Writing A Fantasy Web Novel

My specific learning goal for this project is to be able to write a good story with a specific genre including multiple other sub-genres. I have created many stories when I was younger. The first memory I have of this was when I remember writing in class, a really short story. I got into the world of anime, manga, and web novels through my older cousin. In 2016, I lived in North London for 3 years when my mom had been assigned to work there. After a year, my cousin decided to live with us as well. She had to go to university near our place, so living with us seemed like a practical idea. I was nearing the end of Year 6 and I was really into shows like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, etc. when I asked my cousin if she had any suggestions for good shows on Netflix. She decided to introduce me to an anime that would later be my favorite, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K). After I had finished watching Saiki, I moved on to other anime, mostly fantasy- action. After three months of indulging in anime, I started seeing new content to watch. That was when I stumbled across an interesting and new format called manga. Manga is basically a Japanese cartoon where most anime are based off of. I found a One-Piece manga in my school’s library and I decided to read it, since the art style seemed so similar to anime and I got hooked. I finished that pack in about 2 months. The books were massive as well, each book probably had about 500 pages, maybe more, though it didn’t contain too much text, since it was mostly drawings. I continued to buy more of the books on Amazon until one day, the next book was going to be published in 3 more months. I could buy the volumes separately and not together, but that would ruin my 3-in-1 volumes. So, I waited until it came out, and I bought it. After I had finished that, I took a look at when the next book was going to be out, and it said something around 1 year, so I just went back to watching anime. I still have the collection to this day. During my last few months in London, I found out about a thing called manhwa, which was a Korean cartoon. The first one I found was Solo Leveling. I thought that manga and manhwas were only released physically so I tried searching through online stores if I could find volume 1, but I couldn’t. During the Year-end break between grades 8 and 9, I stumbled upon a link on a YouTube video which directed me to this website which regularly uploaded various manhwas, manga’s, etc. It’s called manganato.com. It was when I discovered the world of online manga. There was a feature in the website where fans could bookmark a favorite manga so that if they get updated, they would be notified, which was what made the website one of a kind. After a few months, I had already read most of the good manga/manhwa, so I went to another site which would also regularly upload chapters, webnovel.com. From there, I became more fascinated with some stories using anime, manga and even other web novels. Unfortunately, the story plots/characters were downgraded a lot. There would be problems with the plots, consistency, story pacing, characters’ personalities, or even the genre and theme. The most annoying theme/genre of all would be “harem” where the main character has multiple lovers of the opposite/same gender, which is what downgrades many stories. Stories that include this genre have bad story pacing and too many coincidences and “luck” which somehow always helps the main character. This has been named by the community as Plot Armor. This basically means the events are forced to happen, even though not realistic, just to move the plot further. That is why I decided to write my own story, because I was wondering whether or not I could make my own web novel without all the issues I disliked in many of them. Now, you may be thinking, why is this person talking about manga and manhwa’s but is instead writing a web novel. So, I really did want to make a manga or manhwa, but the thing is, I’m not gifted in the drawing department. So, I’m more suited with the story-making department, but I can’t be in a partnership with another classmate/person because it’s a personal project. So, I instead chose to write the story, and leave the art aspect. So please keep that in mind when reading the report, because I am fonder of reading manga/manhwa, than reading web novels.

Product Goal

Since some of the stories that I have read so far have elements that affected the story’s quality, like lack of character development, plot armor, etc. My most favorite genres of all are fantasy and action. I like them a lot because the fact that people can make these marvelous stories and describe them from their own imagination is fascinating to me. Whilst I do like those genres, I do dabble myself in a bit of tragedy and revenge driven stories. I myself like edgy or emotionless but powerful characters. And since I have also read mostly fantasy stories so I should base my project on that genre. So, I’m going to be taking my favorite genres and themes from my experience and try to create a story that will entertain me and hopefully other people. Therefore, my product goal is to be able to write a good web novel that is consistent, balanced, with realistic character personalities but still along the fantasy genre.

Reflection

One of the main impacts this project has had on me is that I realized that I am good at creative writing. I can use this skill in the future, for school tasks or even professionally later on. Another huge impact this project had on me is that now I am more mindful in self and time management. This skill can be used in everyday life. Self and time management is important to get your work organized. The project taught me about the importance of managing my time without the aid of someone else, since when I get older, I will need to learn how to manage my time by myself for me to fully become independent. This of course includes managing my time to balance work, personal time, family & friends, and essentials (like eating and sleeping).

Product Evaluation

My final product is an 8-chapter web novel with around 1000 words each chapter. The story depicts the life of “The Boy” which first introduces him inside his room. His room is described/pictured as a broken wooden house. As the story progresses, it is soon revealed that “The Boy” lives with an alcoholic and abusive woman. Is it her mother? Sister? Aunt? Who knows? The story progresses and continues in his school. We find out that “The Boy” has 4 friends, whose names will be mentioned later. The story continues when “The Boy,” alongside his teachers and fellow classmates, is surrounded by rays of light and gets blinded by them as he closes his eyes. He then wakes up back in his room after just waking up, confused about the situation. Then, 2 or 3 chapters after this event will be the end of Season 1 - Different Worlds.