ccnovels #480 - Happy New Year! End of the volume!
#480 - Happy New Year! End of the volume!
First, I wish all my esteemed readers a Happy New Year!
May everything go smoothly for you, may all your wishes come true, and may your snake-like movements be stylish and dazzling all year long!
Ahem, I was originally planning to update diligently during the New Year to make up for the previous continuous sick days and missed updates.
But I never expected that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I would actually…
Have writer's block!
People say that whatever you do on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you'll do all year long. Does that mean I'll have writer's block for the entire year?
Please, no!
Hehe, after finishing Act Nine, I felt a sense of emptiness in my heart.
The departure of a major character can also evoke a sense of melancholy in the creator, leading to a surge of emotions.
Right now, my mind is filled with the image of an old, white-haired 'young' woman sitting in a rocking chair, watching the starry sky and the fleet outside the window.
Only when this image fades away will this writer's block subside.
Let's talk about writing-related matters!
After all, this is what authors and readers can chat about.
Although the market environment is constantly changing, the results of 'Abyssal Walker,' 'Immortal Father,' and 'Mixed Immortal' have been steadily increasing. These three books all have their own shortcomings, and the shortcomings and flaws that appear in each book are different.
'Abyssal Walker' stubbornly adheres to space opera, while 'Immortal Father' simultaneously depicts the father and son, causing a misplaced sense of perspective.
By the time of 'Mixed Immortal,' the shortcoming became the overly fast pace in the early stages, which made it impossible to follow up in the mid and late stages.
Originally, according to my own plans and my confidence in my writing skills, I had arranged enough plot to transition, but I never expected that when I wrote around chapter 300, Gui's Dao heart…
Shattered.
The shattering of the Dao heart led to a decline in the expressive power of the writing, which became a small regret in the middle stage of 'Mixed Immortal'.
However, the plot direction was not affected, only the fight scenes were not intense enough, and the emotional pacing was also lacking.
My creative method is to conceive images in my mind and express these images with words, so my daily state is very important to me. (Moreover, I will experience some pauses in the continuity of the plot because the images are interrupted and need to be reconnected.)
Gui's psychological quality is actually not bad.
The setback at the Heavenly Court three years ago did not defeat me. I relied on 'Abyssal Walker,' 'Immortal Father,' and 'Mixed Immortal' to climb back up step by step.
My ambition for this career has not diminished.
I still want to write a second phenomenal bestseller, using different methods, different paths, and different writing concepts to reach the top again.
But when the staff of the leading domestic online literature platform successfully destroyed my pursuit of writing…
I admit that I was indeed defeated for the next two months. Although I consciously tried to forget about this matter and gradually regain my state, the chapters written during that time lacked a sense of passion.
I need a collision!
I need Pawoo!
Why was I so affected by this setback?
Because I was really seriously exploring the compatibility between space opera and online literature!
I put in so much effort, spent so much time and brain cells, and always fantasized about creating a series!
And this is the result!
The royalties for 'Immortal Father' are twice as high as those for 'Abyssal Walker'… I really gave up writing books that would easily make money, and under the pressure from the platform, I explored this path!
It's painful to think about it.
So, I'd better not think about it and let it become a thing of the past.
Many readers may have only read one or two of my books and are not aware of my creative trajectory.
My daughter is now seven years old, which means that from one and a half years before her birth until now, I have never stopped writing. The only real vacation I have after finishing a book is about half a month, and then I jump into preparing a new book and starting to publish it.
Under the pen name 'Yan Gui Zheng Zhuan' alone, I have written more than 20 million words in 2,400 days.
Besides being a perennial runner-up, the label that Gui recognizes for himself is that of a model worker in online literature.
Half of the reason for working so hard is—of course, I want to earn royalties.
To provide a good living environment for my family and enjoy a sense of fulfillment in reality.
But it's not just for royalties.
After all, I don't speculate in stocks, I don't do business, and my operating expenses are very low. Almost all of the royalties I earn are pure profit.
'Senior Brother,' 'Human Immortal,' and 'Immortal Father' are all books with very good revenue.
Especially 'Senior Brother,' I can continue to earn royalties based on its influence.
