Writing What are the common arcs for an isekai or a cultivation fic?

[CheertheDead]

I remember someone said something about getting your power arc and then auction arc or something.

 

[NotaNuffian]

The faceslapping

Meeting young masters

Academy/ Sect arc

Having to find a lost treasures

Interracial wars which might be so thinly veiled that the battlefield might as well be the Himalayas or Tokyo.

 

[T.K._Paradox]

Let's see you have, not in any particular order by the way,

exposition arc, tournament arc, harem collecting arc(s) [1-infinty], demon lord arc, new demon lord arc, filler arc(s), war arc (that feature one or two battles and that's it), the new kingdom arc, totally not *insert preferred author's country* wankfest arc, adventuring arc (that only last for like ten chapters).

Amongst other things.
There is also the author dropped the novel without announcing or is dead arc.

That is the least fun arc.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Ummm, I'll add a few.

The (Equipment Arc). Optionally divided into multiple sub-arcs like Blacksmith.

The (Grinding Arc). Optionally divided into (Fuck, the enemy is crushing us, time to TRAIN), (Exploring the Forest!), (Exploring the Dungeon!), and others. Optionally repeats as needed.

Get the Girl Arc. Optionally repeats until Harem is large enough. Or to replace dead girls, if what I've heard about Cultivation Stories is correct.

The (Meet the Villain Arc). Optionally divided into (Oh, look at this cute Puppy!), (OMG they killed the cute Puppy!? Make them PAY!), (Fuck, time to TRAIN(Didn't we do this already?)), and (Chasing the Escaping Villain! But they escaped...).

I'll exclude Tournament, Kingdom Building, and War arcs, since that's already been mentioned.

The (Dramaaaa Arc). Optionally divided into (I'm too WEAK, Pity ME), (The Girl is having problems, and it's breaking our Relationship.), (This World is UNFAIR, I want to go HOME.) and others.

The (Breaking Point Arc). Optionally divided into (Drama Arc has reached its limit!), (New power or expansion of new power to overcome obstacles), and (Time to Crush the Villain!)

Optional Epilogue arcs like reminiscing about what happened after victory, raising children, the fate of old friends.

 

[T.K._Paradox]

Ummm, I'll add a few.

The (Equipment Arc). Optionally divided into multiple sub-arcs like Blacksmith.

The (Grinding Arc). Optionally divided into (Fuck, the enemy is crushing us, time to TRAIN), (Exploring the Forest!), (Exploring the Dungeon!), and others.

Get the Girl Arc. Optionally repeats until Harem is large enough. Or to replace dead girls, if what I've heard about Cultivation Stories is correct.

The (Meet the Villain Arc). Optionally divided into (Oh, look at this cute Puppy!), (OMG they killed the cute Puppy!? Make them PAY!), (Fuck, time to TRAIN(Didn't we do this already?)), and (Chasing the Escaping Villain! But they escaped...).

I'll exclude Tournament, Kingdom Building, and War arcs, since that's already been mentioned.

The (Dramaaaa Arc). Optionally divided into (I'm too WEAK, Pity ME), (The Girl is having problems, and it's breaking our Relationship.), (This World is UNFAIR, I want to go HOME.) and others.

The (Breaking Point Arc). Optionally divided into (Drama Arc has reached its limit!), (New power or expansion of new power to overcome obstacles), and (Time to Crush the Villain!)

Optional Epilogue arcs like reminiscing about what happened after victory, raising children, the fate of old friends.

Epilogue arc? Pretty sure you meant to say, setting up a shitty sequel arc.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Epilogue arc? Pretty sure you meant to say, setting up a shitty sequel arc.

I was gonna edit it to say, 'Optionally, repeat the ENTIRE story until nobody cares enough to pay the author anymore'.

Also, I don't hate Isekai, even if what I wrote makes it seem that way. This is Satire, not genuine hatred.

 

[T.K._Paradox]

I was gonna edit it to say, 'Optionally, repeat the ENTIRE story until nobody cares enough to pay the author anymore'.

Also, I don't hate Isekai, even if what I wrote makes it seem that way. This is Satire, not genuine hatred.

Never said you hated it, hell I don't hate it. I love the medium and it has a lot to offer.

But people keep putting out the same bargain bin garbage.
I am just having fun mocking the tropes.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Never said you hated it, hell I don't hate it. I love the medium and it has a lot to offer.

