Discussion Wish to write a historical fantasy novel on my own.

I don't if it sounds idiotic or not but I have been wondering if I should write an online novel on my own. With focus on tags such as history, army building, state building, military, protagonist reborn, politics, technology etc. Basically it would be set in Sikh Empire 18th and 19th century.
Please bear in mind I am new to this forum but I am long time lurker on novelupdates I have read to many novels historical online novels on the NV and from qidian. So please be kind and tell me your views on my idea. And suggestions on how I should write it.
It would be based around maharaja Ranjit Singh.

 

If you want to write then write, no one can tell you no, just make sure that the plot is interesting

 

That is why NovelUpdates made ScribbleHub, so people can write their own stories and they would be featured on NU by the side.

 

Don't limit your story in just one website or platform, post in others too. Scribble Hub, Royal Road, Wattpad, etc.

I remember there being a pinned thread for new authors here before, anyone know the link for it? Can't seem to find it no more.

 

The more well-known industry term for the genre you want to write is "Alternate History".

Alternate History Fiction: 3 Useful Rules you should know

How do I write Alternate History?

11 Classic Alternate History Books and how to write your own Alternate History Novel

 

Hello~ If you do decide to go through with writing, I wish you luck! The setting sounds really interesting and different from a lot of other novels. I've mainly read historical Chinese, Japanese, and Korean novels on NU but the Sikh empire would be refreshing!

To add to Kaito's point about plot, another thing would be to make sure that everything wraps up nicely for the ending. I just finished a Chinese drama and was very disappointed with the ending. Apparently the directors wanted it to follow historical events but a lot of the story lines were left unfinished and the result wasn't satisfying.

 

I will try to to but I am still researching on that time period. Indian caste hierarchy and social conditions of people under Sikh Empire and sikh religion.

 

Thankyou bro I will read these links.

 

I will keep that in mind and at the same time I do not wish to make my protagonist into 90s movie hero who's good at everything he does.

 

My English is not that good. Will that be a bother. And my writing style is also a little novice.

 

Also check out this Youtube channel.

 

Thanks bro this channel may help me a lot before I start writing.

 

More like 'sis'.

 

The only Indian king Ai-chan knows of is Tipu Sultan (or however it's spelled). Anyway, if you want to write a story (fictional or not) based on real history, you need to do a lot of research. Because otherwise, people WILL poke holes in your narration. It's fine if you have thick skin, but if you're like Ai-chan, you will lose motivation very quickly from all the people commenting about how you don't know history.

However, if you still wish to do it, avoid conspiracy theories and focus on hard facts (dates, events) and do not write something with too large scale. As in, don't write from the point of view of the emperor, but from the point of view of the queen's maid for example. It makes sense if the maid is stupid and did nonsensical things, but if the emperor is stupid and does nonsensical things, things would go bad to worse very quickly. So a limited pov is usually a safe bet. You can also write from the point of view of a princess who was not written in the history books.

That being said, structuring your story will work wonders. If this is your first time writing a fiction, Ai-chan suggests that you start with a short story or a three-chapter story. Don't go too ambitious and plan for a multi-book story. You can plan for that once your short story is completed as a complete rewrite.

 

Write whatever you want, as long as you have fun writing, all is good~

 

write whatever you want, but there are many platforms and things you should consider when deciding where to post.

basically WN is the best if you are new despite being hated by everyone. simply because there are many readers there and there is the potential to make money off your writing (no matter how little it is). but i would also mention that you should never sign the wn contract. there is a reason why many people dissed it and why the cn authors are angry over it right now. your novel will also get pirated because there are many bots who will copy/paste everything you post on wn right now...

wattpad is the next biggest, but wattpad is full of trash and it will be very, very difficult for you to get readers there. you are also expected to promote your book on your own unlike WN, where u can get listed on the front page several times until you hit a certain milestone.

so in comparison, wn vs wttpd, it sucks writing in wattpad because u have to work to get readers. wn while hated, still much better place to write but again, think thrice before getting contracted.

then we have scribblehub which will get you advertised on NU. you might get..1 or 2 readers......its also a nice place to write...the audience seems to be similar to WN in my experience.

there also RYLR which sucks for everyone. basically people want novels that are near the standard of published books here for free and they shit on everything else. also evveryone else on probably hates you and the mods/admins don't care about you. you're just there to give them ad revenue. even the writers are there to give them ad revenue.

oh there's also tapreader which you should add to your hosts file and block that site because it's utter shit. they basically want to own your novel even if you're not contracted. how crazy is that?

then there are a few other sites which shares ad revenue and u can check them out yourself but it's hard to get readers there because they're not big enough

 

The best advice I got when I started writing was to make sure I was writing for myself, not others, and to just start writing.
If you're writing for others and there aren't a ton of readers you'll lose motivation and quit, if you write for yourself you'll keep your motivation and continue writing and getting better. Everyone starts somewhere, don't expect to write the next timeless classic, just do your best and enjoy telling your story. It doesn't matter how good or bad you are at writing or English, you'll improve if you do it!

Also, for the English part, once you get some of the story written, if you're really worried about it, ask for some help proofreading it here, there's tons of people who'd be happy to help with proofreading here that can help point out mistakes. Professional authors have editors and proofreaders because they make a ton of mistakes too, it's nothing to worry about!

Just have fun and enjoy the process, as a reader it's infinitely more enjoyable to read a novel where the author clearly enjoys the story than it is a forced novel where the author's uninterested!

 

Thanks for the motivation bro. Otherwise I would die thinking before i start writing.

 

The sky is the limit bro.