And frankly speaking, my material desires are relatively low. After graduating from university, I was very happy living in a small county, spending all night in internet cafes with my brothers and coding during the day. It was very happy. After having a child at the age of 26, I suddenly awakened the fighting genes of a Shandong man and decided to study the market, write online literature well to make money, and then created the pseudonym 'Yan Gui Zheng Zhuan'.
The other half of the reason is love.
It's really just a love for writing.
I like to try different themes, different stories, and different character shaping methods.
I like to immerse myself in the world I construct and let my imagination run wild.
I also like readers' praise. I'm a little afraid to read readers' bad reviews, but most of the time I can understand why readers would give bad reviews, and sometimes I even anticipate it in advance.
Of course, apprentice's bad reviews don't count, even if you have LV5 or LV6.
After writing 'Senior Brother Human Immortal,' I even felt that the supporting character designs in 'Senior Brother Human Immortal' were too 'skillful,' and I tried to break them up, crush them, and reassemble them.
The newest novels are first published on 69shu吧!
This is very interesting, but it seems that the readers don't like it very much.
As for the future, don't worry, everyone, I will continue to move forward and climb up again.
The title of Platinum God was brought back by 'Senior Brother Human Immortal'.
Various awards were also given to me by the leaders in recognition of the influence of my work.
The thing I'm most satisfied with about Heavenly Court is that I persisted for 1.3 million words and wrote the ending of Heavenly Court.
The thing I'm most satisfied with about Immortal Father is that I didn't let the father and son turn against each other to stir up the readers' emotions, but instead maintained the original intention of creating this book—a harmonious father-son relationship.
The thing I'm most satisfied with about Mixed Immortal is that I tried a super-fast-paced writing method, which was extracted and improved by Gui from the propulsion rhythm of the Feilu style. Today is not a writing skill sharing, so I won't mention it too much. The first one million words of Mixed Immortal can be regarded as a test of my current writing ability.
Well, I've written so much for this afterword, let's just use this as the completion afterword later.
It's definitely not going to be abandoned or end poorly!
I've already conceived the subsequent plot!
The state that was affected this time has been slowly rescued by Gui's efforts. When Gui returns to Weihai on the fifth or sixth day of the Lunar New Year, he will try to resume normal time updates.
Gui will continue to polish the story well in the future and strive to bring the overall rating of this book back a bit!
In addition, this setback has also made me realize a truth.
Literary youth disease has no future.
But I always firmly believe that literary youth disease can uphold the bottom line.
The influence and dissemination of works are the aspects that I value more in the next seven years.
Let me repeat some relevant information!
After finishing this book, Mixed Immortal, I want to take a long rest, half a year or a year, to let myself adjust my state, and also take the time to reread the anime, novels, and TV series that I have accumulated and liked over the years, to recharge myself well.
The subsequent writing direction is to draw from the seven books: "Earth's First Sword," "My Senior Brother is Too Cautious," "This Human Immortal is Too Serious," "The Last Big Boss of Heavenly Court," "Abyssal Walker," "Immortal Father," and "Mixed Immortal," and extract the architecture, world view, and character settings of the seven stories to carry out improved writing.
This can be better commercialized.
Before I come up with a cautious character setting that surpasses Li Changshou, I will not write a Senior Brother type, but I will only use the mythological system and character interaction relationships that I extracted from Senior Brother.
I will be more inclined to extract and reshape books with relatively large regrets.
For example, the results of Immortal Father have never been able to rise, I can change to a more commercial writing method.
Of course, there is also the reconstruction of Abyssal Walker, which is the sequel. This preparation is considered relatively sufficient, but there may be resistance.
There is also the Great Wilderness system of Human Immortal, the ancient Chu mythology is very interesting.
The post-mythological era system of Heavenly Court can also be continued to be improved.
Et cetera.
Gui can write and wants to write really a lot, and it's not a problem to create another 20 million words.
I won't directly draw cards for Mixed Immortal in recent years. This kind of world view mix-and-match path is really very, very difficult!
Finally, I will encourage myself with my favorite philosophical saying, and also encourage the readers who are working hard, experiencing troughs, and undergoing trials:
"Only by living can you eat the line, and you can always become a god if you don't die!"
Yan Gui bows!
January 29, 2025!
PS: Tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year. In my hometown of Shandong, we have to go to the ancestral graves. I will try my best to produce an update at noon!