The End of Volume 8[]
Afterwords (Part 1)[]
Originally I was planning on taking a rest, and start writing this tomorrow. But maybe because this is a sensitive time period (due to the recent developments). Many friends private messaged me with all kinds of text message and mails, asking me questions. I was thinking of having a good afternoon nap, relaxing the excitement that I built up from writing the conclusion, but my phone kept going verrrrrr.......
^&&%^ I....Do you guys want me to sleep or not.
Ending Before June is something that has been planned ahead a long time ago. I've stressed this point quite early, it's just that at the time I could not predict it exactly, so I said it very vaguely, stating no later than June. After all, I have to leave out enough room for flexibility, right? If it weren't for the Corona virus, I probably would be packing my things and going on a tour in Spain in the next few days.
Also, my contract was signed at the end of 2016. And the contract ends at early 2022. There's one more book (under the contract) left, and it's going to be about 3,000,000 words. This new book is definitely going to be released on Qidian.
Now that we finished the unrelated topics, let us get back to the book itself.
If we talk about the tail end part of Volume 7, where I chose the more logical development (Adam not waiting for Klein), leading to the story suddenly speeding up, unable to have more detailed and fulfilling development. Then it really was my fault in Volume 7. But, in Volume 8, starting from chapter 1 of this volume, everything is within my control, as I've made up my mind beforehand. Which chapter should write what? Where to have a twist? how to wrap up the end? I've finished thinking about all those things. So the problem of "story suddenly speeding up", and "too many side quests/branches getting cut off" don't exist.
This ending, I have already decided on ending it this way before I even started writing LOTM 1. Every Member of the Tarot Club, after experiencing a myriad of Passive-ness, hope/expectation, Lose/confusion, and stagnation/hesitation, finally escape from each of their own comfort zones, to face this world, to face all types of difficulties. And for Klein and Azik, they achieved a reincarnation and cycling on their roles.
When the ending arrived (Klein's Niece), Eerie Mysteries and Innocence, Dimmed light and Blazing sun (the room and the window), Darkness and Rebirth becoming vivid comparisons. Forming a scenery that's rather unique and amazing, a mix of Cthulhu vibe and warmth at the same time. At the same time it pointed out the detail and fact of --- "Klein has achieved initial stage of waking up". This makes sure people know that this book series isn't "eunuch-ed"
As for the hidden storyline buried by the five gold coins, each Tarot Club member's experience and stories, and every other hole that I dug in LOTM 1 that wasn't a part of the Main Storyline (Klein's Story), they are of course material left purposely for LOTM 2. I really really was very blatantly clear with my writing, that this last part is both an ending, but also a prologue.
Mmh, LOTM 2 story is going to be set in-between "Klein Sleeping or even a little bit before he went to sleep" and ends with "He wakes up".
Even this time frame setting about LOTM 2 was something that was decided before LOTM 1 was even written. Why did I consider a second book when doing my settings? For one, I feel my world setting is too huge and detailed, there are way too many things to write about. If I were to dump everything into one book, then inevitably there will be a confusion of Main storyline and Side storyline; Unnecessarily long Side Storyline; Scattered and Boring; Structurally Bloated to an unsightly degree. Secondly, the growth curve of the Tarot Club Members cannot keep up with our MC Klein. If I gave them too many Side Quests and more stories, for the sole purpose of justifying and making their "improvement" logical enough, then it will crash against the Main Story's structure. This will also cause the problem of confusion of Main/Side Storyline. If I don't give them those extra quests and stories in LOTM 1, and still let them grow, making the Tarot Club members exert critical influence and usefulness at crucial moments, then it will only make the readers feel cheap. There will be a great number of readers/friends who will feel that the Tarot Club members just rode on the Klein Train and sucked off of the Main Character's plot armor aura. They will feel that the Tarot Club members obtained everything "too easily" or "Because they are main side characters needed to defeat Error etc. etc."
