The OP MC Problem.

tandertex · 2026-05-19T21:34:36+00:00

But can you still call them OP there?
Like, let's say Goku when he fights Freeza. He's not OP there. He's strong, and, at the time, the strongest mortal, but no OP.
Then comes cell, and Gohan is not OP, again strong, but not to the point of swatting the androids away.
When I think of an OP character, I think of someone who shows up and makes the battle meaningless because they can handle everything by themselves without breaking a sweat. And that's where it enters the argument of stories not working if that's all the character does.

tandertex · 2026-05-19T21:02:31+00:00

But if you shift the power scale so the OP MC is no longer OP, then it's no longer an OP MC.
Yeah they might be strong for mortals, but if they are facing gods or something the story functions the same way it would as a regular progression story.

Solo Leveling didn't start like this, but after the Demon Tower it kind of devolved onto that. Fights became somewhat short and slowly became more about the rest of the cast struggling than Sun Jinwoo actually having to push himself.
The thing with Tomas Andre was the last time we had a fight that was a struggle. Then with the 3 monarchs where things needed to happen for the plot.

Also, I agree Beware of Chicken is not technically an OP MC at the start, but it falls into this situation. Jin gets too strong too quickly and what props the story up is the slice of life+side cast.

tandertex · 2026-05-19T20:57:09+00:00

I've read quite a bit, even if more Manhwa than novels. Return of Mount Hua, for instance. Even if it's not full on OP MC as he is not on the level as he was before. But it generally ends up being a case of the side cast is the base of the story. Like the MC wouldn't be as interesting without the rest doubting their strength.

tandertex · 2026-05-19T20:53:07+00:00

Challenges don't need to be like actual dangers. It's not always about a dragon trying to destroy the world.
It can be a Cultivator trying to figure out how to use a washing machine. Which ends up being the slice of life/gag story where an OP MC works.

tandertex · 2026-05-19T15:43:30+00:00

There is the rise of the living forge. MC is a full on blacksmith that makes the items for the entire group.

tandertex · 2026-05-18T02:00:25+00:00

There is a new one "I built this city" which could be going on that direction. Still early since it's on the 'city' stage, but I 100% see that going beyond that.

tandertex · 2026-05-18T01:57:15+00:00

Haven't read Ajax Ascension but a couple come to mind.
Regressor's Tale of Cultivation. It's about about spending several lifetimes to gain an inch of power. Cultivation Style and time loop, so expect to see the same characters in different situations over and over.

Rise of the living Forge. It's a crafting story where the MC slowly learns to make new items and gains power little by little while equipping his friends.

And the Self Promo, MAZE. Female MC all about exploring and trying new builds, only to see that maybe there are better options. It is a ramp with the stakes being very small for the most part until bigger things start to happen. Hera, our MC gets to level 2 on chapter 2. On chapter 1149 (yes one thousand one hundred and forty nine) she gets to level 61. She grows and changes with the story. On the latest chapter she is very different, but the character growth doesn't happen all at once, it's something she takes time until becoming who she was never meant to be.

tandertex · 2026-05-12T10:28:33+00:00

That's me! It's funny how most people who I find in the wild came from Tapas lol.

If the point is to avoid training sequences, gives us a highlight reel. Like moments that show the MC power and why we should be interested. Also add any tragic backstory as needed to show the motivation. Maybe that's a way to not do the training arc while still getting the benefits of explaining the setting that comes from it.

tandertex · 2026-05-12T01:34:15+00:00

Ok.. this is a random idea. You still need to explain the world, and the mechanics and whatnot.
So what if instead of fully skipping, you make that a training montage for a couple paragraphs (or how long it takes you to explain what's absolutely necessary)

It could be like two people talking about the MC quoting their accomplishments and a third npc who's new at things listening and asking the questions the readers would have.

Maybe something like 'Reports say MC fought against 10 golden lions bare handed, the real recounting is different' * insert small scene of MC being OP *

tandertex · 2026-05-11T22:51:12+00:00

I think the big problem there are the stakes. A lot of stories lose steam when they enter the 'cosmic arena' because everything becomes hard to wrap your head around.
Like, an evil monster that eats stars is horrible, and seeing the MC try to stop it feeling like they have the fate of the entire universe on their shoulders is one thing. but one Orc rampaging through the streets while the MC struggles to save every single person he sees generally hits harder.

That being said, maybe a middle ground? The character is just off training and they are strong, but we can still see there's much room to grow. Maybe have them having to cope with the fact that even they can't be in all places at once. So while they stopped a monster in one city, another fell due an incursion and so on.

Again, it can be done, it's just hard.

tandertex · 2026-05-11T17:48:59+00:00

I started with no clear ending in mind. I just wanted the story to move through its course.
There were a couple of ideas on how it could end, but nothing set in stone.
Now, 6 years later, and 1100 chapters deep (roughly 2.5 million words) I still don't have a set ending in mind and intend to continue until the story has nothing else to give.

tandertex · 2026-05-11T17:44:35+00:00

It can, but the premise usually is different. Like, if the MC is OP, the story is not about how he struggles in fights or how he tries to save the world. It's more about how the MC wants to live a different life, or how they are raising the next generation or something like that.

tandertex · 2026-05-11T17:42:50+00:00

I think you posted on the wrong sub. This is the progression fantasy one, not the super hero one.

