Put pen to paper and write the last word of the first volume "The Moon Is in the Sky".
I have tried to summarize the writing of this volume.
"" is the first online novel I created. For me, no matter where I write, my efforts and creative pursuit will not change.
Even because online serialization requires greater volume, it actually consumes more energy on my part.
Come back up.
[In the first chapter, I obviously made the mistake of a newcomer to the Internet. I did not advance the plot and show the protagonist immediately to attract Internet readers who are used to reading fast-paced novels. 】
I used more than 7,000 words to describe in detail a high-level war that took place in Zhuang State, and in this war, the protagonist was just a spectator. (After many revisions, each time it was one or two hundred words.
Deletion, now it is difficult to delete to more than 6,000 words...)
The original intention is to show part of the combat system of this world first, so that readers can have a preliminary understanding of the level of power. At the same time, it also buries some lines that will only be used after a long time.
The gray line of grass and snakes, the veins of thousands of miles, is the structural technique that I admire.
Huahua in the group is also the second leader in this book. She is a very nice person.
She helped me summarize some issues that should be paid attention to in online articles and made some suggestions.
For example, the beggar part in Chapter 1 can be deleted.
But everyone should know by the end of the volume that those beggars were originally the sacrifices of the Bone Path. From the first chapter, I laid down clues to the ending of the first volume.
As the author, I cannot directly tell her the reason before I finish writing this, because I do not want to affect her reading enjoyment as a reader.
But in fact, what she said is something that is in line with the online writing market.
Readers of online articles, how many clues and foreshadowings do you need to read hundreds of thousands of words before you use them?
There are many details like this.
So when Zhang Linchuan put on the mask, everyone suddenly realized that he was the Bone Messenger.
Does anyone remember the man who talked to Miaoyu when she first appeared in Huanzhenguan? He wore a handkerchief and had mysophobia. Isn’t that one of Zhang Linchuan’s trademarks?
When reading online articles, readers are used to skimming over them in a hurry and probably won't pay attention to such details.
But it doesn't matter, as long as even one reader notices this surprise, my hard work will not be in vain.
Some people criticize me and say that writing online novels is selling products, and online literature is commodity literature. I hope I can recognize the reality clearly.
I very much acknowledge the reality.
We are only over 60 years old now, what is the reality that I am not clear about?
Some readers advised me that pursuing one's own literary pursuits in online novels is something that should only be done after becoming famous.
I fully understand the care for me in these words.
But for a novel of this size, it only takes a year or two to finish.
How many two years do I have to try, and how many two years do I have to waste?
For me, if I just make money for two years, it would be a waste.
Because what I have always pursued is not to be a successful businessman.
If I want to make money, there are many ways.
If I want literature, there is only one way to go.
Of course, now that things have happened, this novel cannot turn around.
…
Back to the creation itself.
At the end of the first chapter, I let the protagonist appear. In the first chapter, I used a lot of space to describe Zuo Guanglie, who may only appear this time.
As far as the creation of online serials is concerned, this is undoubtedly a huge mistake.
Now my bad grades also punish me.
I can't justify my selfishness.
But I can talk about my selfishness.
It's all because of my love for the character Zuo Guanglie.
Zuo Guanglie is just a flash in the eyes of readers, to set off the existence of Li Yizhi who is so powerful that he was beheaded by a sword.
But in this world, the protagonist Jiang Wang will live under his light for a long time.
He is a talent that only emerges in hundreds of years. He is strong, proud, compassionate and sincere.
He only appeared once, but he lit up the sky.
I can't bear to pass it by.
I have to admit this mistake, but I tried to correct it several times, but in the end I couldn't convince myself to get rid of this "mistake".
I was wrong, I will change it in the next book.
If there is another one.
…
【The second problem is that the pace is slow.】
I spent a lot of pen and ink on the fireworks in the world, on the details, and on the little people.
There is no such thing as a triumphant progress that focuses all attention on the protagonist, and therefore it lost many readers.
When I write, I don't just write a story, I hope to build a relatively complete world.
Without those human fireworks, this world would not be real enough.
Without those plain and lovely years, it would not be enough to become a sad and painful past.
Without those knowing smiles, I couldn't convince myself to shed tears.
Doesn’t it take a process to build a relationship? Doesn’t it take a break to build trust?
In a few words, life and death are intertwined, and they will last until death do us part. Can it really convince readers?