So, after balancing all my options, combining all situations from different perspectives, I made the final decision and oath to at least MUST write an LOTM 2. In this way, LOTM 1 could leisurely walk its Main Storyline, doesn't have to go “dungeoning” and "farming exp" all over the world map, keeping the focus in one country, in Backlund. And Tarot Club members are only finishing up their life's first half, completing metamorphosis and growth, and leaving their comfort zones. They will go to LOTM 2 to demonstrate to us, an even grander, more amazing, and more exciting life and story.
For me, this is also a challenge. How to, after a few years later (remember it won't be until AT LEAST 2022 for LOTM 2), to bring every reader back into this world. How to allow new readers, who never read LOTM 1, to also smoothly read LOMT 2 without any difficulties and limit. Before LOTM, I don't have experience with writing series/trilogy type books. I don't have the experience of writing a second book under the same world setting. On one side, I didn't even think about going "series" when making the setting for the previous few books, lacking the appropriate amount of space to expand. Secondly, I was afraid to repeat the formulas and cliches of "the first book" in "the second", unable to make breakthroughs in my writing ability. But this kind of fear is also a self-limit in of itself, now I feel confident enough to try challenging it, as I have already found my own writing philosophy.
I said in the past, my favorite saying..no..my motto is:
"Never satisfied, always challenging."
For LOTM2, I haven't decided on the Main Character, and how this character is going to cut into the story. but right now within my mind some story scenes have already popped up:
It will be Hidden Storyline composed of: Every single member of the Tarot Club, and their many attempts at awaking Klein; Using the five gold coins and the iron cigar box to represent different characters.
The Main Character of LOTM 2 may encounter a Hunter Pathway who light up a cigar and talk about the past; He may occasionally peek/be shown a beautiful, half-covered face; He may hear about a NEW CONTINENT being discovered abroad; He may interact with the Kings and Queens of the Five Seas; He may go on an adventure to explore those remaining, shrouded legends of treasures; He may come into conflict and interaction with "Transmigraters" of all kinds (released from cocoon), and "infiltrators" of all kinds; As for the exact "genre", I will have to decide on it later. All in all, from a world setting perspective, I left a crap-load of space for LOTM 2. I am absolutely not worried about not having anything to write about.
As for The Apocalypse, it's not something that can be solved with one book. And in order to make The Apocalypse in the second book more "Pressing" and "Choking", I decided to give Mother Goddess of Depravity a mythical grade upgrade and reinforcement. Joking! Anyways, using a Chinese novel synopsis written in comedy style, I want to say: Why are male pigs pregnant? Why is a man having a bloated belly? Why did a rock give birth to a child? Behind all these incidents, was it the distortion of human morality? or the corruption of virtues?..........As for how this upgrade is done, it will probably be put into LOTM 3 that is about the Western Continent. But I might not write that book, Serious Face.
Western Continent related settings --- I actually didn't create these settings beforehand, all I did was leave an "electric outlet", an opening ready for connection at any time. The remaining 7 Sefirot that are stuck there, the very few beyonder characters there (There's no Sequence 1 BC and Uniqueness on Western Continent - cuttlefish word), what kind of world would this situation create, and what kind of power system would that isolated continent have?
I recently confirmed my fundamental ideas for the Western Continent, I know what kind of setting I will be making, hehehe.
Mhh, Western Continent will have Orthodox Sect system with the Sefirot as the core; And the Alternative/Demonic/Freelancer sect system that uses the 9 through 2 beyonder characteristics as the basics and foundation; And the Lower/Third Grade "Normie" Sect system who has to use a mixture of Sefirot and Beyonder Characteristics to level themselves.
The Sefirot as Orthodox Sect is inspired by Daoism's concept of "Ordained", and created following that line of thinking. Mmmh, "Ordained" means if you are recognized by the "Heaven Palace" (Sefirot), you will become a part of this system, and you can happily summon "Servant God" to help you fight. For those who aren't ordained by a divine realm, when they want to summon "Servant Gods", why would these summons even give a fuck about you? So this create a "class separation" between the ordained and the un-ordained. Those who are "ordained" are basically "within the political system" per se. After that, if I change the "Heavenly Palace" and "Sacred Land" in Cultivation genre into Sefirot. Tada ~ the whole setting of this cultivation-ish world becomes eerily mysterious and lively.
