LitRPG vs 'normal books'
Writing is LitRPG is very different from writing a normal book. Aside from the obvious differences, writing about a game with clear rules, stats, equipment, and modifiers force me to keep track of everything.
Writing a simple sentence like “I replaced my ring with the one I looted” creates a lot of back-work for me: updating the character inventory list, his character sheet and whatever statistics that might derive from the new ring’s bonus.
Something as simple as “I summoned a new goblin lumberjack” can easily result in 10 minutes of extra work: adding the new goblin to the roster, updating daily upkeep, daily energy gain, increase log production, track his increasing skills on a daily basis, etc.
By now I have a lot of automated sheets that really help do those things quickly, but you can’t get completely around the extra leg-work.
This is a challenging experience, if I drop my writing to update my notes, I risk losing the flow of the story. If I leave it for later, I risk forgetting to update altogether or miscalculate.
I think I have a good balance of it now. I usually leave notes to myself to do the updates later, and only update the essentials immediately.
Still, it’s a demanding side chore.
When I write something along the lines of ‘I opened that char’s info and inspected his skills’ - that leads to me actually opening my notes to review those skills for real - and often the continuance of my writing will depend on what I find.
Sometimes my notes dictate whole chapters. At one time, a building construction was finished while several workers reached their Apprentice rank, so I had to visit that: describe the building, the new options it provided, then expand on the workers - which led to realize they were missing the required resources their new rank unlocked, which led to to a writing a whole part on how to get it.
I feel as this approach gives the story more credibility. It’s complicated doing it this way, but portraying an organic development makes it way more believable, fun read. IMO.
Writing a simple sentence like “I replaced my ring with the one I looted” creates a lot of back-work for me: updating the character inventory list, his character sheet and whatever statistics that might derive from the new ring’s bonus.
Something as simple as “I summoned a new goblin lumberjack” can easily result in 10 minutes of extra work: adding the new goblin to the roster, updating daily upkeep, daily energy gain, increase log production, track his increasing skills on a daily basis, etc.
By now I have a lot of automated sheets that really help do those things quickly, but you can’t get completely around the extra leg-work.
This is a challenging experience, if I drop my writing to update my notes, I risk losing the flow of the story. If I leave it for later, I risk forgetting to update altogether or miscalculate.
I think I have a good balance of it now. I usually leave notes to myself to do the updates later, and only update the essentials immediately.
Still, it’s a demanding side chore.
When I write something along the lines of ‘I opened that char’s info and inspected his skills’ - that leads to me actually opening my notes to review those skills for real - and often the continuance of my writing will depend on what I find.
Sometimes my notes dictate whole chapters. At one time, a building construction was finished while several workers reached their Apprentice rank, so I had to visit that: describe the building, the new options it provided, then expand on the workers - which led to realize they were missing the required resources their new rank unlocked, which led to to a writing a whole part on how to get it.
I feel as this approach gives the story more credibility. It’s complicated doing it this way, but portraying an organic development makes it way more believable, fun read. IMO.
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message 1:
by
Mana
(new)
Aug 09, 2019 09:58AM
Man, you put a lot of thought and work into this. I dunno what to say but thank you for your awesome books.
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I enjoyed the books! Is that the end or is there more to the story?
That's exactly why your books are so special! Most authors have at most a handful of avatars that evolve. Because you have all of them going through a development, your books have much more depth! I love “live reset” and it won't be the only time I read it.
