It really is, OP. It really is.

>>25076843

>myriad threads (they can by training endless split their consciousness into myriad threads while most puppet master manage 10 they can do 1000, it is like eating a different meal with every single one of your digits and then add every single one of your toes to play a different piano at the same time)

This would be way too much but the concept is sound

>full body sync (can enter the mind of a puppet which allows to control more high spec puppets by seeing from their eyes, the energy core of a puppet is dependent on the sync rate, the immersion allows for better control)

Also viable

>unsealing (his puppets are sealed by up to 10 seals by the puppet master/supernatural registration bureau, the enemy thinks they are meant to increase the power of the puppet, in fact they are on it to restrict its power dundundun)

Don't want to do this

>origin of the machine mind (a secret power born in the protagonist, that means they were born as a puppet themselves who had to learn how to become human, the most high spec puppet is their own body)

Plausible but also would require me to twist the story somewhat, since the whole idea is that he was born "normal as a result of extremes". Like he has super speshul trait of having not one but two cultivator physiques, but both of them were abnormally weak and ended up merging into one "above average" physique - a "genius cripple" so to speak. This also has the side effect of making him immune to things that would change his physique - both good and bad. So crippling poison or what have you won't work on him, but he also can't benefit from the Instant Gigachad Thundercock Physique Pill.

Here's my current draft:

>Record #33
Court of the Serpent King

A foundational battle formation centered on the White Serpent. Requires at least two puppets other than the White Serpent as Support Pillars, and the White Serpent must be in Gear 2 (12 threads). At bare minimum, using Hollow Men (3 threads each) as the Support Pillars, this formation thus requires a minimum threadcount of 18.

The formation by itself creates a psionic resonance between the puppets and the puppetmaster, effectively amplifying their performance in all aspects. It’s a pure “all benefits, no downsides” formation.

The effects of the formation are naturally magnified by the use of psi-resonant materials in the puppets, which will naturally have an enormous effect when Zanma completes and deploys two Pillar Templars with their all-TPR armor plating.

1/2

What is gu?

>>25076859
>Record #77
“Enshrinement of the Self”

A method of intentionally creating enormous psionic bleed, normally an undesirable side effect, and then harnessing it to empower the puppets involved in a battle formation. This typically requires self-hypnosis or the use of psi-amplifiers, e.g. Locke’s Salt in concert with Stimulant #8, although that particular mixture is considered truly extreme and would induce unacceptable stamina drain for any normal psion. The effects of this state by itself, without any techniques, are already enough to induce terror or awe in the unevolved and low-level evolvers due to Ego Projection, and the physical effects could do things like detonate unshielded electronics, peel the paint from metal and bark from trees, possibly even flay a fodder guy on the spot if they charge in.

Naturally, designed to work with Court of the Serpent King, but considerations were made to make it adaptable to any formation.

The concrete effects of this technique:

- A Distortion Field forms either around the entire formation or the individual puppets, depending on the formation. Effectively, this gives them an additional layer of defense that turns attacks aside or disperses them before they can even hit.
- Omens of the King’s Coming and other rudimentary psionic manifestations can be channeled through the puppets. Flaming Swords or Power Fields are common “defaults” that show up without explicit intent.
- Even further physicality amplification beyond the baseline of the battle formation. This is a multiplier “added after everything else” so the baseline formation is important.

>Thread Multiplier Organism
A loot that he will pick up after defeating a "talented scion of a wealthy family" type puppetmaster opponent.
It will turn out that this guy didn't actually have superb talent, he just had a special symbiote organism that forcefully added +5 to his threadcount.
Zanma will use it for some time so that he can use Court of the Serpent King early and then it will probably get damaged, he will put it in a stasis pod, and then later on when he starts body cultivation he'll use a method from the body cultivation manual to permanently absorb the organism to get like +2 to his natural thread count permanently.

>>25076859
Puppet Autism. Sounds like a card game to be honest.
>>25076860
The demonic insects of the southern barbarians who raise them in their own body and life in the jungle.

The miao tribe raises them. One notorious way they use their insects is by putting 1009 poisonous gu into a jar and shake it.

The surviving gu will inherit the poison and become a 1009 poison insect able to kill a spirit body elder with a single bite.

>>25076863
Its not for me, that is too autistic I have to admit. There might be people who would like it.
I'm unable to judge its quality.

Special moved as you saw in the old thread made me think personal power or speciality.
Not individual puppet formations.

>>25076866
>puppet autism
My systems design and worldbuilding is entirely based on justifying things to myself and making it make sense to myself. If I can't convince myself, I can't make myself write it. It's stupid but that's how it is.

I am both Guy A feverishly gesturing at a corkboard and Guy B watching and slowly coming to agree with Guy A.

>>25076868
It sounds incredibly autistic when I put it down condensed like this in the format of my own notes, but it's not nearly that dense in actual story writing. I haven't had really readers complain about systems density... Outside of Cherno Caster but that's because I stole the based system from Starsector. Or from actual retards who couldn't figure out if bigger number is better.