I've written this much After Words, now I'm hungry. My wife is pushing me along and wants me to go out to buy food right now....after all, this After Words was a sudden decision. Mmmh, I should finish writing it right here, I will continue this After Words tomorrow. I will talk about this Book --- LOTM 1's thoughts and lessons after creation. I will talk about my writing and creation methods and philosophies.
Also, extremely grateful to XXXBig Boss's donations, when I opened up Qidian Reader just now I was almost scared by the surprise. Also, after this, I will release a bonus 20,000 to 30,000 words bonus chapter as a fixed schedule update. Then from that point onward, future bonus chapters will be irregular, non-fixed time updates.
Originally I wasn't planning on writing these bonus chapters. But then I discovered that there are so many things I could write that don't involve contents in LOTM 2. For example, Klein's dreams when he's sleeping. fragments of stories and tales from the 4th Epoch etc., etc.
In regards to how Lord of Mysteries' revival backup plan using cocooned people was disrupted, causing Both Evernight and Rosselle to get out without much trouble, and only started self-correcting by the time Klein was released (and he was helped by Evernight to escape that correction in Volume 1 chapter 1). I have already done a certain amount of hidden hints and allusions:
"Magic Mirror" Arrodes, as an existence that came out of the Sea of Chaos, why does it insist on 100%, must follow Klein around? Why did Klein bring Arrodes with him when he decided to go to sleep against LOTM?
Also, the physical published version of the book's revised edition is out. This time the cover is a cover that I liked personally. The content also corrected some words that don't exist in dictionaries or online dictionaries, such as the "HIM" for gods. For the detailed way of purchase, you can look at my Weibo. For the release time for the irregular Bonus Chapters, you can subscribe to my Wechat official account. The Wechat official account ID is "wuzei1985", the one with an anime avatar as profile icon.
Mmh huh, tomorrow we will continue with After Words (Part 2).
Afterwords (Part 2)[]
As the second part of the After Words for this book, I must review the entire book and discuss the gains and losses during my process of creation. This will help us determine what to maintain and what to improve.
Of course, I will talk about it based on my own theory of creation, which is refined by myself and may not be suitable for others or other platforms. It is good if you manage to gain insights from this, but copying it directly may not work well. There is a difference between absolute truth and relative truth, let alone such a personal insight. As a proverb goes, those who learn from me will prosper, while those who imitate me will perish, right?
Personally, the first and most important keyword in the creation process is "expression."
The word "expression" is broad. In a narrow sense, it can be equated with the theme or central idea of an article, but in a broader sense, anything that one hopes to convey to readers belongs to a category of expression. We can express our thoughts on humanity, our understanding of the world, our satisfaction, and, in more colloquial terms, what makes us feel good.
What do I hope to express through this novel called Lord of Mysteries?
First, it is a novel and fascinating worldview that is worth pondering, combining some Western mystical knowledge with elements of Cthulhu mythology and the SCP Foundation to create a complex and interesting world.
Second, it is a ray of light in the darkness and despair.
("Yes, that would be m..."Before Amon can finish his sentence, he was dragged away by Klein).
This ray of light is both the compassion of humanity and the hymn of human courage. The darkness and despair are not only the predicament of workers and peasants during the first industrial revolution, but also the Old Ones, the evil gods, the unknown, the unviewable, the chaos, the madness, and the despair of Cthulhu mythology.
Third, it is a confrontation and integration of humanity and divinity. Why did I define Klein’s Pathway as "Seer" and his endpoint as "The Fool"? On the one hand, it is necessary for the plot of the story, and the Pathway of "Seer" can naturally unfold many elements of mysticism, making it interesting to read. On the other hand, it is the hidden theme implied in this book, well, it is not really implied because I wrote it in the introduction: A legend of the Fool.
In other words, it is a journey of a fool.
