Discussion The key to a successful transported novel, specifically...

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by Nahct, Sep 12, 2016.

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  1. Nahct

    Nahct Well-Known Member

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    So I saw this thread and, for a personal reason, want to hear your opinions on what makes a transported novel good? To be specific, a transported novel where the new world revolves around a VRMMO style (meaning that there are skills and such).

    What do novels do right?
    What do they do wrong?
    What do you like?
    What do you dislike?
    What are you expecting?

    And for those of you who think this is just a repeat of the thread I mentioned, I would like to point out that most of those responses are based on the fact that real life is still an active part of the novel. What I want are responses that are strictly based on a transported novel.

    I'm really curious as to what the community thinks ;)
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2016
  2. LostOrchid

    LostOrchid Well-Known Member

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    Don't involve a god/goddess meeting right off the bat and don't give them op abilities. Having game elements. Like levels, status checks, skill menu.

    This is what i extremely dislike and see that its makes the novel more boring than it should be.
     
  3. Setra

    Setra Well-Known Member

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    at least I want the prologue to be decent, not just summary of awesome people died in accident and got reincarnated/loser died with regret and reincarnated. Or maybe it's better with no prologue, like recalling vague memory of what they doing before transported.
     
  4. Nahct

    Nahct Well-Known Member

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    So basically a novel that's fairly unique.

    Would meeting a god/goddess be an automatic turn off for you? What if the encounter was something that doesn't follow the typical trope?

    And what about the plot? What kind of plot would you like/dislike to see?

    Thanks for your response btw :)
     
  5. Nahct

    Nahct Well-Known Member

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    So you want to read about something that brings up the MC's past so that it's relevant in the new world?

    If so, how much or how little do you think the knowledge should affect the new world (if at all)?

    Thanks for the reply btw :)
     
  6. LostOrchid

    LostOrchid Well-Known Member

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    Its instant turn off if its the generic "oh im sorry you died, let me give you a new life and another place to fulfill your dreams" bullshit.

    I remember reading a novel where it was a god/goddess transportation from yorai but it was some insane cannibal deity that did it on a whim. This i dont mind because it extends farther than them just pitying the dead guy.

    Konosuba i dont mind either because they made it out to be a joke and it was mostly satire.

    Rudy tensei was good too although it was like reincarnation, he never met the god of the world till later but even then the god was just using him as a piece to succeed in his own ambitions. Becoming the final antagonist.

    At this point i rather take lol gods in more slice of life comedy novels than the novels that take themselves too seriously with game elements.
     
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  7. Bao

    Bao Well-Known Member

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    I like it when the main character is very smart and capable, especially in the art of arranging words for grammar usage, and knowing critical errors in translation.

    Most importantly, this character shouldn't slack off and actually edit stuff 24/7. A strong will is the most important thing for both the dao and in becoming a good MC for a successful transported novel.
     
  8. saffu

    saffu dead

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    i mean, i'm ok with anything as long as the transported part isn't just an excuse for the character to be new to the world so we can get easy infodumps
     
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  9. Nimroth

    Nimroth Someone

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    Can't say I like the whole transported/reincarnated to another world trope, most of the ones I liked was despite the trope rather than because of it.
    If it really have to be used though I would say no game elements, and there need to be a proper reason why the characters are transported.
    If the mc could just as well be native to the other world without it changing the story much then the whole trope is pretty meaningless and just complicates things.
     
  10. _Selutu_

    _Selutu_ 灭世魔尊

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    • I think it depends on the novel. For example, Man Picked Up by the Gods, Konosuba, Mushoku Tensei, Shieldbro, Death March, Epic Tale of the Forsaken Hero, Arifureta all do different things right. But basically, what they do right is a coherent story like any other novel.
    • What the tropes do wrong would be explaining everything by "because he's a transported/reincarnated person", it would be fine for something liek Death March, but it doesn't work for slightly more serious novels.
    • I do like the entire genre.
    • I dislike the whole demons is evil thing and they must be killed. Sure it can be an interesting premise and I still enjoy novels with that premise, more variety would be nice.
    • I expect all sorts of stuff.
    Honestly though, I think meeting the god/goddess right off the bat is fine, but it just depends on the type of novel. For slice of life novels like Man Picked Up by the Gods, Death March, and Konosuba, there's nothing wrong with it. For others, it can end up a bit degenerate. I suppose in that regard, the meeting the goddess part of Epic Tale of the Forsaken Hero is actually quite well done. Since there's more to it than just 'I randomly picked you guys to save this world. You have this, this and this cheat to help you'.
     
