Chapter 298: Volume Summary

Cough, cough, according to the old rule, after each volume is summarized, I will take a day off.

First, when writing "Qingshan," the point I was most gratified about is that reviewing the ending of each volume today, they are all better than the previous books. This is also the direction of effort for this book.

For example, when leaving Luò City, basically everyone had a very complete and also very wonderful account, whether it was a major character or a minor character, whether it was Master Yáo Qímén, Shìzǐ Zhū Yúnxī, or senior brothers Shé Dēngkē, Liú Qǔxīng; also Hu Jùnxián, Hu Sānyé, the shopkeeper.

It’s not as hasty as in the past.

I treat each volume as a tightrope walking process. The last three steps are always the hardest to walk well. This time, my spirit and endurance have both reached their limit. The most wonderful performance has already ended, so I always think about quickly finishing the last three steps, so that I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Facts prove that when you think this way, the last three steps often don't go well.

Before, they just didn't go well.

When starting the book "Qingshan," the biggest goal I set for myself was to learn how to patiently end things. Not only the ending of the whole book's story, but also the ending of each volume.

If it were in the past, I would definitely omit the entire process of entering the palace, and I would also let Liú Qǔxīng and Shé Dēngkē go with the flow and forget about them from then on.

But not this time. When I slow down, I will discover more details to interpret. I am more immersed in this story, seriously reviewing every character. Each of them will have their own echo.

It really is gratifying progress...

Secondly, when writing the first sequence, one of the biggest regrets was not writing the 178 barrier well. Although a lot of ink was used for the 178 barrier, it was more of Rèn Xiǎozhī's personal show.

At that time, I didn't have much writing experience (of course, I am still a rookie now). At that time, I hadn't thought through exactly what the group of people in the 178 barrier were persistent about, what their contradictions were, and what their regrets were.

They were like slightly empty label characters in my works, which made me feel a little sorry for them.

This time, although less ink was used, I think I really stood with the border army of Gǔyuán and felt their joy, sorrow, and regret.

It is truly joyful and congratulatory.

Furthermore, this time I tried a new writing method, which allowed me to add to my techniques and subtract from my expressions, learning to leave blanks and give book friends more room for imagination. Although it made me a bit unaccustomed, I slowly like the current writing method more.

In the past, I would say everything I wanted to say, for example, directly telling everyone that after living in passion, you will definitely return to trivial plainness. When the meritorious figures from the border town return to the core of power, they might get nothing. No one cares about your merit; your glory is not comparable to the power in their hands.

Returning to real life, now if you are selected as the "number one in the martial arts world," the first thing people might look at is whether you have a high title or a vice-high title, whether you have a master's degree, which faction you belong to, and who your dad is.

No one cares if your martial arts are the strongest. This is a terrifying version of rivers and lakes with Chinese characteristics.

This time, I seriously wrote a bit about the order of the team when entering the city, implicitly expressing something with this small matter, no longer talking at length.

Regardless of how everyone feels after reading, I think this writing method departs from empty narration and makes me more comfortable.

For example, I might have previously put the difference between the 'outer city' and 'inner city' of the capital on the surface, telling everyone that only officials, nobles, and the privileged class live in the inner city, and only a few common people have inner city household registration. I would explain this class distinction through narration. But this time, I held back and wrote about the common people in the outer city with their rough cloth clothes and excitement, their admiration and yearning for the military merits of the border town. Then I wrote about the officials and nobles in the inner city with their thin yarn jackets, and their concern for bright and beautiful appearances, family background, and official positions.

Some book friends can see the contrast, some are indifferent, but this doesn't matter and doesn't affect reading. Speaking for myself, I feel I have made a little progress.

Then I also restrained myself from writing some overly passionate and over-the-top plots and some pretentious language, making it more plain. I also reduced some overly cool and over-the-top plots, making it more logical.

The writing method of "Qingshan" is relatively more restrained than in the past. Of course, there are still many areas that are not good enough, and I will continue to work hard.

Furthermore, I also saw some book friends comment that this book is for film and television.

Everyone doesn't need to quarrel about this comment. When writing "Qingshan," I indeed used film and television writing methods. Before writing "Qingshan," I saw an interview with a senior writer. He said that in the mid-period of his writing career, he had already become a screenwriter, so when writing many plots, he completely used on-set scheduling thinking to write, which made the plot more accurate and used the character's perspective to look at the world, instead of using the author's own language for flat introductions.

So this time, when writing "Qingshan," I will first completely imagine the scene and details where the characters are located, and try as much as possible to give the story some movie-level picture design sense. This is a more mentally draining matter. Designing pictures is really very difficult... I am still slowly exploring...

But I said it's not entirely for film and television because I feel this itself is a writing method that approaches the essence of "story." Some book friends blame me for "writing a web novel and still doing these messy things." I humbly accept everyone's criticism. But the original intention of writing "Qingshan" was actually just to write about the ups and downs of characters and stories, with happiness and regret, firmness and betrayal, gathering and separation.

I feel that if it's just a straightforward cool and domineering story, there's no problem. It's cool to finish. I also like to read this kind of story. In the past, I basically read all of this kind. It's very happy and joyful to finish. When writing "Night's Naming Technique," the tone was also like this.

It's just that the original intention of this book "Qingshan" is not quite the same. It itself just wants to write about the twists and turns of love, hate, and separation. It wants to write something related to "heroes." The Minister of the Interior said that with fame and fortune as a knife, you can chop off nine points of the heroic spirit of the world. The overall story of this book also wants to write about the last point that cannot be chopped off.

"Qingshan" wants to write a lot, so it will be longer than past stories, because the requirements for it are higher, so I can only write slowly (of course, I will also try to be faster). So the current plot, whether it's sworn brothers or reunion, for me, it's actually just the beginning. They are the starting point of the story, not the end point.

I also don't want to spoil it. The story will become more wonderful as you read it bit by bit.

In this story that I claim is real, in fact, love, hate, and enmity, and each person, are not so simple. I have written a small biography for each of them, with past and future, ideals and shortcomings.

I really look forward to writing them out quickly, but I am also worried about writing crookedly or sloppily.

Thank you to every book friend who has persisted until now, thank you for your tolerance, and I also accept all your criticism. Once again, I sincerely apologize for my updates. In the past, I would childishly think that as long as I don't ask for monthly tickets, I don't owe anyone, but slowly I also found myself wrong. As long as the story begins, I have a responsibility.

Let me say sorry again. I am actually trying to update a bit more (although, um, everyone might not feel it...).

Finally, judging from my physical condition, "Qingshan" is probably the last super long work, so I still hope to walk a bit more steadily and have fewer regrets. Although my ability is limited, I will try to do my best.

Thank you again to every book friend who has followed until now, thank you all. See you tomorrow.