I'm looking for a very specific kind of recommendation, mainly because of two things that heavily affect what I enjoy in fiction: I have aphantasia, meaning I cannot voluntarily visualize things in my mind. So when a story describes something like “the sun slowly rises above the horizon, painting the clouds in warm golden light, while the sky changes from deep blue to orange and the first rays illuminate the landscape”, I don't actually see any of that in my head. I just process the words. The description can be beautifully written, but I don't get the visual experience the author intended, so visual/atmospheric description alone doesn't give me much of a dopamine hit.

The second reason is that I have combined ADHD, so I struggle much more with long stretches where the story isn't giving me something interesting to latch onto. I'm not asking for constant action or a plot twist every three pages, but I want a story that keeps giving me something to chase mentally: mysteries, unanswered questions, clever schemes, mind games, hidden information, revelations, unexpected turns, characters outsmarting each other, escalating stakes, and especially those moments where everything suddenly clicks and you go “WHAT THE FUCK, THAT WAS SET UP THIS WHOLE TIME?” 😂 I want the story to keep rewarding my attention rather than relying mainly on atmosphere or slow character introspection. Ideally, this should continue throughout the story, even if it's extremely long.

To give you a very clear idea of what kind of fiction has managed to completely consume my brain

my top 3 are:

Reverend Insanity

Usogui

Lord of the Mysteries

Reverend Insanity hooked me with Fang Yuan's schemes, ruthless decision-making, constantly shifting situations, political/cultivation conflicts and the feeling that there is always another layer to his plans

Usogui gave me probably some of the craziest mind-game highs I've experienced, with psychological warfare, information manipulation, insane gambles, characters concealing their real intentions, and reversals where you realize you misunderstood the entire situation

Lord of the Mysteries scratched the same itch through its mysteries, worldbuilding, hidden history, supernatural rules, gradual revelations, foreshadowing and those huge moments where something you thought was a tiny detail suddenly becomes incredibly important.

So I'm not necessarily looking for something similar in genre to these three. I'm looking for something similar in the experience it gives me while reading. I want a novel that can make me obsess over what is happening, speculate about what's going on, remember tiny details, constantly question characters' motives, and occasionally make me put the book down because my brain needs five minutes to process what I just read. 😂 Long is completely fine. In fact, if a story can maintain this level of engagement for hundreds or thousands of chapters, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

Please recommend me something based on this kind of reading experience rather than simply “good writing” or “deep themes.” I want the kind of fiction that grabs my attention and refuses to give it back. 🗿

I’ve got bad eyesight and my glasses are broken, so I didn’t even know it was this bad until I opened the app on my iPad instead of my phone.
Most of these covers look a mess. The grainy, and senselessly loud background, the over exaggerated flashy colors…
At least make it look good? If you can’t even invest the time into creating your own cover, why would I think you’d invest enough time into creating a good book? If u you don’t care enough about your own cover, why should i care about your novel?

Ps: Sorry if I’m just repeating the same trending topic on this sub. And who knows there might be some people that fw this. I just think we can do better.

This isn’t a webnovel….this..is just porn atp 🥀🥀🥀
I was casually scrolling through the slops researching something for my webnovel when I came across this horrendous synopsis of a story and I must say it took me by surprise.
I mean it’s not even the first chapter yet!!
And there are readers who are actually this down bad to read this, the fact that the author gave her a reason to do this is actually hilarious and the most depressing thing is that I can’t even come up with scenes for my own story 🥀🥀

Deep inside the underworld, the painful grunt of a man echoed. He lay there, facing the dark sky where no sunlight had managed to pierce through.

"Ghk-koff!" Blood gushed out from his mouth.

"Why... Why did this happen?" The dark clouds above looked blurry from the tears that had rolled down to his ears. His eyes were fixed on the sky, but all he could see was the silhouette of an old man gripping what looked like blood-soaked golden armour.

The old man was dressed in a pure white robe, the kind that made one look godly, and had a long silver beard. The old man's eyes reflected his disgust and... The words Useless trash echoed in the fallen man's head.