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  11. GreenCaps

    GreenCaps Well-Known Member

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    The MC must have a weakness, one of points I liked in mushou ten.(my gateway novel)
    sometime i like it when
    >they have a rival and final boss like the no fatigue novel
    >believable side characters like in dungeon defense
    >reasonable power(not so OP yet not so weak) like the amber sword
    >usage of modern world knowledge
    >a not so generous god/world (an arsehole god/godess/world system is also acceptable) like the game in kono isekai game(forgot the name)
    >a NON omniscient, photographic memory, perfect human being MC (the story becomes power wank crap)

    whats done wrong:
    >harem, useless harem, but acceptable when done right. (i hate when the FMC's mindset become "I must always tickle MC's pickle or else i'll be kicked off the harem")
    >a world where its people gives a blowjob to mc on sight
    >aimless story like death march and other slice of shit genre (just my opinion, sry for dirty word)
     
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  12. Deleted member 33563

    Deleted member 33563 Guest

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    Well for one, the translator isn't using Machine Translation AND butchering the jokes,spelling, and grammar.
    The second is actually using previous events to set up the present, instead of saying "XX happened, and YY happened later, but there is no correlation whatsoever."
    The third is only having polygamy when JUSTIFIED. I don't mean "Oh MC saved me once from a level 1 thief, despite being a level 500 knight myself! He's so brave. I love him" despite only meeting him once and then chasing MC right after.
    Fourth are USELESS characters. This is evident in many novels. A prime example of this are the harem members in most of these horrible novels.
    Fifth is making the MC have power BUT make him not use it and write it off as "Its super OP, so he finished it in one hit". There is nothing wrong in making an MC really strong, it's just that those who usually write novels with OP MCs suck. really badly.
    Sixth, proper WORLD BUILDING. I can't stress this enough. When a novel doesn't have this, the MC is ususally ALREADY OP. Which,most of the time, makes for a horrible reading expereince.
    The seventh and final, to use TROPES well and be aware that they're using tropes. For example, Konosuba is using the Transported/Reincarnated into another world AND is aware of it. Do they make use of it? 100%!
    Those are what I think are keys to a successful transported novel (which is also translated into english)
     
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  13. pathos

    pathos Active Member

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    Pretty much like any other genre, the key to writing a good novel starts with the author's skill at writing. How is his/her use of the language? World building? Character building? Attention to detail? Consistency? If the author has any writing skills, then pretty much most things can be enjoyable.

    The problem is compounded by the translation team/person, and their skill, or the lack there of (or, in some cases, their rewrite ability, when they deem that sort of thing is OK, and it never is).

    One my biggest pet peeves outside of that is a novel that changes direction, or tone, for no real reason, right in the middle of the story. Sort of becomes a completely different kind of story than the one I started reading.

    So, to sum it up, I don't have a problem with common tropes or themes of the transported genre....as long as the author doesn't suck. Just about any subject can be an enjoyable read if it's written about competently.
     
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  14. Westeller

    Westeller Smokin' Sexy Style!! Staff Member

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    If you're going to use rpg stats or something similar, at least pretend the numbers weren't just randomly conjured up every time you decide to write a status screen. Because that's absolutely the way they come off every time I see one.

    It might be better to just not bring up character stats at all, a la shieldbro-style.
     
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  15. Nimroth

    Nimroth Someone

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    Yeah considering that even actual game stories have trouble with being consistent about stats it gets really strange to see it used in other stories.
     
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  16. LazyLuong

    LazyLuong Well-Known Member

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    There doesn't have to be a lot of fight scenes, but when there is a fight scene, make it very satisfying to read and not the long drag out fight where they stop to talk all the time. A short fight can be lengthy and enjoyable if you put in moderate of text to enhance the atmosphere and tension.

    Give the companions and side characters some background story, some side story that don't necessary require to involve the MC once in a while, especially if they are going to be appearing every now and then throughout the series. Don't just have the companions there just to awe at the MC's actions, or to satisfy the MC's harem. Sometimes people read your novel specifically for these characters and not for the MC. You will know if you done a good job when you see people making tons of different post on "'character a' x 'character b'" relationship from the novel (not necessary only "'main character' x 'other character'"). Also, nothing more annoying than a bunch of characters falling for the MC for no appearance reason. One or two character falling in love at first sight is fine, but not when it's a bunch. People in general either have trust issue / insecurity when trying to befriend a person they don't really know, befriend a person out of curiosity/interest of the person, or out of self-interest for gain.