File: young master suicide.png (560 KB, 499x718)

560 KB PNG

>>25076872
>I haven't had really readers complain
killing myself TODAY

>>25076872
I prefer moba design. 3-4 skill slots or to go totally asspull and let them do whatever they want within their theme and power level.

I thought of a cool incest bait plotline just for it not to work because in ancient times adopted family members were considered valid members for the throne.

>>25076905
This is understandable. I tend towards what is basically "Bomb Logic" ala Destiny (I dislike the games but that term describes my tendencies well)
So there's a bunch of small pieces, a lot of "horizontal power progression" with extra tools that give small bumps, and eventually they click together for a big vertical power spike. This is somewhat inevitable with xianxia, and the MC pulling out one thing after another is imo a big payoff point in any xianxia because it's basically just a lineup of callbacks to earlier in the story.

>>25076933
Xianxia is just pure deus ex machina. Will power and arbitrary match making in the sense that in a world of ants and elephants there is always a protagonist super ant to fight and overcome.

>>25076916
You are the mozart of incest bait plots, the stradivari of sister fucking, the motherfucker of michelangelo and davinci.

>>25076937
Well yes but I have to convince myself of it. I have to be willing to buy into the illusion.
To use the deus ex machina analogy, I have to use the thinnest fishing line I can and I have to make sure the crane is rigged up so that there is a believable appearance of floating as the actor is lowered and raised, that the actor moves properly and acts properly to give the appearance of a deity. Even within Deus Ex Machina there is a wide swathe of how well it is done.

>>25076988
Incest baiting is more prominent because Asian cultures are universally big fans of it. You just got to come up with some reason why they aren't actually biologically related if they are brother and sister. Except the ancient world was far more progressive on this than we are so the drama I had planned around it just doesn't work.

>>25077003
>was far more progressive on this
when he gives you dat habsburg look and she gives you the inbred eye flutter

>>25077003
I don't think progressive is the right word.
When two royal siblings married it was like a test of purity. If they could produce a (relatively) non-fucked offspring than that was proof of their bloodline superiority and confirmation of divine mandate.
I know this because Mithradates VI of Pontus daughter had two rows of teeth.

>>25077014
It was about foreign control. If you outmarry another duchy, country or random schmuck got a claim to the throne and might raise an army against you.

>>25077022
That was later under fuedalism once the nobles all realized everyone was everybody elses cousin even across the border. In the bronze and iron age it was a shit test/propaganda
Something similar along the propaganda line is that nomadic steppe tribes would justify pillaging sedentary people in Europe, India and China by telling themselves the lazy and evil farmers and city people had stolen all their stuff from the steppe people in the first place and they were just getting their stuff back.

>>25077023
I think mechanical it is no outsider snatching up the throne. The "we are gods" that is why we rule, political formula is a rationalization for this.

>>25077022
This anon >>25077023 is correct. That being said I did get an idea where the court advisors are working on getting a foreign emperor married to a queen for more legitimacy, only for the queen to be up to this and gives a middle finger to them by marrying her brother.

File: Slop Masters #2.jpg (708 KB, 960x1440)

708 KB JPG

We got some good turnout last time where we focused on word count to warm up. Let's try a more specific goal this time.

/wng/ Thread Quest #2:

Write a conversation between two characters with radically different voices. There is no length requirement.

Dialogue is essential to many WNs and writing them is a skill you will need. Being able to understand who is talking at any given moment and having natural sounding speech is vital.

Reply to this post when you have met or surpassed this milestone. Feel free to add in any portion of the conversation and/or any thoughts you had while making it.

Good luck, and have fun!

>>25077123
>“The town is ours!”
>“For a time."
>“Can’t you be happy for once?”
>“What for? The Lord will reclaim his town in a week if not sooner.”
>“Maybe so, but—”
>“But what? What is this port worth? Very little, I say. To make up for our losses, we have to be callous here. Even then, this will be a setback."
>“No, it’s a milestone, a show of our growing might.”
>“I have never understood what you youngsters think you are building. For better or worse, we are what we are. There is no hill for us to climb, only gallows to evade.”
>“How can you be old yet naive? Of course there is. This very island is the proof of it.”
>“Oh, you are alluding to that tale. That’s utter rubbish, I’ll tell ya.”
>“It’s true, though.”
>“Is that so? Tell me, son, how would such a slave-lord stay in power? He’d be ripped apart, no question about that.”
>“You’d be right if the late lord inspired any loyalty, that is. You know, Ros, disloyalty among retainers, that’s always unfortunate. Like rot, it has to be carved out. Otherwise, it will erode the entire house.”
>“What a great piece of carpentry advice, Captain. I’m sure to keep it in mind when refurbishing my shack back home. At least I would…do it then.”

>>25076916
>I thought of a cool incest bait plotline just for it not to work because in ancient times adopted family members were considered valid members for the throne.
That's actually not strictly true depending on the time period and culture.

>>25076836
This is one of the best otome villainess stories, btw. I love reading political and economic thriller through the lens of a villainess. I just can't recommend it to most people because it goes hard on Japanese society beyond what most weebs know about Japan and the Japanese political system.

>>25077260
Japanese history is a fan favorite of mine, but I won't like it because I don't like anime.

