For harem writers, how do you decide which girls actually get into a relationship with the MC?

[AnonUnlimited]

There is enough of MC to go around.

 

[Sebas_Guzman]

Same. MC can do a lot of good by marrying multiple girls.



So far the girls in my harem are:
1. Slightly possessive tomboy and childhood friend
2. Flirtatious older woman whose fiercely devoted to him
Canditates for more are:
1. Lonely older woman who badly wants to marry. Has a crush on MC's father and that crush now transfers to him.
2. A haughty princess who views MC as the only man worthy of her
3. A shy and sheltered dragoness who has been lonely for a thousand years and was created to be MC's wife
4. An innocent and naive adventurer with an abusive family that secretly wishes for a warm one
5. A tsundere adventurer who wishes she's strong enough to be by MC's side
6. His brocon older sister
Girls that won't be in the harem
1. Noble adventurer who thinks the MC is her knight in shining armor
2. His dumb fairy familiar
3. His kuudere fairy familiar
4. His genius little sister who hates his guts

As you can see, I can't feasibly take in everyone. ?

But... You could. 8 harem members isn't hard.
It just changes the style of the story if you go for a big amount. Have you read any of the guys that do western harem lit? I know a few of them go into many. I also know that according to polls some of the more vocal readers, some of the sweet spots are 3 members if in a short series, and 7 to 8 members if going long. You could do more, of course if you know what you're doing.

If we look on the eastern side, Highschool DxD probably shows you a good path toward recruiting more into the harem.
The 100 girlfriends who really, really love you shows you what happens when you have a harem hitting high numbers and how godly an mc needs to be to keep up with them.
Farming Life in Another World has another implementation where you see a very far away view of everything, given how the story does things. In this case, the harem aspects are quite funny because of how part of the daily life are.

Anyway, there are different approaches.
Back to your candidates, if doing them all justice will be too difficult or your current style can't support them, don't push yourself.
More characters explode page counts. That's just the nature of the beast.

It really comes down to if those characters can still be interesting in a relationship. If you can still have fun with them, then great. Harem is about 'fun' as much as its a power fantasy.

 

[StrongArm]

I'm puzzled as to why people keep saying harems are impossible.

Histories (like Genghis Khan and the Ottomans) have showed ancient kings having wives and concubines by the hundreds, and it's impossible?

Maybe you guys are talking about the emotional investment, which is really impossible, given the number of people involved. It may also be impossible for the modern 'Earth' setting, at least to those countries that has a sliver of monogamous religions and traditions. Or the sexist aspect of it, the use of it varies for each author.

But then again, it's fiction. To apply common sense to it is like reading a high fantasy story with humans, demons, elves and dwarves and complaining it is illogical.

Historical harems arent as... consensual. Do you think Ghengis Khans harem girls had the ability to walk away? Kings and lords are generally tyrants. Tyrants are big on authoritarianism, not big on freedom. These girls were basically traded as sex objects to a king so their family can have a stronger position at court. It is what it is, that's our history - It was just how things were done back then. But dont kid yourself into thinking that most of those harem girls werent sex slaves.

And its not illogical to apply common sense to a fantasy world - they are still humans, and human psychology would remain mostly the same across worlds and cultures.

I don't think harems are impossible, just that they are improbable unless your MC is a giga-chad or very rich.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Reverse harem, but check out Chapter 17.

 

[Succubiome]

Well, it's not that I don't understand where you come from, but again, this is my work, and I write because it's what I want. I'm not getting paid for my stories, and I don't want to get paid exactly for the same reason that readers would have rights to demand if I get to have them pay.

So, I write poly because I want to write it. Harem-haters be damned. (Also, Ottoman Sultans have harems.)

My answer:

Oh, my bad-- I misread that one bit and got confused. Awesome!

 

[ForestDweller]

But... You could. 8 harem members isn't hard.
It just changes the style of the story if you go for a big amount. Have you read any of the guys that do western harem lit? I know a few of them go into many. I also know that according to polls some of the more vocal readers, some of the sweet spots are 3 members if in a short series, and 7 to 8 members if going long. You could do more, of course if you know what you're doing.