    If you're going to involve an RPG system, leave the whole stat/skill window fluff out of the chapter and place at the end of the chapter or volume where it's all tally up. Having them constantly pop up in the novel just breaks the whole immersion There's plenty of good example out there that are highly rated.

    This is just me, but I absolutely love comedy in my novels, all childish humour, vulgar humour and dark humour, etc. Not the "oops I saw you naked in the bathroom" type of humor.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2016
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  17. NZPIEFACE

    NZPIEFACE Leecher

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    Cultural difference, language barrier, common sense difference.
    I think the transported person should actually be like a transported person, and care about going home, and not writing it off as "I have no family over there waiting for me".
    In other woes, make the MC someone from Earth, not just someone with memories and knowledge of earth.

    On that note, time to reread "Heroes Union BBS"
     
  18. Sh1r0r3n

    Sh1r0r3n New Year and still a workaholic

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    Hmmmm... after reading everyone's opinions and pointers. I feel I have made a handful of those mistakes in my fiction, that I'm working on.

    But if not for anyone mentioning these things, I probably would have never noticed things that would cause a story to go down a very dark tangent. Well Thank You All for a good reminder on what to stay away from and what to improve on.

    *Sigh. I'm like 12 chapters in writing and now, I feel a bit dumb. Now it's more like how to edit/add more content without totally changing the story.
     
  19. Arcturus

    Arcturus Cat, Hidden Sith Lord

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    The main character isn't a completely bad or completely good person, In fact, said individual may screw something up quite badly and need to atone for it (the classic example being Thomas Covenant of course). Also, the person isn't gonna know anything. Imagine if you were dropped in the middle of India and you're Japanese. Even if you looked Indian, you would stand out for not knowing customs, language etc. You would be lost and very few novels do a good job of showing this.
     
  20. so-chintzy

    so-chintzy One of the editors for Yukkuri Translation Service

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    I see this in good WNs & bad WNs, but this is so much more annoying in bad WNs, especially since it comes off as "JPN superiority~". There should totally be a story where a French transfer student & a JPN student being transported to the same world, but only the French guy is able to incite a food/economic revolution just for the lols.

    It's just a gripe, but it really shows that the author doesn't really care about world building & just wants to make an "undeveloped Japan that with a generic European aesthetic" setting so the MC can be instantly OP & rich very quickly.

    One of the things for me that really bugs me about "transported to a Medieval RPG-like world" JPN novellas is the food thing. MC makes a JPN dish & all the magi-Europeans go totally nuts over it.

    Especially "this cuisine is so bland & tasteless! OMG JPN food is so delicious!!". Even just a quick google search into medieval foods, (unless the characters are completely dirt broke peasants), shows that there was a thriving food culture, especially with the spice trade & Europeans clamoring for more exotic goods & flavors. If the spices and flavorings already exist in the RPG-like world (& let's be real, THEY ALWAYS DO. The MC never has to godmod-powers them into existence), there's literally no way they would NEVER be used unless some JPN MC comes along & makes something with it. (I mean....you'd think that the people growing & shipping said spices would know how to at least make SOMETHING with it.) It gives off this whole annoying "Wow, I, a sophisticated JPN am stuck in the flavorless unsophisticated Euro-boonies." vibe whenever they go on & on about miso & mayo being sooooo amazing.

    Plus, (personal opinion!!!), JPN food can be considered to be an.......acquired taste. Just throwing umami & mayo at everything doesn't make it taste good universally. Especially if it's a very JPN food like miso, mirin soy sauce or something. (For me, I cannot stand a good deal of JPN food due to the specific way they make their soy sauce, miso's tumeric-like & grainy taste & dashi, which is practically in every JPN dish.)

    "The Other World Dining Hall" gets around this by having the owner changing the way he cooks the food by studying the tastes of the people from the other world & by serving mostly western style food, which would appeal to them much more than just trad. JPN food. And they even mention how the war with the demons ravaged the country for years, ruining the economy and trade, so it actually made sense why people didn't know about certain dishes/ingredients.
     
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