u/CosmicGhasper

Crits for both: [963] [947]

This story has a Psychedelic High-Fantasy Arcanepunk setting with Slow-burn Power Progression.

This is the start of a big project. I've put a lot of thought into both character creation to make them feel as human and unique as possible, and also worldbuilding, with tons of lore far before the first chapter. As these two things are the pillars of my story, I want to know:

1. Is the dialogue natural and engaging?
2. Can you empathize with the character and really care about them?
3. Do the fantastical elements mentioned during the dialogue pique your interest?
4. Can you clearly visualize the setting and immerse yourself in it?
5. Are you invested enough to proceed to chapter one?

To make clear that this prologue takes place 5 years before chapter 1 and serves as an introduction to the world, using the "Show, don't tell" philosophy. It also establishes the MC's persona, especially his relationship with his grandfather, who is presumed dead in chapter 1. The reader has to feel the impact of this information and empathize with the protagonist.

This is the best I can do; I don't see any room for improvement. So, I'd like other opinions and perspectives.

Psychic Core - Prologue: Dreams of Power

EDIT: Perhaps the "Show, don't tell" is not the right way to describe, I think it's more like a "Don't tell everything"; I just wanted to avoid an info dump here.

EDIT 2: The goal of this prologue is first to give a vague idea of the magic system (worldbuilding, not so much). I want to make it feel familiar and simple, but anticipate that it has layers. Secondly, and most importantly, introduce the grandfather as this legendary warrior and establish the bond he had with the MC, as he is dead in chapter one (time-skip), so the reader feels his absence and understands its impact on the MC.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently writing a webnovel and I have doubts regarding the AI-Assisted Content tag. I want to be as transparent as possible with my readers, but I’m concerned it might give the wrong impression of my story; it's far from generic, i actually consider it very original and carefully crafted.

Here is how I use AI (mostly for technical management and brainstorming):

• No Copy-Paste: I find that AI-generated sentences and paragraphs usually don't fit my style and have strange phrasing. It's actually more work to "fix" AI text than to write from scratch, so I generally don't use it generated prose without lot of editing.
• Brainstorming & Opinions: I use it to bounce ideas, discuss plot points, or get a "second opinion" some decisions.
• Word Choice & Synonyms: Sometimes I use it like a dynamic thesaurus to find a specific word or phrase.
• Technical Organization: I use tools like NovelCrafter and Sudowrite to keep track of my story bible, relations, and chapter beats, but the actual drafting is 100% manual.

So—

Where is the line for brainstorm and individual words?

Do you think i should put the tag?

How do you use AI in your story?