I wish my readers a happy New Year in the Year of the Rabbit!
Looking back on the past year of 2022, I sometimes feel emotional, and sometimes when I think back to some of the previous things, I feel like it's a lifetime ago.
I remember that when I graduated in August 2020, Qiu Zhao signed a contract with a state-owned enterprise. Later, our teacher called and hoped that I would go to graduate school and achieve academic achievements. However, I was deceived by HR at that time, thinking that I had found a job with very good pay, so I did not agree to the teacher's offer, and also rejected my mother's idea of supporting me to study for another year.
But at that time, it was "too yong, too simple." After entering the company, I realized that my income was not even enough to eat. There was nothing I could do at the time. After all, I signed up for the school recruitment and persisted for more than half a year. After 2021, when I was exhausted physically and mentally, I compensated the company for a sum of money and was able to resign smoothly.
After that, it was very difficult to find a job because of the mask. Even so, I tried to take two professional certificates to work in the industry of my dreams. However, the road to job hunting was very difficult, and I once again considered taking the postgraduate entrance examination.
However, there is only one chance, and it only works at a fixed time. Only half a year later, the family's attitude changed. Even if they were forced to leave work and take the postgraduate entrance examination, there were only three months left. Then, we encountered the most difficult time in 2022.
During this period, there was no income, family pressure was tight, and family members were sick, making it difficult to review. Fortunately, the provincial examination in March finally had good results. After rounds of competition, we finally came to the Pamir Plateau in the west of the motherland.
The reason why I want to talk about the unpleasant experiences during this period is also to explain to my readers why most of the chapters in the first volume of my "Wasteland Echoers" are dark, depressing, silent and... It’s uncomfortable, after all, under the premise of non-commercial writing, the author will always incorporate his own situation and mood into the work.
Just like many chapters in the first volume, the forces of Crown Prince Yin Fante, Laite's protagonist group, and the three major churches of the lost all worked hard and struggled in painful and difficult days, but in the end they reached a lose-lose situation. . After all, it's more real and logical.
But what I want to emphasize is not the painful struggle, the face of unspeakable fear and surrender to it, or the complete madness. Rather, each character struggled hard in the painful era, and in the dark moments, he always maintained a trace of longing and respect for the light in his heart.
Only when humans have hope can they have goals, and only when they have goals can they work hard to live. Human beings who can truly see the light will not surrender to difficulties, nor will they become humble and cowardly because of the environment. On the contrary, gaining knowledge, finding direction, and accumulating abilities bit by bit in difficult situations is the way to finally see the light.
In fact, this book "Wasteland Echoers" was conceived very early, during the unpleasant working period in 2020. At first, it was just a flash of inspiration. Seeing that Cthulhu was very popular, I thought about whether I could build a fantasy + Cthulhu + wasteland worldview. At that time, I was still writing a series of works that now seems to be of extremely poor quality, and I was also reading as many great works as possible to gain some insights.
Until submission in February 2022, I was not confident enough to sign the contract. It's a bit understatement to say that, after all, the authors of Qidian are very strong and there are many great masters. Therefore, at that time, I just submitted the article with the mentality of trying and the hope of getting some guidance from the editor.
Simply, it’s overdue.
However, the initial results of this book were indeed very poor. It had 300 favorites when it reached 100,000 words. It had 1,300 favorites when it was released with 300,000 words. The first order was more than 130. The follow-up orders can basically be ignored.
However, I have also been thinking that the purpose of writing is not just to satisfy readers who like to destroy the world and focus on cool points. I also want to build a world of my own as much as possible. Therefore, even if there are fewer subsequent updates to this book, I have not cut it yet, and there is no eunuch.
People cannot stand without faith. Since I promised to finish the book with 4 million words, even if the final result is 0, I still have to insist on finishing it. This is an explanation to myself.
However, after this book was put on the shelves, especially last month when it exceeded one million words, I really got some support from readers.
The current collection is 10,277, and all orders are 198, which can be regarded as achieving a small goal in the introduction.
So here, on the occasion of the New Year, I will also set a goal for the next stage.
Strive to create 1.5 million words in 2023, achieve 50,000 collections, and order 500. I hope that one day the world view I have carefully crafted can be adapted and put on the screen.
In the creation of the second volume, I will still continue some of the ideas of the first volume, set up some mysteries, and reveal everything related to the protagonist and the gods behind it like peeling an onion.
Of course, there will be some depression in the process of trying to uncover the origins of the wasteland, but Darhk's character is different from Lite himself, so it will be slightly lighter and slightly more hopeful than the first volume. It will also focus on adventure and combat, and add some fast-paced passionate plots and refreshing and powerful growth plots. Readers and friends are welcome to continue to support!
Finally, I once again wish readers and friends that all their dreams will come true in 2023, that they will not be confused, that their efforts will bear fruit, and that their choices will be correct!