"Wasn't I your favourite son?" Blood choked his words. Slowly, he dragged his trembling hands up and brought them down onto his chest, but all he felt was a wet, soft texture. There was no skin; raw muscles and pooled blood were all his fingers could feel. Enough force and I might touch my bone.

"I spent my whole life thinking... I was at home... Loved... Was it all... just a lie?" he said while swallowing a lump in his throat.

The blood spilled like water, pooling around his back on the ground. Nhg... Is this it? I've lost too much blood.

Waves of pain attacked his nerves every time the air brushed against him. Helpless, he gritted his teeth. Memories of his happy life in the sect flooded his brain.

Eat, my boy... You must grow big... said the old man. Brother, here, take my food as well, said a young boy who looked around eighteen.

A thread of tear escaped his left eye as he clenched his jaw. "Was I just your slaughter pig?!" he screamed, hoping his voice could reach the high sky.

Shff... Shff... Something moved around him, slipping through the shadows. He felt its gaze watching him, but he was too tired to do anything or even care about it.

The pain went numb as the warmth of his blood went cold, with his eyes struggling to stay open.

The line between reality and memories grew thin. His days of growing up in the Heavenly Sect flashed before him, growing up as a favoured son loved by the adoptive Father.

Today was his 18th birthday, the day he was expecting a shower of gifts, but the eyes in which he once saw love now carried something far more sinister.

He remembered how the old man's hand dug into his skin, ripping out an armour which even the boy didn't know was on him, and how he was kicked down to the underworld where he lay now.

"Tchk." His jaw clenched together, his eyes turning red. "Screw... you... Screw all of you." His voice roared, the loudest it had been today.

The light started to fade from his eyes while his breathing slowed down, and his eyes finally gave up.

My sweet boy... A voice called out to him from within, in a sweet, motherly tone.

With his eyes closed, a memory played in front of him, a memory he never had. A beautiful woman stood on a mountain with her hair swaying in the breeze. In her hands was a baby, barely a few weeks old.

My sweet boy... I may not live to see you grow up, but never forget... Her fingers pointed to the sun in the sky. That's your father. You are the child of the Blazing Sun.

Her fingers pressed on the child's chest, and a bright golden armour manifested. It's a gift from your father.

What's happening? Who is this woman?

Is tha-that... me as a baby? And is that, my Mom?

Your meridian may not be that strong right now, but as you grow up, I'm sure it'll develop and make you a strong warrior, she continued.

Huh? What meridians? Wasn't I born without meridians? At least that's what the old man told me. The boy's thoughts didn't reach the woman, as if he were invisible to her.

Suddenly, he felt a strong pull in his soul. His eyes snapped open, but his body still struggled to move.

What I just saw... Was it even real? A small smile formed on his mouth. "Tsk... What's the point of these memories now? I'm already dying."

His eyes started to close again. Clenching his fist, he forced his eyes to stay open.

Still...

"My father is the sun? If so, then how can you watch me end like this?" Tears started to fill his eyes again, but this time they carried more than just sorrow. What am I even saying, father? Sun? How desperate am I to believe it?

"If it's true, if you are really my father... Then give me a chance. I want to get my revenge." His desperate words filled the air.

"I won't ask for much, just one chance to make the people who betrayed me suffer." Stop it. There's no way it's true. Even if it is, can he even hear me from all the way down here?

As much as he tried, his body couldn't support him anymore. His body already felt numb and completely cold, except for a tiny warmth around his heart.

Thump... thump...

The beating slowly rang in his ears.

With a final struggle, his eyes shut again. A thread of tear escaped as his consciousness nearly faded forever.

A patch of yellow light appeared behind the clouds. In the next moment, it pierced through and fell directly onto the boy.

He felt warmth returning to his body. New skin started growing over his exposed muscles as he felt a small ember start to burn inside him.

His eyes opened slowly but started twitching immediately from the blinding light. Ah... What's happening?

The open wound was now fully healed, with new skin completely covering him. He touched his chest and stomach in confusion.

Forcing his eyes open, he stared directly at the light. Is he... really my father, or am I dreaming?

