Discussion need help writing a Cultivation novel

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by WhiteRoar, Aug 19, 2017.

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  1. nanda322

    nanda322 [Self-Proclaimed Pervert] [Yandere Sect Disciple]

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    Decide on a cultivation environment? immortality (Xianxia, Dao/insights) Or some other power (Xuanhuan, pure strength/power based) Pick typical terms, qi/spiritual power etc. Copy/reinvent realm names. Foundation/gold core/nascent soul are pretty safe bets if immortal cultivation. Do you want multiple worlds, mortal/immortal worlds etc

    Although, trying to make MC manage a whole sect means you have to write substantial amount of support characters and multiple POVs I reckon. Might be hard.

    How powerful would MC be to start off with? Sealed completely or full power (being a sect master, he'd be pretty OP)

    Anyways, goodluck!
     
  2. kekkaishi222

    kekkaishi222 Well-Known Member

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    My ideas for my taste. That means, it must me have harem plot. Well, im not reading all your preference novel.
    Since the mc isi sealed, it would be better for the mc lost his op power. So he start from zero for better revenge plot. Since it already millions of years passed, that means true enemy (the one who seal the mc) must be at peak god realm now(a step before became a strongest being).
    For the sect building plot, i prefer having a harem. So the mc will easier to rebuild the sect. So he can use the power behind his waifu. Well, the mc has high charisma and a lonely person, so he need harem to biuld his character. of course by having a harem he must have a dual cultvation technique. hha
    Well, i still have many other raw ideas to make stories. Just tellme if u want to use my ideas.
     
  3. WhiteRoar

    WhiteRoar Well-Known Member

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    indeed i was planning for a way for him to lose his op power but i don't really have any ideas, maybe becoming cripple and need a special medicine or as a side effect of being sealed for millions of years

    and yes there will be a harem :)
     
  4. kekkaishi222

    kekkaishi222 Well-Known Member

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    Why don't try reincarnated idea, basically the mc lost his body due being sealed so long. So he got to find a nearest body that compatible with his soul. That means, he got op soul prowess from the start.
     
  5. qp83

    qp83 Well-Known Member

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    Just start writing and ideas and characters will pop up automatically as you write. Then as you've written about 10 chapters or more, try to identify your arc, and go back rewrite, cut stuff out, and add stuff in until you feel satisfied. Hopefully at this point you begin to become familiar with the "voice" of your writing and your story, so adding new stuff will become easier the more you write. Eventually if you're lucky the story will almost write itself, and at this point you can start to publish your novel on the web. If you don't get to this point, then drop the story and start something new.

    Also start a habit of writing down notes of anything that engages you emotionally or whatever IRL, news, tv, etc. For example if you hear about some injustice on the radio, or see a cool battle scene in a movie, or your friends say something ridiculous, then write down a few sentences in your notebook. Then as you write your story, always check your notes to see if there's anything you can use. Of course, notes can also be pictures, cut out news articles, or whatever too. For example, saving pictures of clothing, hair styles, architecture and so on can be a tremendous help, as what we see in our heads is usually foggy and lack detail which will show in your writing.
     
  6. Myriadfold

    Myriadfold 『Silkmaid』『Ishhara's Devotee』『Daoist』『WW Vet.』

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    if your aim is for none standard progression, then read a few of the good stories that show "typical" cultivation plots. and then get a few that are good for being "different".

    for some personal suggestions, I would recommend coiling dragon for a rather straight forward and simplistic cultivations tyle, Stellar transformations for the various degrees and stages of cultivation attainable along with the fact the MC technically follows a unique path (a good thing to consider if you can make it seen natural in the story). theres also type of cultivation that are less about grinding the way up and are more about personal enlightenment to achieve higher realms as well, the first one that comes to mind is Way of Choices (ZTJ), I like that story for being quite focused on the binding of fate and the enlightenments required to truly advance in power. I am currently enjoying Battle Frenzy thats has a few fun non-standard elements including the MC's exotic choice of weaponry :p

    ultimately, aslong as you know what exactly makes a story follow the "usual paths" you can think about "how can I avoid this" which is basically thinking, "what if I did this instead at this point, and do that over here. lets skip that little piece entirely and save it for later".

    the problem with just trying to avoid the standard is that its not guaranteed to help your story, and it means you're focusing less on telling the story you want to read. trying writing the story first and then look over it, if it feels too standard just consider at what points did you end up imitating typical novels and how you could change them to give a different feel.

    a few things to consider:

    1. does the MC have to start off normal or disadvantaged? why not make the setting a bit more modern where there is no noble vs commoner. at least at the start. maybe there's a different way to rope in the readers, like a family reunion that's hard to plan for because someone left organizing too late and now the family is struggling to get everything ready in time.

