Charisma_Ellis What do you mean? 
neaht3
- Aug 2, 2020
- Joined Jun 19, 2020
Oh, I was thinking to ask regarding arcs as well. If a single volume can include several arcs or volumes are separated by arcs.
So, I guess it is relative and it depends on the author how to separate them. 
Thank you for your time.
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Hey there,
a new author here. (:I was wondering how do you dissect your novel? How many chapters does a volume usually have? I am far from having 50+ chapters but I have been wondering if there is a good hold of chapters that one can decide to wrap up in Vol. 1 before heading for Vol. 2? Or this is subjective and depends on the writer? Hmmm.
Also...When and why do you create 'Volume 0'? I get that writers use it as a place to dump additional info...but I was wondering if that's its true purpose.
I think I would give the gold medal to world-building. One cannot create a solid character without predispositions of the Settings. Is it war? Is it peace? Belief system? Hierarchical system?
I do think it does not depend on the genre. Even romance can carve deep with world development. Have you read āThe Memoirs of a Geishaā? Damn, the world building played such a role that it made your heart throb despite the romance introduced in it.
Think about it, even when you describe the characterās past you create a micro world. A long forgotten world buried by time but you do create it as the past would define choices in the present/future.
All comes to ādepthā. Like highlights and shadows of a painting.
I think that characters alone cannot deliver the environmental and social state of the world further than essential things like: rivals, friends, past/present upcoming events.
To have a qualitative work, a character has to deliver emotions, or the lack of such, and views of the world they live in. But how do you do this with poor world building?
See. Letās take an example with a random name, Karu.
āKaru loves cherries. He always eats cherries. So he saw the cherry pie and stole a slice!ā
Please, think of this as a key sentence and not random piece of information regarding Karu. Else you wonāt see what I mean.
I, as a reader and a writer, find this insufficient. It depends what one likes to read - more depth or just essential things?
Perse, tell me why Karu loves cherries? Does it perhaps have some background to it? What if the cherry tree in that world is a sacred tree? How that factor would change your sentence? Why is it sacred? Why did he steal? Is he poor? Or he is a thief in the story? How about the law in that world? If he is caught, would he be killed? Who made the laws in the world? Or is it a lawless place? Did Karu feel guilty for stealing? Does the world around him make him think that stealing is justified?
See, characters not accompanied by the depth of the world to me are an unfinished painting on a canvas. A base colored sketch and nothing more.
There is a difference between saying that he stole a cherry pie slice and that he stole despite the Draconian law of theft equals death. The story gains depth the more you draw. It becomes more vivid, the more your character interacts with the laws you have set in that world. Be it a magic world, business world, technological world etc.
The more the character interacts with the world building, the more depth you give to the mentality.
I do not see how a character can be developed down to the bones without world building.
Correct me if wrong. How a character becomes refined without justification of depth in the settings?Readoholic Thanks. You will get it up in 3 days or so. As I never rush my reviews.
Readoholic Well now that is interesting. Are you Bulgarian? (;
I will review it. Give me three days or so as I have to finish one review this Saturday and will head to your story.Itās rare to get a genuine review. Even rarer to have useful paragraph comments that point out things and help the author improve. When I do swaps, I often get āvery good, creative, keep the good workā.
Donāt get me wrong...itās nice to get a 5-star but...I want to improve and see how good/bad is my novel. So, I do swaps in hope to find a serious reviewer but itās rare.
I am starting to believe that solid reviews come every blue moon or something
Besides, I am not sure one will get a review, without asking for swaps, without specific āgivenāsā being visible to the public.
- Power Stone Votings
- A lot of chapters
- A lot of views
- Following a Status Quo/The TrendP.S. Keep in mind I have not mentioned quality.
PrinceofSin Surez, I will add it to the library for reviewing. ' v ' Give me though some time as I have some reviews to post. I will be onto yours in 2 days or so. I like to comment on paragraphs in chapters, I hope you don't mind it. (:
GloriouslyFamous Roger. If you are willing to wait a bit as I have some on the queue ' v ' I will try to begin yours by Sunday. As I said before, I comment on paragraphs in chapters, so you will notice when I have started it. (:
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Hello guys!
I have been thinking to gather the opinion of both readers and writers regarding some good/bad alternation to stories in progress (ongoing series).Perse, do you think that it is a good idea to change the book's cover? How many times do you think is "the maximum" of times a cover alternation is tolerable? Why would it be tolerable?
I have seen some authors treating the book covers like manga covers - each arc, a new cover. o_O But is it "novel-healthy"?
How about the title? Is it a good or bad alternation? When is good?
Can you think of any other alternations that are either good or bad when it comes to series in progress? (ā Š“ā)
f1n Yup. I find your story interesting. Will give it a go and review it in a day or so. (:
Here mine: https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-king-(kralyat)_17249679205046805
:O I discovered an interesting thread!
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Mike5Kilo Hey
I havenāt read the posts above just skimmed through them. You can find interesting skills and powers from old lores. Pick one piece from the world. I would look into old shamanic stories from Africa. They can give you some solid ideas about the demon powers. As for the angels, you can look up some Greek lore or perhaps Eastern one? Mythology can aid you a lot. 
The reason why I suggest to make a small research is because you might get influenced by novels already written on the topic. Someone mentioned āHellfireā and such. However, this is too predictable. Not a bad suggestion but will turn the novel into nothing new. Imagine the reader had just finished a story from that genre and bumps into a similar power in your novel. They might mix together the previous work with yours. In regards of supernatural powers, I mean.
That may also lead to the reader comparing your work with the one it reminds him of.
You can find interesting names for powers and magic in the ancient lores and bend them through your story plot. At least this is what I do.
