Writing Need help and tips on isekai harem novel.

[Bone_Crusher]

I haven't wrote any novel before and this'll be first time writing something. I won't go into detail for now but I'll give you general setting of the novel. MC is high level player in a certain VR MMORPG game and got transfer to another fantasy world and find himself overpowered than people of this world. (I'll fill in all the details when I actually start writing). I planned to make MC ruthless to enemies and kind to his harem members which means this novel will both have gore and adult theme. I have some questions and confusions which I want to clear.
- Do I give MC clear goal like conquering the world or let him go with the flow with events and situations around him?
- Where do I get reference to describe clothes or dress of characters? Especially if it's female character then I don't know what kind of dress she should be wearing and how would I describe it? (It's fantasy world with swords, magics, kingdoms etc.)
- How explicit s*x scenes should be? I want to make them explicit but not at the level of h*ntai. How much s*x and nudity Scribble Hub tolerates? Can I write s*xual activities between below 18 age characters? (MC in this novel is 17 and most harem members will also be teens, so writing s*x scene between them is allowed here or not?)
- How many words should be there in a single chapter? I don't want to write too short or long chapter, just an average size of length.
- Should I write in First Person or Third Person? Which one is recommended for newbie?
- How many views and readers should a newbie expect if it's a decent novel?

There are many other things which are not in my mind right now and problems will appear when I'll start writing but I'll make another thread at that time to ask you guys for help. I know this type of concept is already used in many novels and this isn't an original idea but still I'll try to be unique. Oh and the most important question, should I write short stories or short novel with R18 scenes to get experience and feedback from others before I start working on this? Thanks!

Edit: Another important question, for this type of novel should I give Japanese name to characters or western names like Max, Ada, Claire etc.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Something about the success part on this site if you want readers and views.

Here on scribblehub, success is determined

60% by pure luck,

39% by good marketing,

and 1% by actual quality. Unless, you commit major mistakes even an average story can make it fairly far.


Now to the marketing. The algorithm checks your growth over a certain period of time in form of readers, favorites and comments.

That means that slow continuous growth will get you absolutely nowhere by now, what you need to make it to the main page among the trending stories is explosive growth.

To beat the system, you need a significant stat explosion over a very short time - 24 h -.

The first step to achieve that is to attract a sufficient readerbase with the first chapters. That is the part that requires some luck. Hope that you get enough readers for step 2.

Now to step 2. Step 2 consists of firing your ammo in short bursts. If you release, better bunker a big number chapter first as the majority of readers on this site are binge readers that want to be fed continuously.

So prepare a huge stack of chapters that you can fire of like a rocket launcher to secure your place at least among the last updated stories like below. That is at least my recommendation. I hope it helped you.

 

[Moctemma]

It would be best if he goes with the flow, but he needs to have short term goals.

Pinterest is a good option.

Not allowed.

3000 is a good number.

Are you going to give the harem members personality? If yes third point of view would be better.

A hundred, maybe less.

That would be good, but feedback is scarce here, most readers don't comment.

 

[Bone_Crusher]

Something about the success part on this site if you want readers and views.

Here on scribblehub, success is determined

60% by pure luck,

39% by good marketing,

and 1% by actual quality. Unless, you commit major mistakes even an average story can make it fairly far.


Now to the marketing. The algorithm checks your growth over a certain period of time in form of readers, favorites and comments.

That means that slow continuous growth will get you absolutely nowhere by now, what you need to make it to the main page among the trending stories is explosive growth.

To beat the system, you need a significant stat explosion over a very short time - 24 h -.

The first step to achieve that is to attract a sufficient readerbase with the first chapters. That is the part that requires some luck. Hope that you get enough readers for step 2.

Now to step 2. Step 2 consists of firing your ammo in short bursts. If you release, better bunker a big number chapter first as the majority of readers on this site are binge readers that want to be fed continuously.

So prepare a huge stack of chapters that you can fire of like a rocket launcher to secure your place at least among the last updated stories like below. That is at least my recommendation. I hope it helped you.

View attachment 2741

So if I release large quantity of chapters daily with few hours delay then there'll be more chance of people getting hooked to novel as they'll have much content to read. This makes sense and this also means that I'll also have to work hard in the beginning. Thanks!