Going long, huh? My series is already past 1 mil words and it's still nowhere near the end. Guess I qualify.

If we look on the eastern side, Highschool DxD probably shows you a good path toward recruiting more into the harem.

Huh? I don't think Issei officially sleeps with any of them.

I don't think harems are impossible, just that they are improbable unless your MC is a giga-chad or very rich.

I think that all my MC's harems are girls that have tragic backstories. It fits well with him who also has a tragic backstory.

People with bad luck in life should stay together.

 

[StrongArm]

Reverse harem, but check out Chapter 17.

Hey Raki, ive read a few reverse harems even though i'm a guy. I used to be a big fan of the Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter novels by laurel k. hamilton. Despite being smutty, her books were pretty interesting and had a lot of cool action.

Anyway, I had a question for you since you write reverse harem. In a lot of reverse harems, the guys often compete for the MCs affection, but they almost never go beyond light competition. Some guys are down with polyamory, but most get furiously angry at the idea of 'their girl' messing around on them. They would beat the shit out of the other guys in a heartbeat & leave the girls in a lot of these situations.

I know thats the fantasy, to have a legion of hunky dudes worshipping at your altar and making the reader feel like a queen. (plus variety is the spice of life)

But have you ever read or thought about writing a realistic version where the dude is just like "fuck you, I'm out". I guess that wouldnt be too popular lol! But it would be hilarious and shock your readers. (plus, you would DEFINITELY get those 1 star ratings!) A horror version would be a reverse harem where the dudes go all yandere/crazy and kill each other and chain up the MC in the basement so they could love her forever.

Anyway, just a random thought I had and figured I'd ask you since you write reverse harem.

(p.s. i actually did read a little bit of Kaibas Prostitute - but i couldnt get into it because i never watched Yu-Gi-Oh)

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Historical harems arent as... consensual. Do you think Ghengis Khans harem girls had the ability to walk away? Kings and lords are generally tyrants. Tyrants are big on authoritarianism, not big on freedom. These girls were basically traded as sex objects to a king so their family can have a stronger position at court. It is what it is, that's our history - It was just how things were done back then. But dont kid yourself into thinking that most of those harem girls werent sex slaves.

And its not illogical to apply common sense to a fantasy world - they are still humans, and human psychology would remain mostly the same across worlds and cultures.

I don't think harems are impossible, just that they are improbable unless your MC is a giga-chad or very rich.

Bruh.

 

[Succubiome]

I don't think harems are impossible, just that they are improbable unless your MC is a giga-chad or very rich.

Actually, with this single sentence you've convinced me of the relative realism of harems in isekai power fantasy-- people with a ton of partners tend to be rich, powerful or high status in some way, with the number of partners and the kind of relationship dependent on their relative power as well as the culture of the time.

Most isekai protagonists are extremely powerful or high status in some way, so....

 

[ForestDweller]

Actually, with this single sentence you've convinced me of the relative realism of harems in isekai power fantasy-- people with a ton of partners tend to be rich, powerful or high status in some way, with the number of partners and the kind of relationship dependent on their relative power as well as the culture of the time.

Most isekai protagonists are extremely powerful or high status in some way, so....

Yep. Even my MC who keeps getting shat upon by the plot is one of the most powerful mages in the planet. At just 17 years old. He's rich as well from all the loot he got from his adventures.

 

[Sebas_Guzman]

Going long, huh? My series is already past 1 mil words and it's still nowhere near the end. Guess I qualify.



Huh? I don't think Issei officially sleeps with any of them.



I think that all my MC's harems are girls that have tragic backstories. It fits well with him who also has a tragic backstory.

People with bad luck in life should stay together.

Thanks to the alternate timeline storyline, we already know how this is going to go and who has Issei's children first, on top of how those children could relate to Issei and their mothers. Honestly, highschool DxD is a product of its time, but it has done a lot for harem light novels in the east.

Furthermore, this is a question about romantic relationships. If you're trying to figure out how to juggle eight active relationships in a light novel style story with a focus on battles, Highschool DxD IS the roadmap to reference. Reference how the girls get screen time and how a volume revolves around a girl. You can then go in and adjust what you need to add.
The problem in harem isn't the depiction of sex or not. It's the screentime problem. Without the screentime to develop them the girls will just be set pieces.