>>25077123
>Dialogue is essential to many WNs and writing them is a skill you will need.
Honestly, for as many times as I've seen amateur writers fuck up dialogue heavy sections, I'd almost rather some writers switch from standard prose to something more akin to scripting. For example:
Character A: Dialogue.
Character B (yelling): Dialogue!
Scene details.
Character A: Dialogue.

They say not to experiment until you understand the basics and to not deviate from norms if you don't know why those norms exist in the first place, but *a lot* of the rules when it comes to written English either came from the first dude that happened to codify shit, people trying to sound fancy, people trying to ape Latin, or some other nonsense. And let's be honest, some writers are so bad with dialogue that looking silly would be a minor trade off for at least having some idea of who is talking to who. It's enough to make a reader reconsider whether English would be better off with more pronouns and those stupid sentence enders like Japanese has. And that shit's awful. My condolences to people that have to translate Japanese works that differentiate speakers by which of the too many versions of desu they use or exactly which version of which honorific they use for which characters while still having it be a faithful translation that an English reader could understand.

Also at least with a script it's easy enough to convert it to regular prose if you ever want to.

>>25077372

My preferable pattern is to establish the back and forth and then let the dialogue stand by itself.

"Dialogue dialogue," Man said.

"Dialogue dialogue dialogue. Dialogue dialogue," Woman replied.

"Dialogue dialogue."

"Dialogue dialogue.

"Dialogue dialogue dialogue.

>>25077260
I might read this then, I like otome and some political economic thriller might do better than another fantasy world or comedy.

File: 1747502899306338.jpg (1.05 MB, 2400x2400)

1.05 MB JPG

This is kino, how do I write a Xianxia as good as this?

>>25077453
It was one of the worst ones I ever read.

>>25077453
This has to be bait, CN is unreadable SoL dogshit.

>>25077386
Yeah, that's a fairly standard shortcut to avoid a billion X saids, but only really works for small groups. It also requires keeping to a strict order, and you have to indicate tone changes anyway, so it isn't even necessarily going to cut down on that much repetition.

>>25077455
>>25077456
Fellow daoists, please enlighten this lowly body cultivator.
What about it did you dislike?

>>25077386
I hate when they do this, I like it when they said who said what was said.

>>25077465
It's a perfect embodiment of "westerner tries to fix xianxia and ends up getting lost in the weeds with no real progression for ages"
In addition to that, it also suffers from general SoL syndrome, in that it stretches 50 chapters of plot across 200.

>>25077260
If it's the modern society one I'm thinking of where everything descends into building a mercenary company then I disagree.
If it's a different one I'll try it.

>>25077465
It's not RI

>>25077472
>It's a perfect embodiment of "westerner tries to fix xianxia and ends up getting lost in the weeds with no real progression for ages"
>In addition to that, it also suffers from general SoL syndrome, in that it stretches 50 chapters of plot across 200.
So...like xianxia?

>>25077642
An actual xianxia at least goes somewhere in the space of 500 chapters. Works like CN lack the sense of progression that even sloppiest of slop still retains. Not all western cultivation falls into this pit, but many of the popular ones do. For example Cradle doesn't fall into this category.

>>25077643
>>25077642
to further elaborate on plot
Slop Cultivation A takes 50 chapters of plot and stretched it across 200 chapters, but it fills the empty spaces with something. Subplots, random bullshit, etc.
Western Cultivation A instead fills that empty space with meaningless SoL and daytime soap opera non-drama.

>>25077643
>>25077644
I dunno. I'm sure I've read xianxia where the MC got repeatedly stuck in pocket dimensions while cultivating for ages on end. Sure do love seeing the MC going through the 500 layers of fire or whatever that he happened to get trapped in while gathering mythical ingredients that happen to grow there in abundance and half killing himself over and over again adding them to his body.

Xianxia is like 80% training arcs, 10% fights, and 10% plot.

File: 1660892963288600_1.jpg (295 KB, 1800x2425)

295 KB JPG

>>25077643
>Cradle mentioned

>>25077712
>never ask a xianchud the color of his tardwife

i'll take slice of life and soap opera drama over pointless actionslop and training montages any day of the week

I, your grandfather

>stars starting to align
>got minimal backlog today
>now got a chance to build up some good backlog for two more weeks
I think I'm going to megadose caffeine and write 3 chapters/6k words a day through the rest of the week. I can do this. I can slop so hard. Everything else will just take a backseat.

He had never forgotten the face that sold him away. And now he was being told that the man had passed away. Many thoughts fought within him. Was he justified in hating him? Would he have done the same in his place? How could a father ever do that to his son? For all his many faults, he would have wanted to see him one last time. Then, more rational thoughts took over him.
"What of his kingdom?" he asked the Messenger.
"Who is to say? With you stuck here, factions are afoot. And I do not envy your sister."

>>25078121
too direct for introspection
dialogue is clunky
Messenger shouldn't be capitalized most likely

>>25077726
I'll take slice of life and pointless actionslop over soap opera drama and training montages any day of the week.

But the real good shit is romantic comedy

>>25077472
Westerners just can't write good xianxia

>>25078528
Are there any good (and with an end planned or are short) cultivation parodies? I like Taoism but I dont like infinite stories

>>25078531
I am not aware of any.