 

[Bone_Crusher]

It would be best if he goes with the flow, but he needs to have short term goals.

Pinterest is a good option.

Not allowed.

3000 is a good number.

Are you going to give the harem members personality? If yes third point of view would be better.

A hundred, maybe less.

That would be good, but feedback is scarce here, most readers don't comment.

Thanks! And yes I'll give harem members personality, so I think it'll be third point of view but I am still waiting for other members opinion.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

So if I release large quantity of chapters daily with few hours delay then there'll be more chance of people getting hooked to novel as they'll have much content to read. This makes sense and this also means that I'll also have to work hard in the beginning. Thanks!

Yes, exactly. A huge output at the beginning to gain an initial readership with an increasingly slower release pace the more you progress. The majority of trending do it that way at least. If you look into their update schedules, you will see a certain pattern.

 

[Nyaa]

Yes, exactly. A huge output at the beginning to gain an initial readership with an increasingly slower release pace the more you progress. The majority of trending do it that way at least. If you look into their update schedules, you will see a certain pattern.

So true. As a reader, I have fallen into that trap multiple times. I've noticed the strategy too, but I still can't help myself.

A big initial burst makes new readers binge, which highlights your story in the main page, which gets you more exposure, which causes more readers to binge, which keeps your story on the main page, which gets you more exposure, which causes more readers to binge...
It's a self-sustaining viscous cycle.

We readers tend to read both shitty stories and well-written ones as long as they're interesting. The big thing is making sure we see it.
I find new stories 2 ways:

1. Searching tags on other stories I like to find more with a certain element. (Making it important to tag your story correctly)
2. The Trending / Latest Series section on the home page.

I don't waste my time in the Latest Updates section - all the ones I care about are on my reading list after all. Getting into the Trending section before you drop off the Latest Series section is your key to success. Dropping a huge dump of initial chapters will achieve this as your initial readers will be viewing more than one chapter each.

Playing the algorithm game will probably net you more success than trying to pander to us with the finer details of your story.
Also, I generally prefer reading what the author personally wanted to write than something written to appease us. The final product is ultimately better when the author is more passionate about the direction of their story.

As for pandering to readers...
If you want to go that route, your key to success is:
Lolis.
We all secretly like cute things, so fill your story with lolis and give them lots of headpats!

 

[K5Rakitan]

- Do I give MC clear goal like conquering the world or let him go with the flow with events and situations around him?
- Where do I get reference to describe clothes or dress of characters? Especially if it's female character then I don't know what kind of dress she should be wearing and how would I describe it? (It's fantasy world with swords, magics, kingdoms etc.)
- How explicit s*x scenes should be? I want to make them explicit but not at the level of h*ntai. How much s*x and nudity Scribble Hub tolerates? Can I write s*xual activities between below 18 age characters? (MC in this novel is 17 and most harem members will also be teens, so writing s*x scene between them is allowed here or not?)

I think people have answered most of the other questions, so I'm going to focus on these three.
1) For your MC's goal, it's your story, so write about something you love. A character with no goals at all is empty, so I recommend using a goal that you also share so you can get in touch with the emotions surrounding that goal.
2) Google image search is my go-to, though in my case, I'm usually looking for reference pictures that artists can use.
3) If sex is important in your story, you'll probably want to make all the characters involved in it over 18. Your other option is to go to Wattpad, where the age of consent is 16 in compliance with Canadian law.

 

[binarysoap]

- How explicit s*x scenes should be? I want to make them explicit but not at the level of h*ntai. How much s*x and nudity Scribble Hub tolerates? Can I write s*xual activities between below 18 age characters? (MC in this novel is 17 and most harem members will also be teens, so writing s*x scene between them is allowed here or not?)

Content Guidelines | Scribble Hub

www.scribblehub.com

All the content guidelines are here.
So no, you can not write sexual activities with the below 18 aged characters.

Spoiler: The relevant section from the link:

Prohibited Content
The following guidelines list content that are not allowed. We reserve the right to remove any content we deem to be inappropriate.

