Writing Blog - Xiao Nan (Patreon)

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but the character of Xiao Nan and his role in the story didn’t come into existence until the very late stages of the outline. 

Liu Jin was the first character I created for Ave Xia Rem Y. In fact, the Liu Jin that made it to the pages of Ave Xia Rem Y is almost identical to the one that first formed in my head. Once the character of Liu Jin was made, Old Jiang and Liu Jianguo naturally followed. The father who teaches him values and the old master who gives him knowledge. They both lay the foundations of the person Liu Jin will become, and they both fulfill different staples of the genre.

Xiao Fang was created a little later. I came up with him at around the same time I came up with Xiao Shuang. The brash, hostile Young Master who is at odds with Liu Jin and the more good-natured fiancee. Again, both fulfill roles that are common in this sort of story. 

However, when I was planning the first arc, I realized something important.

Liu Jin had no one to talk to! 

I needed to write a friend for Liu Jin. Someone he could talk with more casually. I also needed someone who’d look out for him while he was in the Xiao Sect. Someone who’d be a familiar face. 

That was how the character of Xiao Nan started to take shape.

In the early drafts, Xiao Nan was going to be two different characters. A reliable older disciple and a disciple who is close to Liu Jin’s age. Not wanting to balance too many characters, I ended up merging them 

Without me realizing it, Xiao Nan became a mentor sorts to Liu Jin. He doesn’t teach him techniques or values. Instead, through Xiao Nan, Liu Jin learns more about the world around him and the politics between the different Sects. Their dynamic was one that quickly grew on me the more I wrote it. Their scenes together always came to me very naturally. 

Needless to say, I’m happy at how well people have received him.