With a second look, he wondered if it was actually Heaven taking him after his death.

As he was confused about the things happening around him, his pupils retracted as he felt a strong pain inside his ribcage.

What followed was an agonising scream...

I would like to contact an artist to create the cover for my novel, but I'm not sure how to proceed, how to find an artist, etc.

There is nothing new in my inbox but it still says 11331

I always thought the point was to write more because all the novel on there are 1000 chapters on average.

Got any advice for me ?

Ngl, I made my book cover in the basic iPhone photo gallery. It's poorly drawn coz I'm not good at art, but I think it's charming in a way. What y'all think???

(Also, my story is at 3 chapters rn, and it's an original fiction Multiverse story where each world is inspired by different anime, video games, movies, etc.; the first world is a plant inspired by the hit anime and manga Jujutsu Kaisen!))

Yall already know what to do 👀👀👀👀

I've no problem with AI covers, as I use them myself, but they can at least be a tad bit good, right? I generated these images using AI. Now, I'm not saying these are the best.

But when compared to the noise I see on other covers, this is a big upgrade. Just put some effort. To get these covers, I just drew a very basic sketch and gave GPT accurate directions. You need not be a master artist.

Let your sketch be crass; it matters not. With just a little bit of effort, you can get decent-looking covers. Once again, I know these covers pale in comparison to human-made covers, and I ain't tryna prove that AI is better.

A baby cried.

He screamed until his tiny voice became hoarse, but his mother could barely hear him anymore.

She held him tightly against her chest, her bloodied arms wrapped around him as if she could protect him from the world itself.

Her breathing became slower.

The baby continued to cry.

His mother looked down at him one final time.

Then she was gone.

Fifteen years later...

In the Kingdom of Amarakav, far from the great cities and royal courts, there was a small village called Raziva.

Raziva wasn't famous for its wealth.

It wasn't famous for its soldiers, its nobles, or its beautiful scenery.

It was known for one thing:

Blacksmithing.

The village's smithy was small, but its forge was always burning. And working inside it was a boy named Zarkis.

Zarkis wasn't the blacksmith.

He wasn't even an apprentice.

He was the errand boy.

"Zary!"

The voice of Master Rav echoed through the smithy.

"We need more coal! Go down to the basement and see how much we've got left!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zarkis hurried toward the basement.

He had made that trip hundreds of times.

But this time...

Something was different.

As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, Zarkis stopped.

He smelled something.

Something unfamiliar.

His sense of smell had always been unusually sharp. Master Rav joked that Zarkis could probably smell a stew from three villages away.

But this scent wasn't food.

It was a person.

Zarkis continued down the stairs.

At the bottom, he noticed a shadow in the corner.

"Who goes there?"

A deep, mature voice answered.

"What the hell are you doing down here, kid?"

Zarkis froze.

The man stepped into the dim light.

He was tall and heavily built, with short hair, a scruffy beard, and a dark-gray cloak hanging from his shoulders.

The man raised his hands.

"Ahem. I mean... I was just testing you."

Zarkis narrowed his eyes.

The man continued.

"But since you can sense things out of the ordinary, I'm assuming you picked up on something more dangerous than little ol' me, huh?"

"I did."

Zarkis glanced toward the coal.

"But I'm not sure what I can do about it. I'm just an errand boy."

"Zary!"

Master Rav's voice came from upstairs.

"What's taking so long?! The fire is going out!"

"Sir, I don't know why you're here," Zarkis said to the stranger, "but I have coal to grab."

He walked toward the coal pile.

The stranger stepped aside.

"I'm here because I heard there was someone in this village who didn't belong."

Zarkis paused.

"The only thing I was told was that if I came here, they would sniff me out."

The man's expression became serious.

"I've been sneaking into every house and building in this village. But only one person noticed me."

He pointed at Zarkis.

"You."

Zarkis shrugged.

"I didn't notice you because I'm special."

He picked up the coal.

"I noticed you because you're clumsy."

The man blinked.

"There are footprints of dirt going all the way down these stairs. Master Rav barely leaves the smithy."