• Pornographic stories - These are content that are basically porn without a plot. This is referring to the whole story, not a chapter or 50% of your story.
• Age of Consent - The age of consent is 18+. This is referring to the real age of the character. Any sexual content between characters must abide by this age of consent.
• Encouraging Non-Consensual Sexual Content - These are stories that are encouraging non-consensual sexual acts. Your story cannot be encouraging non-consensual sex acts.
• Illegal Sex Acts - These are content which encourages illegal sexual acts including but not limited to bestiality (real-world animals) or necrophilia.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

So true. As a reader, I have fallen into that trap multiple times. I've noticed the strategy too, but I still can't help myself.

A big initial burst makes new readers binge, which highlights your story in the main page, which gets you more exposure, which causes more readers to binge, which keeps your story on the main page, which gets you more exposure, which causes more readers to binge...
It's a self-sustaining viscous cycle.

We readers tend to read both shitty stories and well-written ones as long as they're interesting. The big thing is making sure we see it.
I find new stories 2 ways:

1. Searching tags on other stories I like to find more with a certain element. (Making it important to tag your story correctly)
2. The Trending / Latest Series section on the home page.

I don't waste my time in the Latest Updates section - all the ones I care about are on my reading list after all. Getting into the Trending section before you drop off the Latest Series section is your key to success. Dropping a huge dump of initial chapters will achieve this as your initial readers will be viewing more than one chapter each.

Playing the algorithm game will probably net you more success than trying to pander to us with the finer details of your story.
Also, I generally prefer reading what the author personally wanted to write than something written to appease us. The final product is ultimately better when the author is more passionate about the direction of their story.

As for pandering to readers... If you want to go that route, your key to success is:
Lolis.
We all secretly like cute things, so fill your story with lolis and give them lots of headpats!

Personally, I would enjoy a mechanism to punish this chapter spam severely. I as a slow author and old school releaser who has not written their entire story already before, suffers from the current system as do other smaller authors.

 

[Nyaa]

Personally, I would enjoy a mechanism to punish this chapter spam severely. I as a slow author and old school releaser who has not written their entire story already before, suffers from the current system as do other smaller authors.

Or rather than punish it, at least account for it in a way that puts everyone is on a level playing field.
I'm of the mindset that if a flaw / loophole exists in the system, it is your responsibility, nay, duty to exploit it.

I don't blame the authors that abuse the system - it's the fault of this site's admins for having a system that can be abused.

If it makes you feel any better, I am reading your new story. (for as long as it doesn't become a fanfic)

 

[binarysoap]

Also, would like to point out that people who release like 20+ chapters all out once tend not to do so well, so I'm interested why @Assurbanipal_II thinks that.

None of the stories in trending as of this writing has done that either.

Big initial bursts do work, but that's like 1-3 chapters per day for like a week or something, not dump all the chapters in a day.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Or rather than punish it, at least account for it in a way that puts everyone is on a level playing field.
I'm of the mindset that if a flaw / loophole exists in the system, it is your responsibility, nay, duty to exploit it.

I don't blame the authors that abuse the system - it's the fault of this site's admins for having a system that can be abused.

If it makes you feel any better, I am reading your new story. (for as long as it doesn't become a fanfic)

Ah, dangerous logic. If you put think this train of thought to the absolute extreme, then it would be allowed to use a bot army as well.


Anyway, what I think is the issue about the system behind the trending page is less that it is exploitable per se and more its role.

What would you say is the main purpose of the trending page?

I think it is to provide potential readers with quality content. Does it perform this role well? Some might say yes, some might, no.

But certainly not much better than a purely random selection of stories.

 

[Bone_Crusher]

Okay so the rules says that explicit sex, under 18 sex and non consensual sex is not allowed. But there are too many R18 novels here which are almost hentai with good plot, many novels have rape of underage characters and teen MCs have some kind of sexual power to get girls into his bed. Even many stories have incest in it. Man I really want to add explicit scenes in my novel but if it's strictly prohibited then I'll have to greatly change my plans.

 

[Nyaa]

Also, would like to point out that people who release like 20+ chapters all out once tend not to do so well, so I'm interested why @Assurbanipal_II thinks that.

None of the stories in trending as of this writing has done that either.

Big initial bursts do work, but that's like 1-3 chapters per day for like a week or something, not dump all the chapters in a day.

