Chapter 3: IDEA 3 : UNORTHODOX WRITING
* Orthodox Writing
Everyone knows what format a web novel is written in : Protagonist starts at the lowest point, gains a cheat, then kicks asses of various levels depending on difficulty.
These protagonists (only talking about male targeted audience) come in various types :
01. Sword wielding ones – most popular bunch.
02. Treasure wielders
03. Having an expert mentors, etc.
There are many more, and all of these are common templates, which are frequently used.
* What readers seek ?
It is a misconception that the protagonist of a story must be like an expert, who never loses, and searches for something elusive such as 'the peak of the sword' etc.
Actually, the readers do not care what kind of person the protagonist is, as they might be reading multiple web novels in a single day. What the readers search for are only three things :
1. Authority
2. Success
3. Improvement
A web novel is a wish fulfillment novel, where the readers imagine themselves to be the Protagonist. This is why the Protagonist must, after a certain point, have high status in the story, success in all fields, whether academic or relationship, and a tremendous improvement compared to their past selves.
Such protagonists are called as the Orthodox Protagonists, who follow the pre-defined templates.
* Unorthodox Writing
Consider a typical scenario :
A teenage boy of sixteen pulls a holy sword from a rock, becoming a hero. Eventually, he sets off with a party of four – the hero wielding a sword, a barbarian man with a shield, an beautiful elf with a bow and arrow, and an innocent and curvy healer.
This is a common template, which has been used and refined over the years, with the hero who wields the sword being the Protagonist. The sword wielding hero will eventually seduce the elf and the innocent healer, and the barbarian man will become his best friend and right hand man (a.k.a. his subordinate).
Such web novels are difficult to write, as they have been already explored, and the readers are fed up with it.
This calls for a change in perspective.
Perhaps a story centered around the barbarian man.
Remember that your web novel must be "immersive", just like a good video game. If a novel is very immersive, then it will be hard for the readers to part with your created world.
* How to make a web novel immersive ?
01. Your Protagonist must not be a typical protagonist. In the above example, he can be anyone other than the sword wielding hero, like the barbarian man, the demon king, a merchant in the world, the king of the human world, etc.
The reason is that the template protagonists are usually elusive, and they are not much in contact with the world because of their 'mission'. On the other hand, a 'mob character' is more connected to the world, yet does not attract as much aggro as these supposedly main characters.
02. Your Protagonist must be a typical mortal.
Unlike the typical protagonists with indomitable wills and heavenly luck, your Protagonist can be a person with faults, like being greedy, lazy, or arrogant, etc.
These faults help the character to fit in the world better.
03. Your Protagonist should be affected by the world around him.
For example, if the Protagonist is a merchant, then he might hear of the hero's expedition and guess the demands in market for weapons, communication devices, food, etc. and make a killing.
Another example, if the Protagonist is a human city lord with a demon wife, he would proceed on a city expansion path to protect his demon acquaintances.
The point is, just as a hero has his quest, mob characters also have their own quests.
* Reference
The best example for Unorthodox Writing is Fang Xiang's masterpiece "The World of Cultivation".
Even the pets in this novel have their own characters and personalities, and aren't just weapons or mounts. They are just like pets in real life- we do not expect our pets to work. We only keep them because of our emotional attachment.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Daoist_Paradox
Daoist_Paradox I recommend the web novel "Eternal Freedom".
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