Exposition Problems

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

So, my Supernatural LitRPG story might have chapters people don't care about. That's fine if you wanna skip chapters 1-4

The Maverick and The Succubus [LitRPG]

5 Systems. 5 Royal Families. Greetings, Champion! 17 year-old, Collin Rex is a football player with a heart of gold. But his easygoing life is flipped upside-down when his older siblings fall into a mysterious coma. With no more tricks in their playbook Collin's folks decide to move back to...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Humanistheart]

Feels like it might be bad to need to skip chapter 1. Sorry I might be embarrassing myself with lack of understanding but, maybe rewrite or reslot one so you can hook people then give a note at the end of the chapter about how to read?

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

Feels like it might be bad to need to skip chapter 1. Sorry I might be embarrassing myself with lack of understanding but, maybe rewrite or reslot one so you can hook people then give a note at the end of the chapter about how to read?

Hi.

Chapters 1-4 are basically a setup and some people might not care and drop the story right away. So, readers should just skip to the exciting part if they don't like the exposition

Thx for the advice.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Oddly enough, this is a GOOD strategy for a print novel, but an awful one for a webnovel - you need to hook people in early and keep them hooked (this latter seems to be my failing).

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

Oddly enough, this is a GOOD strategy for a print novel, but an awful one for a webnovel - you need to hook people in early and keep them hooked (this latter seems to be my failing).

I guess I'm just bad at Webnovels than...

But thx for letting me know I'm decent at traditional novels

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Hi.

Chapters 1-4 are basically a setup and some people might not care and drop the story right away. So, readers should just skip to the exciting part if they don't like the exposition

Thx for the advice.

You should make the setup chapters a prologue, or you should make a prologue that acts as a hook.

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

You should make the setup chapters a prologue, or you should make a prologue that acts as a hook.

I thought prologues were frowned upon?

 

[Deleted member 84247]

I thought prologues were frowned upon?

People often skip prologues because they're info dumps. It's poorly done prologues

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I guess I'm just bad at Webnovels than...

But thx for letting me know I'm decent at traditional novels

The reason for this is that with a print novel, the reader has already put an investment of time (either going to the library, going to the book store, or just ordering it) and possibly money, so they have an impetus to continue so that they didn't waste that time. If they eventually get a payoff, then they are happy, even if they have to really wait for it.
With a webnovel, if you don't deliver something, they'll just move on to another one rather than waiting to see if you might deliver.

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

The reason for this is that with a print novel, the reader has already put an investment of time (either going to the library, going to the book store, or just ordering it) and possibly money, so they have an impetus to continue so that they didn't waste that time. If they eventually get a payoff, then they are happy, even if they have to really wait for it.
With a webnovel, if you don't deliver something, they'll just move on to another one rather than waiting to see if you might deliver.

Than how do you start off a Webnovel? (Personal question)

People often skip prologues because they're info dumps. It's poorly done prologues

How do you start off a Webnovel? (Personal question)

 

[Deleted member 84247]

How do you start off a Webnovel? (Personal question)

I always start off with a hook. For me specifically, I always lead in with the main character. My thought process is that readers will not care about any info dump until I give them a reason to. So I hook them with the main character's personality or something happening to them, and then I go from there.

If you need an example: https://www.scribblehub.com/read/1419179-frozen-vampire-queen/chapter/1419183/

 

[Cookiez_N_Potionz]

Your first chapter was pretty fascinating.

But what if your story doesn't have high stakes?

Should I actually show my characters siblings in the hospital?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Honestly it's tough. My most successful one just opens with the character waking up and realizing he's in a woman's body - a woman who lived a life very similar to his, but definitely not the same. And that is the first chapter. The hook being "how did he get here (and, other than the gender swap, how significant are those few changes?)"
Other ones have had the character being executed for murder (so the hook is ... "Wait... he's dead... how could anything happen next?"), a character discovering another character in a dumpster (Hook: "Who is she, how did she get there and what, if any, is her connection to the guy?") or the main characters called in to investigate a murder (with the murder being the hook).

But the point is there needs to be something in the chapter that makes the reader want to go on - maybe they fall in love with a character, maybe there's a personal mystery (like Strange Awakening), or a REAL mystery (Diamond in the Rough, True Blue) or just something to make them want to know more.

 

[melchi]

My suggestion?

Combine and compress.

Chapter 1 is ~500 words, that is way low. It doesn't really do enough to hook someone because it is so short.

Short is okay, plenty of people write short chapters, but short chapters need to accomplish what they set out to do fast. 500 words to introduce MC, and family and their medical troubles, hint at school friends, that is too much for 500 words.

If your chapters are going to be 500 words they really should be laser focused on 1 thing. Otherwise, I'd suggest compress and combine so they end at a point that completes the scene.

 

[Eldoria]

If you want to provide an introduction as background or worldbuilding, you can include it in the prequel. You can include an author's note in the prologue so that new readers who are already interested in your novel can delve deeper through your prequel without disrupting the rhythm and pacing of the main story. The prologue should be written with one goal in mind: to hook the readers. This can be done in various ways, whether to stir the reader's emotions, provide a plot twist, reveal authentic story lore, or use a specific allure. There are many psychological tricks. The prologue should also be written concisely (recommended: 600 - 1000 words), clearly, and interestingly, but it must also captivate the readers. The essence of the prologue is to hook or bind the readers to your novel.