Michael T. Hare

Today’s post couldn’t be more exciting! I got to interview none other than Seth Ring. With over forty books published and over one million sold, Seth is the LitRPG author of the Titan series and many more adventures.

Welcome, Seth! Thank you so much for joining me today! Could you give a brief introduction to yourself and your writing?

I’ve been writing for the last 6 years or so, and have over 40 books across 5 different series. A couple of those are finished, but most are ongoing. I write fantasy and scifi in the LitRPG genre. I write fun adventure stories that harken back to the pulp stories of old. I love high action and default to the rule of cool, no matter how much trouble it gets me into in my stories.

What was the genesis of your journey as an author?

I’ve always enjoyed stories, and as I got older, I started to have stronger opinions about how the stories I read should proceed. Eventually, I ran out of stories to read in the genres I wanted to read and figured that I could write my own. Along the way, I fell in love with the process, and then one day realized that I had written a full book. From there, I just walked down the author path and here I am.

What motivates you to write?

Honestly, a lot of things. It’s how I make a living, so being able to eat is a strong motivator. But I’d say, my creative motivation is my desire to know what happens next. In a lot of ways, I think about my writing as just getting to read the story before anyone else. I really enjoy it, so finding motivation to do it isn’t particularly burdensome.

Does the genre you write in dictate the genre you read in?

Not really. I read a lot of non-fiction and find myself reading fiction from other genres rather than reading a lot of LitRPG. The type of LitRPG I write is very different from what you might call typical LitRPG, though the genre is so broad that you might say that about a lot of writers. I have found myself recently tending to pick up progression fantasy and cultivation stories more than LitRPG, and I enjoy other genres quite a bit.

When writing a book, how do you consider your audience’s expectations while also considering your own storytelling preferences?

Ultimately, I am aiming at writing a book that I am happy with, but that my audience will want to buy. After all, that is what makes sure I can keep writing. My focus has been, almost exclusively, on identifying what I want to write (what you might call my personal genre) and then finding people who want to read that genre. Instead of changing my story to fit what they expect, I just try to write the kinds of books I would be excited to read. Not everyone is going to like what I write, which is perfectly fine.

Do you believe in Writer’s Block? How do you overcome it?

Not really. Writer’s Block, in my experience, is simply your subconscious identifying a problem that your conscious mind hasn’t spotted yet. I often experience something akin to writer’s block, where I find myself resisting writing, but when that happens I’ve learned to reexamine where my story is going and look for potential problems. When I do that, I almost always figure it out quickly and can keep writing in short order. James Clear wisely says, “Do not fear what you can address. What should worry you is not the problem, but if you are resisting addressing it.” Writer’s block is a symptom of another problem, so we should always look to solve the underlying cause.

What would be your advice to a writer struggling with perfection, comparison, and envy?

No one writes well. If you ask the greatest master in the world, they’ll be able to tell you all of the flaws in their art. In fact, mastery often feels like getting worse, because we become more adept at seeing flaws. The question is, what do you DO with that knowledge? I’d advise that anyone struggling with  perfection, comparison, and envy, needs to develop a bit of distance from their work. We are not our creative work, it is just a part of us. Learn to be okay with making bad art, with failing, because each failed piece is one of the building blocks that you NEED in order to master your craft.

What’s your favorite mythical creature? And what’s your least favorite?

Great question. I really like dragons, though in my universe they are not good. Instead, they function as the primary villains. I also really like vampires and werewolves and things like that. In fact, I’ve been thinking about writing a vampire story for a while now. I don’t think I have a least favorite.

What’s your favorite story trope to write or play around with?

I like overpowered main characters. That is by far my favorite trope to play with. Each and every one of my series either has an overpowered main character from the beginning, or they get to be overpowered by the end of the series.

Well, that’s all I have for today. Thank you again for joining me, Seth! Do you have any platforms we can find you on?

The best place to find me is on my website: sethring.com

Can we get a final comment from the author?

Keep writing. It is astonishing, but 99% of your writing problems can be solved by writing more.