Frequently asked questions, part 2
Author: Yang Chen (314)
1. I'd like to ask, is it necessary to ask readers for power stone votes and to add your novel to their library every few chapters?
Answer: There are indeed benefits to often interacting with your readers and asking them for their support. This can help the readers have a sense of belongingness and involvement with your novel. However, if your novel is incredibly lacking in popularity, this will obviously be rather ineffective, so you should instead focus on improving the content of your novel. If you still have extra energy after writing, you could try instead to interact with your readers in the novel review section or in a discord server.
2. If I'm a freestyle author, how can I do a good job at writing a novel that has a clear, interconnected plot?
Answer: Actually, there's no conflict between these two at all. My guess is your problem is that it's too easy for you to have a chaotic plot due to your freestyle writing. In that case, your overall outline is an incredibly important restraint upon yourself. I would recommend spending extra time on your outline before you start writing your novel so that you get the base framework confirmed. This is also where you can let your freestyle imagination run loose. In this way, when you're writing your novel, you can also imagine whatever you like, but whenever you have a new idea, you should check whether it matches your overall outline or not. If it can fit into your outline, then go ahead and use that idea. But if it will go off a totally different path from your outline, then you should abandon this idea.
3. My writing ability is lacking, so that my characters don't have any special characteristics apart from their name. That's why most of my side characters die soon after they're introduced, whether by heaven-sent calamities or man-made events in my story! But, some side characters have the effect of helping move the plot along. For instance, some genius named Tom who the main character only met once previously. This Tom character only appeared once at the one hundred thousand word mark, while his second appearance was at one hundred and fifty thousand words. I'm worried that the readers won't remember this side character since he's only appearing again fifty thousand words later, since my writing ability is lacking and I didn't write any of this person's special characteristics… or, are my worries all for nothing?
Answer: This is indeed a real problem, but resolving it is actually relatively easy. Of course, the best method to deal with this is to improve your ability to describe characters. But if you're not that skilled at doing so, you could consider giving each of your characters a label. Use one or two simple and descriptive labels that are directly connected with a particular character. For example, you could write that character A forever wears bright red robes. In this way, the moment you mention bright red robes, the readers will recall character A. To continue with this example, you could make it so that character B keeps a spiritual pet on his shoulder, character C always likes to play with an iron ball in his hands, character D is always cold-faced and speaks as tersely as possible, character E has a set catchphrase that he likes to say every time. Apart from these, you could also use the method of exaggeration. You could exaggerate some normal character personality traits such as being timid or being easy to anger to make it into the special trait of this character. This is an easy method to help the readers remember a character, and it's also much easier for them to identify a side character this way who hasn't appeared in your story for a long time.
4. Is it absolutely necessary to introduce my main character's background in the first chapter? Will there be any negative effects if I don't introduce my main character's background until, say, the fourth chapter?
Answer: This depends on the situation. In theory, it's fine to introduce your main character's background in any chapter. For instance, if your story is about the main character having amnesia, then it's perfectly normal for him/her to not find out their true identity until the final chapter. But, in reality, apart from special exceptions like the amnesia topic, it's normally better to introduce your main character's background as early as possible. Unless your plot has special demands for your main character's identity, putting the main character's background into the first chapter is probably the best choice.
5. Why is it that it's usually advised to give your main character as few cheat powers as possible? Wouldn't it make the main character more overpowered with more powers, which gives some readers more enjoyment?
Answer: Your main character having too many cheat powers will create two main problems. First, it will make your story more chaotic, lacking a core, as well as a special defining trait. Second is that this will commonly make your main character overpowered as stated, which breaks the story's balance and actually makes it more difficult to develop your story. Also, when using a cheat power to obtain victory, people typically derive the most pleasure about watching your main character secretly use the cheat power. But if the main character instead is open about it, making it obvious that he's using these cheat powers to win, that will take away some of the excitement and thrill.
6. How do I make the readers' expectations for my main character keep leveling up?
Answer: I think that this is actually quite simple. All you need to do is let the readers understand the benefits of leveling, so that the levels aren't just some numbers or words. For instance, what new abilities can your main character receive after leveling up? What can he/she do that they weren't able to before? How much stronger is your main character now? What will happen now in a fight against a previous opponent that was impossible to defeat? What rise in social status can be obtained after leveling up? What different opinions will people have of him/her? How inconvenient was it for the main character before leveling up, and how much danger was there…? All these elements can be expressed so that the readers will deeply become immersed in the different experiences of before and after leveling up, which will naturally give them a sense of expectation.
7. Sometimes, I can't come up with any good scenes at all. I have no idea what to write next in my story. What should I do in such a situation?
Answer: First, if there's no good scenes in your mind, it's still okay to use relatively normal scenes. And if you have zero idea how to continue developing your story, one method is to read or watch other people's stories, including media that isn't a novel. Try to find some inspiration from others. Another method is to have one of your characters push the plot along. Consider the current story in your novel and what all the different characters with their individual personalities are likely to do, which can naturally help push your plot along.