"In a cave beneath the earth lived a hobbit..."
Open the supplement of "The Scotsman" and you will see the serialization that started today——
"Hobbit".
When he read the first sentence, James felt a sense of crisis.
Hobbits, a race that has never appeared in any previous fantasy works,
After reading further, I found that it is a short race, about half the height of normal humans. The soles of its feet are as strong as leather, and there is a thick layer of brown hair on the feet.
Creating a new race means that Lu Shi wants to build a new world.
The requirements for the author are very high. It is like walking a tightrope on a cliff. If you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss.
Cavendish on the other side said: "Brave."
James nodded,
"really."
Unexpectedly, Cavendish added another sentence: "But stupid."
James didn't answer.
Obviously, Cavendish felt that Lu Shi was unable to create an immersive "real" world.
Even if it is shaped, it will never succeed.
too difficult!
James didn’t start out as a horror story writer;
Because of his in-depth study of the Bible, he once considered using the Bible as a blueprint to create a world where gods and demons confront each other and write it into an epic poem.
To this end, he also made a world view setting, which was very detailed.
But the result is...
I don’t want to write anymore.
Many Internet article writers in later generations also had similar experiences.
No matter how complete the settings are, they are just settings.
From the setting to the story, there is still a huge gap.
James asked: "Mr. Superintendent, do you think it is not good to create a new race and set up a new world?"
Cavendish shook his head,
"Of course I don't think so. But you must know that the purpose is to assist writing and should not be neglected."
This is correct,
The requirements set should be concise, logical and self-consistent.
There is another very important point——
Easy to remember.
But looking at the creation of a new Hobbit race in the future, I am afraid that some omissions will inevitably be missed in the creation in the future, and there is a risk of overestimation.
James pondered for a moment and said: "I hope Mr. Lu uses a biographical style instead of a chronological style when setting up history. Because it is not a drama, people are always the core of the story, and using time as a clue will cause big trouble."
He would never have thought that Lu Shi's settings were not made by himself.
But the great Mr. Tolkien made it for him.
Cavendish on the side was curious,
"I noticed that the word you used was 'hopefully', why? Since there is a bet, you don't want him to lose?"
James was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly,
"That's easy to say."
Cavendish frowned and reminded: "Don't lose your fighting spirit."
James nodded and changed the topic: "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's continue to look at it later."
The two continued to read,
"
'This cave has a round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shining yellow doorknob in the center. After the door opens, there is a circular tube-shaped living room that looks like a tunnel. '
'It was a comfortable, smoke-free living room, with well-decorated walls, carpet and tiles on the floor, and many polished chairs scattered about. '
…
"
There is a long description of the scene at the back.
James couldn't help but be shocked,
"This kind of writing...was this kind of writing really written by a Chinese?"
Cavendish asked confused: "What's wrong?"
James explained: "Mr. Superintendent of Schools does not know that because paper is expensive, ancient Chinese would use classical Chinese when writing, be concise and concise, and try to reduce unnecessary descriptions. This habit continues to this day."
Therefore, foreign monks cannot recite the true scriptures.
James had only a smattering of knowledge. If he had read "A Dream of Red Mansions" written in ancient vernacular, he would definitely not have this wrong understanding.
Moreover,
Isn't there much description in "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion"?
Aren’t there many descriptions in parallel prose with all kinds of gorgeous rhetoric?
Classical Chinese can also describe it.
Of course, James is not entirely wrong;
In China, it was indeed only when the New Culture Movement that advocated vernacular writing spread that the descriptions in it gradually became richer.
Cavendish nodded,
"Indeed, Mr. Lu's previous "No Survival" had much less environmental description. Why did he suddenly change his writing style?"
James replied: "Because it's a fantasy work."
Cavendish thought about it and understood.
Fantasy works are full of fantasy. If you don't describe it in detail and build a picture in the reader's mind, it is easy for the reader to lose the immersion in reading.
But this description is also a double-edged sword.
If it is not well written, readers will easily get distracted, and when they look back at it, they will feel that the work is boring and very rubbish.
Many people cannot read tomes such as "In Search of Lost Time" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude" for this reason——
Too much description.
James said: "The most surprising thing to me is that Mr. Lu's writing style is versatile. In "No Survival", he can write very simply, explaining the situation of the isolated island clearly in a few strokes, and then focus on The progress of the case; but this "The Hobbit" is completely opposite."
Just a few paragraphs of description made the two of them discuss so much.
In fact, these contents were indeed written by Lu Shi,
In the original text, because it is a fairy tale style, Tuolao's words are lively and smart, and he tries to use simple sentences, such as "The sun is warm and the grass is extremely green."
Lu Shi changed these contents.
James couldn't help but mutter again: "Is this really written by a Chinese?"
Cavendish shook his head,
"Okay, stop admiring Mr. Lu's writing style. Let's continue reading."
James nodded,
"Yes, the plot is more important than the writing."
The two of them continued reading,
Unexpectedly, as the plot unfolded, I was more shocked by the plot than the writing.
The protagonist Bilbo Baggins is timid, never takes risks, and never does anything unexpected.
Until one day, the wizard Gandalf suddenly came to Bilbo and encouraged him to join the expedition as a snitch to regain the treasure occupied by the evil dragon.
This is the main content of the first chapter.
Chapter two is the first battle of the adventure story.
Bilbo embarked on an adventurous journey with his teammates, but was almost killed by a troll. Fortunately, Gandalf arrived in time, causing the three trolls to quarrel, and they escaped.
The third chapter is "A Short Rest",
At this point, the three chapters of the series have ended.
When James read the end, his whole body froze.
Then, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "Awesome! It's really awesome!"
Cavendish was puzzled;
"What's so great about this? Isn't it just a very orthodox story?"
Treasures of dwarves, wizards, dragons...
Orthodox indeed.
But the problem is,
"Mr. Superintendent, when you read the first three chapters just now, did you feel any drama for even a second?"
James asked in a low voice.
Cavendish was stunned and understood what the other party wanted to say.
He lowered his head wordlessly.
James said: "That's why I think Mr. Lu is great. It is an orthodox fantasy adventure story, but it is not boring at all, and is even very interesting. People can't help but look forward to next week's serialization. This is not enough to explain its success. ? Moreover, the wizard named Gandalf is so charming..."
As he said that, James couldn't help but look back and read through the previous highlights.
Cavendish is silent,
After a while, he asked: "Are you sure?"
James looked up,
"Are you talking about a bet?"
Cavendish nodded,
"right."
James said: "From now on, I should still be able to suppress Mr. Lu. However, Mr. Lu is doing a long series, and I am almost certain that "The Hobbit" will gradually get better and become a great work, so …”
He didn't finish what he said next.
Cavendish asked: "No confidence?"
Can this be answered?
James could only smile bitterly.
(End of chapter)