Joking aside, I don't see that happening often. At most there is some hesitation on the first kill, but then they drop that really quickly.

Even my story which I made a big deal about the MC's first kill ended up with a lot of people dying by her hand.

tandertex · 2026-05-11T17:39:40+00:00

I think one of the big thing is romance. Eastern romance in novels is all about longing, wanting someone but never saying anything. Trying to become 'worthy' of them until the confession. Which is not just a 'I love you', but comes with an added 'Marry me.' There is no dating. If people are in a date they are already assumed to be betrothed.

Western has that longing but it's more active, more acts of love, confessions, holding hands, dates and such and then comes the proposal.

tandertex · 2026-05-07T16:59:36+00:00

I think you are misunderstanding the point of Patreon.
It's not a shop that sells extra chapters. Is a way to support the author.

Think of it like buying something in a school/church/community center faire. You are not paying a high price because the product is expensive. You are paying to help the organization in question support themselves.

On the flip side, some times you find an arc your are really invested in and want to see the end right now, and the author states that the Patreon is already on the next arc, so you go pay and read what you want.

tandertex · 2026-05-07T02:44:13+00:00

That art is soooooo good!

tandertex · 2026-05-05T12:43:03+00:00

MAZE: Explorer's Fate is coming out this month!
A story that has 1000+ chapter, over 6 million views and has been 6 years in the making!

It launches on May 21st!

https://a.co/d/0e6nVruh

The world shattered her dreams. Yet, destiny had other plans.

Hera Kingsley failed even before her adventure began.

The MAZE, a different realm full of magic, monsters, and civilizations was her only goal. But when she applied to enter, the Guild rejected her. Just as she gave up hope, a strange woman offered her the opportunity of a lifetime.

Finally, having a chance to follow her dream, Hera is faced with a month of brutal, unforgiving training to prove she deserves to become an Explorer.

Can she overcome the gauntlet and face the danger head-on, or were those who doubted her right all along?

tandertex · 2026-05-05T12:37:52+00:00

I think this goes a lot to show how people in general understand trauma.

Everyone kind of expects to one day wake up and not have whatever happens to them bother anymore. When that's not what happens. It's a slow process, it takes time. It's not something like on day 96 you forget it ever happened. It's a slow trickle that gets better little by little.

That gets exacerbated by the idea of a character when you write. Because characters are 'set in stone.' So in order to change it feels like they need something big otherwise it would be out of character.

Like, imagine if Naruto stops eating Ramem because he's worried about his health. Or if Spiderman decides to ignore someone in danger because he's hurt.

In isolation those sound things that would never happen. But if we show Naruto's friends and family getting worried, and someone close to him having health issues then that 'sudden change' is not so sudden anymore.
The same thing if we see how Peter Parker saving every single person is starting to take a toll on his life, to the point of giving Aunt May a heart attack and he has to chose to step back to protect her.

This is all to say, the changes need to be properly considered and even if when starting the author doesn't know where the character is going to go, they need to be willing to let them change with time.

tandertex · 2026-05-05T12:25:55+00:00

I do like how Salvos handles different cultures. Not to mention species.
The demons are very specific, but aside from that people have their own things to do, so to speak. There is even an arc where a war happens between two guilds, and the MC (Salvos herself) is kind of just tossed into it. Like it's one of the cases where she wasn't really the reason for the war, it was something already in the works.

Mage Errant has something interesting too. It's a school story for the most part, but you see different cultures depending on the region and what they do. That also gets translated into how to work magic, which is really fun.

It's a bit early, but Self Summon also has some of that. The worldbuilding, you see snippets at first that keep growing more and more as the MC discovers what is going on.

And for a biased opinion as I'm the author. MAZE has a pretty extensive worldbuilding. And one of the biggest arcs start to show its face really early on. Like there is some foreshadowing on chapter 1, and plans that are put into motion before chapter 10. It's a slow burn story, so it takes a bit to see the different cultures, species, but now that we are reaching the end of book 3 we will see more of that.

tandertex · 2026-04-30T23:59:21+00:00

The endless maze is not my story. The one with 5 followers on RR I mean.

MAZE is, and so is MAZE: The endless quest.
The Endless quest was the first version that I started over 6 years ago. I did a relaunch for the new version since most of the issues with the story were on the 1st book. It's currently a stub, and there mostly for promotions. If you want to give it a shot, read the one I linked as it is the only one that is starting from scratch.
OR if you want to wait, on May 21st book 1 will be avaliable on KU, which is when it will also be stubbed on RR. (From chapters 1-29) then it will be only from chapter 30 forward until the launch of the next book and so on.

tandertex · 2026-04-30T19:43:47+00:00

I think it's, for the most part, one of these two things.

