Only then can I know what to maintain and what to improve. Hmm, I'll talk about my own creative methodology. Of course, it's something I've refined and belongs to me. It doesn't mean that it's suitable for others or other platforms. It's good to gain insights from it, but it's easy to be unaccustomed to it by copying it. There's a difference between absolute truth and relative truth, not to mention such personal insights. Those who learn from me will live, and those who imitate me will die, right?
As far as I am concerned, the first and most important word in creation is "expression."
The word expression is very broad. In a narrow sense, it can be the theme of an article or the central idea. In a broad sense, anything that I wish to convey to the reader is a form of expression. We can express our thoughts about humanity and our understanding of The World. We can also express our satisfaction, or to put it more simply, "I want to feel good."
What do I hope to express in this book, Mysteries?
Firstly, it's to combine Western mysticism with elements like the Cthulhu Mythos and the SCP Foundation to produce a novel, interesting, complex, and fun view of The World.
Secondly, it's a ray of light amidst the darkness and despair ("Yes, it's …" Just as Amon was about to jump out, Little Ke covered his mouth. "It's me.") This ray of light is the pity of humanity and also the hymn of human courage. The darkness and despair is the situation of the workers and farmers during the first industrial revolution. It's also the old days brought about by the Cthulhu Mythos. Evil gods, the unknown, the unbearable, chaos, madness, despair, and helplessness.
Thirdly, it's the confrontation and fusion of humanity and divinity. The reason why I named Little Ke's pathway as Seer, with the endpoint being The Fool, is partly because of the need of the storyline. Also, the early stages of the Seer pathway can naturally unfold many elements of mysticism and bring them into the story in an interesting manner. On the other hand, Mysteries' hidden main body, uh, it's not really hidden. I've already written it in the introduction: The Legend of The Fool.
In other words: The Journey of The Fool.
As for the tarot cards, which is an important element of this book, there's a more accepted interpretation that it describes the journey of The Fool. It starts with The Fool and ends with The World, achieving perfection.
Of course, it was impossible for me to copy the interpretation and imagery of tarot cards. I would make some modifications based on the book of Mysteries. Therefore, the journey of a fool referred to the gradual change from a human to a god. It referred to the spiritual journey brought about by the confrontation and fusion of humanity and divinity.
I hoped that Little Ke would always have a human side, a warm side. That was why I didn't directly describe Little Ke's psychological activities. Instead, I focused more on other people, on the frequency and depth of his interactions with the World and the people around him. It was more indirect.
Therefore, as time went on, no matter how much Little Ke emphasized his humanity, the readers felt that he was getting further and further away from human society. He was getting more and more lonely, more and more abstract, and gradually losing the sense of flesh and blood. This was the journey of a fool.
This structure design is actually a bit of a trick, because my inspiration came from the previous books. Hmm, except for martial arts. Some people say that the later the main character gets, the more inhuman they become, the more detached they become from reality. They no longer have the feeling of being rooted in the World or society. In that case, I might as well make this change from an unconscious author to a conscious one. This inspiration came about after I finished reading some tarot books.
Now that I compared it, the first point was barely achieved. The second point was that the light part was not bad. The darkness part was good in the early stages, but it became weaker in the later stages as my power level increased.
This was indeed a problem, and it was also a problem with the structure of Mysteries. It was also the fourth part of the methodology that I will talk about later, "Structure."
Going back to the main topic, starting from Sequence 3, the entire book actually had a certain style separation in the mysticism section and the fear of the unknown. For the Cthulhu elements, once the unknown was explained, it would lose most of its charm when it stepped onto the stage. Therefore, the sense of chaos and madness in the later stages was maintained well. Darkness, despair, mystery, and insignificance were definitely lacking.
Before I started the book, I was very hesitant. Should I only write up to Sequence 3 and leave the rest as the background? That way, the overall style of the mysterious World would be very unified. That kind of captivating feeling, accompanied by the sense of exploration and fear, and the sense of mystery would be able to permeate the entire book.
But in the end, I was still a little greedy. I hoped that Mysteries would be able to outline the overall appearance of the World. After that, I would be able to calmly express myself in this World view.
