“Writing web novels is a skill, not a talent!”
A guide to creating web novels from the author of the drama and web novel "Marriage Forbidden Order, Joseon Marriage Forbidden Order."
The secret to a successful series from debut to completion in one volume

The web novel industry is growing by the day with exciting plot twists and fun that makes time fly by.
Now, it is gaining popularity as the original work for various contents such as dramas.
Many writers are jumping into the world of web novels, a field of opportunity open to everyone, but it's also true that the competition is fierce.
Some works become hits, while others are literally buried in an instant.
What's the formula for a successful web novel? Can even a beginner successfully complete a web novel, gain popularity, and successfully launch their next work?

Cheon Ji-hye, the author of the dramatized web novel “Marriage Forbidden Order, Joseon Marriage Forbidden Order,” has published a book for those who want to try their hand at writing web novels.
The new book, "The Unstoppable Web Novel Writing Guide," is a guide for those who dream of becoming web novel writers and are just taking their first steps, helping them master everything from debut to successful serialization in one volume.
The author says that writing web novels is not a talent, but a skill that requires skill based on know-how that spans the genre.

Web novels only have a reading time of about 2 minutes per page.
The author put all his effort into writing that one web novel, but the readers only read the novel for two minutes and then decide whether to watch the next episode or not.
I read it all at once, scrolling down as if I was reading a webtoon.
There needs to be fun points, character appeal, and a solid narrative development to lead to the next episode.
The art of cutting off a precarious position! A powerful ending is, of course, a must.

--- p.6

Web novels should minimize boring parts or slow-paced parts, and focus on the fun and development of the story.
As a result, a speedy development centered on character dialogue and scenes is required.
Also, the story is often told from the protagonist's point of view.
Since readers don't tend to have long attention spans when reading novels on their smartphones, the story unfolds quickly, focusing on the main character, to capture readers and get them immersed in the story as quickly as possible.
When too many characters appear at once during serialization, readers tend to have trouble remembering them.

--- p.33

If you look at the genres of the works being visualized, most of them are romance.
Why are web novel adaptations so heavily focused on the romance genre? First of all, it's because romance genres are a popular genre among web novels.
And it's also because modern romances are easier to utilize than fantasy genres in terms of backgrounds and sets.
In the actual IP market, modern romance and historical romance are the most popular.
I tend to look for something a little more novel among web novel romantic comedies.
However, while romance may be popular and relatable, it can also be trapped in material stability, clichés, and formulas.
Because web novels tend to have a clear genre formula.
Therefore, when it comes to visualization, works that have something new in terms of subject matter or characters are loved rather than ones that simply repeat the same old romantic comedy items.

--- p.49

Before deciding what story to write, the first thing to consider is, "What are my tastes?" So how do you find them? One way to discover your tastes is to look at certain works and reflect on them.
Rather than just looking at the work, I think about what points of enjoyment I felt when I saw the work, what story would have made it more enjoyable if it had been supplemented, and what aspects of the work moved me.
Any genre of content is fine.
What work have you found most enjoyable so far? You can choose any work, including dramas, movies, webtoons, web novels, and novels.

--- p.89

There are also essential items in a logline.
Describe the character using simple adjectives.
And it would be nice if there was conflict and clash between these characters.
The protagonist's goals are also set.
If there is some situational irony, dramatic irony, it would be the icing on the cake.
If it has freshness, popularity, and box office appeal, it's the best.

--- p.97~98

First, let me analyze my story coolly.
And then we find the most interesting part of the story and put it at the beginning.
In other words, the story that would appear in the 'before' of the story's introduction, development, turn, and conclusion is placed at the very beginning.
Rather than going on and on with all sorts of boring character descriptions and background explanations, the story starts with the story and makes you think, "Huh? What is this? What's going on?" and get immersed in the work.
We start by putting in a hook so that readers can immediately immerse themselves.
A hook can be anything from a dramatic scene that highlights the tension and conflict between characters, to a scene that reveals the irony of the story as a whole, to a memorable chase scene, a shootout scene, a breakup scene, or a scene where someone dies.
The most important thing here is that the 'tension' within the scene must be very high.

--- p.112~113

You can even set up your protagonist to be a really cool guy.
But there has to be at least one element that makes you empathize with the main character.
There has to be at least one thing that is off.
It's hard for readers to get immersed in a protagonist who is too perfect.
Because it's so different from me.
It is important to naturally capture the deficiencies the protagonist is experiencing and to instill a sense of compassion.
If people can't immerse themselves and empathize enough to find the answer to the question, "Why does that main character do that?", they won't be able to get on board the story and will just get off the bus.
(…) Many writers spend a lot of time thinking about how to set up the protagonist’s deficiency.
The reason this is so important is because the process of the protagonist's lack being slowly filled becomes the story itself.
We get to see the story of how the protagonist overcomes his or her own shortcomings.
--- p.142~143

It is essential to analyze the plot of the genre you want to write in.
And a great way to analyze plot is to reverse engineer the structure of your favorite work.
To learn the unique patterns of the genre and internalize them so that you can utilize them in your own work.

--- p.180

Place the most intense scene from each story at the end.
I was wondering what would be the most powerful ending for this story, and I started with 4 endings, then 8 endings, and then 16 endings.
It's okay if there's no process to get to the ending.
If you set a strong ending first, the causal relationship to get to that ending will become the story.
--- p.202

At the top of each treatment, we write down the things to keep in mind in advance.
What is the theme, what is the twist, what is the fun point, what is the heart-fluttering moment?
Create a box in advance and write down the elements that must not be left out in the story.
If you create your own standards in advance like this, you can use them without forgetting them and check them when using the treatment.
This is also a way to increase the edge of the story.
--- p.234

When writing dialogue, you need to think about how to write it concisely.
In my case, I first write down what the characters need to say, what messages they need to convey, etc., in lines or as lines that come to mind.
And then I open another Korean program window and rewrite the scene, trying to reduce the lines as much as possible.
I'm starting a diet.

--- p.252

The sentences in web novels should prioritize readability and rhythm on mobile devices.
When you're reviewing, don't look at it on a word processor; if possible, read it on a mobile device.
If the description is too long, readability will be reduced.
If the dialogue and narration are not harmoniously arranged, concentration is lost.
So, please break up the sentences a bit by inserting quotation marks in the middle of the dialogue or inner thoughts.
Please share it so that it is easy to see.
If there are parts that are hard to read, parts that have too much rhetoric, parts that are unclear, or parts that contain too much unnecessary explanation, delete them and edit the text so that it can be read easily at first glance.
If there are parts that you find yourself stopping at instead of reading all the way through on your smartphone, you should change them to simpler sentences.
An article that makes you read it twice because you don't understand it is not a good article.
Please keep the reading speed uninterrupted.

--- p.346~347