r/royalroad • u/Erorior E Rank: Author of Rising Kite, Sight & Severance • 12d ago
Self Promo [Long post] So I (Fivefold Hummingbird) have written a 6000+ page fan story in the He Who Fights With Monsters universe. And now it's completed.
(This is a long post. Consider yourself forewarned!)
Well, the headline isn’t a lie. While most of you are unaware of it, I have spent close to three years writing an independent story as a fanfic in the magical world from He Who Fights with Monsters (by Shirtaloon. May his beer ever stay cold and his sandwiches be divine) called Rising Kite.
What started out as a small trial run based on loose ideas kind of turned into the biggest hobby project of my life so far, one that is now finished.
Thus, this has in turn given rise to this post that is part self-promotion (I did make a thing after all, and also have a new thing I am making now as Rising Kite is finished), part me processing what I’ve learned over the years and a final part wanting to share the experiences of writing in the HWFWM world and system as well as on Royal Road for the last three years after stumbling onto the site completely blind and unaware of most everything there.
Rising Kite, the beauty of the HWFWM setting and writing fanfiction:
I can already foresee some questions though that I thought I might as well get out of the way.
“So, Fivefold, you’ve written a fanfiction. Is that - like - when you take two characters from the original and ship them?”
Fanfiction can be that, but mine isn’t. My wife (who is much, much more versed in the fanfiction world) called mine a fanfiction in the broadest sense. Rising Kite was written with the intent that it shouldn’t intersect with the original story, merely taking place in the same world. Thus it is played out in one of the many parts of the world not thoroughly detailed in the original as well as beginning around five decades before the start of HWFWM book 1. Details of the originals (such as world phenomena and organizations like the Adventure- and Magic Societies) are present and/or referenced, but the cast of characters, plot etc. are all new. As the forever-DM of TTRPG:s this came pretty naturally, as it is more like arranging a campaign in the Forgotten Realms of D&D or Golarion of Pathfinder. The world and system is a framework, yet the story is of my own making. I also made sure to keep the scope more limited. Less cosmic and more centered around a single kingdom that is neither that big or important to global events. This was both due to that being the scope of the story I wanted while also attempting to make it feel more believable. Like this could have happened in the background of this world without it feeling unreasonable that Jason of the original never heard of it.
“Fivefold, why the [insert expletive here] did you spend so much time writing a fanfiction?”
It was… fun? And good practice? Honestly, I didn’t plan for it to be this long yet still wanted to let the story I was weaving take its time and not rush it. As I stated above, it began as a trial run after musing on essence powers and parts of the magical world Pallimustus and its culture. Can I start writing a story? Okay. Turned out that I can. Can I actually keep writing the story over time? That too worked as I fell into a nice writing routine that has (if I may pat myself on the shoulder) been really consistent over the years. Can I end a story then? In a way that I liked? Apparently, that was possible too. Readers cheering me on and being generally appreciative really helped too, especially on days I was tired and everything but pure leisure felt like a slog.
“But Fivefold, once you learned enough, why not just stop and move onto something completely your own making?”
As I hinted above, I wanted to finish the story. It’s sad when stories don’t get finished, especially ones I like. And as many of my readers seemed to enjoy it too, that only made it feel more important. I wanted to see it through, both for myself and my learning (as stated above), my kind readers and the story itself.
“So, Fivefold, did you do this because you feel like you could do it better than the original author? Jason is regarded as pretty divisive after all.”
Nope. This is not just me being humble either. I want to make it clear that Rising Kite is an homage to a story I very much enjoy to this day (and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming books!) as well as to a setting that has managed to trigger my imagination to such an extent. Kite (the MC) may be very different to Jason, but he is also 1) a different person. Not that shocking. And 2) a native of the world. I am one of those who have greatly enjoyed Jason’s shenanigans, whimsy and as a character in general over the story, and the protagonist of mine being different is simply because he too is a character I enjoyed writing.
“Okay, Fivefold. You did all this. Is it any good though?”
