Writing Female Protagonist Cultivator

[NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent]

So I'm 60% done with a draft for a xuanhuan novel, but something recently clicked in my brain and I want to try it out.

I'm thinking of overhauling the draft and change mc to female, but still retain the same drift.

No romance or just chances of one night flings, fully cultivation driven with lone wolf journey throughout or for most part.

As I see FMc xianxia or similar novels without romance is rarer than dragon scale and phoenix feather so I'd like to give it a try.


How likely is it that you will want to pick it up for a read? Would help if you gave your usual preferences as well so I can better understand your biases.


EDIT***

Wow! Didn't expect so many positive responses, makes me wonder why nobody has done this trope yet smh. Alright I'm ready to take this monumental responsibility to bring justice to female lone wolfs.... Expect an update within two months.

 

[SailusGebel]

No because I like romance.

 

[Anon2024]

I’d give it a try if she had a harem of men. If it’s just cultivation probably not since it then wouldn’t matter if she was male or female.

Unless there is something special about ther world, or there is a specific theme that sets it a part.

Reason for the harem of males is that it’s completely different from what most write about and might be uncomfortable for me to read.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

So I'm 60% done with a draft for a xuanhuan novel, but something recently clicked in my brain and I want to try it out.

I'm thinking of overhauling the draft and change mc to female, but still retain the same drift.

No romance or just chances of one night flings, fully cultivation driven with lone wolf journey throughout or for most part.

As I see FMc xianxia or similar novels without romance is rarer than dragon scale and phoenix feather so I'd like to give it a try.


How likely is it that you will want to pick it up for a read? Would help if you gave your usual preferences as well so I can better understand your biases.

Very likely. Those practically don’t exist.

 

[hippoman]

I'm more likely to read anything if it has a Female MC.

 

[Lehnsa]

Do it

 

[LilRora]

Personally, I'd give it a try. Xuanhuan isn't my favorite of genres, but if there's no stupid romance (as rare as you say) and the story's good, then I'm all in.

 

[EldritchCoomer]

To be honest I'd give it a try if it had sex scenes a plenty. I'm more of a story loving type of enby, but love a good smut every now and then.

 

[Sleds]

So I'm 60% done with a draft for a xuanhuan novel, but something recently clicked in my brain and I want to try it out.

I'm thinking of overhauling the draft and change mc to female, but still retain the same drift.

No romance or just chances of one night flings, fully cultivation driven with lone wolf journey throughout or for most part.

As I see FMc xianxia or similar novels without romance is rarer than dragon scale and phoenix feather so I'd like to give it a try.


How likely is it that you will want to pick it up for a read? Would help if you gave your usual preferences as well so I can better understand your biases.

Probably since all cultivation novel with a female protag are just a romance story set in that genre. The female do nothing almost all the time. You can still add romance if you want but do it like its made for a male character in that type of story, don't let your female protag be a damsell in distress who can't do nothing or just be overly focused on her love interest that would change the whole story plot into a romance story.

If I remember correctly, the only one I read who are somehow like that is Feng Ni Tian Xia.

 

[Num]

As long as you don’t write The Female Xianxia Story, aka: female assassin/doctor from modern day to a setting similar to ancient China, picks up a crippled ML who emotionally lacking to the extreme and cures him.As long as plot isn’t that it would be interested and new

 

[Tsuru]

One point i must mention

Despite being a girl, i like Male MC novels

BUT
What is interesting

Some very high quality Male MC novels (or series) are in fact done by female authors. Its kinda same reasoning as "only men can be best girls" or "girls can cosplay cool men the best"

Full metal alchemist, is by a female author
And a few ero (both chinese or japanese) novels, are the best with how the details are well done.
--
Returning to the FMC topic and why i wrote this prologue-explanation.

Is that, you should write the FMC just like a male MC (personality-action wise).
Because nowadays 2023 chinese or japanese coughyuricough novels. Its easy to see that lot of FEMALE mcs, are in fact acting as dumb / cringe / idiotic / weeb as male MCs.

In fact, old series "Skip beat" or the anime "Daily Lives of High School Boys"
are proofs too. That women and men aren't so different. We can be lustful, stupid, smart, etc
Its just that they were lone comedy works, stereotypes making the "wall" between genders not breached yet and differentiated between "shounen"/"shoujo".
Vtubers in 2023 is now a more accessible living proof, of how male and female got lot of similarities.


@NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent

PS : another method. Is that the series hasn't a fixed focus on the MC-FMC and vase lover. But more like it feels its a "duo" main characters. The (F)MC is easy to see he is the main focus, but if looking carefully, the FL share the burden very well despite not lot of cameos, in fact could even look like the novel could even be written in her pov and still be fun to read. But it requires decent writting skills.

 

[Bobple]

I would read it

 

[TotallyHuman]

Depends on how good the story actually is, but more likely than a male mc xianxia and triply so than a fmc w\ romance

 

[K5Rakitan]

No personally, but there are other people out there who would love it. Another editor who used to work with my press only did YA because she's asexual and doesn't like dealing with sex scenes. Some people are aromantic, too and don't even want romance in a story.

 

[HungrySheep]

I'd give it a shot if it's GL.

 

[ChronicSleeper]

So I'm 60% done with a draft for a xuanhuan novel, but something recently clicked in my brain and I want to try it out.

I'm thinking of overhauling the draft and change mc to female, but still retain the same drift.

No romance or just chances of one night flings, fully cultivation driven with lone wolf journey throughout or for most part.

As I see FMc xianxia or similar novels without romance is rarer than dragon scale and phoenix feather so I'd like to give it a try.


How likely is it that you will want to pick it up for a read? Would help if you gave your usual preferences as well so I can better understand your biases.

I would definitely give it a try. Romance is fine imo as long as done correctly, putting it last and plot/cultivation stuff first. You can't expect a (insert long time) journey and not find someone you at least partially into.

Tbh my personal gripe with fem mcs in cultivation novels is just how they eventually move away from actually cultivating or related, to just unrelated stuff.

Also, put in hot guys too.

 

[Corty]

Probably since all cultivation novel with a female protag are just a romance story set in that genre. The female do nothing almost all the time.

As someone who wrote one with a female MC and with her having not just power but also a husband throughout the story… I feel called out here.

 

[Succubiome]

I guess my primary question when I read the premise is: what sorts of thing does having a Fmc rather than an Mmc change about this cultivation driven lone wolf story?

 

[TotallyHuman]

I guess my primary question when I read the premise is: what sorts of thing does having a Fmc rather than an Mmc change about this cultivation driven lone wolf story?

In many (good xianxia) novels with fmc's women were just done more, I don't know, not 2 dimensionally? Than men mc. And there are a tonne less descriptions of jade beauty collarbones or whatever, which seem weirdly abound even in no romance and pretty good male mc

 

[Succubiome]

In many (good xianxia) novels with fmc's women were just done more, I don't know, not 2 dimensionally? Than men mc. And there are a tonne less descriptions of jade beauty collarbones or whatever, which seem weirdly abound even in no romance and pretty good male mc

I tend to find fictional women a little less 2 dimensional than fictional men in general, which I could theorize on why at length.

But in this case, NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent is talking about rewriting a 60% draft of a novel, so I'm like "okay, what's this going to change about the story/personality/interactions/etc, if anything?" Rewriting wouldn't necessarily change descriptions of jade beauty collarbones, for example.