How'd you keep your story fresh after hundreds of chapters?

MrOwl 2020-08-13 22:51:18 UTC #21

I'M A DRAGON!!! lmao, plot convenience I guess.

Please do it, list 'em all. xD

Aykay 2020-08-13 23:12:36 UTC #22

Firstly Zeref is super powerful. It take a lot before Natsu is able to stand toe to toe. That battle shows that Natsu was about even with Zeref. But then Zeref gets the fairy heart a limitless source of magic. Zeref is then much more powerful than Natsu. Natsu beats him. After exhausting a bunch of his energy because he burns his feelings....what the hell does that even mean?

Hiro Mashima was like here ya go. If you don't like it screw you. Dragon slayers rule. Like I get battle shounen the power of friendship, there's an extent where that works it awesome I get. And then there's what happen in that fight. Natsu has exhausted his magic and Zeref has limitless magic now. He was already freakin ridiculously strong. Natsu power of friendship beats him as if the fact that it's limitless magic means absolutely nothing.

Fairy Heart could power the faces forever. Natsu's friendship power is greater than that. Natsu's friendship power is greater than infinity fairy nukes. It feels like he wrote himself into a wall and then said good guys win power of friendship.

And then Acnalogia doubles down on that. Acnalogia could devour everything. Well super power of friends himself plus the power of dragon slayers equals whatever the hell I want it to.

Like the fairy heart could have rejected Zeref considering who it came from and Zeref's whole motif that would have made sense even more so if it powered up Natsu since he's fighting for fairy tail and embodies its heart in that moment. But nah.

Acanalogia was beefed up to be too strong same issue with Zeref. This has to do with power scale. In fact I watched a video which explained the issue with constant increases of power scale for the next enemy because eventually you get I can make universes disappear by blinking and then you get some who's like I never blink so I win.

MrOwl 2020-08-13 23:24:25 UTC #23

I FCKING CAN'T xDDDDD POWER OF FRIENDSHIP > GODLIKE POWERS

Yep, fairy tail's next villain will throw galaxies at them, break the universe apart, but friendship trumps them all, fck decades of hardwork, talent, or whatever else the villain had to do like sell his soul.

Aykay 2020-08-13 23:35:42 UTC #24

The ending was a very non ending. Hiro Mashima continued with the thousand year quest which revolves around dragon eaters. I haven't read any of it though.

Mob Psycho does a good job of using types like even if your strong someone who fights a certain way can win one of the best and most hilarious examples is Reigan's self defense rush.

Also I feel like I need to point this out. I don't necessarily hate power scale. Some epic and awesome stuff happens. But this has do with planning. Again actions have consequence. If a character is powerful what does that do how does that effect everyone they come against.

Throughout the entire series I had a hard time telling what the scale of Natsu and Co.s powers were. And this make certain things in the series a little problematic for me. Also Natsu can't beat Erza but at the same time comes off as stronger than her like 7/10 or 8/10 times. Remember she blocked Demon Natsu and Demon slayer Gray's attack at the same time....so what's the power scale?

I also feel like I'm super casually spoiling Fairy tail for people.

MrOwl 2020-08-14 00:53:12 UTC #25

I like Erza very much, but she's like Natsu, she always wins in the end, maybe she's the true main character/MC, some people say that the real "MC" is Lucy instead of Natsu, because she's the first character to show up, and the diary thing, so I'd rather bet on Erza, she's way too OP.

Possum 2020-08-14 01:10:42 UTC #26

Plan ahead! Know what your main plot is and be happy writing it. Then find little subplots you enjoy and can go on tangents on. For an episodic format it is really useful!

MrOwl 2020-08-14 01:20:12 UTC #27

Thank you, What do I do if the subplot gets more interesting to me, than the main plot? do I drop it anyway? create a spin-off? something else?

Possum 2020-08-14 01:38:51 UTC #28

If you were writing a Novel to be published under a big publisher, I'd not recommend letting yourself get swept up in a subplot. But this is Tapas and stuffs supposed to be in episodes, so take advantage of it and do what's comfortable!

MrOwl 2020-08-14 01:48:31 UTC #29

Thanks, then I can turn the subplot into main plot since it's Tapas, right?

