152 Why Did the System Become So Useless? (1/2)

[If you have managed to catch the attention of a potential reader with your cover art, title, and synopsis, the beginning of your story is what ultimately draws them in and makes them decide whether or not they want to continue to follow your story. Thus, the quality of your beginning roughly equals the probability of gaining new readers.]

”Yes, yes, yes …” Su Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Wasn't this common knowledge? Who would want to read a story with a shitty beginning? He impatiently clicked [next] in hope of getting an actual hint as to how he should write a beginning.

[A good beginning needs to fulfill two tasks:

1) The beginning has to answer basic questions about the story.

2) The beginning has to show the readers that the story is interesting.

In the best case, the beginning will already showcase your writing style, too. Overall it can be said that the beginning will provide a potential reader with a short glimpse of almost every aspect of your story and writing skills.]

Su Yan paused and his lips twitched. Did the system want to tell him that a beginning that wasn't perfect would make his whole novel pointless? Wasn't this too vicious?! The readers should give him some time to show off!

Unfortunately, the Lovely Writing System didn't share his opinion. Grumbling, he clicked for the next part.

[In the beginning, you should present your protagonist and the world he lives in. What is the name of your protagonist and why should the readers care about him? What else should they know about him? Is it important whether he is a human or rather part of another race? And does he live in the world we know, in a parallel version with another history or maybe in our world but several years in the future?]

Su Yan blinked. Mn? He already had all this! The robes and the talk about cultivators should tell the readers about the world the protagonist lived in and as for the protagonist himself …

Damn! He hadn't mentioned that his protagonist was human. But then again … wasn't that obvious? After all, the ones who became part of a sect were human in most cases. Maybe there would be some who weren't totally human but those were exceptions.

So, all in all, Su Yan felt like he had pretty much fulfilled this first point. How come his scene was still too short then? Had he done something else wrong? He frowned and read further.

[If possible, you might include hints regarding the future development of your story. Are gay relationships frowned upon in the protagonist's world or is gay marriage allowed and even common? Might your protagonist already be in a relationship?

This might also be a good opportunity to introduce the problem your protagonist will face. What stands between him and his happiness with the male lead? What holds them back from being together just yet? The readers should know who or what is opposing them so they know what to expect for the rest of the story.]