That's the question I am asking myself. I was planning on making an author note like this at the end of the book book but now is an all right moment as well.
Short version - I only write what I feel like writing. I don't really feel like writing this fic for now. The options are in the title.
Long version - This book was my second book I ever wrote (if the pile of garbage called Game of Gods can be considered a book) and I started it for the sole reason that I wanted to get better at writing fight scenes. It then got popular, and I started getting into it, but I was quite green at the time and didn't understand the mistakes I made with the power system. (The writing in the oldest chapters is also really bad but let's ignore that for now)
The crux is, I shouldn't have allowed the mc to grow his stats as fast as he did or give him a personal falna. This allowed me to do what I originally wanted for this book (fight scenes) but it handicapped most of the other aspects of a good book. Can't have character interactions with weaker characters because it's a waste of time, can't have character interactions with important characters because they are better off eaten. There's no point in exploring Orario, there no point in stealing, lying, deceiving, backstabbing or manipulating the plot because Numbers go brrr and my MC becomes OP too fast.
Don't get me wrong, I made my bed exactly how I wanted it( at the time). How can a newbie adventurer go to the 5th floor and kill that juicy war shadow with H-grade stats and 3-5 shitty monster skills? He fucking can't and that's a fact. He needs tiiime, and I should have made time but I wanted him to fight and fight and I gave him boosted stats from eating monster cores, which bites me in the ass so hard now.
I only understood this problem by the time I had to ass-pull that -dungeon spitting him to the surface- shit because I understood that if bro descended lower that the 20th floor, he'd be a god within a week. Nothing would be challenging anymore. This might satisfy some people, but it wouldn't satisfy me. I was in a dilemma. I don't know what to do. Some of you might remember this as the previous long hiatus.
The answer I found was doubling down and having him Kill Bell and devour his skill, truly becoming an unfair existence. I do believe that was a better decision than the nerfing some authors use when facing similar problems.
This book should technically be over in 40 chapters or so, maybe more if I want to create some tension and make some titanic fights for the end.
The problem is that...I don't feel like it.
You must understand that I am a very productive individual irl (thank you Great Love Immortal Venerable for your wisdom). I must balance being a medical student (requires hours of studying daily) while also being national-level at badminton (in my country) (requires a lot of sleep and a daily training) and having a girlfriend. The only way I CAN write is in between these obligations and a chapter usually takes me 2-3 hours to write and polish (even the 1000-word ones)
So I hope you understand why I can't write something that I don't feel like writing, or why I have so many books I start but not regularly update. It's to be able to choose from a wide selection the thing I want to write at that exact moment. I don't have a reason to force myself and struggle to push along the bloated wagon that this book is right now. It's not bad per se, I think I did a good job so far given that it has 6500 collections and 1.6 million views, but my newer books are just soo much better from each and every standpoint, at least in my opinion.
Make no mistake, this book will be finished someday, that I swear, but it will be very very slow, with a chapter/month which I can force myself to write if needed, and maybe faster updates whenever there is a big fight happening.
That's the first option. Long hiatus in-between chapters.
Or - Patreon. I have one but I never posted advanced chapters on it. I only promoted it once in the old RI book and I never got any donations but I don't mind. I literally don't have the time to make writing a serious side-job, so I don't think I deserve money for it. Yet, it would undeniably give me more motivation to write the 2-5 chapters I can physically write in a normal week for a single book in particular. If there's a single person who would pay, idk 5 dolars (or 5 people paying 1 dollar I don't care which) for Depthless Hunger, that would be an assured 1 chapter/week, maybe more. I probably wouldn't enjoy it a whole lot, but I would enjoy a free meal/week (a dollar means 5 local currency).
I would like to mention that there are only two books I ever subscribed to their Patreon (for a single month each), namely "Percy Jackson - Monster? No! I'm a cultivator" for sheer quality and "Demon Slayer - A silent Journey" because the author is a real one and makes mass releases from time to time despite this hurting the book's popularity (he usually sells the chaps for power stones)
Either way, it's a option worth considering.
Just as the last one - a rewrite. I'm not even sure about this one because the Danmachi universe is quite bland compared to others out there. A slow ascent of another MC with the same power as this one except the stat boosting would be quite boring, but this can be fixed easily through multiversal travel. I'm thinking Demon Slayer, Monster Hunter, Attack on Titan, RWBY, Berserk, Warhammer, etc would be a good match.
Basically the mc would grow through the Danmachi system (and the monster devouring skill) He would also have the power to go to another world to hunt monsters (willingly or not)
This is only a stray thought though, and while interesting, it certainly wouldn't be a pure Danmachi fic (the reason I originally chose Danmachi to hone my fight-writing skills was because I didn't really like the world, only the dungeon. I got slightly invested along the way but I still find it boring. Might be one of the reasons I'm struggling now but I digress) Can it still be considered a rewrite if I add these things? I don't know, nor do I care.
Tell me your opinions in the comments.
Also - reading recommendations:
The Systemic Lands by MisterVii
What we do to survive by That Git
Harvesting the Multiverse by That Git
Aurora Scroll by Avery Light
Cultivation Nerd by HolyMouse
Loopshard by Dosei
Solitary Warrior by Evil is Good
Phantom Star by Seras
Blood Magus a ritual magic Litrpg by Wkrrk
My life as a youngster with a top percentage Ratata is more successful than expected by Bor902
Nightmare Realm Summoner by Actus