Possum 2020-08-14 01:50:13 UTC #30

Maybe! I've read a few comics where the mainplots resolved and the subplots go on, but it can be a bit off to the reader as the characters they're attached to no longer have anything to do. That's actually how I feel about the BL Manhwa Here U Are. The main plot got resolved and now I'm having to read about side characters I don't really care too much about because the main 2 characters were the reason I was reading it in the first place.

MrOwl 2020-08-14 01:59:34 UTC #31

I see, then maybe it's best to do this as an anthology?

Aykay 2020-08-14 02:58:42 UTC #32

The series is essentially Lucy narrating one of her stories of something that happened. Just like how Yu yu hakusho is a recording they made of Yuksuke s adventures called the spirit files.

BreakingChalk 2020-08-14 03:01:52 UTC #33

If we are talking of a story of hundreds of chapters, I'd go for the Jojo formula and change the main character for another one while keeping characters from previous arcs and keep developing the world from the point where the first MC stopped being the MCC, but still adding new elements that work with what was previously stablished.

Otherwise it's easier to fall into exaggeration (Homer being annoying, Naruto becoming god, etc)

Possum 2020-08-14 03:15:53 UTC #34

Potentially! Be creative, you're in a medium of flexibility! If it doesn't work, it's not hte end of the world!

Inspector_Spinda 2020-08-14 05:08:56 UTC #35

If you're getting bored after a few issues is it the concept that is lacking, your ideas or are short comics just your personal preference? Not everyone needs to or should do a super long comic. It may just not be your thing. But assuming the issue is one of the others I mentioned, it is important to have a very large concept to start off. If the world isn't large and developed it may be hard or even impossible to keep a story going and have it still be good. And when I say world, this includes the characters too. Most episodic shows can't go on forever and if they do they surely decline in quality after some time. And shows with stories don't tend to last forever, at least not without a lot of filler. I guess the best place to look for ideas of how to make a longer story that has a story is manga like Naruto and One Piece, though the quality of those shows are debated.

in short i'd say it's important to have a deep world and figure out different stories you can tell while exploring it. either that or have a single story with lots of depth that takes a long time to tell. pepper in those character moments and slice of life.

MrOwl 2020-08-15 04:40:55 UTC #36

Do you know those shows from Netflix that ends with 1 season, and they only have 10 episodes or less? I like this sort of stuff a lot now, because when I was younger I wasted a lot of time watching hundreds of anime, and I even caught up with One Piece jfc, long form storytelling is not my thing anymore. xD

DiegoPalacios 2020-08-15 20:18:14 UTC #37

A long form story can be kept fresh with different approaches among the story arcs. The challenge is to take an interesting angle that feel organic to the story.

Here are some technique examples:

1-Tonal shift: Some story arcs can be darker and others more lighthearted. Think of it like a rollercoaster.

2-Character focus: Some arcs can focus on certain established characters.

3-Changes in the status quo and character dynamics: This can come in many forms: Maybe the Main leads decide to deal with their romantic tension and started dating, or the team leader dies, forcing them to choose another leader.

4-A successor: maybe the protagonist died or retired, then there gotta be one or more characters to shift the focus.

5-Deconstruction: Actions during the seasons have consequences, and some have effect in the long term. Ex: Overusing the forbidden technique may result in permanent injury or death, saving the world once per season means the hero becomes famous, but that also means the villains know better about his abilities and weaknesses.

6-Subversion of the formula: If your story has a common pattern of events, readers will have expectations. Ex: people may expect the MC to fight the main antagonist of an arc, but maybe the antagonist`s powers are perfect to defeat and kill the MC, so another team member may need to fight him.

Of course there may be way more tricks but those are the first ones that came into my mind.......

Lunar-Turtle 2020-08-15 20:21:16 UTC #38

I have story ideas for a very long time, I just follow my characters and what needs to be done in story

shapeshiftingmel 2020-08-15 20:26:26 UTC #39

The amount of chapters I write for a story always depends on the plot and ideas I want to include. I ask myself "How long is it going to take the protagonist to reach that ending?" or things like "Should I leave this character as they are or do they need more character development for the next stage?". The length of my story depends on these factors, though I prefer more chapters than one-shots, because I want the reader to get a detailed look into my characters head and that takes a lot of time and patience.

I've never gotten bored, to be honest - sure, there are scenes I don't like as much, but there are equally as many chapters I look forward to. It's fun nonetheless and I like thinking about the reactions my readers would show when they read the finished product.