itch.io

That's something we talk about frequently on Patreon and Tumblr. A lot of us are people who grew up playing otome style games--emphasis on that we grew up. The childish dynamics prevalent in a lot of visual novels can be deeply unsatisfying for adult players, especially those of us who read erotic romance. I will be doing multiple discussions on writing erotic romance, hopefully it will be valuable for you.

I'd recommend you follow me on Patreon as a free member. After the rework goes live on Itch this month, I'm going to start a guide for both novice/aspiring romance authors, primarily aimed at encouraging more erotic romance interactive novels, but there will be plenty of general tips if erotic romance isn't your aim. I'll be using one of my erotic romance ideas to take writers through the process of formatting a book idea into an IF, choosing/building an interface, establishing a social media presence, and producing a compelling demo. It'll be totally free and you'll be able to chat with/bounce ideas off other writers and romance readers. I don't have an official start date planned, but it'll likely be the week of the 15th.

No, thank you for your wonderful feedback!

Thank you!

Same story, one just has three way explicit content (MMF) whereas the other has the guys taking turns with the MC but not being intimate with one another (MFM). Regardless of the mode, the MC will generally be the focus of all explicit content. I wrote a more comprehensive breakdown of MFM vs MMF in erotic romance on Tumblr and free on Patreon if you'd like to learn more.

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I’m pretty sure you’re subbed to Patreon now and playing the NB edition, but for anyone who has this issue I’d recommend exporting your save games after each playthrough that way they aren’t lost if your browser cache is cleared. I’ll be adding a reminder at the end of each episode from here on out.

I won’t say this is the best comment on the whole page, but I also won’t say it isn’t.

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So glad you’re enjoying it!

I appreciate your feedback. Please don’t read this as passive-aggressive, it’s not at all. Your feedback was very constructive and respectful, and I did find some aspects of it helpful in improving the IF. If anything, I’d like to take this opportunity to give advice to other IF authors who may stumble upon this.

I think it’s really important when writing anything (but especially an IF) to understand who your target audience is, what they like, and then ruthlessly edit out anything that doesn’t serve them. Each time I write new content, I end up deleting about 80% of the choices I’d planned. I analyze each branch and ask “what are the odds that my readers will choose this” and if it’s not high, I delete it. It does lead to a story that’s quite linear, but at the same time it ensures that I spend my time exclusively writing content my readers will love. Moreover, it ensures I’m able to publish very fast. It would be inefficient and unfair of me to spend days exploring non-romance options, or adding choices just for the sake of variety and I don’t recommend any IF writers fall into that trap because it’s the surest path to stalled stories and creative burnout. It’s better to write what you love and what 100 people may love than frustrate yourself by trying to appeal to a broad audience.

All that said, I totally understand your perspective as a reader, and I think adding the option to refuse the goddess in the prologue was a good idea. I don’t think you’re the target audience for my smutty IF about making a baby with hot demigods, but I didn’t do enough to set expectations at the start of the story. In hindsight it’s easy to go in thinking it’s an interactive novel designed to tell a standard fantasy story, rather than a niche erotic romance with a fantasy world constructed around it. I am sorry to have wasted your time, but I’m glad to have gotten your feedback. 

Yup, it’s an MMF story, so the default relationship is poly 🙂

Lol, I hear you. Ngl, I wrote that route on the fly because I couldn’t bear waiting until Night VI to start the smut. 

Just wait until Nights VI & VII where you can play three different versions of the MC’s first time with him and/or Serax. God, I love writing an IF.

Thank you 🫶🏽

I’m on it!👩🏽‍💻

No, thank you for reading ☺️

Thank you 💖 I’ll be going through and doing a cleanup after each in-game week, though I occasionally find some errors while replaying. I was a professional romance novelist around a decade ago and it’s such a point of pain to self-edit rather than have an editor. I’m always apprehensive when I publish updates no matter how many times I re-read them. I’m grateful to readers who point out typos/errors. I might share some of my previous publications in the future but for the time being I like having this separate. It’s been really satisfying to start from zero and build an audience organically.

I love the nicknames you guys give to the characters, they crack me up.

Thank you 🫶🏽

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Aw, thanks! I go through phases with each of the guys. Sometimes I’m utterly obsessed with Val, but if I’m getting teary while drafting it’s usually because of Serax.

They say the best revenge is a life well-lived. But she’ll definitely have some compartmentalized wrath she’ll have to work through.

Wow, that is so funny! I’ll adjust that in the next update for more clarity 🤭

Ty! I'll be sharing where to find translations in the next update. Some of them are quite spicy. You'll notice Valdricht making more of an effort to teach her in the next update, especially if her bond with him is higher than with Serax.

It's getting there! 

Thank you <3

(>^_^)>—<3

Me, too. I think the market is saturated with badass, dagger-wielding, always-has-something-witty-to-say heroines. Personally, I love playing an awkward dork or a prim/proper lady thrust into a world designed to push all of her buttons. I have so much fun writing her.

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Thank you for giving it a try! Physically monstrous, they are not. But I assure you, they're on their best behaviors during the first few nights. You might be pleasantly surprised as the story progresses.

Thank you! I'm so excited, too! I've been planning this story for a few years and it's amazing to see it finally taking shape.

Thanks! I don’t see myself doing a Kickstarter for this, but I’ll likely do a Patreon once I’ve put out a couple more updates and readers have a better understanding of my publishing speed and the story direction.

That said, if the IF becomes popular I won’t rule out making a visual novel version. I’m a huge VN junkie, but it’s really hard to find VNs that seem written for adult women and I think there’s a huge market for it as all of us who grew up on VNs/shojo beat/K-Dramas grow up and mature in our tastes. 

Once the IF version is finished I’ll probably self-fund a demo VN and see if there’s enough interest for crowdfunding a full visual novel.

Thank you! I’m so glad to hear it’s resonating with readers even with so little content thus far. I think you guys will really enjoy where it’s headed.