🧙‍♂️Interview with Malum from Requiem of the Perished One, Juicy Recommendations, and some Fears for the Genre.

This week, we interview Malum about the fantastic and different Requiem of the Perished One, give some juicy recommendations, and talk about some concerns for the genre shared by Authors and Readers alike.

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Interview with Malum from Requiem of the Perished One

Requiem of the Perished One is a fantastic, slow burning dark progression fantasy with Sequencers, Hexes, deep characters, and an MC on a Godhood path. I’ve loved the style of writing, the character relationships, and the magic aspects. The fantasy elements are so unique and awesome that speaking about them will just ruin the story. Read and enjoy it for yourself. It’s dark and moody, but in a fantastically different way. This is an elevated read, it’s written beautifully, and every chapter reveals the deep worldbuilding and keeps me on the line. Here’s a link, you should be checking this out. If you love great dialogue, rich worldbuilding, and are craving a fresh take on Progression Fantasy, I highly recommend Requiem of the Perished One! Seriously, go check it out. Another link here.

Hey Malum! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. I’ve really been enjoying Requiem of the Perished One, especially your dialogue and characters. It really feels like these are sophisticated characters that I love and loathe. Can you please give me some background on how Requiem of the Perished one came to be? What went into your planning of the story? What inspired you to write this story? You’re 40 + chapters in and I can just tell this story is exceptionally well thought out.

I’m elated to hear you’ve enjoyed reading my story! Truth to be told, I wasn’t actually supposed to even begin to write a story like this. There is a short prequel I’ve written titled ‘The Gambit of the Faceless God’, which was supposed to be the encompassing title of the story I had planned to write prior. Here is where my main inspiration (that would later on bleed into the main story) come into play:

Chess. Yes, the game board. It was my first major inspiration and still remains as a core element of the entire story. It eventually grew into contemplating how a multi-dimensional chess-match between divine beings would actually look like. From there, I began developing meta-narrative elements in my mind, and The Gambit would soon be born.

From there, I slowly began to write down the characters, the world(s), and how I could approach such a seemingly significant premise. It did not start with the main character (Emon) actually—it started with a major antagonist named Michel. I essentially ‘planned’ the entire story out based off his story.

I consider the ‘characters’ as something entirely different than the backbone of the story, yet extremely integral to it. They kind of dawned in my mind as I was planning this story out, but what made them stand out in a world seemingly made of necessary contingencies, were their stories. The backbone that made them who they are today. This made me want to create complex characters with deep-rooted histories and emotions who all, and by that I truly mean all, play a major role in the development of the entire story.

You have exceptional worldbuilding. The blend of dark (and I mean dark) fantasy with futuristic urbanity is one of my favorite aspects of the world, alongside the various political factions. Deneve is a great place to focus in on. How do you approach worldbuilding? What’s that process look like for you? Typically, I think people struggle with slowly building the world, but I think you do an excellent job of introducing it quickly and expanding. Do you have any tips with regarding worldbuilding and how it can help shape a story?

“Just go with the flow.”

Yes, I seriously mean this.

My case may be considered unorthodox, but I do believe at least some authors do something similar to a degree. I’ve been writing for a few years, and pre-established narrative frameworks never played a large role in my writing life. Freytag’s Pyramid, Save the Cat, and many other forms of literary precautions have been helpful to many and are undoubtedly methods that can substantially improve the developmental process of a writer. However, everyone writes differently. For me, this simply didn’t do it for me.

While the aformentioned mostly focus on story development, there are also frameworks that focus on the ‘world’ building aspect of one’s story. The MICE Quotient is a solid example for this matter. I never really cared for such narrative conventions and mostly built my worlds from the backbones of my characters’ stories. If that’s not the case, I would build entire sincere worlds based on songs, melodies, or even simple sentences being uttered by any person I happen to come across/watch on my screen.

From there, I simply go with the flow. The only person you have to prove is yourself. With that motivation, you will be able to believe that you’re able to create a coherent world. It doesn’t have to be big or small, it just needs to be understood by YOU. Your enthusiasm and care for the world you’ve created will always, and I mean always manage to shine and illuminate the minds of your readers. May it be dimly or brightly.

Dialogue is so well done in your story. Characters are distinct, and their interactions vary from sophisticated to mocking. What are some of the tools or methods you use to write dialogue? Clearly you have some chops with it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes your dialogue stand apart. With characters, do you have character interactions that you struggle with when writing? What scenes have you found most fun to write?

I consider dialogue to be one of my strengths in writing. When I am in the process of outlining my chapters, I spend 90% of my time planning/writing the dialogue alone. I put the dialogue on the paper first, and then fill in the rest with descriptive elements. That is my approach of writing dialogue. It allows me to ensure that the consistency remains intact.

Since you clearly have such a different mind, I’d love to pick your brain on your favorite Apocalypse type. If you, Malum, had to choose between a Zombie Apocalypse, a Nuclear, or the descent of a Dark God from above, which do you think you’d be able to survive? Where would you go once the Apocalypse kicks off? What are you bringing with you?

I think a Zombie Apocalypse would be the safest option. They tend to be quite predictable and lack the cognitive intelligence most Humans have. A remote location would be my best choice; a place I’ll be able to defend and store as much nourishment, meds, weapons, and etc that I can find.

I want to ask you about Characters. Caelum is such a fascinating character as he develops, let’s say. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s super cool to read. How do you approach crafting your characters arcs and the different factions? Do you write them out and have a decisive plan, or are you a bit of a pantser when it comes to it? How do you manage the characters when writing? Do you have a database of them all? Note: If I dive too deep it just spoils! Very well intertwined.