I believe that a good novel requires at least some research done.
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Jenjibread Hey
Yes, it is illegal. It falls under the threats category. But I have read many works that make use of different illegal matters. Drugs, rape, blackmailing, murder. Thatās also in the Romance category, not only Action or Thriller.There was one webcomic, forgot its name, but the FL was drugged and raped by some super rich ML, the CEO or director of some company. She then got pregnant and years later, her kid met the father. I donāt remember much as I thought the plot was badly delivered. I mean, it is psychological and could become a real piece of work but the dialogues used were bad.
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I am sure you would hear various opinions but you should not let others influence you easily. It doesn't matter whether the opinions would be negative or positive. Take into consideration several things. First, make sure to read the contract and understand the responsibilities - yours and these of your employer. Once you are clear with what is written - assess it. Cons and pros?
Second, evaluate your current situation. Are you unemployed? Do you consider taking novel writing as a part-time job or making it full-time? The additional cache is good but you should be sure that you can fulfill your responsibilities. Imagine you have to juggle with several things at once and feel the pressure of the quota you should be writing if you want to keep up. It can easily turn from pleasure to hell.
Third, do some research in the field. (:
What I am trying to say is, given your circumstances, supposedly you lean more to signing the contract, can you make it? Is it worth it? What can it possibly cost you?
I might make it sound a big deal but do not jump something that you are not completely clear about. Therefore, the first step is understanding the contract to its devil details.
SrtaA That's why I avoid romance though not completely as it is not possible to void the novel off of the character bonds and emotions; it is not the genre I enjoy the most but is nice when I see it as a sub-genre. Maybe you should try to go after action novels? If you haven't given them a go, you should. Anyway, I will stop spamming as I have nothing else to contribute lol.
P.S. Not sure if 'blackmailing' was mentioned here. The clumsy and helpless FL being blackmailed by the CEO is the thing I dislike the most lol.
SrtaA :D :D :D
I imagined it more like the FL being the CEO facing an ML who is also a CEO. Rivaling companies of sorts? Nor sure if that would be still in the CEO trope but would certainly be an interesting play of cards.
Your second half of the reply cracked me up. :D :D :D
I have noticed, in general, that the Romance genre relies a bit too much on cliches. I have rarely encountered something that breaks free from the stereotype. Hm.- Edited
Never read a CEO-oriented novel but have read some webcomics on it. I have encountered several times the "one-night stand" beginning - an FL sleeps with the super-rich ML, under whatever circumstances. It can be a good start but never seen a webcomic that properly delivered the story. Again, not sure if it's a common plot for novels.
N0xiety Thank you for your time to reply. I do agree that my novel is still in its beginning and the readership might be hesitant to begin as it might get dropped. I am happy that you consider reading it in future. Hopefully I really hit the 50+ chapters and hear some criticism! I do swap reviews but I am not entirely sure how honest they can be. I think the swapping follows the principle of āWhat goes around, comes aroundā? I might be wrong. However, I am grateful for the positive reviews, I donāt want to appear ungrateful. (:
I have always been struggling with descriptions and synopsis, even āabout meā pages lol. I remember someone messaged me once to tell me that my novel description is bad and it should be less revealing. I have considered the criticism and I might slightly change it once the novel hits a solid number of chapters.
Back on the topic.
I love history. My novel actually is based on real history and lore but bent through the prism of fantasy. I like my readers recognizing battles or worldwide issues even if disguised. I do agree with you. I believe readers might comment on the negatives and plot holes though I always reread the chapters myself to avoid such. In fact, I create āMemory Pageā every 10th or 20th chapter which contains a vital extraction of information about the novel. That way I and even the readers can always open it and refer to the information there. Saves the time to go through all chapters, lol.
I am also careful with the unknown. I believe that if used too much, readers might get āoverdosedā and find it either nonsensical or boring.
I think it is in our nature to find mysteries and the unknown interesting. So, again, I agree. It is just different when you are not a reader but the author. So to say, even if I read myself - it doesnāt mean I know what the majority of readers enjoy lol. I also have been observing WN community and have encountered comments that the popular novels follow a status quo which is slowly becoming banal (e.g. Reincarnation plots). Again, this is my personal observation of the community and doesnāt have to be true.
Thank you again. I will keep your opinion in mind.
Dan_Ryder I have thought asking readers to vote and comment but how to explain it...Donāt get me wrong. I agree. I mean, if one wants something - work for it or at least say what you want. People canāt read minds on the web. However, I am also a reader myself and such author comments have never affected me. If I want to comment, regardless whether the author asks or not, I comment. So to say, what I am afraid of, I guess, is reversed psychology. You ask one to do something but he/she will do the opposite.
I wonder if I managed to explain my point of view.Thank you for taking your time to advise me. It is nice to have experienced authors give you hints.
Sally112425 Thank you for your attention! I am sorry I cannot contribute to the tips given here as I am still exploring the website. I have 13 collections for the one month I have been here. However, as N0xiety wrote, some readers might be waiting for a solid number of chapters before they begin your novel journey. I have never thought it myself but I think it is very true. So, I know it might not refer to your novel but I guess it might hold some truth for such that are under 50 chapters?
Whatever the case is, I do wish you luck with your novel endeavors!
WEBNOVEL_OFFICIAL Thank you for your attention on the topic. I have 23 published chapters and several to be scheduled for next week. I usually write at least one chapter ahead from the ones already released. Yeah, I believe my word count is nearly 35000 words. I will then patiently keep writing and await the dynamics of readership. I only wanted to ask experienced readers/writers if they have observed a pattern to when and how the readers begin engaging in the comment section.
Thank you again! I wish you a nice weekend ahead.