Thirdly, my personal score was above passable. It didn't exceed 80. The main reason was that I wasn't ruthless enough, and my expression wasn't direct enough.
After saying "expression," the second set of keywords in my creation was "interesting, interesting."
In other words, after determining what I wanted to express, then I would have to examine my theme and possible expression methods to see if they were suitable.
It wasn't that some themes couldn't be written. Excluding external factors, whether a theme could be written depended on whether one could write it in an interesting and interesting manner.
Even home-cooked dishes depended on who cooked them and how they were cooked.
Yes, in essence, humans seek novelty and novelty. Of course, they also seek to feel refreshed and touched. I will deal with the latter two in the "Emotions" section. Here, I will only talk about novelty and novelty.
Novelty doesn't refer to simply being rare, and novelty doesn't refer to simply seeking novelty. They should be closer to being creative and different from others.
As for interesting and interesting, in terms of meaning, the difference is quite big. Interesting refers to fun and novelty, while interesting can have the additional meaning of "being able to ponder over it."
Interesting doesn't necessarily mean that it's fun or funny, but it can make people immerse themselves in it and find it interesting. They can ponder over it and let their imaginations wander.
Interesting doesn't necessarily mean that it's interesting. Nowadays, there are many simple, relaxing, funny, and memes. There is also a huge market.
Of course, the two can also be combined. In addition to being interesting, it can make people feel that it's interesting. They will be willing to ponder over it, research it, immerse themselves in it, and fantasize about it. That will make it twice as attractive.
In addition to being interesting, if I can make the writing, character interactions, and details interesting, it can also serve as the finishing touch, giving people more motivation to pursue it.
For Mysteries, the goal I set for myself was to first make it interesting, then pursue it. Now that I look at it, with 22 Sequence pathways, 220 potions, nine sefirot, and the acting method, this system has indeed achieved novelty, novelty, interesting, and interesting.
As for the actions, interactions, and details, I tried my best not to be monotonous or boring. Most of the time, I still met the requirements.
Of course, there was still room for improvement in this area.
My third creative keyword is "immersion."
In fact, there are many types of immersion. Indeed, many people immerse themselves in the protagonist, but there are also people who immerse themselves in the protagonist's father, mother, brother, or girlfriend. There are also people who immerse themselves in the supporting roles, the audience, the reader, the World view, the Earth community, the holiness of science, the classical culture, and so on and so forth.
And when an author has determined what they want to "express," they have also found an interesting and interesting entry point in the theme and expression. Then, the next question to consider is which angle they want the main readers to immerse themselves in. This will determine what kind of narrative techniques they will use, the structure of the article, and what kind of foreshadowing.
Previously, I wrote an idea on my public account that was only three chapters long. Actually, it was an idea that came from the perspective of "immersion". I hoped that the main readers would immerse themselves in Earth's knowledge, watching a native make a fool of himself and grow up with the help of Earth's knowledge. It would be a more satisfying experience.
In addition to the common immersion of the protagonist, Mysteries also put more effort into the power system, potions, acting method, and the overall view of the World. Therefore, it uses a lot of suspense and deciphering techniques. Bit by bit, it unfolds bit by bit, allowing everyone to immerse themselves in it.
My fourth creative keyword is "structure."
After taking the first three steps and thinking of the outline of the story, I have to think of the overall structure based on these.
Therefore, when I say that the ending of Mysteries is expected from the beginning, it can be completely seen. The contrast between the beginning and the end, the cycle of fate, and the ending of the story are all unfolding under a big structure. To me, this has a strange sense of beauty.
Apart from the overall structure, there is also the structure of each individual part. I've talked about the structure of the first book before, and I'm very proud of it. I've also talked about the structure of the second and third books, but after that, I rarely mention this word. This is mainly because the further I write, the more restrictions there are, and the less freedom there is. If I can't think of a good structure or a good entry point, I'd rather use the most common or already used story structure. There's nothing special to talk about.