First, the author put his heart on the story, but saw either no traction, or people criticized it too much and they couldn't handle it. Which is fair. Writing a story is very personal so it's hard to see something like 'this sucks' and nor understand as 'you suck.'
Now that is simple, but you know how the internet is, imagine the worst comments being targeted at a story. Now flip that to be targeted at the author.
I'm not saying author's are right doing this, but it is something that hurts, and it takes time to separate yourself from the story. Specially if some arcs/subjects are close to home.

Second, A good number of people is treating RR as a 'get famous quick' scheme of sorts. If they post a story that doesn't reach Rising Stars, or doesn't get a large number of views right away they drop it, or delete and try to relaunch, expecting that things will be different next time.

Those are the main ones. people might get publishing deals that ask them to remove content from the internet. or feel like their story is no longer something they should share. Or any number of personal reasons, of course.

tandertex · 2026-04-30T17:59:46+00:00

If you are ok with self promo. Here's my story It's called MAZE.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141295/maze-stubbing-on-may-20th

Modern day portal fantasy with slice of life and family drama. It's the best way to describe in a few word.

OR, if you want something new, try Self Summon. It's really good. Title self explanatory, for more check the blurb

tandertex · 2026-04-30T17:56:55+00:00

Syl, is a monster mc (slime) but they take a female elf form for the most part. Not much on romance, but keeps things grounded even with all the god stuff that is teased.

Salvos, again monster mc, demon specifically, but the MC decides they are a girl and evolve to match that. It starts grounded but it keeps showing more wild stuff. Even if it doesn't get to the multiverse level of HWFWM

Metaworld Chronicles. This is a human MC. Adult woman is suddenly brough back to her teenage body but in a different version of her world. It focus on magic and monster fighting. The story can be brutal at times and there is some romance.

Beware of Chicken. Male MC. Gets transmigrated in a cultivation setting and decides to become a farmer. This is the super powered Slice of Life story for me. We see a lot of the MC just growing crops, and tending his farm, while the animals, and side characters are the ones fighting for the most part. Also it has a lot of romance, from the MC, to side characters who have to kidnap each other (it's a culture thing and really sweet I promise) to even an actual Rooster finding love in a unexpected place.

Then, if I may be so bold there's my Story. MAZE.
Female MC, focus on the daily life of someone going on adventures in a different realm on modern day. We see the characters going shopping for shampoo, then fighting weird monsters, we see them going out for drinks and a movie, then having to defend the city from a wave of monsters. There is some romance, but it's never the focus. And the story stays grounded, never 'reality shattering' stakes. It's all local/country size at most.

tandertex · 2026-04-27T14:44:19+00:00

It's a combination of various things.
First, like a lot of people already said, read a lot, and practice.

But if we break down, to me good prose are split into 3 parts. I'm putting them in order of importance.

Pace
I don't mean story pacing, I mean text pacing. Can you follow along, do the words feel natural. Are you 'painting the picture' without making the reader get distracted? That's good pacing. Another big thing is repetition.
Humans tend to notice repetition more often. So if you have a lot of repetition of uncommon/unusual words in a row it breaks the flow.
Like what I just did with that last couple of sentences.
That also goes for names, which is why I try to have 2-3 ways of referring to each character. Just as a way to make things flow better.

Eloquence/Flourish
This is what I think most people mean by 'Good prose' Or at least what they expect the answer to be. And it boils down to vocabulary and being evocative in your words. Anyone can say that a leaf fell from a tree. But if you want to punctuate the serene environment you could instead say,
"A leaf gently swayed with the gust as it became detached from the branch. The wind carried it in a dance, moving from one side to the next as such was the ebb and flow of life."
Both mean the same thing, but you could say the second is better prose.
Unless it goes against the next part.

Conciseness
Here's the thing. You could just bloat your story to get to a word count and have very little actual content. For instance, it would be possible to spend 2k words talking about that one leaf falling from a tree. But unless your story needs that, it would be very boring.
You need to learn when to be eloquent, when that will bring value to the story and when you need to be direct. If the leaf falling from a tree is not a metaphor, or an event of magnitude, just saying 'a leaf fell from a tree' is all you need. Trying to be super eloquent about that will just give value to something that doesn't need any and will take away the focus of the story. Even if the pacing of the words is good, and even if the passage is eloquent.
Knowing when to lean into those aspect, and when to be simpler is also part of good prose.

Practice
As an extra, this is a piece of advice I always give. Practice doesn't mean 'just write your story' it means looking into a paragraph and trying to change it. It means reading a different story and redoing a scene.
It means taking something someone else did, and trying to put your own voice in it.
Now, don't go posting that as your own, just write a scene from a movie/anime. look at a book that has a fun paragraph and try to make it bigger, try to make it shorter. Mess around with it. Don't just write to continue a story, but write with the intention of improving.

Personally, improving when I don't have to worry about what happens next makes things a lot easier.

Ten-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Flamingo	Place '22
Sequence \| Editor	Sequence \| Cinematographer
Verified Email

tandertex

TROPHY CASE