. In Book 3, focus solely on the Lumis story. Once the Lumis story is complete, write a separate Earth-focused book before moving to a new world.
4. Postpone the Earth story as a future project and continue only with John’s journeys across different worlds for now.
For context, the Earth story won’t follow the typical integration plot filled with doom and gloom, fighting, and a struggle to survive. I’ll continue with a slice-of-life approach, focusing on slow development and character-driven narratives.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Even if you leave a comment, please include a number from 1 to 4 to help me tally the responses. This will guide me in making a decision that aligns with what the majority of you want.
I know not everyone reads immediately, so to give as many people as possible a chance to participate, I won’t post any new chapters for the next two days. Once I have the results, I’ll let you know the decision and make it up to you with extra chapters—something like five chapters in three days, or seven chapters in five days.
Thanks in advance for helping me decide!
Comments
Yeah ... you're the oppressed minority ...
TravelingDreamer
2024-09-08 19:08:40 +0000 UTCIt looks like I'm the odd man out, I like what you've been doing and I trust your original plan... so... 1.
james foster
2024-09-08 18:49:31 +0000 UTCThanks for the input.
TravelingDreamer
2024-09-05 15:38:47 +0000 UTCI am honestly fine with any of the options, i haven't minded the side-stories. I note though, that i tend to hate stories with more than about 3 POVs, the more POVs, the worse imo. Interludes/side-stories are separate from this issue for me, as long as there aren't too many of them. I agree with the poster above who says that i need a certain number of pages to get properly "stuck in" to a story, so that's important if you want to launch a second story on RR. Also, that - in the end, this is your writing. You need to want to write it or it doesn't make much sense. So do what is best for you.
NA1
2024-09-05 14:50:15 +0000 UTC2
The_Ant
2024-08-19 09:13:33 +0000 UTCYou know the characters - you just don't know it yet ...😉
TravelingDreamer
2024-08-19 09:10:23 +0000 UTCHonestly 4 seems like the only answer with where things are at in the story. Earths story line feels complete, sure questions of "what happened" are present but that feels like another story. We don't have any characters that we are tied to that are present to draw us back in. A complete shift in the narrative with no one to care about and characters left behind sounds like a story I would not enjoy.
The Borking Chef
2024-08-19 01:53:41 +0000 UTC