>>25078505
Bro is still mad.

>>25078531
Stellar Transformations is pretty zippy imo

File: Screenshot_20260210_105843.jpg (425 KB, 954x1613)

425 KB JPG

>>25078505
37k views.
Thanks for the advertising, bro.

File: ego.jpg (110 KB, 763x917)

110 KB JPG

>>25078543
This is you.

>>25078541
I dropped it after 10 chapters.

>>25078545
Yes, what a chad.

My story is coming to an end, and I'm thinking about the future. While I have other, unrelated projects I want to work on, I specifically left a lot of loose threads in my current story. Side characters that exited stage in ways that leave their own stories unfinished, plot points that could be expanded upon, etc. I am considering the idea of, eventually, making a collection of these side stories as a separate web "novel." Is this a good idea? Do people do this kind of thing? Should I forget about them entirely, or append them to the end of the current work(I feel this is a terrible option but if that's what people do I probably should take that route)

I've lost the spark. I had a bunch of ideas that I wanted to write and was excited about, but for one reason or another I never did (most of the time I was looking for a way to start the story in a way that could hook readers). Now I don't even have that idea I'm really excited about.

>>25078545
and you're not even on the podium

>>25078565
>Side characters that exited stage in ways that leave their own stories unfinished, plot points that could be expanded upon, etc. I am considering the idea of, eventually, making a collection of these side stories as a separate web "novel.
People who read webnovels want thousands of chapters of progression with 1 based mc, one pov and a ton of action and exploration, not your shitty side stories collection trad /wg/ garbage.

>>25078603
Oh I am and I don't claim to be a success, but if I spent that much time, wrote that many pages, and got that small amount of views I think I'd want to kill myself. There are stories that get that in a one or two chapters.

>>25078637
uh huh

>>25078637
>>25078603
Quality > quantity

>>25078649
huh? how does that apply to someone's audience?

>>25078634
thank you for answering my question.

>>25078649
Indeed, as tragic as it is, kinoman wrote a mountain of absolute trash

quality > quantity > theoretical quantity that exists only within the addled mind of the /wg/tard

File: New-Scare1.png (188 KB, 1053x955)

188 KB PNG

>>25078696
>>25078673
This lore-pic alone mogs all Royal Road.

>>25078676
You're very welcome.

>>25078531
You might try Womanizing Mage. It's a Chinese xuanhuan, but it's heavily comedy focused cause the MC is shameless and a complete flake. It's not a parody per se, but I still think you might like it. It's also completely translated and only (lol) 675 chapters.

>>25078700
dogshit art, stupid name, obnoxious harder to read than necessary color
my eyes are flying right past this

It's unfortunate that one of the most vocal and regular anon is one who sees all web novel readers as a monolith. That web novel readers are fully generalizable and interchangeable. The narrative that everyone wants the same thing is misleading at best. Extremists are often the loudest, though almost never the most accurate.

>>25078779
If you are so mad, that means I've succeded in moving your heart.

I AM A REAL AUTHOR!!!

>>25078565
Web and light novel readers are used to either format. You're describing gaiden chapters.

It's not uncommon to see them post arc epilogue, post series epilogue, in short separate series, as arc intermissions, or even in short story collections right in the middle of the series (this is the rarest though).

If you wanted to get fancy with it, you could do a B side series and tie your stories into that plot, but you probably don't have enough connected material for that from the description.

Whatever you want to do, people will be used to it, but I promise you you'll get more eyes on it if you file it under your current series. You might even put a "stay tuned for more" after "~THE END~" so people don't toss the series in their completed pile and never check back.

Also, in the future, I'd recommend including them as you go either as intermissions and/or after your arc epilogues. They can help elongate the tension release post climax and people are less likely to tune out if they aren't back to back.

>>25078138
>dialogue is clunky
How?

>>25078700
Extreme levels of soul.

>>25078812
>"Who is to say? With you stuck here, factions are afoot. And I do not envy your sister."
Not using contractions when they clearly should be used is a stylistic choice I disagree with even for intellectuals and nobility to make them sound more refined. Doing so with a seemingly normal messenger makes it extra clunky.
>factions are afoot
is just a very unusual way to phrase that thought

try
>"Who's to say? With you stuck here, factions are forming. And I don't envy your sister."
Small changes, but they matter a whole lot. Clunky dialogue writing feels many times worse than clunky narrative writing and I'll drop a story fast for it

How inclusive do you make sure your works are? Those who have published multiple stories, did you see greater engagement by including queer characters?

boring, overused bait

>>25078863
Thank you, this was very beneficial.
Do you think using contractions is fine for internal thoughts?

>>25078891
>Do you think using contractions is fine for internal thoughts?
Open any modern genre novel and you'll see them doing just that. A conversational-like narrative voice is extremely common these days
It's more of a question when you shouldn't contract than should. If a narrative never uses contractions I find it unpleasant, it sounds too formal and archaic

>>25078879
Women only, no straights, final destination.

