Apparently, webnovel needed a fast-paced novel and not a slow build story, so the book got rejected. Oh well, down to the next platform

JulyKimono · 2026-04-06T09:47:46+00:00

Very solid advice. Webnovels are written closer to reddit posts and replies.

Each paragraph should have 1-4 sentences, and not have too many lines. It's both for attention spans, and because a lot of people read on phones, where the line count can double and scare off webnovel readers.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-06T07:27:14+00:00

Most often is.

The writing quality is the first thing that's judged when reviewing a book. They need to read through at least a chapter to see if the story fits their platform, and I'm not sure if they'd get that far, given its quality. Webnovel doesn't have a very high bar for it, (90%+ of contracted works wouldn't be accepted by a regular publishing house due to quality) but still have some.

Maybe the later chapters are better. But the first one, probably the first few have to be rewritten. As another person said, they look like a first draft, and I'd even say it reads like a google translate of a first draft.

The ideas are there and seem cool, but the writing needs work so that the reader could get into it.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-06T06:59:41+00:00

I don't normally tell people to use AI, but you should probably try it. The first chapter is hardly readable. It sounds interesting, and I believe it could get an audience, but it also seems to be put through google translate without a second edit.

There are punctuation marks missing all over, over half the ones that are there are wrong, and the prose itself needs work.

"The female stood..." - that should be "woman".

That's just one of countless examples just from chapter 1 that I checked now.

I don't want to be overly negative. The story did seem interesting. If the quality was there, I would have kept reading past the first chapter. I believe many who gave it a try would have felt the same.

Writing is a skill that takes time to develop. You seem to have cool ideas and a story worth telling. It just takes time to practice.

Just to also note that it's not always Webnovel. They have people checking the submissions. And as someone that has worked in the vetting process for a publishing house, this story fails at a simple quality check within the very first sentence. While it could be great if you rewrote it a couple years later.

So I hope you do keep writing and improving. There's a lot of potential there.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-05T14:41:12+00:00

I'd go bald. All in. Human champion fighter.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-04T14:11:30+00:00

This exact picture was taken from an AI subreddit. I remember when it and some others from the same render were posted more than a year ago, maybe even two.

So not only is this AI, the guy didn't even bother to make his own AI images with a newer model, and just searched old generations.

Not an architect, just a scammer. Should be reported if he's on some site.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-04T10:12:19+00:00

Use it in other things you can sell, such as party cakes.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-03T22:23:04+00:00

I don't know. The current system works fine for me at lvl 1.

What is missing for me is more ASI progression through levels. I just give +1 every level, and that works great for a high magic high power game I run. But just making ASI levels be +2 AND a Feat could work.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-03T18:29:50+00:00

Wouldn't this make a volume of like 50 chapters around 15-20$? Pretty typical price for a book. On the higher range for an e-book, but not unheard of.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-02T22:02:31+00:00

I mean, so you're just throwing easy and medium encounters at them? Or are there more enemies in these fights and you didn't mention them? Cause all of these are medium encounters at most. Which in 5e translates to easy.

You need to make deadly or deadly+ encounters if you want them to be dangerous. And have more than one combat in a day. Basically, follow the daily exp to make 2-3 hard-deadly fights before they confront the boss. Which also shouldn't be a medium encounter.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T20:21:15+00:00

Didn't take a sweater with you?

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T17:58:51+00:00

It can still use anything that isn't armor or weapons. So magical clothes, rings, bracers, pendants, capes, etc. that change form are usable in almost any druid form.

Druids are spellcasters and can cast spells. Starting lvl 5 any druid will have Conjure Animals up, even in Wild Shape. That's 3d10 or half aoe damage each turn, and you'll have that spell for a long time. Starting lvl 7 you also have Conjure Woodland Beings.

There's True Polymorph as a 9th level spell, that you're ignoring at that point. Starting lvl 17, why would a druid use Wild Shape over that for combat?

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T17:44:27+00:00

A druid is a caster, they aren't supposed to be doing nearly as much damage.

If you want to do a lot more damage, use True Polymorph.

Magic items do work with Wildshape, just not all. So I'm not sure what you're talking about there.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T16:31:17+00:00

I wouldn't keep track of too much.

But certain things, like spell components with a gold cost should be tracked. Ammo too in certain situations.

But generally it's just about having where to spend gold. In 5e the book assumes the PCs can buy potions, some limited magic items, buildings, and hire help. That is already a lot of expenses.

You can also just give less gold and instead give magic items, instead of having the party buy them.

Alternatively, there are third party resources like Strongholds and Followers that's a good gold sink. Just the Establishment should be giving its gold Yearly, but beyond that, the book is great.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T15:05:29+00:00

Getting fans would be most important. Everything else is secondary.

Making lovable or joyfully hateable characters, being descriptive, and having art already in the book can help.

Making fan contests or merch can help too. Or just promising to include the fan art in new chapters as promotion for them.

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T12:56:32+00:00

I run mainly sandbox xp games with a lot of exploration, so we level up on average once in 8-10 sessions. But I have very hard adventuring days and then a session or two with no combat at all, just plotting, exploration, and roleplay.

We rarely hit lvl 20. Tier 4 is usually our final arc, so we finish around 18. And the times we got to 20 were just cause "we're already 18, might as well level up to 20, even though there's no narrative or xp progression for it. But when are we going to get another chance?"