The Tarot is a very important element in this book, and there is a widely accepted interpretation that the whole Tarot deck is describing the journey of a Fool, starting from the Fool and ending with the World, achieving fulfillment.
Of course, I cannot simply copy the interpretation and imagery of the Tarot.
I made certain modifications based on the book's mysterious nature. Therefore, the journey of a Fool refers to the gradual transformation from human to god, and the spiritual journey resulting from the struggle and integration between humanity and divinity.
Because I want Klein to always have a humane and warm side, I did not directly describe his psychological activities but rather depict it more indirectly through others, and through the frequency and depth of his interactions with the world and the people around him.
Therefore, as the story progresses, no matter how Klein emphasizes his humanity, readers will feel that he is becoming increasingly distant from human society, increasingly lonely, and increasingly abstract, gradually losing his sense of flesh and blood. This is the journey of a Fool.
This design of this narration structure is a bit of a cheat because my inspiration comes from all previous books except <Martial Arts Master>.
In my previous books, some people say that as the protagonists enter the later stages of their stories, they become less human and disconnected from reality, losing their sense of being rooted in the world and society. Therefore, I consciously turned this change into a deliberate part of the story rather than keeping it as an unconscious writing tendency or mistake.
This inspiration came about after I read some books on the Tarot.
Now, looking back, My first point is barely achieved, and “the ray of light” part in my second point is good, but the “in the darkness and despair” part of my second point is only good in the early stages but fades as the power level increases. This is indeed a problem, which is related to the structure of the book, and also to the fourth point of my methodology - "structure."
Starting from Sequence 3, the book has a certain “disconnection of style” in terms of the mystical and unknown elements. Regarding the Cthulhu element, once the unknown is explained and truly comes into the spotlight, it loses most of its charm.
Therefore, in the later part of my novel, chaos and madness are well maintained, but the sense of darkness, despair, mystery, and feeling of insignificance is somewhat lacking.
Before writing the book, I was very hesitant about whether to only write up to Sequence 3 of any of the Pathways and treat the rest of my Sequence settings as background.
This way, the overall style of the mystical world would be very consistent, and the fascinating, exploratory feeling accompanied by fear and trembling would permeate the entire book.
But in the end, I was a little greedy. I was hoping to sketch out the overall worldview with just this one book, so that I could create stories and future books with ease within this worldview.
My third point, which is to demonstrate the confrontation and integration of humanity and divinity, my personal rating for it is above passing but not exceeding 80 out of 100, mainly because my heart is not ruthless enough to write only to Sequence 3 and keep the rest as backdrop, and the demonstration is not direct enough.
After discussing "expression," the second group of keywords during my creation process is "interesting and thought-provoking."
That is to say, when you have determined what you want to express, you should examine whether your theme and possible methods of expression are compatible and viable.
I’m not talking about whether a theme can be written or not due to external factors and content regulations. Whether a theme is viable for you to write into a story depends on whether you can write it in an interesting and thought-provoking way.
Just like a saying, even home cooking depends on who makes it and how it's made. Just being original isn’t enough.
Fundamentally, humans seek novelty and an escape from the mundane, and of course, they also pursue pleasure and emotion. The latter two are categorized in the "emotion" section, and here we are only discuss novelty and escape from the mundane.
“Novelty” isn’t simply rarity, and “escape from the mundane” doesn’t equate to grotesque obscurity, your idea should be something creative, something unique, something different from the others.
The difference in meaning between "interesting" and "thought-provoking" is also quite significant. "interesting" refers more to being entertaining and novel.
While "thought-provoking" is something that’s not only interesting, but also worth pondering.
Something that is thought-provoking may not necessarily be funny or comical, but it can still be immersive and enjoyable, allowing one to engage in imagination and explore ideas.
On the other hand, something that is interesting may not necessarily be worth pondering. Currently, there are many novels that does not take itself seriously and is filled with pure comedic relieves and memes, and they have a large market.