>>25078795
>Also, in the future, I'd recommend including them as you go either as intermissions and/or after your arc epilogues.
i did several intermissions to show flashback events of character's pasts and one longer story with a side character. This would be more about concluding the stories than showing alternate perspectives.

>>25078996
Isn't that an epilogue?

>>25078908
I don't read such stories. Inclusivity, identity politics have no place in web novel progression/litrpg/cultivation genre, the same way progression/litrpg/cultivation has no place in modern day drama stories about a group of queer individuals from san francisco.

>>25079040
That's simply a lack of imagination and not being open to new experiences.

>>25078879
I don't have to pander to those audiences. My current story has a lot of traveling so it's pretty diverse and I make sure women are prominent in the series, though away from combat roles.

>>25078879
We want the Concord audience.

>>25079103
>I make sure women are prominent in the series
No thanks

>>25079103
>women are prominent in the series
great i love women
>though away from combat roles.
no, make them fight.

>>25079120
It's impossible for almost any story to have relaxation scenes without some maternal figure.

File: freud staring.jpg (162 KB, 850x960)

162 KB JPG

>>25079189
anon...

File: 1764526525110701.png (1.04 MB, 1400x700)

1.04 MB PNG

>>25078790
>I AM A REAL AUTHOR!!!

>>25079189
Haha lol what the fuck, cut down on estrogen, anon

>>25078879
>How inclusive do you make sure your works are? Those who have published multiple stories, did you see greater engagement by including queer characters?
I included a recurring important character that happens to be a lesbian. But I just treat it like its no big deal. I don't worship the minority character. I hate that preachy shit in all the modern novels. Its fucking annoying.

>>25079197
Yeah, I'm him.
I was shit the first time I put my hand on my book, but now, after countless hours of hard work, it's completed, and you can bitch as much as you want, BUT NO ONE CAN TAKE THIS FROM ME.

I AM AN AUTHOR!

>>25079232
I'll clarify and at least very intense series that focus on physical combat and warfare. If it's just constant fighting with nobody to make it homely and comforting the story will never be able to relax and develop itself. You can have the maternal figure(s) be a guy sometimes but it's mostly better if it's a woman.

File: really nice cat.jpg (35 KB, 409x338)

35 KB JPG

Have you made money from your writing, anon? :3

>>25079380
>If it's just constant fighting with nobody to make it homely and comforting the story will never be able to relax and develop itself.
>You can have the maternal figure(s) be a guy sometimes but it's mostly better if it's a woman.
You are just mixing unrelated ideas like homely, comforting, relaxing the story, developing the story, and then out of nowhere coming up with a stupid illogical conclusion that you need a maternal figure to "relax the story". You are misleading and misdirecting with your arguments.

The last thing needed in an adventure/fantasy/action story is a mother or parents following or going on an adventure with their son. This is the cringiest shit ever.
If you want to relax the story then stop the fighting and allow the mc to take it easy for few chapters, just let him rest and think/introspect, not have his mother come over. Jfc I really have no words.

>>25079438
More than I expected, less than I need to not feel like a piece of shit failure.

>>25079438
No but I've been the closest too I ever have been in a very long time.

>>25079445
>No but I've been the closest too I ever have been in a very long time.
me too. I feel like I'm close. Not there, but close. One of the next couple projects, will see me through the wall and over the hump. Its been a lot of work and a long time coming. I've given up a lot of free time for normal fun. I feel like I've paid my dues. Small success or better, is just up around the bend.

post extracts
here mine

>Despite being regarded as a “safe zone,” the Cordon was even more dangerous than the open wilderness around the Beach-head Zone. Zanma stopped at a small market-town, half repurposed ruins and half new construction, with an ancient, ribcage-like printer-bay occupying a prominent spot, fenced off and guarded, with a price list to the side. Besides the core of “proper” buildings, the rest of the place was a shanty-town in the bombed out wreckage; makeshift roofing and tarps abounded. It was called Amber Pass, so named after an immense Becomer’s eyeball that had at some point been rigged up as an artificial sun; the sphere hung, strung up, from a great obelisk, a megabuilding structural beam that now stood alone, by itself far dwarfing anything else in Amber Pass. The Amber Eye would come on by itself whenever darkness fell, pouring out amber-coloured light that illuminated all within its purview in a manner that flagrantly spat in the face of conventional physics. One could stare at it without going blind, and yet it easily brought light to a fairly large area, even to places that ought to be occluded from its sight. What was more, despite bathing all in orange, one could easily make out colours regardless, a benign contradictory phenomenon that Zanma imagined would weed out those whose minds couldn’t hold up to the truly anomalous. Even here, it was clear that safety and civility was always on a thin margin of equilibrium. An old warehouse had been repurposed just to give the rough men of this place somewhere to fight in an officiated, and of course monetized setting. Everyone loved betting on violence.

>>25079438
>Have you made money from your writing, anon?
I had a professor offer me a job at her side gig where she was an editor if I switched majors (I went in for computer programming) and completed my degree, but I didn't take her up.

That was a fun creative writing class. I took it over summer and a deal fell through with a school for the vision impaired that was supposed to fill out most of the course so I ended up being her only student. That also allowed us to be super flexible with each other's schedules instead of keeping to the university's which came in handy when her kid got sick or when I wanted to take more time fleshing out a piece. And she loved my work. Told me I was one of the two best students she'd ever had, hence the job offer.

