When I first conceived of this book, maybe it was because I had just watched the third season of "Attack on Titan" and I wanted to write a reversal of the world view that constantly subverts the original understanding-you thought it was between humans and ghosts. Dual opposition, but as the plot develops, you will gradually find that humans and ghosts are prisoners of the same disease and are imprisoned in the underworld. The real enemy is the "god" above the nine heavens.
The words "humans and ghosts share the same journey" in the introduction, the vast world without spiritual energy but only Yin energy, and the cultivation system with a realm whose name is specifically the underworld are actually all hints.
As for whether there will be another twist later... I won't spoil it for now ^^
However, while I had a great time opening my imagination, I found it difficult when I actually wrote the book. Writing a good story is much more difficult than Pudding imagined.
Especially when writing the second volume, Pudding felt the limitations of his abilities.
As a new author with mediocre talent and inexperience, Pudding cannot be like many great masters. As long as he has inspiration in his mind, he can pick up the pen and start writing directly, and he can also write a spiritual story.
The pudding must have an outline and a detailed outline. Think about what you want to write in each chapter in advance so that you can write smoothly. Otherwise, you will enter a stuck state and sit there all day long without being able to hold back a few words.
Although sometimes some inspiration will come up and some unexpected plots will be written, but in the overall framework, there cannot be too much deviation.
Unfortunately, when writing this book, Pudding made the big mistake of "changing the outline midway." As a result, for a period of time, the writing ideas were exhausted, the plot could not be pushed forward, and it was very painful to write.
According to the original outline, at the end of the first volume, the Exorcist Division marches towards Yishan, but will be blocked by the Snow Lady’s army of ice and snow creatures.
The exorcist monks thought the snow girl was hostile to them.
But in fact, Xue Nu's humanity still exists, and she just wants to prevent them from entering Yishan - because the Kongxuan San people are causing trouble in Yishan, and they will definitely die if they enter.
Gu Xu will meet the Snow Girl next to the black altar.
Xue Nu was greedy for his soul, but the humanity in her heart and the memory of "Lu's Haunted House" made her suppress her instinctive impulse.
She communicated with Gu Xu through "Jinghongbi" and began to cooperate.
Because the "Jinghong Brush" is a "famous weapon" left behind by a strong man in the Nine Realms, the spiritual communication between the two people through the "Jinghong Brush" will not be discovered by Kongxuan Sanren.
Through Xue Nu, Gu Xu learned about the conspiracy of Kong Xuan Sanren.
Then, in order to deal with Kongxuan Sanren and seek self-salvation, Xue Nu burned her soul and bought Gu Xu time to break the situation.
But she did not die completely, but became the new weapon spirit of "Jinghong Pen" and came to the capital with Gu Xu.
Yes, as mentioned in the previous single chapter, in the original outline, the heroine was a snow girl.
After all, in a world view where "people and ghosts are both prisoners", it would be more interesting to write if the heroine was a ghost.
Shi Xiaohan is a female supporting character who prefers the atmosphere group, and is positioned as the "novice village mission partner".
According to the original idea, Chen Jisheng would unfortunately die in battle at the end of the first volume, which would become an opportunity for the protagonist to break through.
Shi Xiaohan will inherit his "Worthy Sword".
She will find the words "A chivalrous person serves the country and the people" engraved on the sword, and understands that "chivalry" is not a slogan, but a spirit of "saving the common people".
After this incident, she will mature and become a real heroine, staying in Qingzhou and protecting her homeland.
You should be able to find a lot of foreshadowing of these contents in the first volume.
But at that time, because I felt soft-hearted, I was reluctant to give Chen Jisheng a lunch box.
Because of impulsiveness and the influence of comments, I changed the heroine from Snow Girl to Shi Xiaohan.
After all, Pudding is a new author, and it is his first time to write a novel with more than a million words. He does not have much self-confidence, and has no idea whether his writing is good or not.
When I see a character getting a lot of praise and likes, I feel that I may have created a successful and popular character, and I can't help but add drama to her.
But in fact, considering the overall story, whether a character is outstanding and attractive does not depend on the number of her roles, but on the role she plays in the plot, and on the growth and changes in conflicts.
Sometimes, temporarily exiting at the right time and leaving some room for imagination is better than following the protagonist all the time and becoming a vase that does not promote the plot.
After changing the outline, I deleted a lot of the Snow Girl plot at the end of the first volume, and had Shi Xiaohan go to the Black Altar, and then follow Gu Xu to Luo Jing City.
At that time, I felt that writing was not a big problem.
But looking back now, it would have been better if it had been written according to the original outline - Xue Nu's self-salvation, Shi Xiaohan's growth line, Chen Jisheng's spiritual inheritance... can all be reflected.
If the impact of changing the outline on the first volume was that it was "less than perfect", then the impact on the early stages of the second volume was somewhat "catastrophic".
Because Shi Xiaohan was originally positioned as a "female supporting character from the Novice Village", compared to most female protagonists in fairy tales, her talent, strength, and family background are relatively ordinary, and she is not like Lu Shiyao or Zhao Yan, who has There are many stories that can lead to many plot lines that can be written.
Settings like the "body of the demon god" were all added later.
Therefore, when she came to the capital with the protagonist, I found that apart from being cute and being silly, it was basically difficult for her to play a role in the main plot.
At that time, I entered into a misunderstanding in my thinking, that is, "the heroine must have the role of the heroine" and "popular characters must appear more in order to be able to follow them stably."