I always base my character arcs off of emotion and message. I will want to convey my message(s) in the best way that I can, as long as I maintain authenticity for my characters. I never really write an entire database where I detail every single aspect of their character, for most major characters, at least. You could say I’m a little of both, because when I have to tackle the character arc/backstory of, let’s say Michel, one of the major antagonists, I will have to write everything down in order to reasonably justify his ‘why’ and ‘how dunnits’ despite the complexity and depth.

Let’s talk about Royal Road and writing as a craft. You are one of the breakout Authors of recent that has decided on the slower release schedule. Was that a conscious decision, or just what you can manage? What’s your writing schedule look like, and how do you approach the next chapter? Do you have an opinion on the demand of Authors to produce more content? I’d love to hear about your process as many of the writers have taken the shotgun content approach, and you’ve still a similar amount of success.

In all honesty, it was everything I could manage. I was quite surprised to see some kind of success despite taking the slower route. Not only that, but, despite being a prog fantasy, it’s a very niche story. So I am forever thankful for the success Requiem has reached.

I write every day. May it be 500, 1000, 2500, or 5000+ words. It varies on my energy level, but I try to at least have knowledge about the next chapter I will be writing on the next day.

I do, however, feel like the work us authors put into our works can be unappreciated sometimes. My opinion to readers would be: Don’t take the works you read for granted. A person behind the pages sacrificed a lot of time and energy to put the words on the paper/screen that you read. Leave a message, thank them for their work. Support them in any way you can. Trust me, that gives us pure catharsis.

Lastly, I’d love to ask you for some recommendations on media. Requiem of the Perished One has such worldbuilding, characters, and arcs, that I am requesting you give 5 media recommendations. I didn’t even ask about it because I think it’s so unique that it’s only appreciated by reading it. Please, let me know what I should be reading, watching, or listening to. Any 5 pieces of media you’d like to share with everyone.

I’d love to! Here are my five recommendations:

1. The soundtrack for Nier Replicant/Gestalt: It has impacted my writing on a personal level. I highly highly recommend it to listen to it while writing. However, most of them have vocals, so if that distracts you, then I’d advise listening to the instrumental versions of the tracks.

2. Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に ): This is a visual novel created by 07th Expansion. It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest stories ever told. It has greatly impacted my perspective and approach to writing overall.

3. Dune: Dune has been a great inspiration for Requiem. Definitely the best dark/epic sci-fi books I’ve ever read. One may notice similar themes when reading Requiem. That is because Frank Herbert has also impacted my writing anecdotally.

4. Somnus by Yoko Shimomura: Much like my first recommendation, I almost always listen to this track when world-building. It’s a 2:30 minute track, so I always put it on repeat. I can be so consumed by the art that this song turns into habituation, and it becomes an extension of my world-building. In Requiem, the Golden Church was based off of this song.

5. Yuki Kaijura (梶浦由記): This is my third ‘musical’ recommendation… It should show you just how important music is to me, especially when it comes to writing. I consider it to be the backbone of my creative capabilities. I’m aware of many composers ranging from different styles and genres, and while they are amazing at what they do, I believe Yuki truly bled into my art of writing. She is not ‘super’ well known in the West, so if you’ve never heard of her, I highly encourage you to check her out. If I may suggest one song myself, listen to ‘Sand Dream’ she created alongside another great composer Revo.

Thank you Malum for the awesome answers. If you want awesome writing of a different vein, check out Requiem of the Perished One.

Some Concerns about LitRPG/Progression Fantasy from a Long Time Reader.

I’ve been around for a long time in this genre. I was, and to some extent still am a lurker. A lurker with a clever name and email list now. There is some major movement for the genres, and a lot of positives are going to come from the recent boosts. Yes, more people are flooding into the space. In the various discords and social communities, there has been some concerns brought up about this. Let’s mull these over:

1. Discoverability: LitRPG and Progression Fantasy are mature enough now that any time a popular Author releases a new story, they are immediately shot up the charts on Royal Road. There are so many fantastic Authors, that it seems like every week 5 new stories from popular authors are released. This is awesome. More amazon content for me as a reader. But so many great little stories are under appreciated and have abysmal numbers compared to their quality. And we all know, bigger number, better writer. Right? No, of course not. What is the next frontier for small, new authors marketing themselves? I’m trying my best with this newsletter to push smaller or new Authors, but I have a feeling there will have to be an adjustment to the way Rising Stars calculates who rises. Maybe different lists for established writers?

2. Fragmentation: Royal Road is the site for LitRPG and Progression Fantasy, at least in my eyes. Yes, there’s SH, WebNovel, heck, even SpaceBattles. If Royal Road wants to stay on top, they need to figure out their payments processing. If I was a better developer, I would be busting my chops right now to make a better version of Royal Road with payment processing. If there is a Royal Road dev reading this, please, why not just use Lemon Squeezy? They have done the hard work for tax compliance. Didn’t Stripe just purchase them!? If you’re a dev and you’re working on your own version of a publishing site with slick payment processing, please hit me up and I will push you to the Nth for free. Wait. Free at first! With the influx of new readers and writers, there is going to be a large fragmentation of the genres across multiple sites, all with their own subculture.

3. Genre Shift: This is both a pro and a con. With new readership, Authors are going to be adapting their stories to the market. We are likely going to see both heavier LitRPG elements, progression elements, but also looser versions as well. Generally, I think the scope of these series is about to change and morph to adapt to the market.

Overall, I think there is still a massive net positive for Readers and Authors! Just some general concerns from a rambling Scribe in an Archive.

Thanks for Reading!

🧙‍♂️Saga Scribe