Should I..?

[cRiNgE]

I wrote a good narrative recently, the story building was very good and all, but then I thought of something that made me hesitate to continue writing. It was romance, and more precisely, the idea of boys love.

I actually haven't thought of having the genre involved, but it just, came. I was planning on having either a normal love-relationship involved or a girls love type of romance, and If I did, it'd be late romance. It's because the story I was writing is a sci-fi story that had action as well, so I didn't want to make too much space for 'romance'[plus romance is secondary for me].

I later realized that the MC of the story isn't a girl, and then this idea came, so I wasn't sure if I should put it or not.

Frankly speaking, this genre is very new to me. I honestly never thought of it before, but since I'm a writer, and I take writing seriously, I wanted to write about something I never wrote about as a new experience.

I was debating[to myself] whether to have the MC would be in a relationship with a woman, or a man.

Now, I know that everyone has their own opinions, and that's why many wouldn't like the idea. But before you guys would say/write anything, I want to say that since this genre is new to me, I'd much more prefer to make it emotional than to have it physical[I just dislike it].

So do you think I should?
[I just want to know your opinions, that doesn't mean that you're the one who will decide for me.]

 

[Maple-Leaf]

Go for it. Or don't. If there isn't sex nobody cares.

(Just kidding. Do whatever you want, but I'd recommend thinking about the personality of the lover, and whether you think it'd suit the way you write males, or the way you write females, better.)

 

[Owl]

If your characters are actual characters and not copy-paste stereotypes like many light novels, then different genders make for interesting different dynamics. As Maple-Leaf says, try thinking about how you'd like the lover to be. Consider, in your setting, how a man would grow up and how a woman would grow up to roughly achieve the personality you want. Think about what it means - if it's two guys, is it going to create a conflict in your story because homosexuality still isn't "normal"? Would you like the conflict it creates, or would it not matter?
If it's a woman, how are the disparities in treatment dealt with? Do women get different treatment in your setting, how does your MC react to that?
Just try thinking about what kind of dynamic is fun. Think about some potential love interests, both man and woman, and try playing around with which dynamic you like best.

As for fluff, people love fluff. It's fine. It doesn't need to be physical (though you should have a kiss, that much is kinda expected :P)
You could form it like a evolved bromance, that kind of thing is also nice and not too hard for someone unused to the genre. All in all, the main difference between BL, GL and hetero romance is the different dynamics (if you exclude physical scenes), so focus on that

 

[cRiNgE]

If your characters are actual characters and not copy-paste stereotypes like many light novels, then different genders make for interesting different dynamics. As Maple-Leaf says, try thinking about how you'd like the lover to be. Consider, in your setting, how a man would grow up and how a woman would grow up to roughly achieve the personality you want. Think about what it means - if it's two guys, is it going to create a conflict in your story because homosexuality still isn't "normal"? Would you like the conflict it creates, or would it not matter?
If it's a woman, how are the disparities in treatment dealt with? Do women get different treatment in your setting, how does your MC react to that?
Just try thinking about what kind of dynamic is fun. Think about some potential love interests, both man and woman, and try playing around with which dynamic you like best.

As for fluff, people love fluff. It's fine. It doesn't need to be physical (though you should have a kiss, that much is kinda expected :P)
You could form it like a evolved bromance, that kind of thing is also nice and not too hard for someone unused to the genre. All in all, the main difference between BL, GL and hetero romance is the different dynamics (if you exclude physical scenes), so focus on that

yeah, I definitely agree. I also checked out some of the work of other people to understand this idea, but I didn't think that I'd meet one of them so soon[btw I loved your work, wasn't it 'the grandmaster's weird disciple'? I find the MC of the story interesting] :)

 

[cRiNgE]

Go for it. Or don't. If there isn't sex nobody cares.

(Just kidding. Do whatever you want, but I'd recommend thinking about the personality of the lover, and whether you think it'd suit the way you write males, or the way you write females, better.)

Thanks for your opinion! :D I thought so too.

 

[Owl]

yeah, I definitely agree. I also checked out some of the work of other people to understand this idea, but I didn't think that I'd meet one of them so soon[btw I loved your work, wasn't it 'the grandmaster's weird disciple'? I find the MC of the story interesting] :)

Yep, it's one of mine :D Glad that you liked my little murder-baby!
Always happy to drag people to the dark side, haha. (Just kidding. I just like the dynamics better + I'm more comfortable writing male chars anywayyyy...)

 

[CupcakeNinja]

I wrote a good narrative recently, the story building was very good and all, but then I thought of something that made me hesitate to continue writing. It was romance, and more precisely, the idea of boys love.

I actually haven't thought of having the genre involved, but it just, came. I was planning on having either a normal love-relationship involved or a girls love type of romance, and If I did, it'd be late romance. It's because the story I was writing is a sci-fi story that had action as well, so I didn't want to make too much space for 'romance'[plus romance is secondary for me].