Among them, the fourth book is the type that progresses layer by layer, and finally explodes. The fifth book is the type that grows bigger and bigger, and finally produces a huge change. As mentioned in the sixth book, it's the type where the climax is sandwiched in the middle. The seventh book is the sudden explosion in the daily travel, and overall, it's similar to the structure of the second book. The eighth book is the continuous climax, and then ends with a lingering charm.
Among these, when I officially start writing some books, I don't have a clear idea of the structure, or I don't know how to achieve the desired effect, which leads to a rhythm problem in the middle, or I have no choice but to lose some things in order to make the plot more reasonable.
These are all experiences and lessons learned. In the future, when I write a new book, I need to make sure that I have a very clear understanding of the structure and grasp it. I don't just have a concept and try it out vaguely, explore, and write it. This way, if I'm lucky and in a good state, I can grab hold of inspiration, and maybe there will be a surprise, but most of the time, there will be many problems.
My fifth creative keyword is "realistic, real."
This is actually developed from the third keyword, "immersion." At first, I thought that the most immersive thing was probably the most realistic environment, and then on this basis, surpassing reality, and the most realistic is undoubtedly our daily life, which is the theme of the city.
Under this premise, the city is definitely the easiest theme to immerse in. So, after the end of my previous life, I wanted to merge fantasy into the city, which is both realistic and surpasses reality. At the same time, I also wanted to practice my ability to write about the details of daily life, and so I wrote this book, "Martial Arts." Actually, the effect in the early stages is not bad, but later on, I realized that I underestimated a problem, which is the limitations of the city itself. Because I didn't fully consider this point when I set up the setting, it caused the later stages to be unable to develop, and the story is repetitive and lacks variety.
This idea of mine has been verified in some of the popular themes in recent years, which is quite gratifying. However, 404's focus is on the urban theme, which caused the big trend that I imagined to not appear.
After writing "Martial Arts," I have a deeper understanding of immersion and reality. I think that compared to "reality," "reality" can better reflect the essence.
As long as it is realistic enough to immerse the reader, it can also achieve the effect of reality, and it also has the meaning of pursuing novelty.
Therefore, when I was writing Mysteries, I looked up a lot of information and filled in the details. I wanted to make this world seem real, so that everyone would naturally be immersed in it when they read it. They would know what they eat, what they use, how much they spend, and what their customs are.
This actually has something in common with the AAA masterpieces in recent years, which are open, free, and realistic World.
Realism, immersion, these were the ideas that gradually became clear to me after I finished writing about martial arts and mysteries. It was only at this time that I truly refined my own complete writing methodology.
Of course, this method of writing is really tiring, very tiring.
This point, "Mysteries" was done very well in the early and middle stages. Later on, when the Sequence increased, there was a certain degree of weakness. The next step is to think about how to create realism at a high level of power.
The sixth keyword is "gentle."
I remember the previous part of the summary, so I won't elaborate on it here. The main thing is that after writing so many words in one go, my thoughts are beginning to wander, and I want to have fun and slack off.
"Gentle." My understanding is that the plot twist has enough foreshadowing, the advancement of the emotions has enough fermentation process, and there is enough suitable release. If the former is not done well, it will be a twist for the sake of a twist, and a climax for the sake of a climax. It will only be abrupt, and it will not reflect the impact. The latter can easily become a drama, and it will be too sensational.
In this aspect, I have been restraining myself. If it is not suitable for me to use my saber, I will absolutely not use it. I cannot use a saber for the sake of a saber. If a main character's death is not worthwhile, appropriate, and impactful, then it is better for him to be alive. Trauma for the sake of trauma is not gentle enough.
Similarly, I should not blindly stir up emotions where it should not be stirred up. The expression of my emotions must be clear when I should restrain myself, when I can explode, whether the overall atmosphere supports it, and so on.
Also, I can't smack people in the face for the sake of smacking people in the face. I should feel good about it for the sake of feeling good. When the plot moves forward, the point of feeling good will naturally be gentle, and it will not make people feel awkward.
In this aspect, I have done quite well in terms of mysteriousness. The only time I have exceeded it was in the chapter where I asked myself, but that was also traceable.
The seventh keyword is "character."