DCC epub is out whenever it gets uploaded to kemono

>>25079608
You didn't answer the question

>>25078121
That's right, he did have a sister. She had only been an infant. Now she must have been a woman grown. Her name eluded him.
"Is she wed?"
"She was," the messenger answered after finishing his ale. "One of the fallen kings took refuge within the kingdom. And your father gave her to him. It was quite something seeing a girl so young married to someone so old. Unfortunately, he drank himself to death a few years ago."

>>25079438
15 years ago.... not creative writing tho

>The lastest batch of Archslop couldn't pass 2k
Are we back RRbros?

Should new authors write fanfiction on Spacebattles for practice as well as reader interaction?

If I were born in Japan, I could have posted on syosetsu and got a manga adaption, and then an anime, and then an awesome amount of money. I wouldn't be stuck here with you losers.

>>25079781
Write what you want to read first and foremost.

>>25079774
Interesting. The baking archmage dropped organic, the straight forward archslop got uncovered as Ai then started to drop.

>>25079826
> The baking archmage dropped organic
Established author with a pre-existing audience for their comfy fiction. Even without archmage in the title it would have still hit the same.

>>25079643
I would have said no, but I just remembered I won some small monetary prizes from a couple caption contests.

>>25078545
So he's based?

>>25079438
Lots

>>25079785
If

>>25079438
i made around 300 dollars on contract writing.

>>25079992
I have something like three dollars and eleven cents in my account on one of the WN sites last time I checked. Not setting the world on fire exactly.

>>25079536
I got a small base, access to people with publishers, and invested editors. I'm honestly amateur at best but I feel like I can actually make it.

is it me or our threads slow.

>>25080149
I'm writing next chapter in small increments and bouncing between reading of Revendous with Rama, and playing og ff7 for the first time.

>>25080149
i gave up and stopped posting

>>25080218
Praise be.

I'm working on a medieval fantasy and the best romance option genuinely seems to be between two cousins, and on top of it the male starts out underaged. Will normal people hate it on principle?

>>25080222
It doesn't work like that. What matters most is whether they like what you're doing. If they do, they'll make excuses for just about anything. If they don't like it, then no anything else, they will attack you.

If you're going to post it to Royal Road:
https://www.royalroad.com/support/knowledgebase/114
Sexual exploitation and abuse are prohibited:
1. Pedophilia, or stories involving sexual activities with underage characters or individuals under the age of 18, are prohibited. When there is Sexual Content involving characters, there can be NO indication or implication that the characters are, or appear to be, under the age of 18. Situations in which this may be ambiguous (differing speeds of maturity, altered flows of time, mismatch between age and appearance, etc.) must not include Sexual Content in any form. Even fictional species need to be mature both by the standards of their species AND in human terms.
2.Normalizing, glorifying, or encouraging sexual violence is prohibited.
3.Glorified incest (sexual relations between parent, child, sibling, or grandchild) is prohibited; the inclusion of such content is only permitted when there's a legitimate cause to include it in the story (like "House Targaryen"). You may not include it simply for the shock value or as a driving point. Necrophilia and bestiality are also prohibited.

>>25080222
Come on, man. You're not fooling anyone with this "aw shucks, looks like I just HAVE TO include underage incest in my story. There's simply no avoiding it!" You can add a new character, or you can adjust an existing character's age.

And to answer your question, yes. People will be upset. Some people were upset because my book had an adult kissing a little kid, and it was supposed to be shocking and weird, but it was still just a kiss. Still, they thought it went too far. A kiss. Never underestimate a Karen's ability to be offended.

>>25080231
stephen kings IT banned from royalroad

>>25080231
This is why I only read ao3

>take a dram of whiskey to try and remove any inhibitions so i can write slop
>end up writing with clearly late 19th century prose
why do i do this to myself

>>25080231
House Targaryen is a driving point though.
man i fucking hate the RR cucks but I get it advertisers don't like sex or incest.

>>25080232
>my book had an adult kissing a little kid
out of curiosity was it adult male kissing female child? or woman adult kissing child male?

>>25080250
Adult woman kissing a sleeping boy. Nothing sexual. No touching. Just a long, deep, kiss.

File: 1741170147650885.png (122 KB, 241x307)

122 KB PNG

>>25080256
Nice.

>>25080231
It wouldn't be more than a kiss. There is some chemistry but it's mostly for political reasons.
>>25080232
I could make a new character but it would be terrible and not make any sense. Unless I can think of another person outside of another family member that would be both close to the princess growing up and able to reduce foreign claims to the throne. It can't be a personal guard too because he has to be younger and also be relatively protected growing up.

>>25080256
Are you sure it wasn't about being nonconsensual?

>>25080266
No, because as an adult he time traveled to watch it happen to his younger self and he clearly consented as a time traveling adult on behalf of his younger self.

But that's besides the point. When did kissing kids become taboo? Did you guys not kiss your sister goodnight before you were 18? Did you never kiss your parents or grandparents until your 18th birthday?