But people keep putting out the same bargain bin garbage.
I am just having fun mocking the tropes.

Ah, that's just a general disclaimer. I was also just having fun with it.

 

[Kenjona]

Isekai Cultivation arcs from my point of view in no real particular order:

• The poor pitiful me how did I die arc, can be short, can be long; sometimes inverted to I Isekai'd this is so awesome. Where the Author Explains how the MC dies and how screwed they are or are not.
• Meets the Family and First Antagonist shows up, face slapping or challenges ensue.
• Power up Arc. MC gets their power up, usually in the middle of battle or after getting punk'd. This Arc will manifest itself several times during the story.
• Find chick/guy AKA the romance angle (maybe). If it is a Harem then this will be done several times over the story usually in conjunction with the Power up Arc.
• Auction House Arc, got to sell my shit or buy some shit. Uber Cultivators will do tricks on each other, face slapping ensues. (
• The Crafting Arc, got to Craft new Epeen stuff to swing, wear, eat, snort, or do more cultivation shit with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edAxujKev1I
• Join the Sect/Clan or Family Arc. I am the newbie so let me go and kick a bunch of more experienced people who should know better but don't. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=we+are+family+sister+sledge+official+video
• The Sect/Clan or Family destruction or near destruction Arc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQUXuQ6Zd9w
• Antagonist Face Slapping Arc, usually a Young Master/Mistress which usually goes on to having problems with said Antagonists Sect/Clan or Family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrFakWkv5Xo
• Travel to new place Arc. Usually accompanied by power/gear ups along the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0janfcZ8LUw

 

[NotaNuffian]

Cultivation novels. I have tried to read so so so many, yet they all have the exact same shit simply renamed.

I'm serious. Try and read a cultivation novel and stop when you hit one of the following phrases.

'Face slap' 'Sect Elder' 'Young Master' 'Harem' 'X Amount of Years' 'X Strongest Cultivation Technique' 'Jade-like skin'

It doesn't exist. You can't get four chapters into one of these shitty copy-paste novels without hitting at minimum three of these things. All the villains are either nonsensical or trying to squeeze a random sob story, all the protags are either 'insert shitty amorphous blob of a person' or 'generic over confident asshat who wins in the end'.

Cultivation novels are 99% just garbage.

Don't even get me started on the average 'System' novel man. Combine the two and you'll be lucky to get a story written by anything more than a third-grader.

Unless it's written by a person who you can verify has more than three brain cells, don't read cultivation or LitRPG/System novels. A time sink not worth its weight in pages.

A great indicator if a book is going to be passable or not is looking at the amount of dropped or paused readers, or readers to favorites. If a cultivation novel has 50 chapters and 10 favorites, just don't even try it.

I know @GlassMan is ranting and perhaps on the wrong thread, but he does make sense and I believe it's supposed to be here.

@Varette 's post however is ranting about The Gamer x [some rando] and how the trope is killing him. He gets an honorary mention because the xianxia trope is basically MC walks down the fucking street with Arrogant Xs, Jade Beauties and some plot progressing encounters like how Red waddles into the grass field.

 

[Kenjona]

Interestingly enough if you really look into what Cultivation is within novels and how people progress through Cultivations especially "Young Master/Mistresses" it is actually biologically reasonable for them to act that way.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Interestingly enough if you really look into what Cultivation is within novels and how people progress through Cultivations especially "Young Master/Mistresses" it is actually biologically reasonable for them to act that way.

Indeed. Because they are acting like Li Gang's son after he ran over a bunch of people, a funny example of how people shouldn't have power.

Then it is exactly the same with old fucks who are supposed to be a millenia old but still a human POS, kind of like the grandmas in my local supermarket who will yell at the cashiers if they somehow forget to do something or refuse to accept the discount coupons.

 

[Kenjona]

Indeed. Because they are acting like Li Gang's son after he ran over a bunch of people, a funny example of how people shouldn't have power.

Then it is exactly the same with old fucks who are supposed to be a millenia old but still a human POS, kind of like the grandmas in my local supermarket who will yell at the cashiers if they somehow forget to do something or refuse to accept the discount coupons.

It is not just the people with power bit, I agree with you on it though. To many real world examples out there.

But the actual result of cultivating to extend their life is I think a bigger issue. If you look at most cultivators, especially when they are young and they get further in cultivating their aging slows down as they stay younger longer.