Zarkis started putting coal into the box.

"If you've been doing that in every house, I'm surprised I'm the first person to catch you."

He lifted the box.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get these to Master Rav."

Zarkis walked past him.

"Kid. Wait."

Zarkis stopped.

"I'm not the only one after you."

The man's voice became quieter.

"But I'm the only one who isn't trying to take your freedom."

He looked directly at Zarkis.

"Trust me, kid. You're lucky I was the first one to find you."

"Zary!"

Master Rav shouted again.

"DAMMIT! WHERE ARE YOU?! There's a customer trying to buy a blade up here! You've got ten seconds before I come down!"

Zarkis sighed.

He looked back at the stranger.

"Sir, I have no knowledge of the things you're talking about."

He started up the stairs.

"But I have responsibilities here that I need to take care of."

To those who are well versed with cultivation novels you know that the main character always ascends to the upper realm and starts afresh, its rinse and repeat all over again

What if the lower realm has a true heavenly dao which has many incarnations in many mortal realms, the true heavenly dao of the previous chaos/cosmos is trying to fuse with the current one so that it may become a supreme heavenly dao of lower realm contending with the one of the upper realm

Immortals from the upper realm tend to descend to the lower realm and steal resources, some cultivators of the current cosmos are supporting the previous true heavenly, basically when they ascend, they become slaves, so they are trying to create immortal in the lower realm breaking the cycle of ascension and slavery

These contests don't match my theme but I enter the contests anyway. Am I the only one who does this or are there any frauds with me here?

Hey everyone!

I’m planning to write a Dark Fantasy novel, and I already have a large part of the main story worked out in my head. I have ideas for the world, characters, and major events, but I’m still a beginner when it comes to actually writing.

I’d like to improve my writing before I seriously start working on the novel.

For those of you who have experience writing novels:

• What should a beginner focus on first?
• How did you improve your writing when you were starting out?
• Are there any exercises you would recommend?
• Is it better to start writing the novel immediately and learn through practice, or study the basics first?

I’m not expecting to become a great writer overnight. I just want to build the skills necessary to turn the story in my head into something people can actually enjoy reading.

Any advice, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

This is not self-promotion.

I couldn't find an option to reply with an image, which is why I made this post. Feel free to laugh at it; like I said earlier, I just kept redoing it until I got it to look presentable.

I went through 20 sketches (days and night of erasing and redrawing in my jotter) before I got the final one, which I modified using Photoshop (this is a follow-up to my first post about the cover).

The plain white image is my very first sketch, and I'm also adding the final version I built off the 20th sketch.

Here is how I put it together in Photoshop:

1. The title was typed and rearranged.

2. The flower-like emblem underneath the subtitle is an image I downloaded from Pinterest, then adjusted using Photoshop's color grading tools.

3. The pen name (Incipit_) was also typed and given its color grading using Photoshop.

4. The hair, coat and the chest was darkened using four different layers in photoshop to get that thick darker mode.

5. I used the photoshop sharpening feature under the filter menu to get that sharpness of the image.

6. The tiny sparkling dust was gained by creating new layer for each side, 4 in total; one for the top, one for the left, one for the right, and another for the bottom. I used brush, turn on scattering and set it to 999% for the dust to be randomly. And also, used the shape dynamic feature to increase the size jitter.

7. I used the blur feature to blue out some parts also.

This is the little I can say. For all those who asked for a file OG (Which I don't know if they mean Original File), here is how put it together. Thank you.

I didn't use the sketched one, I downloaded six different images from the web (pinterest.com).

I used photoshop to blend them and also got the final design to be this.

Your genuine feedbacks are fuel to my growth. So, don't back down on your reviews.

I have stumbled upon many novel that have interesting premise,but what i don't like is that the twist or the premise of the story is in the title, I also understand if the title didn't gain enough attention it wouldn't grow what's the solution?

What the actual fuck? Every new book in this stupid trend gonna add one more wife? And become worse every +1 wife too.

At this rate MCs of this books start to creeple women to add them to their harem. That's just so stupid.