A senior writer recently made a proposal to a webnovel platform, calling for a ban on AI-generated novels.

The request quickly caught the attention of many other established authors, who began spreading the discussion across social media.

And who was the author behind this call?

None other than Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, the creator of Lord of the Mysteries.

What do you think about this proposal?

Should AI-generated novels be banned from webnovel platforms, or should they be allowed to compete alongside human-written works?

The journey only lasted a few weeks, but it helped me understand why the fame of webnovels seems to be concentrated around a handful of titles: Shadow Slave, Reverend Insanity, Lord of the Mysteries, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, and The Beginning After the End. Unlike light novels, where popularity is spread across a wider range of works, webnovels often seem to revolve around a few giants.

Here is what I gathered from that journey:

1. Originality

Most stories follow a common pattern within their genre.

For example, one of the most common structures I encountered was the revenge novel:

The protagonist is betrayed, executed, or abandoned. He dies. A hidden force intervenes. He returns through rebirth, regression, or reincarnation. He uses future knowledge to grow stronger. Then he takes revenge.

The stories themselves are not identical, but the path they follow often is.

2. Shallow Premises

This is especially noticeable in character based synopses.

Many authors introduce their protagonists with lines such as:

"He is neither good nor evil. He is simply [character name]."

Then the story proceeds to turn that character into an emotional puppet driven entirely by the actions of side characters.

Another common example is:

"I do not care if the world burns. I will live my life however I want."

Only for the protagonist to immediately involve himself in every major conflict.

There are many variations of this problem, but the core issue is the same: the premise promises one thing while the story delivers another.

3. Unusual Novels

These are especially common below the top rankings.

The main examples are smut, yaoi, gender bender romance, and similar genres.

To be clear, these stories are not necessarily unoriginal or shallow. They simply appeal to a different audience. Personally, I often feel that some of them would benefit from stronger genre foundations beyond their core appeal.

That is only my preference, however.

4. Emotional Delivery

This was probably the most common weakness I encountered.

Many writers tell readers what a character is feeling instead of allowing readers to experience the emotion themselves.

For example:

"The prince was dragged toward the doors. He looked at his uncle, rage visible in his eyes. 'You'll pay for this!' he shouted."

There is nothing wrong with that sentence, but I personally prefer something more experiential:

"The prince was dragged toward the hall's exit. His gaze locked onto his uncle, whose smile had yet to fade. His eyes widened as the cruel reality settled in. His jaw clenched. Blood dripped from where his teeth had cut into his lip. 'YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!' The words echoed throughout the hall."

The difference is not the information being delivered. The difference is the experience.

Many novels focus on what should be communicated while forgetting how it should be felt.

5. AI

This was probably the second most common thing I encountered.

I do not think using AI is inherently bad. There is a reasonable place for it. Using AI for names, cover generation, or grammar correction is one thing.

Using it to create the story, build the world, and write the narrative itself is another.

At that point, you are harvesting something you did not create.

Many AI generated stories differ only because of the prompts used to generate them. An experienced user can create outputs that are difficult to distinguish from human writing. Rookie users, however, are much easier to spot.

AI often relies on repetitive structures, fragmented sentences, and common patterns. The more heavily a writer depends on it, the easier those patterns become to notice.

6. Predictability

The novels I read varied greatly in predictability.

Some surprised me. Others revealed their destination from the very first chapter.

For example, if a young man is summoned to defeat a Demon Lord, most readers already expect one of two outcomes: he saves the world, or the Demon Lord wins.

Predictability weakens engagement because readers stop wondering what comes next.

In my opinion, predictability is really about managing reader expectations.

Writing often becomes a contest between the author's intentions and the reader's assumptions.

For example:

Writer: "What is orange?"

Reader: "A fruit."

Writer: "A color."

The betrayal of expectation creates curiosity, tension, and engagement.

7. Creativity

This is probably the harshest category because creativity depends on originality, imagination, and execution.

Many stories I read were technically well written. Their plots functioned. Their characters served their roles.

But that was often where the uniqueness ended.

Many worlds operate on familiar concepts such as mana, aura, qi, and other established systems. Many plots follow familiar narrative structures.

Meanwhile, works like Reverend Insanity, Lord of the Mysteries, and Shadow Slave stand out because they introduce concepts that feel distinct and memorable.

Their uniqueness becomes part of their identity.

This is why I personally think discussions about webnovels tend to circle around the same few titles.

Many of you may disagree with my observations, and that is perfectly fine. These are simply my personal impressions after spending time reading through a large number of stories.