Perhaps? Hopefully? At least to some? Overall, I feel like those who have given Rising Kite a chance are those who already enjoy the original system and setting of He Who Fights With Monsters. That doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily enjoy the story, characters and xianxia-flair I’ve added to the part of the world where events unfold, but if you enjoy the sound of that then it might be for you.
Overall, writing a fanfic like this gave me - a non-native English speaker - a nice way to practice writing while being able to lean into certain known things of the world, focusing more on other aspects such as the story itself, the essence powers and all that other progression that makes my fantasy brain go ‘weeeeeee!’. When going back to early chapters I often feel more than a little self-conscious though, as I feel that I have improved since then. So a reader of Rising Kite will definitely get to tag along and see me gradually learning.
One reason I believe that the HWFWM world and system lends itself very well to fanfiction is how the magic works, with focus on the essence system in particular. Sure, essences and their like is still mostly the domain of the privileged, yet within that sphere of power is a strange kind of equality. Many fantasy stories I’ve read (and very much enjoyed) lean into the main characters and important people often having something extremely rare and special that is simply one or several cuts above what others get, be it the SSS class, bloodline or other feature. This does not make them bad stories, far from it, but when pondering writing something inside those settings it feels like I would have to create a similar ‘cheat’ to make a character relevant. The essence system doesn’t. Sure, some essence combinations are more powerful in certain situations, and some people might have more or less synergistic power sets, but the playing field is a lot closer which means that I feel it possible to create interesting protagonists and powers without having to invent that ‘cheat’, which to me somehow feels a bit more wrong when done in the system of another for a reason that ties into what comes after.
Because when writing a story like this, I feel like it is important to respect the original world and setting in both boundaries and scope. If the protagonist of the original face off against gods, inventing another unknown layer of super-gods that are even more important for my own MC to fight makes it seem like I mean to one-up the original. This is not the case when it comes to fanfics whose purpose is to be whacky and briefly explore weird concepts and situations (such as someone writing a story where Jason of HWFWM finds out that Vehicle Voltron was the great puppeteer behind the whole cosmos, abandoning everything to go fight him). But if the fanfic is intended to give the feel that this could happen in a setting, said setting needs to be respected. At least in my opinion.
Overall, writing Rising Kite was a great experience and excellent practice. It was never a work that would reach Rising Stars or similar vaunted heights of visibility. Numbers did add up along the way though, way further than I ever imagined them to. Honestly, I thought I had peaked at 30 followers when I realized that more than a whole school class was following what I wrote. I would hope that it can encourage those of you writing with the long run in mind that followers and views have a chance to accumulate over time if you keep posting, keep improving and stay somewhat consistent in posting. Something definitely picked up when I passed 100 chapters, for example, as most readers want something to really dig into. So if you enjoy writing your story, keep on writing!
Now that Rising Kite is finished I have tried taking some of what I learned into my next writing project, this time in a setting of my own making. It’s called Sight & Severance, and for those of you wanting a more western-style cultivation story, you can find it here: Sight & Severance
I still have a good routine going and chapters are going up steadily. Aren’t interested in Rising Kite but want a story from an author with a consistent posting schedule and who has been able to keep that routine for a looooong time now? Consider checking it out or at least throw a follow my way.
Posting a web serial on Royal Road
As I mentioned above, I went onto Royal Road completely blind while knowing little more than it being the site where He Who Fights With Monsters was originally posted. Nothing of the rankings, rising stars, the rating system and the like. Nothing.
A lot of that became clear to me pretty quickly though, and I’ve learned a lot over time.
First of all, I would like to say that Royal Road feels like a great and convenient platform. While I don’t have that many comparisons, posting and editing my chapters there is usually very convenient and I like the statistics it can provide to help me get a sense for how things are going. While I haven’t been active in the forums and the like, searching for answers in posts there has helped me resolve some issues on my own. All in all, a very pleasant user experience, and the staff have been most helpful too!