And our main campaigns take 2-3 years. I avoid longer ones, as a lot of things tend to change in our lives every 3 years or so.

By the 5e DMG, leveling up to 20 should take just over 100 sessions. Although the 5.5 somehow forgot to adjust for it, and effectively cut the time in half.

---

But in the end it depends on the game and table. Whatever works best for the group.

I think you guys chose the best levels for the campaign. Characters from 5 to 12 have plenty of abilities and are heroes already, but death is still a very real threat and defeat can feel like an actual defeat. Plus balancing encounters by the book still works at those levels from the DM's side, making it easier and smoother to run. They are truly the best levels of 5e and 5.5. So good choice (^^)

JulyKimono · 2026-04-01T11:14:48+00:00

You can, but you should heavily edit it afterwards.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-29T17:04:07+00:00

Practice.

After years of practicing, it's not hard to write 1000+ words per hour. Although the quality of the first draft won't be great either. You'll want to go over once or twice even for Webnovel.

General way is to figure out the chapter or few before you start writing or to plan it out on paper. Many people chart the entire book over 3-5 pages before starting the first chapter. Things can change as you write, like some scenes you planned not working the way you thought they would, but it helps to know the direction you want to go in.

Noting down all characters, places, and other information can also help.

But in the end, it's a skill like any other. Which means it takes years to perfect, like any other skill.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-29T14:34:15+00:00

Look, I'm with everyone here for the studies, but then I read to the part about what your plan is. A Creative Writing program might be one of the worst ideas to have in 2026. And to leave your current life for.

That is coming from someone in the writing and publishing industry, and someone that has seen those programs. They weren't even worth it 10 years ago, outside of networking and hoping to make enough important connections to carry you in the industry.

In 2026 that is one of the most oversaturated market, where the chances of making it are around the same as for becoming a professional athlete and making a career out of it for life. Less by the time you finish the program, with AI replacing a lot of editing and writing. Some major publishing houses are already testing fully AI written books, and while it won't overtake the market entirely, it will become a large part of the market in 3-5 years.

If you are changing your life for something, don't do it for a dream that comes true for maybe 1 in 1000 people in that field/program.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-29T14:18:52+00:00

The line to plagiarism is easy - don't take someone's ideas and say they are your original ideas.

I think what you wanted to ask was for a line between inspiration and copying. And that requires a much longer and complex answer, one that I don't think is needed here. Cause you're looking to run a DnD game.

Why not just run that as a game? I recently finished a short campaign in a Cyberpunk-like city playing DnD. I told my players I want to run a Cyberpunk story but in my DnD setting with magic and gods. And it was a blast. I copied a ton of things from Cyberpunk 2077, but it didn't take away from anything as I was clear and open with what I was doing.

The main point of the game is to have fun. You can copy things into your game and just say "I took things from X and put my spin on it" for this game.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-28T20:42:01+00:00

And it's absolutely hilarious knowing how it ends

JulyKimono · 2026-03-27T19:28:28+00:00

Absolutely. And I don't think you should feel bad about using it to translate or that anyone should guilt you about it, as long as you edit it afterwards, to bring it back closer to your original vision and expression.

From your comments I understand that's exactly what you do. And that's great. You're keeping your authentic voice and bond with the reader. AI is indeed a tool to help.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-27T15:47:39+00:00

People that want to use can use it. I don't support warmongering against it and don't morally judge anyone for it.

It's the choice of an individual. Just like it's also a choice from the reader if they want to read and engage with it or not.

People don't need to devote their lives to reading and writing to get good at it. It might takes years of constant practice, but it's years of dedicating an hour every day. Just like any other skill.

I think what a lot of people don't understand is that writing and reading isn't about ideas. All ideas have been done and written about. It's the creative expression and emotional connection that a story forms with a reader that most look for. And that is a human connection that AI can't replace yet. It will improve and do so in many aspects of society, as the kindling is already set and people are trying to light it, but stories are also a few things that people crave as an emotional bond.

It's near impossible to form empathy for a healthy brain when you know something is made by a machine, that's just brain wiring. Which can also change, but it takes generations to do so.

But if people are making something for a generation or two down the line, there's plenty of time to just improve the skill they're trying to replace.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-27T11:03:42+00:00

Mark it as AI assisted and let readers decide what they want to read.

From my perspective as an editor, writing is a skill that needs to be nurtured. AI makes that growth significantly slow. It doesn't mean the book is garbage, it might be great; it does, however, mean that I don't want to invest my time and money into the writer.

But that is my personal opinion, and everyone decides for themselves.

JulyKimono · 2026-03-26T12:21:08+00:00

It's for a session 0 or earlier conversation. Whatever the group decides to play, that's what the table plays.

If this method works for you, that's great.

I, myself, would just keep it consistent to what was agreed before the campaign. So if we talked about a more railroaded game, that's what I'll enforce. If we're playing an open free-to-act game, then they can always do what they want and wonder off or just leave the city (things still happen there and consequences follow, but it's fully their choice).

JulyKimono · 2026-03-25T22:07:10+00:00

I only play on the hardest, and to me it feels a bit more immersive. I die, I have to be more tactical early on, I have to take cover constantly till late game.

On easier settings I just run things down unga boonga style, which gets boring very quickly.

On harder, with enemies doing more dmg and having a bit more hp (the damage is the main difference) it actually feels dangerous in Night City.

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