>>25080306
stop being cheeky, don't try to skirt the rules then act coy

>>25080306
I still kiss my sister goodnight.
That being said my sister is the only person I'd ever kiss on the lips.
This sort of stuff I imagine it being done, to the forehead or cheek.
it also varies greatly by culture, in some cultures kissing someone is a greeting in others if you tried it people would accost you.
It's quite possible the person who took umbrage with you comes from a culture where touching like that is excessive, or more likely a terminally online person who basically exists to be an attack dog to whatever makes them uncomfortable no matter the context.
I wouldn't read to deeply into the opinion of someone who probably is not well adjusted human.

>>25080306
Liev Schrieber kisses his son on the lips.

>>25080326
>an exclusive sister kisser
Literally no one else!

>>25080326
If it was one person I would have completely ignored it. It was several people, which is what surprised me.
>>25080324
I'm not being cheeky. Sex involves nudity and penetration. Kissing is not sexual. If it is, the Lord of the Rings has necrophilia.

>>25080351
You know what you did, stop it.

i don't have a sister but I do have a sister in law but she's kinda fat and i wouldn't kiss her.

>>25080387
>i don't have a sister but I do have a sister in law but she's kinda fat and i wouldn't kiss her.
but you'd fuck her. you would fuck her, right in her fat ass. admit it.

>>25080387
would you kiss her if she was a time travler?

>>25080387
what if I told you you had to in order to secure a future for your peoples

So im writing a chapter in my age mage rip off, my archmage is helping a village defend itself from some lizard beasts and there's a boy with a crush on her.
I was going to have my archmage kiss him on the lips, in a teasing way before she left the village.
But reading this thread. I'm having second thoughts.
Obviously it was meant to be consenual, he's was going to blush and she was going to laugh and leave, while he's stuck still with a stupid smile.
it's meant to be a big sister type thing, she's not related to him incest is sick.
i just mean that's the vibe I was going for.
however it seems like i'd get a lot of shit for it so maybe i'll scrap the idea?
maybe i should just remove the kid, i had him in for flavor, he doesn't help kill the lizard beasts it's just so i could have more characters in the village beyond, village chief, and blacksmith.
man I bet if this was the 90's i could write this shit. I definitely saw this on television at one point I swear.

>>25080431
Yeah, probably. Sounds like some shit someone who's never talked to a woman would think a big sister was like.

>>25080431
I dont really think theres anything 'problematic' with your initial idea but personally 'teasing' with a deep kiss seems a bit beyond teasing. If she just wanted to tease him I feel like she would be more ambiguous about it, not necessarily for moral reasons but because that seems like the teasing women go for more often. Do slutty thing, then pretend it wasnt slutty at all and youre just weird for thinking about it like that, plausibly deniability thing.

>>25080431
if you write fem MC either lesbian or asexual
kissing a male boy makes your story radioactive

>>25080431
I have to agree with this anon >>25080447
Have you ever talked to a woman before, or had any kind of social interaction? That is just not a realistic action someone, anyone, would do.
> it's meant to be a big sister type thing
Then have her give him a hug, or ruffle his hair. But a kiss on the lips? Come on bro, show some common sense.

>>25080431
>>25080447
>>25080450
>>25080450
>>25080456
>>25080459
Imagine allowing fear of the opinion of readers stop your artistic expression
Write out your fantasies. Fuck the critics.

>>25080466
My man i didnt have an issue with him having an agegap romance, words on a page arent hurting anyone. I had a problem with how plausible the whole thing sounded, I mean really, how often do you see women just deep kissing people as a tease even in an era as open about sex as ours?

>>25080398
a few years ago sure. she had 2 kids since then and really let herself go.
>>25080402
sure
>>25080403
also sure

>>25080431
Anon, that's literally rape

This anon can only hope the preceding conversation was several layers of irony rather than sincere.

>>25080431
Just have the age mage, age him up kiss him, age him back down to normal.

>>25080431
She should slap him on the ass instead

>>25080466
The was one anon that got wrecked by reviews because the non-blood related aunt flirted with the highschool age femc. At first when he was complaining he was being vague about the specifics but I eventually found his story and he did indeed get fucked over. He would have had a higher placement on RR with the whole fiasco.

>>25080264
I was being genuine about being willing to change it. I have a week to be able to change the relationship dynamics between the protagonist and the princess. There can be none but I don't know if my audience will be okay with a woman who doesn't get married and a man with no romance options for the vast majority of the story.

>>25080675
I was being serious but after the response here I'm just going to scrap the entire chapter.
I'll have her get lost in a maze instead.

If i wrote a story in where a guy transmigrates his soul into the body of a child.
I make him a noble and give him an arranged marriage do you think people on the site will give me shit?
Technically even though he's in the body of child, he's still got the mental capacity of a grown adult.
If I make it seem like the character is against arranged marriages does it give me an out with the reader?
I just say well the MC is forced into this due to the culture.
Then maybe I time skip to when they're 16 so it's not weird.
How much do people give a shit about a transmigrators actual age?