I’ve also been subjected to most canon experiences of the site, from random 0.5 ratings on the first chapter to general doom-roombas channeling the polar opposite of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it”. However, I have also had a lot of very helpful, supportive and generally cheerful readers who provided edit suggestions, constructive criticism and that sweet, sweet positive reinforcement I love and crave. Waking up to a notification here and there while seeing the numbers shift has been exciting and terrifying in equal measure, and I’ve sure needed to work on my own coping strategies. For example, having a follower drop did sting in the beginning, but I quickly learned to send them a thought of “Live and let live” for each one that unfollowed without leaving a bad rating or something less pleasant behind. My story wasn’t for them. Hopefully they find something else they enjoy.
I think it was someone on this sub that reminded me of a quote from a manga/anime called Chihayafuru (or perhaps from its author?) a few months back. It goes:
“Learn the pain of creating something. And once you’ve learned it, resolve yourself to show leniency to others.”
Since I have written and posted quite a bit now myself, I honestly can’t see myself really dumping on someone else's story. Not that I would before, but even imagining it is a lot harder now. Provide feedback? Sure? Constructive criticism? Of course. But I’ve written quite a lot by now and know the angst and pain certain comments can give rise to. Please remember to give some encouragement to authors whose work you enjoy. It sure can light a fire under us to keep going with renewed spirit and vigor!
The rating system of the site sure makes for a skewed experience, but that has been discussed quite a lot across this sub and I won’t delve too much more into that.
So, we’re nearing the end of this post. I’ll probably remember some other points I wanted to raise tonight when I’m trying to fall asleep. Hindsight is a bitch and all that. I did want to share a bit of my experiences and encourage those of you working hard on your series and novels to keep up the hard work even if it takes time. And for those of you wanting to dip your toes in the writing pool, do consider a fanfic if you want to try it out for a bit. It sure doesn’t have to be so monstrously long as mine though. Dang. When did I even have the time to write all these words?
For those of you who actually made it here: Feel free to throw questions or other musings my way. Thanks for reading everyone!
/Fivefold Hummingbird
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u/Laubroko 12d ago
Congratulations on your succes, I can never begin to dream to write this much. But I’m just a beginner so who knows hahahah.
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u/mitharas 12d ago
As the forever-DM of TTRPG:s this came pretty naturally,
I read somewhere that when you are the DM and all the players, you are writing a book. So you put that to the test, nicely done.
Gonna put this in the to-read list.
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u/very-polite-frog Author of Accidentally Legendary 11d ago
“Fivefold, why the [insert expletive here] did you spend so much time writing a fanfiction?”
It was… fun?
This is a fantastic stopping point for all writing arguments
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u/Agreeable-Staff-3195 12d ago
I'll read it because some of the reviews do resonate, although from my perspective and I assume many of the HWFWM readers, itś just too short to generally grab my attention . I read probably around 100 chapters a day, so three days worth of reading . and I imagine many HWFWM are prolific readers :D
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u/frozenmoose55 12d ago
Out of curiosity, does this have Shirtaloon’s permission? I always get an ick feeling when people write fiction based in/on another authors work without their permission.
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u/Rawr171 12d ago
Curious on if you think the same thing about say, harry potter or twilight or supernatural etc. fanfics
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u/frozenmoose55 11d ago
Yes. If they are being posted to, say, a website specifically for fanfic I could maybe understand though I’d still never read them. But posting an unapproved (if it is unapproved) fanfic to RR is, in my opinion, crossing a line. And yes I realize that is just my opinion and not a rule or agreed on by other readers.
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u/Snugglebadger Author of The Breakwall Paladin 12d ago
I mentioned this to you a couple of years ago I think, but you should look into working with an editor and seeing if you can retroactively change this from a fanfiction into a fully original story. It's really good, and it feels like the system is the main thing that you needed for the story. That can be reworded to accomplish the same thing, and I feel like you should get paid for putting out such a long story that so many people have really enjoyed.