I later realized that the MC of the story isn't a girl, and then this idea came, so I wasn't sure if I should put it or not.

Frankly speaking, this genre is very new to me. I honestly never thought of it before, but since I'm a writer, and I take writing seriously, I wanted to write about something I never wrote about as a new experience.

I was debating[to myself] whether to have the MC would be in a relationship with a woman, or a man.

Now, I know that everyone has their own opinions, and that's why many wouldn't like the idea. But before you guys would say/write anything, I want to say that since this genre is new to me, I'd much more prefer to make it emotional than to have it physical[I just dislike it].

So do you think I should?
[I just want to know your opinions, that doesn't mean that you're the one who will decide for me.]

Science fiction huh? Make it a story where the MC is a woman who got a cool upgrade to her body where she has a prosthetic penis attached to her vagina. Not a sex change. A body mod.Aw yeah.

Title it..."The Girl with the Dragon Cock"

 

[TheHelpfulFawn]

Buy a sword?

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I say let the characters guide you. Listen to them.

 

[Stratothrax]

Who cares what others think, write from the heart, write what you like not what others like.

 

[Queenfisher]

+___+

I guess I agree with all others if this is what you really want to do. You do you, after all.

But if you want advice from a person in the exact same situation you were in and one who chose to do it -- I'm afraid it might not be exactly worth it.

My book also was not meant to be BL when I first created the plot and the character arcs and structured it all. It's a mystery plot and Game of Thrones kind of scheming with many twists. But as I pondered in which direction my MC would move, I also came to the realization that BL would be a great addition to the story.

It was and kind of wasn't. I love what the book is turning into and I wouldn't do it any other way (and I love that I still have some readers who enjoy such a weird Frankenstory), but the Web Fiction business is not very forgiving to people who are unsure what genre specifically they are writing.

In short, if you want to write non-BL story or a story in which BL is only a minor element, write it without the BL. Maybe give it a side-tag of "BL subplot" if you want but don't tag it with the main genre.

And if you want to write BL -- write BL from the start. Like, it has to be in the very way you structure and develop your novel. It's a distinct genre with its distinct tropes and its audience that expects at least some of these tropes. Or they will leave you.

If you do it 50/50 or "eh, I am unsure" in the web fiction format, you are going to make it so much harder for you to succeed with your target audience(s). Not impossible, just unnecessarily longer and much more nerve-wracking. In web novels, there is always competition that gives your potential readers exactly what you do, only better and faster. If your book doesn't satisfy them 100% very early on, they will leave you.

For me, it was like this:

Spoiler

"I am just writing a normal story + some BL, nya-nya-nya" -->

"Wait, I just found out that people get annoyed if they are sneak-BL-ed in the middle of the story when you didn't warn them about it at the beginning?" -->

"Gotta put the [BL] tag in there and warn everyone from the beginning that it has BL in it or I will have some very grumpy readers later!" -->

"Now I am officially BL and almost nobody outside BL audience will read me? Ok..." -->

"Wait, now that I am BL but my story doesn't have many BL-elements and tropes until much, MUCH LATER in the story -- the BL audience won't read me too because they expect it to begin sooner?" -->

"Did I just personally halve both my potential audiences for no reason?" -->

"OH SH--!"

It's like falling deeper and deeper into a trap I made myself and one I cannot escape no matter how I try because I structured the book wrongly from the start ^^.

In the end, I had to restructure entire arcs, rewrite chapters, sometimes from scratch, draft and redraft, torment myself with word-count going off limits because I have to fit into each and every chapter both the BL elements my story was originally not meant for, and the plot elements that the story's carcass cannot survive without -- and it just didn't need to be this complicated for me as an author.

When I'll write another BL web novel in the future (in the far future, because restructuring an entire book from ground up WHILE I am publishing it takes ALL of my free time away) -- I will just write it as BL from the get-go. I love my current book and my small niche of readers, but GODS it did not need to be this hard and frustrating @_@.


P.S.: Ignore this advice if you are writing for traditional publishing. I actually came from traditional-novel writing, and putting random BL ,Gl, and GenderBender in my books there is no big deal. Like, if a person bought your book already, they will just have no choice but read it till the end, LOL. With Web Novels, it's different. If something miffs the reader at the start (the book doesn't fit the genre expectations -- most commonly), readers will just abandon you, leaving you in writerly depression because you lose so many readers all the time without knowing why,

I hope this helps with your decision...? If you need some additional advice, you can PM me because some of these issues were very hard for me to realize and took quite some time... Talking about all of them here makes me go into my wall-of-text mode...

 

[BenJepheneT]

If Guillermo del Toro can make love between a janitor and a fish, you too, can make anything.

In other words, as long as it's organically developed and not hamfisted, it's alright. Or you wanna make it emotionally empty and all fluff, it's also your choice.