>>25080883
you are clear as long as it it stays platonic until they are 18 (which you don't want, you really want permission to break social rules)

File: imperial reincarnation.jpg (50 KB, 352x500)

50 KB JPG

>>25080883
Read pic related, it has that exact problem, and then you can read the JNC forums where people talk about it.
It's a nuanced problem that requires a nuanced solution, but generally
>heheheh I'm a pedo and I'm gonna grooooom
Like Mushouku Tensei's protag, at least in the early story, is going to upset western readers
>I have to be the emperor so I'll get married but I won't like it whoops actually all my child brides are exceptionally mature and capable perhaps I was overly concerned?
Like Carmine in Imperial Reincarnation still provoked a little strife but not nearly to the same degree.

If you just want the tl;dr execution is everything.

>>25080149
We need more 400+ posts per day aimless empty threads.

What would Spectral Soul do?

>>25080984
you're right, i need to kill myself TODAY

I have been watching Renegede Immortal and with every new ep it just gets better and better. Highly recommended.

How much did people complain about Anakin and Padme's relationship for the Star Wars prequels? My situation is almost identical except the woman is less horny.

>my only interaction with it is naruto, and gender isn't part of yin and yang, yin is just the mind/spirit and yang is the body.
Incredible comment to receive. I have no words.

>>25077123
"Think you can do it?"
"Maybe I can, maybe I can't. All depends on what you show me."
Rolling his eyes, the head butler snapped his fingers. A less experienced servant came forward with a hefty sack, clinking and clattering with each step. Their scoundrel of a guest made a grin that scared off the servant after dropping the sack to the table. The head butler remained stoic, even when coins clattered to the ground.
"Shall that be satisfactory?"
The mercenary took one of the spilled coins and bit it. "Aye, this'd be enough to have a good time in the capital, and then some! So, who's getting a visit from yours truly tonight?"
"The young master. Make it look like an accident." He pulled the sack of coins back. "You'll get your reward after the job's done."
Blowing a raspberry, the mercenary shrugged. "Alright old man, I got ya. One brat removal." He got up and pushed in the chair with a loud scape against the floor. "I'll be back before you can even get that all wrapped up for me."
As he sauntered his way out of the secret chamber, the head butler shook his head. The young master's requests were really starting to get out of hand. Ah well. If he couldn't handle this miscreant, he'd be around the corner anyway.

>>25080231
> legitimate cause to include it in the story (like "House Targaryen").
what is legimate cause for including Targ incest?

>>25080231
>Pedophilia, or stories involving sexual activities with underage characters or individuals under the age of 18, are prohibited. When there is Sexual Content involving characters, there can be NO indication or implication that the characters are, or appear to be, under the age of 18. Situations in which this may be ambiguous (differing speeds of maturity, altered flows of time, mismatch between age and appearance, etc.) must not include Sexual Content in any form.
So, that applies description of sexual scenes, right? If I have a character who gave birth at the age of 16, but sexual conduct is not described it fine?

For you to get shit for elements in your story, you'd first need someone to actually read your story. Anything is fine if no one sees it.

Is it better for characters to know what’s going on or be ignorant?

>>25081292
Depends.

>>25081196
There were a lot of taboo subjects I was okay with talking about prior to reading it but now that people are actually reading it I have second thoughts.

Oh no, Regressed Archmage only has ten followers and no ratings after three days of posting and 13 chapters, despite promising a Frieren-esque, MoL-esque, LotM-esque omnipandering narrative with substantial chapters! How could this happen!? Is the magic gone!?

>>25081017
>How much did people complain about Anakin and Padme's relationship for the Star Wars prequels?
Not enough. Anyway she mostly got shit for being okay with war crimes more than robbing the cradle.

>>25081292
Be ignorant cause then you get to have characters explain shit to them which means you get to use all that worldbuilding you wasted time writing instead of focusing on your plot.

>>25080431
If you're going for a big sister vibe just change it to a peck on the forehead or cheek. That's what an actual big sister would do and doesn't come off as weird.

File: 1545018147101.jpg (41 KB, 164x234)

41 KB JPG

>>25076836
I think i rewritten my story 4 times in my head before i could finish writing one chapter
On one hand i never felt more comfortable with the general direction than now, on the other it feels like im running in place not doing anything, daydreaming

I think the problem is that i still don't have an ending planned

What makes a good ending?

>>25081623
>web novels
>endings
Just don't lol

>>25081623
The trick is to keep introducing more plot elements and only close a couple of threads at a time

>>25081623
I strongly agree with >>25081682
In the past I've described this as "continuously hanging guns on the wall so that, eventually, no matter where the story goes, you have a gun to reach for"
This is achieved by constantly sprinkling in world/plot details and elements such that the readers don't think anything of it, and just think you're doing set dressing and worldbuilding, or that this or that character or plot element was specific to a certain self contained arc

>>25081475
No war crimes on my end either so I should be okay. I theoretically could make the princess 14 so there would be a smaller age gap but that would make her being smart make way less sense.

>>25081623
>What makes a good ending?
A good ending is there being an ending in the first place.

>>25081623
Just observe the natural endpoints of your characters/plotlines and pick the most satisfying one. Whatever you do don't try and do a twist ending.