Writing Web Fiction

First, the big three:

1. Toybox worldbuilding - think Worm's systems of power classification. The worldbuilding must be definitively spelled out and it must be a simple matter for the average reader to tinker with it. That way, the reader can 'play with' a serial between updates. One could consider this how 'toyetic' or 'fanficable' a serial is.

2. Gradual progression - consider how, in Worm, Taylor is always pulling out new abilities out of her hat. Consider how LitRPGs make this explicit with experience and levels. It's the MMO loot cycle treadmill, not anything like the typical heroes' journey. The story should always feel like it is moving upwards and onwards.

3. Broken wish fulfillment - sort of two things simultaneously and, again, we'll look at Worm. Your protagonist should simultaneously be an underdog who everyone underestimates, but also be outrageously powerful whenever the situation requires it. Your protagonist isn't there to explore pathos or themes - those are for eight-grade book reports. Your protagonist is there to kick butt and take names and be cool - just like you would be, dear reader, if you were in the story.

Just about all of the big serials - Worm, PGTE, MoL, etc. - do this. LitRPGs/GameLit do this, too, and make it far more explicit.

Then there are certain other components:

1. Keep your writing as simple as possible - this comes from a number of different things, like, how that a lot of web serial readers aren't from English-speaking countries and come to them via unofficial translations. The web serial audience is also surprisingly young - younger than it was even a few years ago. Most serial readers are reading their serials on a morning commute or in class or at some kind of office job - they don't have the attention to spare for anything that requires them to pay close attention. The ideal authors to imitate are Meyer and Sanderson. If in doubt, tell don't show.

2. Consistency is key, but... - Set an update schedule and stick to it religiously. If you miss even one update after a year of never missing one, your readership numbers will crater.

3. ...update as much as physically possible - simply put, if you can update once a day, every day of the week, you're golden. This helps especially on RoyalRoad. While the conventional wisdom used to be 'have a schedule, stick to it' in the serial community, it's been turning towards '1000-2000 words a day, every weekday.'

4. Game the algorithms - RoyalRoad's trending system is absurdly easy to game and they seem to have no desire to patch it even though it seems most people know about it. If you're launching on RoyalRoad without knowing this, then you're fighting blind.

5. Write to a pre-existing community, or highjack one - self-explanatory aka 'know the audience.'

6. Luck/Context/Circumstance - obviously. Along these lines, the 'independent' web serial community is a lot less healthy than it was back when Worm started, which is what everyone thinks it still is. It was smaller, sure, but it was a lot more active. WFG is on its way out and, when it goes, TWF will go with it.