    2. special perks, items or gifts from beyond the grave? don't these all feel a bit too cliche now? In Stellar transformations, the MC at the beginning was indeed disadvantaged, but had a noble background. all his future perks only came because of his original person dedication that relied on not a single cheap gimmick.

    3. is it maybe too much to ask to find a good cultivation novel with a female MC and that doesn't get bogged down by all the romance and typical tropes you tend to find in these novels?

    (just the 3 i can think of off the top of my heAD ATM)

    edit: even better, why do we always HAVE to follow a cultivation story from basically the day the MC was born?? what about starting with a chain of events that happen before the MC even comes into the picture? what about telling a story where the MC is already at a certain stage of power that isn't the very lowest rungs of martial society?
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2017
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  7. Myriadfold

    Myriadfold 『Silkmaid』『Ishhara's Devotee』『Daoist』『WW Vet.』

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    or better yet. make the antagonist impossible to kill and always one step ahead at every stage, right from the beginning until the end. then at the very end, have the antagonist kill the MC and show that in truth he was the real protagonist :p

    not every story needs to end with good winning >.>
     
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  8. Indiboy

    Indiboy Well Known boi

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    Its *an isekai novel
     
  9. fanwithlight

    fanwithlight Well-Known Member

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    This is just my personal opinion:
    1. Shouldn't make MC the final sect master. He may take the blame of let the Sect fall, and it sounds illogical if he's smart yet still fail at the first place. I think MC should be a boy who receives the inheritance from the final Sect master.
    2. About the Cultivation Ranks, remember that they shouldn't be "+x ATK, +y DEF, +z years in life span, etc...". There must be a standard to differ between rank (For example, level 1 has Ki, level 2 has liquid Ki, level 3 has hard Ki and form a core..."
    3. About Concept of Law, be careful. It's easy to turn into bullshit Deus Ex Machina. MC should comprehend one of the strongest Laws. Common choices for this are Time, Space, Destiny, Soul, Life.
    4. Resources are the most important thing. You should think of a way MC can get them. With your background context, I think the best way is MC know the lost recipes of crafting.
    5. "Humble, yet has high charisma" and "lonely person that hopes to have friends" are contradict.
     
  10. Saikyi

    Saikyi Well-Known Member

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    Im just going to beg you to Please Please Please DO NOT put this in china setting, because it is very apparent that you dont understand it. Just make up your own fanatsy background

    Also, i just realized ... your mc is going to be 28yrs old and the sect master of the most powerful sect during your golden age of cultivation?? do you actually have a proper timeline for Cultivation mapped out? Cause in most novels, this isn't even enough to past the first stage.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2019
  11. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

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    This reminds me of my school days where I'd write manga-based stories in the West, with characters randomly dropping Japanese words mid-conversation. And I had Japanese-names characters with Caucasian looks, but the setting obviously wasn't Japan, cause even my weeb self knew I didn't know enough about the culture to write about it.

    Anyway, everything depends on your imagination. If you want this to be strictly Chinese-based cultivation story, give the characters Chinese names. I dunno, I feel like a Chinese reader would quickly find the awkward places in the novel if you're not familiar with Daoist and Buddhist concepts that kinda spawned this genre (and let's not forget martial arts and the occult). You could try to adapt the whole idea about chasing immortality and transcending worlds and base it in a more familiar Western-based world. I don't know your origins and which culture you're more familiar with. My main concern is to avoid writing awkward fanfiction.

    I think one thing that can help you, is if you map the world where the action takes place. Like kingdoms, empires, federations, etc. Their customs, religions, cults, clans, nobility. As long as you have a rich world for your MC to explore, you'll come up with more ideas about his adventures.
     
  12. Bachingchung

    Bachingchung Well-Known Member

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    Everything is fleshed out already, this genre has nothing new to offer. All you need is the skill to wrap it up in an entertaining fashion. IDK how, I can't think of any fresh or ingenious idea - that's the hard part.
     
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