Why Narou Novels Prospered Despite Criticism of Their Writing Style—Good Writing Hides Seven Faults

"Narou novels have poor writing."

This sentiment has been expressed everywhere for many years.

The prose is too light.
The descriptions are thin.
There is too much exposition.
The dialogue is simplistic.
The narrative prose is monotonous.

Certainly, such works do exist.
However, Narou-style works have still defined an era. They have been published as books, adapted into manga, turned into anime, and have formed a massive market.

If writing technique in terms of crafting beautiful prose were truly that important, works that fail to meet that standard should not sell.
Yet, as you can see if you actually read them, there are many works that sell despite having plain and simple prose.
One major reason for this is that their storylines are solid.
Narou-style works have a clear, fundamental narrative structure: the protagonist faces unreasonable circumstances and overcomes them.

The troublesome thing, however, is that people mistake polished prose for a well-constructed story, yet they forget works that are merely well-written by the next day.
This annoying habit is what makes the debate so complicated.

Good writing hides seven faults.

When the writing is good, the work can appear to be successful at first glance.

It has atmosphere.
The descriptions are beautiful.
It has lingering resonance.
The metaphors are effective.
Characters repeat ambiguous dialogue that makes them seem like they are thinking about something deep.

As a result, the readers—and the authors themselves—are completely deceived.

Does this character have depth?
Is there some great mystery hidden in this story?

But as you read through it as a long-form work, it gradually becomes clear.

It is unclear what the protagonist wants to do.
It is unclear why the heroine was attracted to the protagonist.
It is unclear why this character even appeared.
Suddenly, someone specific starts explaining the truth all at once.

Because works with good writing have fewer stumbling blocks while reading, these flaws can sometimes become harder to see.

That is precisely why it is dangerous.
Poor writing makes flaws immediately visible.
Good writing hides flaws.
And hidden flaws are difficult to fix.
This is because the author themselves mistakes the beautiful prose for the story actually moving forward and the cause-and-effect being established.
It is because the author thinks, "This is my strength."

On the other hand, Narou was a cruel place.

Web novel submission sites, represented by Shousetsuka ni Narou, are extremely harsh.
The readers who gather there are not coming to savor beautiful prose.

What they are looking for, first and foremost, is pleasure.

The protagonist is treated unfairly.
The protagonist has hidden power.
Those who mocked them regret it later.
The heroine is attracted to the protagonist.
Defeating the enemy changes the world a little.

If there is no cause-and-effect and emotional thread running through this, readers will leave without mercy.

"So, what's interesting about this?"
"What is this protagonist doing?"
"Isn't this development the same as the last one?"
"Is there any reason to read the next part?"

These things are pointed out quite bluntly.

It is difficult to keep readers engaged with the beauty of the prose.
It is also difficult to keep them turning pages with atmosphere alone.
The indulgence of thinking that readers will read between the lines if you just leave some mysterious-looking clues is also unlikely to work.

On Narou, the skeleton of the story is the primary target for evaluation.

Of course, Narou works also have a multitude of flaws.
Excessive exposition. Reliance on templates. A bias toward immediate gratification. Symbolization of characters. Weak long-term structure.
Yet, they have still maintained a large market share for a long time.
This is because, at the very least, they were conscious of the developments needed to stir the reader's desires.

Works that only have good writing ask the reader for "appreciation."
Narou-style works try to trigger a "reaction" from the reader.

There is a huge difference here.

If the protagonist is oppressed, I want the reader to feel angry.
If the protagonist is recognized, I want the reader to feel good.
If the heroine approaches, I want the reader to be convinced and happy.
If the enemy is ruined, I want the reader to feel a sense of comeuppance.

This emotional conduit is thick.
Whether it is refined or not is another matter, but there is a will to try and move the reader's emotions.

And in novels, that is a very important thing.
The better someone is at writing, the more they tend to neglect this.

They think that making the reader feel good is somehow vulgar.
They think that easy-to-understand cause-and-effect is shallow.
They prefer atmospheric observation over the protagonist making active choices.
As a result, novels are born that are well-written but where nothing happens.

Incidents occur.
Strange phenomena appear.
Mysterious characters show up.
Past connections are discussed.
But the protagonist just walks on a stage that has been prepared for them.
The heroine has no reason to step into the protagonist's life and becomes a mere device for validation.
Characters who appeared meaningfully in the second half do not contribute to solving the truth and become background characters.
In the end, someone other than the protagonist explains all the cause-and-effect and it ends.

However, even in such works, if the writing is good, it looks "plausible."
Conversely, Narou-style works, where refined expressive power can actually get in the way of finishing the story, cannot be faked.

The reason Narou-style works were strong in the market was not simply because the prose was plain for amateur readers.
Before writing ability, the pleasure structure of the story was questioned, and that is what they polished.

When the writing is good, both the reader and the author settle for "it's good enough."
But on Narou, that is hard to get away with.
With "it's good enough," the next episode won't be read.
With "it has a certain atmosphere," it won't be bookmarked.
With "it seems deep," it won't stay in the rankings.

What is needed is the power to make them click the next button.
It is because they were pushing what is necessary for a novel in a very primitive form.
It is better to have beauty in the writing, of course.
But that only becomes a weapon once it is placed on top of a skeleton.

What Narou exposed to the light of day was not the fact that "you can sell even if your writing is bad."
It is the reality that decorative writing skills, such as beautiful prose or witty metaphors, did not hold as much value in selling a story as you all thought.

Now, Nyaru infers that the reason Narou novels sold is because the story moves forward.
Will you continue to work hard on your heavy makeup today?