Some readers (myself included) won't pick up a story if there are too few chapters. I like to see a bit of commitment from the author and have enough substance to get invested into the story as a reader. I won't even give it a chance if it looks like it might get stalled right on the starting line or if there is not enough to read to get a feel for the story.

You need a few chapters to pick up readers who want to see commitment, and a few more to pick up readers who want to binge.
Without those, you're only getting the readers willing to take a shot in the dark based on your description.

Even without taking into account multiple hits from readers reading multiple chapters, you'll still be getting more unigue readers if there is more to read.

Being in Trending is a good way to gain exposure and pick up readers. Getting into Trending by the time you drop out of Latest would surely do wonders for a new story. A quick start will surely help you get as many people invested as possible before the novelty wears off.

That being said, some of what you say is true: 6 chapters in 2 days would probably be enough for me to fall into the trap. (Although, I have also gone on an all day binge before for a 20+ chapter dump)
I'd say it depends on how much you have to dump:
If you can keep dumping multiple daily chapters for several days - it would probably boost your position longer than dumping them all on day 1 and then going silent for a week. How many you dump per day would have to depend on how many you have.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Also, would like to point out that people who release like 20+ chapters all out once tend not to do so well, so I'm interested why @Assurbanipal_II thinks that.

None of the stories in trending as of this writing has done that either.

Big initial bursts do work, but that's like 1-3 chapters per day for like a week or something, not dump all the chapters in a day.

Indeed, because the story in question was yesterday there among trending. But I might be wrong. Isekai’d Shoggoth seems to have a similar strategy. The Man Who Killed the First Monster ditto. But, you are right, not everyone does it. Therefore, I said 60% luck and only 39% marketing.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Some readers (myself included) won't pick up a story if there are too few chapters. I like to see a bit of commitment from the author and have enough substance to get invested into the story as a reader. I won't even give it a chance if it looks like it might get stalled right on the starting line or if there is not enough to read to get a feel for the story.

You need a few chapters to pick up readers who want to see commitment, and a few more to pick up readers who want to binge.
Without those, you're only getting the readers willing to take a shot in the dark based on your description.

Even without taking into account multiple hits from readers reading multiple chapters, you'll still be getting more unigue readers if there is more to read.

Being in Trending is a good way to gain exposure and pick up readers. Getting into Trending by the time you drop out of Latest would surely do wonders for a new story. A quick start will surely help you get as many people invested as possible before the novelty wears off.

It is ironic, but this exact behaviour keeps many stories from ever growing. It is understandable that readers are reserved with their commitment and want to wait for chapters, but if nobody reads small sprouting stories, then there will be obviously no further chapters.

A vicious circle.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Okay so the rules says that explicit sex, under 18 sex and non consensual sex is not allowed. But there are too many R18 novels here which are almost hentai with good plot, many novels have rape of underage characters and teen MCs have some kind of sexual power to get girls into his bed. Even many stories have incest in it. Man I really want to add explicit scenes in my novel but if it's strictly prohibited then I'll have to greatly change my plans.

You have to know, rules are one thing while the enforcement of rules is something completely different. Currently, scribble hub rules are not actively enforced by anybody so it is like the wild west here. As long as nobody reports you, you can get away with everything.

 

[Nyaa]

It is ironic, but this exact behaviour keeps many stories from ever growing. It is understandable that readers are reserved with their commitment and want to wait for chapters, but if nobody reads small sprouting stories, then there will be obviously no further chapters.

A vicious circle.

Maybe...

Even if it takes a month or two to get a few chapters out, I'll still read a story if I find it interesting. But by then, you've missed the initial window of opportunity to bring it to my attention by abusing the algorithm to push it to the front page. You'll be counting on me (and others) to find it by other means at that point.

I can only hope the author doesn't give up before then.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Maybe...

Even if it takes a month or two to get enough chapters out, I'll still read a story if I find it interesting. But by then, you've missed the window of opportunity to bring it to my attention by abusing the algorithm to push it to the front page. You'll be counting on me to find it by other means.

Oh, no, I wasn't talking about the algorithm. Just I read only finished story mantra kills off lots of developing stories if you don't publish them already finished.