If your novel struggles to attract additional readers, some of these points may be worth considering.

As for me, I did not stop reading because I became tired of those stories. I stopped because they gave me a challenge.

I wanted to see where my own novel would stand if I applied these observations, wrote ten strong opening chapters, and spent a year developing it properly.

That was the real harvest of this journey.

Thanks for reading my personal thoughts.

I thought the Royal Road community was just like any other community: you post something, a few people see it, and that’s it. Posting there felt like throwing out unrefined ideas and discussions without weighing their pros and cons.

And it was my mistake to assume this community works the same way as the others.

So I “punished” myself by kissing my girlfriend (I don’t actually have one).

And from now on I shall have my post prepared before uploading.

And about that deleted post, I will not just say it in words, I will show it through writing it .

Let's see if this junior is all bark no bite.

In my recent upload, I posted about an opportunity I had with a senior writer and shared my experience from that discussion. Some of you then started rewriting my post into entirely new stories using the same format to troll me.

Truthly, when I read them, some were actually pretty good for troll stories, except for that one guy who just copied and pasted. Some of you even started calling me The Vague King, and I actually considered changing my name to that title. Being called a king is rare, and actually ... it is kinda cooooool~.

Anyway, I would like to share some of the things I was corrected on. And if there are any misunderstandings, just know that it is my fault for not writing down every detail in my notes.

Btw don't mind the narrative like telling writing too much , since we are authors except a small number.

<THE WORLD ENGINE CONCEPT >

I told that senior writer about my understanding of world building. To me, world building was about the inhabitants of the world and how they differ through species, cultures, and civilizations. It was also about the lands themselves, whether ordinary landscapes like highlands, plateaus, and water sources, or unusual ones such as floating lands, underwater cities, and cities above the clouds. Then there was the power system of the world, whether it used familiar concepts like mana or qi, or something entirely unique.

He nodded at every point as I explained my perspective on world building. After I finished, he told me that my understanding was not exactly wrong. He said I had grasped the "world engine," but only the surface layer of it.

Of course, my reaction was, "What?" with a raised eyebrow.

He lifted two fingers and said, "The creation of a world engine depends on two main pillars: laws and rules."

That only made my eyebrows rise even further.

He explained that laws generate the world's power, and that power shapes the land, while the land itself influences and evolves its inhabitants. Then he lowered one finger.

I nodded repeatedly because something finally started making sense.

Then he moved to the second pillar: rules.

He said rules are often the driving factors of a story. To explain, he gave me a common example.

"The use of magic shortens lifespan."

He then asked me, "What is the consequence of this rule?"

Of course, I answered, "You die if you use it too much."

Then he asked, "What about the political consequences?"

I thought for a while, but eventually gave up.

Then he asked, "What about the social consequences?"

This time I answered, "Less conflict because people have limitations."

He did not agree or disagree. Instead, he asked about the scientific consequences.

Experimentation was probably the answer, but for some reason I kept quiet.

Then he told me something that hit me.

"One rule can generate an entire ecosystem".

Then he asked, "What about two rules? Five? Ten?"

I held my temples thinking about the number of ecosystems and possibilities that would create. He misunderstood my reaction and thought I was struggling to understand, so he picked a famous novel you probably know, Lord of the Mysteries.

He began dissecting its world building piece by piece. Even though he misunderstood me, I did not stop him. I simply listened attentively.

The process continued the same way as before, except this time I mostly listened without interrupting. The more he explained, the more I admired the creativity of Cuttlefish That Loves Diving.

When he finally finished, I stayed silent for a while, wondering whether I should dive even deeper or stop there. The urge to ask him dissect another novel was strong , but time was ticking and the opportunity was limited , so I gave up and stopped there.

Then I asked about the next engine, and after some time, the discussion eventually came to an end.

And that was one of the concepts I wanted to share with the people who asked me to talk about some of the things I learned.

I felt that this is one of the most misunderstood concepts that the majority of beginners should know about.

I hope I did not make any mistakes or misinterpret any of the explanations, since I was recalling everything from memory.

I’ve seen a lot of rejections recently, and it made me wonder what the reasons behind so many of them are.

Is it because the stories being submitted for contracts are too generic and lack creativity or uniqueness? Or is the issue with new authors who do not take the time to properly prepare before applying for contracts, whether by failing to make their work stand out from common trends or by presenting it poorly, such as only showing a small portion of their work?

As a result, they end up getting rejected because of that lack of preparation, even though they may actually have a genuinely good story. In the end, they fail because of poor delivery.

What do you think? Are there other reasons?