Hello!

I have decided to take writing seriously (SF/F) and start off by publishing web fiction. There are two issues with this. First off, I possess the rotten trifecta of beginnings: I'm a brand new writer, I'm not a native English speaker, and I'm not even an avid reader. Secondly, web fiction is not exactly the poster child of excellent prose. There are exceptions, but the stuff that populates sites like Royal Road has a laser-point focus: present an interesting premise, hook the reader with cliffhangers every chapter, and deliver on the power fantasy. It's a fire hose of content that's seldom proofread.

But some of these authors are incredibly successful. What they lack in beautiful prose they make up for in steady releases, and giving the reader what they want---fast and forever (it's almost ironic how the most successful web novels are looooong series). I want to find a middle ground here. Learn the art of hooking the reader faster than a brick-sized traditional fantasy novel ever could, but also become a writer capable of enthralling language.

So what to do? It's almost as if the "popcorn nature" of web fiction is not popular in spite of it's lackluster writing, but because of it. The authors get to meat and potatoes faster. Should I read a lot of traditional authors and try to adapt their style, and somehow be less "long-winded?" (Just typing that feels like a deep insult to every trad author lol). After recs from r/fantasy on good prose I picked up Hobb, Abercrombie, Rothfuss, Le Guin and Pratchett from my local library. I also picked up Sanderson as an example of what people criticize to be "pedestrian prose" (I read 100 pages so far, he writes so much better than me that by this logic I must be ultra-pedestrian).

I realize that one picks up a paper-back fantasy novel published by a traditional press and clicks on a piece of web fiction with very different expectations in mind. But I believe learning to be a competent writer to be universal. I'd love your perspectives on this. If you write web fiction or self-publish in general, where do you place your focus? Do you analyze authors and do writing exercises regularly? And if you want to or are publishing traditionally, how important is writing rich and flowery prose to you (or whatever you consider good prose to be)?

Thank you in advance.