Of course, the two concepts can also be combined. In addition to being thought-provoking, if you can make your writing, character interactions, and details interesting, it like the icing on the top that motivates readers to keep reading.
It can be twice as attractive, drawing people to explore and imagine.
In my book, "The Lord of Mysteries," my goal is to first make it enjoyable, and then make it interesting. So far, the 22 pathways, 220 types of Beyonder potions, 9 Sefirots, and the acting system have indeed been a novelty, an escape from the mundane, interesting, and thought-provoking (enjoyable).
In terms of behavior, interaction, and detail, I have tried to avoid being monotonous and boring, and have met the requirements most of the time.
But, of courses, in those areas there are many things that I can improve on as well.
My third key concept in writing is "immersion."
Don't think that immersion means only projecting oneself onto the protagonist. In fact, there are many ways to immerse oneself, such as projecting oneself onto the protagonist's father, mother, brother, girlfriend, or even a minor character, or projecting oneself as an observer, reader, or as part of the world, scientific community, or classical culture, and so on.
Once an author has decided what they want to express and found an interesting and thought-provoking approach, the next step is to decide from which perspective your avid readers will immerse themselves.
This will determine the narrative technique, article structure, and what kind of foreshadowing should be used.
For example, in the past, I wrote a three-chapter brainstorm on my WeChat public account, which was inspired by this idea of immersion. I hoped that my readers would immerse themselves as the “knowledge of Earth”, with a sense of pride and interest of observation, the readers can view an indigenous character's cool & comedic moments and growth as he gets helped by you, the Earthly knowledge.
The book "Lord of Mysteries" focuses not only on the typical protagonist but also on the power system, Beyonder potions, role-playing/acting, and the overall worldview, which is why it uses a lot of suspense and puzzle solving techniques to hook readers, gradually unfolding the story and immersing them in it.
The fourth keyword for creating this novel is "structure."
After completing the first three points I mentioned so far and developed a story outline, the overall structure of the novel should be designed accordingly.
Therefore, I can say that the ending of "Lord of Mysteries" was planned from the beginning and can be easily recognized by comparing the beginning and the end.
The themes of fate and reincarnation, the closure of the story, all of these were developed within a larger structure, which, for me personally, has a unique sense of beauty to it.
Apart from the overall structure of the novel, each individual part also has its own structure. I've already talked about the structure of volume one, which I'm very proud of, and the structure of the second and third volumes.
Afterwards, I rarely mention this term because as the story progresses, there is less freedom and more constraints. If I couldn't come up with a good structure or entry point, I would rather use the most common or previously used story structure. There is nothing particularly special to discuss about that.
The fourth volume of the book is a type of escalating thread that ends with a big bang. The fifth volume is a whirlpool style, where the story spirals bigger and bigger and eventually produces a massive change.
The sixth volume is like a plain between two peaks, and the seventh volume is a sudden outburst during a daily excursion, similar to the structure of the second volume. The eighth volume is a continuous climax followed by a musical note that echoes until it fades into a finish.
During the writing process, there were times when the ideas for the structure were not clear enough or I didn't know how to achieve the intended effect, resulting in some pacing issues or having to sacrifice some elements for the sake of plot coherence.
These were all experiences and lessons learned. In the future, when starting a new volume, I will try to have a very clear understanding and grasp of the structure before typing, rather than attempting to explore and write with only vague ideas.
With only vague ideas, if I am lucky and in a good state, I might be able to catch inspiration and create something surprising, but most of the time, there will be many problems.
The fifth set of creative keywords is "reality and authenticity."
This is actually developed from the third keyword "immersion". I initially thought that the most immersive and perhaps the most realistic environment was the urban theme, which is undoubtedly our daily life, so based on this premise, urban theme is definitely the easiest to immerse into.
Therefore, after completing <The Sage Who Transcended Samsara>, I thought of blending fantasy into the urban theme, which is both realistic and beyond reality, and also an opportunity to practice my ability to write daily life and details.
Hence, I wrote <Martial Arts Master> and the initial effect was good.
