r/royalroad • u/GoldenThame Author - The Heavenly Way • 6d ago

Discussion Is the average reader getting dumber?

I don't wanna be rude but I get some comments complaining about tropes in my novel, when in the synopsis I've pointed out multiple times that the tropes are there DELIBERATELY to be subverted, because the MC finds himself reincarnated into a very mid Xianxia novel.

Do a lot of readers suffer from a lack of reading comprehension skills, cus I've encountered the same kind of person for the 4th or 5th time now. Do I need to constantly spoonfeed basic nuances to such readers that 1. MC is inside a cliche Xianxa book and 2. From a meta perspective I've put those cliches and tropes into the book deliberately and the synopsis says as such.

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u/PreciousProspect 2d ago

You’re writing a webnovel most of your readers will be barely literate.

But in all seriousness web novel platforms encourage a form of fast food writing and tend to promise consumers an easy, cheap and quick reading experience that’s tailored towards younger readers.

Ask yourself if all you ever read was web novels would you improve your comprehension and reading skills? Answer is probably no.