But yeah, your story could probably manage the eight. From a reader perspective, having a small amount for a long story might not jive with some. I think light novel readers would be fine with it since they're most used to conservative harems.

 

[StrongArm]

Bruh.

bruh what?

Actually, with this single sentence you've convinced me of the relative realism of harems in isekai power fantasy-- people with a ton of partners tend to be rich, powerful or high status in some way, with the number of partners and the kind of relationship dependent on their relative power as well as the culture of the time.

Most isekai protagonists are extremely powerful or high status in some way, so....

Yup, I agree - but that doesnt mean they are executed well

 

[ForestDweller]

Furthermore, this is a question about romantic relationships. If you're trying to figure out how to juggle eight active relationships in a light novel style story with a focus on battles, Highschool DxD IS the roadmap to reference. Reference how the girls get screen time and how a volume revolves around a girl. You can then go in and adjust what you need to add.
The problem in harem isn't the depiction of sex or not. It's the screentime problem. Without screentime the girls will just be set pieces.

Ah, this is exactly what I'm trying with my story. Every girl gets their own arc, their chance to shine and develop. That's why the story gets to be so long.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

bruh what?

BRUH - Sound Button

Click here to play the sound!

www.myinstants.com

 

[StrongArm]

BRUH - Sound Button

Click here to play the sound!

www.myinstants.com

oh my god thats hilarious. i cant stop pressing it...

Anyway, still dont know what you mean by it tho

 

[Sebas_Guzman]

Ah, this is exactly what I'm trying with my story. Every girl gets their own arc, their chance to shine and develop. That's why the story gets to be so long.

And I think this the approach to go for. Looking at trends that a publisher like Kadokawa promotes, we know this approach is the most profitable. Girls get their own arcs.
Thankfully, we also know serialized novel readers crave length, so this isn't bad if everyone knows they're reading a harem series. Again it comes to you. It's up to whether or not YOU have the stamina to deal with eight active relationships.

In a way, YOU are the protagonist trying to juggle the girls.
I guess, at that point, you should also know that if you put a girl in the harem, and can't really do anything with her, it's okay for her to slide into the background. They can't all be winning 100% of the time. Yeah, readers might be sad, but trying to force scenes with her is like trying to force someone into carnal relationships. it just isn't comfortable, to put it mildly and a little bit facestiously.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

oh my god thats hilarious. i cant stop pressing it...

Anyway, still dont know what you mean by it tho

Read what you wrote one more time. It was a certified bruh moment.

 

[StrongArm]

Read what you wrote one more time. It was a certified bruh moment.

you fuckin zoomer. Bruh is such a low energy thing to say. Arent you an author? Your teachers should have beat you more. Be specific with your criticisms 'bruh'

(note: my humor doesnt translate well in text form. I'm not pissed off, just curious and amused)

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Bruh is such a low energy thing to say.

This is why I answer with bruh. I don't have any energy anymore to write essays as an answer.

(note: my humor doesnt translate well in text form. I'm not pissed off, just curious and amused)

As usual, I didn't rate your joke, but if I had to, 1 star. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. If I can, I will answer them. (this is a joke and a reference to my feedback thread.)

Be specific with your criticisms 'bruh'

I don't have any criticism. I simply think you focus on wrong things, just like a lot of authors in this thread. Trying to enforce too much realism, using extremely specific examples, and other similar stuff. I think people and\or authors forget the main points.

 

[StrongArm]

This is why I answer with bruh. I don't have any energy anymore to write essays as an answer.

As usual, I didn't rate your joke, but if I had to, 1 star. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. If I can, I will answer them. (this is a joke and a reference to my feedback thread.)

I don't have any criticism. I simply think you focus on wrong things, just like a lot of authors in this thread. Trying to enforce too much realism, using extremely specific examples, and other similar stuff. I think people and\or authors forget the main points.

I like realism, I think older people might want more realism in their fiction as well - Thats why Game of Thrones was so damn popular. It was gritty and real and raw. Buuuut this probably boils down to personal taste, and I can concede that point.