But later, I realized that I underestimated a problem, which is the limitation of the urban theme itself, because I did not fully consider this when setting up the story, which resulted in the story being repeated, unable to develop, and lacked variation.
My view on the immersion of urban theme novels has been verified in some popular novel and genre trends in recent years, which is also gratifying, but in the end the novel website’s content regulation on urban themes prevented the emergence of the big trend I imagined.
After finishing <Martial Arts Master>, my understanding of immersion and reality deepened, and I believe that "authenticity" can better reflect the essence compared to "reality". As long as it is authentic enough to immerse the reader, it can achieve the effect of reality and also has the meaning of pursuing novelty.
Therefore, when writing "Lord of Mysteries", I researched a lot of information and enriched the details to make this world vivid, so that readers can naturally immerse themselves and know what to eat, what to use, how much money it takes, and what are the customs.
This actually has something in common with the triple A blockbuster games in recent years, with an open, free but realistic world.
Authentic and immersive, this is a clear idea that slowly emerged during my process of writing Martial Arts Master and Lord of Mysteries.
At this point, I have truly established my own complete creative writing methodology.
Of course, this style of writing is really tiring, very tiring.
This point, "The lord of Mysteries" did a good job in the early stages, but it weakened to some extent after the Sequences went up. The next step I need to consider when writing is how to create authenticity when we reach late/end game power level in the power system.
The sixth key phrase is "softness".
I remember the summary was mentioned earlier in the previous section, so I won't go into detail here - mainly because I wrote so many words so far in one breath, my thoughts began to wander, and I wanted to play and be lazy.
My understanding is that there should be sufficient foreshadowing for the plot twists, sufficient fermentation for emotional progress, and appropriate release. If the former is not done well, turning points and climaxes will only be abrupt, without reflecting the impact, and the latter is prone to become cheesy and overly emotional.
I have been restraining myself in this regard. If it is not suitable to use a knife, then don't use it.
A main character should not die without value. Without being appropriate or impactful, it is better for him/her to stay alive. Don't create wounds for the sake of creating wounds.
Similarly, do not unnecessarily add emotional elements. The expression of emotions must be clear about when to restrain and when to explode, whether the overall atmosphere supports it, etc.
Also, do not create scenarios for the sake of being cool, but rather let the plot develop naturally, and points will naturally emerge without making people feel awkward.
I did pretty well on the mysterious aspect, except for one chapter where I struggled, but there were still clues to follow.
The seventh key word is "characters."
As I mentioned before, I used to prioritize the story over the characters, which is somewhat different from prioritizing the characters over the story, but since I started writing about martial arts, I increasingly realized the importance of characters.
In this novel, the world-building is the skeleton, the plot is the flesh, and the characters are the blood.
Without good characters, the novel will be heavy and difficult to make interesting in every part, to attract readers, and to create resonance, emotions, and various feelings.
In terms of character development, besides character design, I have gradually found a word to describe it: "interaction."
The image of a character is built on their interactions with others. Solo psychological interactions and personal actions are useful once or twice, but too many times can make them monotonous, thin, and boring.
With interaction, characters come alive, showing different sides of themselves in different situations.
I won't go into detail because I've written too much and want to finish quickly.
Furthermore, the best characters come from the best plots, and the best plots can shape the best characters. The two are not completely separate.
In the Lord of Mysteries Book, I made progress from vague recognition to clear application and created some good characters. Of course, some characters were limited by space and the curve of their growth could not keep up with Klein’s.
I hope to portray the characters better in the second book in the future.
Overall, although many people dislike Amon, his completion of characters is the second highest, right behind Klein.
Likewise, I have some issues with the portrayal of many villainous characters. As mentioned in the seventh key word, I am accustomed to making them too strong but lack sufficient opportunities to appear, accumulate emotions, and interact with others. I will have to change this in the future.
Moreover, in combination with the key word "authenticity," characters must also pay attention to whether they are distorted. Sometimes, too much humor and references can easily make characters distorted and regress into the kind of characters found in most anime.
