Webnovel.Forum

Just a random thing to say here. Currently I'm having problems with my readers though there are a few that I could mention, but the worst one is this. The readers keep on saying Harem!!! and the others say no Harem!!!

Some of them even tell me that one mistake with romance in my novel = drop.

I'm all for writing what I want, while listening to what my readers, but this distinct rift between readers has left me a bit perplexed. Sometimes I fear, if I write it into a harem or a no harem novel, half of my readers will be gone.

Nothing much just saying one of my current difficulties. :) The forums is my friend and writing here is much more comfortable than when I write my story. :)

Write whatever makes the story good. Harems can be good, just takes a lot of skill to create depth for many characters.

In any case its probably just girls complaining about harem, no self respecting man would pass on having harem in his life and thats what fantasy is about, experiencing things.

yu_ba_bu_neng Hmm you might be right, or you might be wrong. You see it's very difficult to decide since my readers since chapter one kept on clamoring about harem and no harem.

Personally, I don't mind harem or not harem(But I like true harems the most)

What I hate is only JP pseudo type. Where multiple girls fall in love with mc and he chooses a single one. My ships always sink

lynerparel Just do what you want. I actually had a person on the forums say my MC is a slut, despite not being with anyone at the same time. roll eyes Can't make everyone happy. If you want, pick the few readers you like best and cater to them.

I personally straight up said mine will never be a harem because I don't want people to be misled. Hope for the best for you!

lynerparel If you can't decide then stay undecided but keep the option open.

In the beginning this Rabbink is also undecided (Hence my author's tag of Harem?). I like my Female Lead which this Rabbink planned but I also wanted to add more ladies to 'create' chaos in MC's life. (Does he think having jade-beauty harem will be easy? Especially when the top beauties throw into him? I will see reader's response after they saw the Female Lead (probably at Volume 5 (+- Chapter 400, aka Next Year before making final decision. Most probably is Harem tho.))

The advantages of Harem is many readers have different types. Some like cat-girl, some like mature lady, some like silent lady, Master @Water0202020 is the master on this types.

I can accept anything except 'underaged'. Except if the MC is also 'underaged'. Pedo is a big NO. Little Sister type is fine, but age matters.

The disadvantages, your novel also appeals to female readers from comedy side. Harem will remove most. On the plus side, your MC is young, so it is normal to avoid H-Scene.

lynerparel I find harem not easy to read and write. One reference can be Toika's ICDS on wuxiaworld which, among the many, isn't so bad even as a harem/ not harem?

@MasterRabbink@Darkdelusion@BabyTanuki Thanks for all your input, basically what I'm hearing is harem is awesome, except for @GreasyBeer who thinks it's not.

Ierrech I see... I'll just wait for more info about the situation of harem no harem thing.

You can easily ruin a harem if you neglect to add backstory and personality and make them too much of a yes-lady.

But then again, even if the harem is top-notch, most authors just plainly make the heroines background characters after their time/development/conquering is over.

Developing a harem is difficult in itself because you have to take into consideration that said protagonist of has to be likable yet can't be an every man. You also have to take your time and really put slot of thought into your development and ask what kind of girls would actually be willing to accept a scenario.

I mean, if the girls aren't broken or ridiculously idiotic from the start, they wouldn't agree to share.

But well, I'll offer a tip -

The best way to conjure a harem is to create a scenario which starts it off. Every girl involved needs a reason to show interest in the guy. It could be either for his kindness, manners, formality and so on. It doesn't always need to be something like because of his looks, charms, talent or even physique. So you should create scenarios that lead up to said girls developing an interest in this one guy

Also, try to keep the number of girls to a stable limit. To be honest, a huge harem of girls who all like one guy is going way too overboard. At least four or possibly five girls is enough. The reason I say this is because most of the harems I've read have the mcs attracting a multitude of girls not just from earth, but from Mars as well. I feel that's too much, way way too much.

I'd suggest you to read harem novels, you'll learn.

I think one of the absolute best harem stories I've seen has to be from Highschool DxD. The mc is a total pervert obsessed with the female form, yes, but he also genuinely cares enough about the women he knows not to try and take advantage of them. And despite the pervy actions and desire for a harem, his ideal is a massive number of women that love and care for him, and are cared for by him in return.

Especially interesting in this story, to me at least, is the fact that some of the mc's past experiences stunt the development of his relationships with the girls. He doesn't want to make a move, and he disregards the girls' very obvious advances as a joke, as a result of this really deep-seated trauma, and it genuinely takes a long time for him to find the inner strength to move past it and realize that he's kind of surrounded by a substantial number of girls that he really cares about, and that care for him in return, which is kind of his dream.

Oh, and the female protagonists are all pretty good. the first few that make up the main cast really feel like their own people, while most of the later ones are likely tacked on to fill the niche stereotypes for all the fanboys, but are still entertaining, at least. (All of this is helped by the fact that I absolutely love modern fantasy and later on in the story, the action just gets absolutely ridiculous, but again, that's just me.)

If I were to give you any advice, I'd just tell you to write good characters. Give the potential harem members a reason to love your protagonist beyond "the story demands it!" Try not to make your mc unlikeable. If the audience doesn't like 'em, they'll constantly question why all these girls/guys flock to em. And try not to make the mc clueless about the harem. If they'd make a choice, have them make a choice. If not, have a good reason.

Don't really know if there's anything else I can say. Good Luck?

I have too much timmmmmeee

Harems should only be there if the members value add to the story or if your story is primarily a male wish fulfillment fantasy. Harem members should contribute to story progression and/or MC development. Otherwise you could end up with one dimensional characters whose only role is to be the MC's harem member. It looks really shallow outside of a male wish fulfillment story.