As I said before, I first focus on the story before the character, which is different from first focus on the character before the story. But from the beginning of martial arts, I increasingly feel that the character is equally important.
In a book, the World's view is the skeleton, the plot is the meat, and the character is the blood. Without good characters, the book will be lifeless. It is difficult to make every part of a long story interesting and attractive. It is also difficult to create resonance, moving, and other emotions.
In terms of character creation, apart from the layers of character settings, I have also slowly explored a word: "interaction."
The establishment of a character's image lies in the character's interaction. Individual psychological interactions and individual actions are useful once or twice, but it will inevitably be monotonous, thin, and boring after a few more times.
With interaction, the character will come to life and show different versions of themselves in different interactions.
I will not expand on the specifics because I have written too much, and I want to finish it as soon as possible.
Also, the ultimate character must come from the ultimate plot, and the ultimate plot must be able to create the ultimate character. The two are not completely separated.
In this book of Mysteriousness, I have gone from a vague understanding to a clear application. It can be said that I have gained something and created some decent characters. Of course, some of the characters are limited by the length and the growth curve of the characters cannot keep up with Little Ke. I can only be considered to have completed the first half of the book. I hope that in the future, the second half of the book will be better.
In conclusion, although Amon is annoying to many people, his overall character completion rate is the highest apart from Little Ke's.
Similarly, I have certain problems with the creation of many villains. As mentioned in the seventh book, I am used to setting up too strong characters, lacking enough opportunities to appear, and the accumulation of emotions is very little. There is even less interaction. I have to change this in the future.
In addition, with the keyword "reality," I also have to pay attention to the problem of whether the characters are distorted. Sometimes, if the characters are too funny and have too many jokes, it is easy for them to be distorted and degenerate into the kind of characters in most anime. Of course, this does not mean that such characters are not attractive. Whether they are distorted or not depends on the overall atmosphere of the story.
The eighth keyword is "change."
This is mentioned the most in the summary. The most taboo in a book is to not change at all. Regardless of whether it is the light or the dark lines, there must be a certain amount of change. Otherwise, it will not be able to support a long length. Even the simplest structure of the Endless Wind Xuanhuan must bring about changes by repeatedly changing the map to eliminate the sense of repetition in the plot.
In the process of writing Mysteriousness, in the middle of the fourth book, the leveling up line was too long, resulting in insufficient changes and a decrease in the tension of the plot. Previously, in the later stages of the martial arts, the plot began to repeat, and the fights became more and more boring. This is all mentioned before. I have to improve in the future, always pay attention, be clear, and take precautions in advance.
The ninth keyword is "details."
Details. The devil is always in the details. This is also the key to "substitution," "reality," "gentleness," and "character" being put into practice.
Without details, it will undoubtedly be unrealistic, impossible to substitute, boring interaction, and sudden changes.
This is a big topic. Please allow me to be lazy and not talk about it. After all, this is not a writing class.
In short, there are many details in Mysteriousness, so there is texture, characters, pictures, and emotional resonance. I am very satisfied with this. However, in the later stages of the battle, there is too much abstraction and conceptualization. Gradually, there is a lack of details. This is indeed a big problem.
I have some ideas on this point. This is the inspiration that Jojo gave me. It is to give the rules and restrictions of the ability, as simple as possible but clear enough rules and restrictions. Then, I can write within this framework. This way, the ability has boundaries, and the details are guaranteed.
This is something that can be improved in the future.
The tenth keyword is "emotion."
At this point, I really don't want to write anymore. It is too tiring, and I have emotions.
Sigh, actually, many web novelists have talked about emotions. Many even use it as the core of their writing methods. The entire story is planned and laid out around how to arouse the reader's emotions.
I also attach great importance to emotions, because a good climax, a good scene, a good character will ultimately contain or bring about emotions. Without emotions, the story will be dry and lack sufficient attraction.
I won't talk about other methods to attract hatred. I know more, but I use less. I prefer to use the conflict of the plot to advance.
However, for emotions, I will always pay attention to whether the progression of the emotions is natural, smooth, and if there are too many interruptions in the middle. Otherwise, it will not be able to stack up the climax and build up the sense of impact.