I am my own first reader, and it fails to convince me at first.
I believe my idea is correct, but maybe I should make more efforts for my pursuit.
How to use fewer words to express details more movingly, thus leaving room for more and strengthening the rhythm.
This is the part I want to strengthen next.
At the end of the volume, I directly cut off many branches. Including the matching battle part of the Youmai Realm in the Taixu Illusion Realm, the previous work of Fang Dabeard, the chief general of the City Guards, and so on.
Among them, Fang Bearded's previous work can continue to flesh out the details of the Fang family, and at the same time make his death in battle more touching. It would be a pity to cut it off.
But the other subplots combined can't hold up the story of that period. It's not exciting enough.
For the sake of overall rhythm, trade-offs had to be made.
…
【The third problem is that there are not enough cool spots and they are not dense enough.】
This is an issue that many people criticize.
Does it feel any better? Of course it does.
Is it cool and transparent? Naturally transparent.
But there aren't enough, not dense enough. And the main character is too weak.
This is where many readers are disappointed.
And for me.
I can't convince myself that in a real world, there will be a steady stream of weak sidekicks to mindlessly torture the protagonist.
Let’s not talk about a world where extraordinary power has developed for countless years, let’s just talk about the real world.
When you were in high school, would it be those elementary school students who had conflicts with you?
They are often classmates who are taller and stronger than you, often your seniors, or even young people in society.
When you are weak, what usually happens is how to avoid conflicts with those powerful beings, how to leverage their strength, and how to strengthen yourself.
Only when you are strong can the story of pushing eight hundred miles alone happen.
It’s not that I can’t write so well, In the Name of God is a short story that burns from beginning to end. In a long story like Journey to the West, every move of Sun Wukong is enough to burn.
Just reading the sentence "I push eight hundred miles alone" is already very satisfying, isn't it?
It's just that in the growth stage, that's not real enough.
This is the reality of the world as I understand it.
Some people also say that regarding the realm of cultivation, writing about ninth, eighth, and seventh grades is too unimmortal and looks too much like an idiotic essay.
I……
I put a lot of thought into building a practice system, from Youmai, Zhoutian, Tongtian, Tenglong, Inner Palace, Outer Tower, Shenlin...
Along the way, each stage has a detailed description and a wonderful process. I believe it is logically self-consistent, and on this basis, I hope it will also be magnificent and wonderful.
The reason why I use several grades and grades to explain before is just to facilitate readers to quickly understand the levels of cultivation.
In order to pursue reality, the realm of spiritual practice is developed step by step from the perspective of the protagonist. Before that, I was afraid that readers would not have an impression of these realms.
This may still not please readers, but it at least shows that I did not rush into online novels without any understanding, as many people criticized me.
I have considered the feelings of online readers.
…
beyond these issues.
I think the ending of the first volume is quite perfect, and I would give myself a nine out of ten.
The reason I gave it one less point is because I didn’t have enough time to polish it carefully.
At the end, there were very intensive camera switching, and I pushed every shot to its limit within the time limit.
There were many, many characters appearing like a revolving door, but I expressed what I wanted to express.
Some fragments cannot be separated and can only break up the timeline. Some fragments must be coherent and can only bridge the space line.
With such complex characters, time lines, and space lines, I gathered them together and unfolded them in an orderly manner.
I did my best at this stage.
From the monk from the Criminal Division who committed suicide to deliver a message, the old gentleman who stood in front of the students, the Maplewood City soldier who collapsed and jumped into the ground... From these characters who didn't even have names, to characters with names, to the early stage characters.
Important supporting role.
Each of them has his own flesh and blood and his own life.
Their spirit, will, love, hate, and choices are all clearly displayed to the readers.
I am very satisfied.
The last time I tried this was when I was writing about the Blue Bird Disaster in Dawn. Qinghou set up a trap to kill Duke Ying Li, and Chu Yu was tricked into liberating the real dragon.
But compared to that time, there are more characters, a wider field of view, and even more difficulty.
This kind of large-scale ensemble drama becomes much more difficult every time there is an additional character.
But I still finished it.
The improvement in my writing ability is what makes me most happy.
On the layout of the article.
The truth about the history of the Zhuang Kingdom, the history of the human race and the aquatic race, the Pulse Opening Pill, the ferocious beasts, and the White Bone Path are all peeled off layer by layer.
