Hi to anyone who may read this, I just wanted to share some helpful advice for writers after I’ve been reading Webnovels for years now.
You’re first work will most likely suck bc writing is hard but don’t worry! There is a great community here that is extremely supportive, and your first work may lay the foundation for building your writing skills!
Having a completely new, original idea is hard and your novel will most likely be similar to some other novels that have come out. Your novel will most likely have a unique twist to a common theme say a system, but the true uniqueness of a novel stems from you, the writer. How you bring your idea to life with details and characters is how you separate yourself from the rest and draws us, readers, in.
Speaking of systems, since it’s a common theme I want to state that please don’t fill up chapters with numbers and stats. If you consider the perspective of readers, the stats are just used as benchmark tool for us to see the MCs progress over a period of time. While details are important, as readers we are clueless to the difference between say 10 STR and 13 STR. I still want to maintain the point of consistency being important, but one great trick is show before-> after for changes that way I can directly see the MC got stronger even if I can’t quantify how much.
One of the faults I frequently come across is the power scaling of the MC. I understand the MC should get stronger a faster pace than others. But frequently, I’ll read a novel let’s say about a game, and the MC is already stronger than every player out there and is soloing large groups of players no problem. The issue begins that good story has conflict and because you just cut out every other player as a source of conflict bc the MC is the best you are cutting out large swaths of story and frankly it’s a bit too ridiculous that a game would ever allow someone to be that disgustingly OP.
The last thing I’ll state is about foreshadowing and conflict. Good stories have foreshadowing yes, but the best kind is stretched out and isn’t readily apparent when you’re reading it. Us readers have read SO MANY novels believe me, and we have seen every kind of revenge, that this guy will come back later to get the MC, and it’s just painfully obvious. The best novels I’ve read have slowly drawn out suspense and conflict. It’s a surprise who the traitor is or the enemies aren’t fueled by revenge just to progress plot.
I did my best to voice some of my thoughts(I know I may have rambled along the way), but I want to help writers really break free from the crowd. Two final things. One, the worst mistake is when we pick up the book we instantly know the entire plot or exactly how a villainous encounter will go. Secondly, just have fun with your novel. You are the creative dictator of your work and you’ll get so much enjoyment as you tease your readers, scattering hints around, watching us fumble and guess our way to the ending, being shocked and surprised at a twist we never saw coming. Good luck everyone