In addition, emotions cannot be equated with hatred and venting. There is also love and justice. No, there is also touching, affection, satisfaction, and so on. A good author should try to enrich their arsenal as much as possible and increase the types of emotions that can be aroused.
In Mysteriousness, I am very restrained in the overall emotions I give, and I have been softening the progress of the emotions. Therefore, the many keywords in the writing definitely do not exist in isolation. They all complement each other and form a natural whole.
As for the classic emotional expression scenes in Mysteriousness, I can recall some of them even with my eyes closed. I won't praise myself, mainly because I am too lazy to write them. In short, it is done well. In the next novel, I hope to increase the intensity of the emotional outburst and combine it with other emotional expression methods.
The eleventh keyword, replace the climax with 'impact', and the scenes like 'Chernobyl' are the performance. The twelfth keyword … Forget it, I won't write anymore. I am too tired and I have vomited out all the ink. Anyway, it is the less important ones.
I am not afraid of others copying my creative ideas. On the contrary, I rather hope that others will copy my ideas. This means that I will have many books that suit my tastes. However, this kind of writing is bound to be tiring. Of course, it is also very satisfying. Hmm, the last number of subscriptions.
The average subscriptions for Mysteriousness are currently 109,000. Due to the bonus of the last novel, the subscriptions have always been quite high. Overall, it is slightly higher than the seventh novel. Most of the time, it hovers between 61,000 to 63,000. The lowest is 58,000. The highest is the last three chapters, which have exceeded 70,000. The last chapter is now 90,000 in 24 hours.
After writing Mysteriousness and summarizing the gains and losses, I will talk about the new book.
Hmm, I will not start Mysteriousness 2 directly. I am worried that I will repeat some of the things in this novel. I hope to write something else to refresh my mind and accumulate some knowledge.
The new book mentioned before, choose between the Wasteland and Xianxia. When writing Mysteriousness, I hope that the next novel can have a lighter tone and be more fun. So, at first, I was leaning towards Xianxia. Later, someone told me that I can make the main character a little crazier and let him dilute the tone of the Wasteland. This seems quite interesting.
In short, the scale is balanced again. After I rest for a while and clear my mind, I will ask myself which novel I want to write the most.
The preliminary date of the new book is mid-November. I will announce the specific time on the official account. From now until then, I will first serialize a 20,000-30,000-word fanfic here. Then, from time to time, I will put up some Mysteriousness settings on the official account and write some fanfic. At the same time, I will announce the theme of the new book, some settings, and recruit small characters. Search for 'wuzei1985' and you will find the cartoon avatar.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone once again. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this book and liked it. You have given me the opportunity to tell the story in my heart.
Also, thank you to those who have always voted for us. Two days ago, we broke the record for the male genre in Qidian. Let us congratulate ourselves.
Thank you to those who have voted for us. Xiao Ke, Audrey, Leonard, and Sharon have their own birthday parties because of this.
Thank you to those who have tipped me. My attitude has always been to not let this affect my own life, my own studies, and my own other entertainment. Under this premise, I can only open my shirt pocket and say, "No need, no need." Who doesn't love money?
Thank you to my friends who have sent messages for Mysteriousness and Love. It's a great experience to be liked and recognized.
Thank you to my moderators and managers. You have really worked hard. You have taken up a lot of the blame.
Thank you to my staff. I have taken up too much of your time to give suggestions for the cover and the peripherals.
Thank you to those who have commented and commented on this chapter. Most of the time, you have brought me a good mood. At first, I read every single one of them. Later, there were more and more, and I really couldn't read all of them. It would delay writing, so I could only fix a time point and read a part of it.
Thank you to all those who have accompanied Mysteriousness to the end. I have been lucky to have your company for the past two years. I also hope that this will be a beautiful memory in your life.
Finally, I put my hand on my chest and bowed.
Finally, I multiplied it by 3. The fanfic that we agreed on will be at 12: 30 noon on May 7th. It will be updated in the form of a chapter speech. One chapter a day for seven to ten days.
After writing the speech, I will have a good rest and sleep in.
I look forward to seeing you all again!
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