In the end, Maple Grove City sank into the netherworld, and Jiang Wangyuan left for a foreign country. This ending was already foreshadowed in Huan Zhen Guanwai.
The planning of the Bone Path and the choices of Zhuang Ting as a national political power run through the entire volume.
It can be as large as a country or a family, or as small as one person in a city. In the context of a world of great strife, in the collision between ideals and reality, everyone needs to make their own choices.
All the holes were filled so tightly that the dead body could not be lifted up.
And I haven’t used up the foreshadowing I laid in the first chapter. The so-called journey of thousands of miles has only covered a few hills.
In terms of creating group portraits, I think I have made progress compared to the past.
But I still need readers to tell me what the result will be.
There are many characters that impressed me deeply, but I don’t know which ones are more popular among readers.
…
The last three words in the first chapter are the Pulse Opening Pill.
Someone scolded me: "Why did you write so much and work so hard and finally give me a 'Pulse Opening Pill'?"
if not?
Two dragons are fighting in front of you, both will be injured, and a magic weapon will be revealed for you, okay?
I won’t give the protagonist too much credit. Although this is just a novel, it is also a world in my heart.
In a real world, you have to work hard to succeed!
As a thing, it doesn't seem precious enough.
But it is the beginning of Jiang Wang’s spiritual path, the rise of human spiritual practice, and the beginning of this story.
I spent 350,000 words writing the first volume and laying the foundation of this world.
I am confident that I can build a magnificent world on this basis.
But I need readers to support me so that I don’t starve to death while building bricks and walls.
Many people may not know that when writing online articles at Qidian, you also need to own the copyright of all short stories written by the author during the serialization period. This is nothing to others.
For me, it means that during the writing period, I had no income other than this book.
Because my original job was to write commissions, columns, short stories, and scripts.
I wrote it with the determination not to make a penny for a whole year.
There is no other good news except that I am glad that I have broken up a long time ago and don't have to worry about my guilt towards my partner.
…
One day I saw someone in the reader group saying
"Today's authors are so impatient. If a book with more than 100,000 words is recommended by tens of thousands of people, they will say that the results are not good and they should be cut off immediately. I really want to catch them and let them learn from it."
This topic is actually quite sad, because as of now, I only have 4,000 recommendations for my novels. My collection has just exceeded 1,000, and the average number of orders is over 60.
I wrote 350,000 words with guaranteed quality and quantity!
And I am still lighting the lamp and burning oil to write.
In the past, I only wrote about five days a week, and only wrote 2,000 words a day. I spent the rest of the time resting and nourishing my brain.
Now I write at least 5,000 words every day, and I haven't had a break for more than a month.
My mind is very excited and I am also very tired.
I actually understand those authors very well.
If you regard writing novels as a simple job, a business.
Actually this is quite reasonable.
Because all that needs to be considered is performance and income.
For online articles, if there is no achievement during the new book period, it will be very slim, because you will not have subsequent recommendations, and the sunk cost of writing further will be too high.
Cut it off, change the number, change the book. Change the number again, change the book again. Choose the one with the best results and write it down. This is how business should be done.
There is no need to wait until it reaches hundreds of thousands of words. The editor should have cut it the first time he recommended it to Liangmen.
but.
What if it wasn't just a job, what if writing a novel wasn't just about making money, but it was truly your dream?
Sorry, I...can't cut it.
I said sorry to myself.
There are simple columns that can be written, and the deposit is paid to me in advance. There are simple articles that can be written. As long as I give up this pen name, cover my head and pour water, I can publish them and get money directly. Not to mention those advertising soft articles that can be published in a few clicks.
.
There were many easy ways for me to take, but I chose the hardest one.
I put myself in the most painful situation.
Just because of the simplest reason.
A reason that no one or many people will believe anymore.
because of love.
I love these characters I wrote, and I love the world I built.
Everything I do and all the distances I travel are for the love in my heart.
For this love.
I'm willing to work harder and wait.
…
The title of the first volume is "The bright moon is in the sky."
The bright moon can be ideal, it can be love, it can be hometown.
"It's as bright as the moon, when can I break it?"
From Cao Cao's "Dan Ge Xing".
"The moon is bright and clear, when can I pick it?"
Like Jiang Wang, I have my own pursuits and ideals, my own loves and hates, and my own hometown in my heart.
And the name of the next volume is
"From now on I have no intention of loving the good night."
