One of the things that I think about often, and one of the things that I somewhat regularly talk about with other web fiction writers (or aspiring web fiction writers) is the question of what a RoyalRoad maximalist story would be like. What does the collective of RoyalRoad want? What is the thing that would put you in the top spot? How can you guarantee success?
There's a pretty long list, if you're going by conventional wisdom, and I don't think that it flatters the RoyalRoad reader much. Male main character, or if they're female, then lesbian! Power and progression fantasy! Elements of grievance and revenge! Don't use more than one viewpoint or they'll get irritated! Make a complicated and legible magic system that they can easily understand! Don't do anything artsy! The protagonist must never lose!
I've always thought there was something a bit infantilizing in those conversations, like if an author is angling toward the RoyalRoad base, they're essentially dangling keys in front of a baby. I do think there's a contingent there who want syrupy pulp dripped right into their open mouths, induldgent fantasies that give them something that real life doesn't, popcorn to blaze through the time and stimulate parts of the brain, but I don't know, I've always felt like they can or should be able to handle more.
I'm at a creative crossroads right now, so much so that the phrase "creative crossroads" has gotten lodged in my brain, and I do need to take into consideration what RoyalRoad likes, at least a little.
But my mind keeps wandering toward the ultimate RoyalRoad novel, the thing that you'd make if you were exactly tuned to the spirit of the site. What features might this platonic ideal have? What would the main character be like? How would it be structured?
And obviously this is a question without an answer, but it's one I find tantalizing, even if I know I'm not the person to write such a book.
