This will contain some of my thoughts, feelings, and the stuff I went through while writing the first book of Stop Writing. If you are not particularly interested, I will leave a TL;DR at the end, so you can skip there.

At the time I started plotting this book, it was merely about a pen that could write things into existence. It came from a dream of mine, and I found it interesting albeit how hard it would be to balance it and explain why it wasn’t an overpowered (Although it technically still was) artifact that would eliminate any kind of struggle from the story. Still, I worked through the challenges and brought it to life.

At the same time, this was a love-hate letter of mine to the genre. I liked the concept, the main characters that knew everything about the story, magical academies, interesting struggles… Still, that is only the love part. The hate part was also there. Visibly so. The very reason why I liked this genre also limited it story-wise. The meta-knowledge given to the main characters killed the narrative more than occasionally, making it feel like an unending series of very blatant ass-pulls. The academy setting making the stakes really low or nonexistent… The struggles being pretty much the same as any other story…

The character archetypes, internal strife with what was supposed to be their peers. Unreasonably villainous characters…

All that, I eventually came to hate. While writing, I tried my best to avoid or alter those tropes in ways that 1, made sense and 2, were refreshing. And after 101 chapters, I can proudly say, at least according to me, I have truly written something unique for this day and age. My sources of inspiration were plenty, be it some SCPs, other academy novels, some science-based magic novels… They eventually accumulated into something that I liked both writing and reading.

Of course, I made plenty of mistakes too. I had been out of writing for about three years when I started plotting Stop Writing, and I was completely new to Royalroad. Looking back, I see room for improvement in the first 30-35 chapters, but I respect the learning process. They were critical in shaping the story, and I somehow figured it out. Thank you, those who stuck with Stop Writing despite its slow start. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who gave it a chance.

The Next Step

And that brings us to the main topic, which is, when will the next book be released? This announcement might sound a little serious, but don’t worry—Stop Writing isn’t going anywhere. However, I do need to explore some other options for stories at the moment. While doing that, I will also be taking my time writing Stop Writing. I really want to build a solid backlog before launching the next book so I can publish without being rushed. You can join my Patreon for free to receive notifications and updates.

And… That’s it. I am still considering what my next series will be about. I will be making an announcement on both Royalroad and Patreon once it’s out. When my next series launches, your support will be critical. Launches are incredibly important for a book’s success on Royalroad, and I’ll need your help to make it shine.

Without further ado. Have a beautiful year!

TL;DR

I will take my time writing the second book of Stop Writing before I release it. While doing that, I will be writing and publishing another series. I will make an announcement when the time comes, so please support it!

Psst. If you still haven't dropped a review, please do so. It really helps! 

Patreon