In order to give Shi Xiaohan a chance to perform in this capital where geniuses gather, I temporarily conceived the plot of "Lantern Festival Tournament"; in order to make up for her inherent deficiencies and enable her to keep up with the pace of the protagonist, I added "Longmen Academy" This force, which was not in the original outline, found a master for her.
But the effect is not ideal.
The chapters where Shi Xiaohan competed in the arena during the Lantern Festival lost nearly a thousand subscriptions; the chapters where Shi Xiaohan entered the academy lost more than 500 subscriptions. These are some of the most powerful chapters that I have dropped my subscription to in the entire book.
At the same time, because after changing the outline, it takes a lot of time to come up with a new plot, and the problem is particularly serious. But at that time, in order to get perfect attendance and win recommendations, I had to keep updating every day.
Many times, I have to start writing immediately before I have even thought about what I want to write about.
In order to ensure the number of updates, I wrote "fighting in the arena", "talisman competition"... this kind of very traditional fantasy plot.
It's a bit cool, but apart from giving the protagonist fame and resources, it doesn't promote the main plot, and the overall pace of the story becomes very slow.
In addition, as mentioned in the previous single chapter, another reason for Kavin is that "the plot loses a sense of urgency" and "the protagonist has no imminent goal."
A great author once said, "If you want the plot of a book to continue to develop, the protagonist needs to be in a state of lacking certain resources for a long time - in this way, the protagonist will have the motivation to work hard and take risks." .
The main logic of the book "Immortality" (before Emperor Tianxing opens his eyes) is the process of Gu Xu constantly fighting for resources in order to reach the seventh realm.
If written according to the original outline, Gu Xu in the second volume is lonely. He hides secrets, deals with various forces in Luo Jing, walks on thin ice, and does not fully trust the chief executive.
The Snow Girl Weapon Spirit is his only companion and also his ulterior trump card.
He needs to use wisdom and means to gain resources for himself and take root in the capital.
But when the heroine was changed to Xiaohan, not only did the emotional tone of the whole story become very relaxed and everyday, but Gu Xu also had no shortage of spiritual resources.
With his steady nature, he has no reason to venture out again. He can completely stay at home and cultivate into a saint, and then have a happy ending.
Therefore, in the second volume, many of the protagonist's motivations for going out to do things come from "the chief's arrangements."
Because the protagonist has no motivation of his own, the plot seems very mechanical and bland, losing tension and losing a lot of data.
An author friend commented: "According to the way you write it now, after the end of the first volume, the story has entered a happy ending. The hero and heroine saved their home and lived happily together. The following content can be regarded as a big story. Daily extra after the ending.
"However, when writing a long novel, you cannot write each volume too perfectly. You have to leave regrets, so that there will be content to write about later."
After realizing this problem, I have been thinking of ways to break this comfortable situation and put the protagonist in crisis and thirst for resources.
A book friend previously suggested that I get rid of Osamu's sword.
After all, "revenge" is one of the most powerful emotional motivations of all types throughout the ages.
But as a good writer, Pudding ultimately did not do so.
After all, when people read online articles, they just want to be happy and try not to abuse them if they can.
Of course, this idea can also be used for reference, which is to separate Gu Xu and Shi Xiaohan for a period of time - not only geographical separation, but also cutting off the supply of resources and spiritual dependence. In this way, Gu Xu will have the motivation to do things, and Xiao Han can grow up.
After thinking hard for a long time, I finally came up with the solution, which is to "break and then build".
As the protagonist, sooner or later he has to stand on the opposite side of the emperor and the court.
However, according to the original outline, the protagonist will have to wait until the end of the third volume before he will be charged with treason and wanted by the country. Before that, he will enter the "Shenji Camp" to complete tasks and obtain resources with other geniuses.
Of course, after the heroine was changed to Shi Xiaohan, the protagonist has no shortage of resources. The plot of "Shenji Camp" is not very necessary anymore. If you keep it, it will look very cumbersome.
So I directly deleted the plot of "Shenji Camp" and moved the reveal of the world view and Emperor Tianxing's arrest of Gu Xu to the end of the second volume.
Before the "Luoshui Conference", career, business, love... were all making rapid progress.
After the "Luoshui Conference", everything returned to the starting point.
In this comparison, there are conflicts and conflicts, which can also add tension to the plot.
So far it looks pretty good.
Previously, because of CAVin and the preparation for TOEFL and GRE, I stopped updating for a long time, and the subscriptions were almost completely dead.
I have also given up the pursuit of results, and only plan to finish this book seriously, as a summary of problems and experiences and lessons learned.
But unexpectedly, after Gu Xu broke through the fourth realm, the subscription actually showed signs of recovery.
It was definitely incomparable during the peak period, but new additions also increased from a few hundred per day to several thousand per day.
After finishing the second volume, I have to take two days off to sort out the details of the follow-up to avoid delays later.
There are still many pitfalls, and I haven’t figured out how to fill them in yet, such as the spirit of the "Jinghong Pen", such as the plot line of Snow Girl... I put a lot of effort into this area during the outline period, and Snow Girl was designed with the most care at the beginning. character of. Although I don’t necessarily want to write emotional dramas anymore, I don’t want to rush it either.
The second volume, "Seeing a dragon in the field", also comes from the "Book of Changes". The original text is "Seeing a dragon in the field, it is good to meet a noble person", which is translated as "A real dragon appears in the field, which is good for meeting noble people and developing oneself". It means "noble man, showing his talents for the first time".
Thank you all for your continued support!
Please stay tuned for the next volume "Maybe Leaping into the Abyss".