Also keep in mind that a harem doesn't mean that the MC can't have more than one sexual partner. Having sex with a female is different from making them part of a harem. In the same way that not everyone who an MC fights would be considered part of their rivals list.

lynerparel well, some of the no harem dudes hate the fact that harem stories get retarded later and only tend to focus on girls at some moments.

Well, I think that most of the no-harem dudes are girls that like your story. I don't read yours so I don't know.

Meh, you're writing this story, not the reader. Do whatever you want; if you chase after stones, you'll only end up dead inside.

Off-topic:
Water0202020 No Way! This Rabbink won't give him free 'lesson' for magical lesson.

However, he still has 13 years before he could become wizard! Nevertheless, look at him, if he is half cool like Alexander, probably he would get it faster.

Gyihhuhu_ Give the potential harem members a reason to love your protagonist beyond "the story demands it!"

Several volume ahead will make him into a 'lovable' man. Gwahahaha. (Evil laught)

make it one wife, one girlfriend, one mistress and a one-night stand :P

Water0202020 Hahaha I'm already doing that. That's why I'm asking this question now, since I'm at the verge of adding one more girl, but unsure if I should do so.

lynerparel Add one if you are sure of harem. Or else, it may be shudders nisekoi(my onoderaaaaa and yui neee-channn).

If it will not be harem, kill the non-fav girl in a emotional way which can literally make readers cry

lynerparel No. Else your story will just one conquer and another. Think whether the new girl will add something to the MC's life. If it is, then add. If it isn't then don't.

Sakura vs Hinata or Orihime vs Rukia is a legendary fight in Japanese novel.

EroMaster No.

A man who had 'three wives and four concubines' was considered a very successful person in those times.

https://www.scmp.com/article/420753/wives-concubines-and-mistresses

Water0202020 wow that's actually a nice idea, if my work wasn't a comedy... Well I guess even comedies have some tragedy in them

lynerparel This Rabbink is on the verge of deleting Adopted Soldier from its library...

MasterRabbink I don't think your examples where ever really love rivals of any kind. Master I think it's just that the mc has slight feelings for the other that made them think they are love rivals even though they aren't.

MasterRabbink Why MASTER!!!! Please don't why!!!!

lynerparel No. The readers who think that. The MC is loving the one they get married into.

MasterRabbink ok master anything you say, just don't remove my work from your library.

lynerparel master rabbink can't handle tragedy.

Water0202020 oh ok that explains a lot.

For me, Harem is one of my favourite genres. Harem can be done wrong or it can be done right. To make the MC and the girls have personality is the most important thing possible! In JP anime (monster Masamune) it is legit fucked up with the point of being unwatchable with my preference. It has a story, but it never shows why the girls love him so much. There is only one explanation: He is a girl magnet. WTF?

I hate JP harems because they never truly try to make you understand what good and what bad qualities a person has. The writer will be lazy and say something like: He is a good person, high morals and quite intelligent. But the question is, the people those protagonists flirt with are all high ranking members of society! They have everything. Why did the fall for this stupid piece of crap protagonist?

The way to do a harem is to build foundations for the Female harem members. I think My Wife is a Beautiful Ceo does that quite well. They should all have at least an actual reason to find the protagonist interesting instead of: Yeh, he is a good persona and has nice looks.

Harems can be fudged over too easily like this. I won't say that the book I have written has done what I said. It is harder to put the knowledge into context.

So, if you want a harem. You will be fucked in every way possible... I have nearly never seen a harem story that stays well until the end. The Divine Throne of Primordial blood had a harem but the poor guy had to abandon it because his main Female Lead nearly went crazy because of it.

The conclusion is: If you want to be fucked, then go with a harem. If you want a story that will not have a stupid plot and be a bit serious, then go without a harem.

So to sum up what everyone is saying. Harems are hard to make since there will be too many characters, and if it's a pseudo harem, some readers will feel bad for the other girls like in Nisekoi, if it's a non harem less comedic happenings but feels more real. Finally master grandpa rabbinks doesn't like tragedy.

I was clear about my choice, and I told the same to all the readers who asked me. Basically, if you promise something and stick to it, it should be fine. I promised no harem, and I'm gonna stick to it. But I took my readers advice when they said there can be a 'candidate', and who he settles with is different. Anyway, just prepare the readers beforehand.

Water0202020 This Rabbink can handle tragedy as long as it isn't someone very important.

For example: The Twins in the Harry Potter or Some strange unknown uncle or even the 'unfair' grandmaster. GOT is a bit too tragic. No worries, the MC is Tyrion Lannister for me. LoTR... Welp! That is just a knight in the party.

Naruto is fine. Who is Neji?
One Piece is a bit worse, but who is the MC's brother? He barely appeared and died when he appeared.
Bleach... That is secondary character. Even this Rabbink forget that.
Dragon Ball... Gwahahaha too many people die. Luckily we have Dragon Ball.

Welp... All good story ended with death. Somebody must die.

lynerparel Write what you want to~
Remember why u start to write the story and continue to keep in mind. Actually, do what you think is acceptable for u cause what’s important is that u have fun. What’s the point of doing something that make u suffer instead of making u happy?

Anyways, don’t do things for anyone but yourself. You’re the one driving the story so the passengers can either shut up and let you do your thing or gtfo and shut up
^-

lynerparel also, if you’re thinking of adding harem, try to make it a unique situation or sth so that it’s not your typical harem situation~
That way, many readers won’t be disappointed (if you’re troubled about that).
To tell the truth, I’m not really a fan of harem novels myself but as a reader, I’ll be happy if the author have fun in doing what he’s doing.

GreasyBeer same here bro. And not to mention the pain of having those multiple girls leave u (not that I ever experienced it but a simulation in my brain made me shudder at it) because you can’t choose. People don’t understand the pain of having a harem till they have one of their own XD