Which means their bodies development also slows down, particularly the brain. Our brains are still developing well into our 20's, the impulse driving section usually done by 25 or so. So if a regular humans life expectancy is 100 and a first stage cultivator is 200. If they get into the first stage at ten. That usually means they stay teenagers for twice as long then a normal human. So instead of the Brain being fully developed by 25 it is fully developed by 50. So you spend an extra 40 years being an underdeveloped slowly growing little shit. And every cultivation realm above the first slows that aging further.

The younger you hit the cultivator milestones the younger you stay longer. And the longer your body takes to fully develop into adult hood. All of the body cultivations I have read about enhance the bodies’ sense, skin, muscles and bones. They say nothing about developing the brains impulse and forward thinking connections.

Qi usage itself is about enhancing what you are doing by putting a qi field around it and throwing cool powers. So no help with brain development there.


Throw on top of that the constant fight for resources, it is a given that if you are a “nice guy” you will lose out to the more aggressive sorts who will do anything for a quick snort. Read up on what addictions can cause people to do. Cultivation is very much an addiction as if your not striving for it constantly you will lose your way and can suffer backlash.

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction/what-is-addiction

A Key take away from the above link:

“In addition to substances, people can also develop addiction to behaviors, such as gambling (gambling disorder).

People with substance use and behavioral addictions may be aware of their problem but not be able to stop even if they want and try to. The addiction may cause physical and psychological problems as well as interpersonal problems such as with family members and friends or at work.”

It is usually stated that the further you progress the more your “demons” are a threat, so if you, have any piss poor tendencies, they can get enhanced if your cultivation technique is subpar and/or your self-control is not strong enough.

Self-entitlement, which you addressed is the next issue, a cultivator can bitch slap 100 or more people a realm below them with not much Qi expenditure. Throw in the setting is usually warring states period, life was brutal, patriarchal and sucked for every one not of the male nobility.

The only way to break the chain, is to become a cultivator and to rise high enough to get yourself out of the dregs. Which funny enough is usually the set up for why the females want to cultivate so desperately in the stories.

 

[Deleted member 58005]

The faceslapping

Meeting young masters

Academy/ Sect arc

Having to find a lost treasures

Interracial wars which might be so thinly veiled that the battlefield might as well be the Himalayas or Tokyo.

You know, I hate how correct you are.

 

[Kenjona]

Almost forgot the drug arc. When someone gets Date Rape Drugged and the MC either must rescue or be rescued by having sex, because you know they are gonna die if they do not. Rarely is it turned on its head, but I cheer usually then.

 

[Cipiteca396]

But the actual result of cultivating to extend their life is I think a bigger issue. If you look at most cultivators, especially when they are young and they get further in cultivating their aging slows down as they stay younger longer.

This IS an interesting take on it, and a nice bit of fridge brilliance... But the thing is that's it's probably not the reason the author wrote what they did. It's a justification, rather than an explanation. A story that was actually written with the theme of power-addiction would have a totally different format. It would probably be something worth reading if it actually existed though.

Almost forgot the drug arc. When someone gets Date Rape Drugged and the MC either must rescue or be rescued by having sex, because you know they are gonna die if they do not. Rarely is it turned on its head, but I cheer usually then.

Forgot? Don't you mean 'repressed for the sake of everybody's sanity?'

 

[Kenjona]

This IS an interesting take on it, and a nice bit of fridge brilliance... But the thing is that's it's probably not the reason the author wrote what they did. It's a justification, rather than an explanation. A story that was actually written with the theme of power-addiction would have a totally different format. It would probably be something worth reading if it actually existed though.

Forgot? Don't you mean 'repressed for the sake of everybody's sanity?'

To late; to the second comment.
Oh and my fridge brilliance was how I justified why I liked cultivation novels where cultivators acted like Middle School/High School kids without any adults around. I grew up in a very sexual freedom, fathers (or mothers) gone all the time, kids running around as they wished with very few restrictions. So I could see the similarities between cultivation novels including the face slapping and getting your bros and hoes to deal with issues for you. As long as you did not embarrass your parents publicly most did not care what you did.

To late; to the second comment.

This IS an interesting take on it, and a nice bit of fridge brilliance... But the thing is that's it's probably not the reason the author wrote what they did. It's a justification, rather than an explanation. A story that was actually written with the theme of power-addiction would have a totally different format. It would probably be something worth reading if it actually existed though.

Forgot? Don't you mean 'repressed for the sake of everybody's sanity?'