Of course, this does not mean that such characters cannot be charming, and whether or not they are distorted depends on the overall atmosphere of the story.
The eighth key word is "change."
This is the most frequently mentioned point in the summary. The worst thing a novel can do is remain unchanged, whether it's the main plot or subplots. There must be a certain degree of change to support a long length.
Even in the simplest structure of endless fantasy with no end goals, one must bring about change through changing maps and eliminating the feeling of repetition in the plot.
During the writing of The Lord of Mysterious book, in the middle of Volume Four, the character upgrade arc was dragged out too long, resulting in insufficient change and a decrease in plot tension. In the later parts of Martial Arts Master, the plot began to repeat, and the fighting became more and more boring. These issues have been mentioned before, and I must improve and pay attention, be aware, and prevent them in advance.
The ninth key word is "details".
Details are where the devil resides, and this is also the key to achieving "immersion," "authenticity," "subtlety," and "characterization."
Without details, there is no doubt that the work will not be authentic, it will not be immersive, and the interactions will be uninteresting, and the plot will be abrupt.
This is a big topic, so please allow me to be lazy and not discuss it further. After all, this is not a writing course.
In any case, there are many details in the book "Lord of Mysteries," which gives it texture, characters, visuals, and emotional resonance.
I am very satisfied with this. However, in the later battle scenes, the work became too abstract and conceptual, gradually lacking in details. This is indeed a problem.
I currently have some ideas about this issue. It was inspired by "the JoJo series," which is to give rules and limitations to the abilities, with simple but clear rules and limitations, and then work within this framework to ensure that there are boundaries to the abilities and details are guaranteed.
This is a point that can be improved in the future.
The tenth key word is "emotions."
To be honest, I don't want to write anymore at this point. I'm too tired and emotional.
Well, actually, many online writers have talked about emotions, and many even consider it to be the core of their creative process. The whole story revolves around how to evoke readers' emotions to plan and lay the groundwork.
I also value emotions because a good climax, a good scene, and a good character all ultimately contain or bring about emotions. Without emotions, the story would be dry and lack sufficient appeal.
As for how to stir up emotions, I won't talk about hate-mongering techniques. I know a lot of them, but I use them sparingly. I prefer to use plot conflicts to drive the story forward.
However, when it comes to emotions, I always pay attention to whether the progression is natural, whether it flows smoothly, and whether there are too many interruptions in between. Otherwise, there won't be enough buildup of excitement or impact.
In addition, emotions cannot be equated with hatred and venting, nor can they be limited to love and justice.
There is also the sense of being moved, fondness, satisfaction, and so on. A good author should try to enrich their arsenal of emotions and use a variety of techniques to evoke them.
In "Lord of Mysteries," I generally restrained the expression of emotions and always made sure that the progression of emotions was subtle. Therefore, these creative keywords are not separate but complement each other and are naturally integrated.
Regarding the classic scenes that express emotions in the book, I can recall some of them even with my eyes closed, but I won't boast about them here. Mainly, I'm just too lazy to write. In any case, I think I did a good job.
In the next work, I hope to increase the explosiveness of emotional release and allow it to be organically combined with other ways of emotional expressions.
The eleventh keyword is “climax”, as well as to replace the term "climax" with "impact".
Scenes such as "Chernobyl" are just representations. As for the twelfth keyword...never mind, I won't write it. I'm too tired, I've run out of ink. Anyway, those aren't the important ones.
I've shared my creative ideas, and I'm not afraid of people learning from them. On the contrary, I hope that people do learn from them because that means there will be many books for me to read that suit my tastes.
But writing such novels is destined to be tiring, although it will also be fulfilling.
Oh, and regarding the sales numbers, "Lord of Mysteries" is currently at an average of 109,000 purchases per paid chapter. Due to the final volume, the number of followers is still relatively high.
For the most part, it fluctuates between 61,000 to 63,000. The lowest it's been is around 58,000, and the highest is the final three chapters, which broke 70,000, with the last chapter reaching 90,000 within 24 hours.
After completing "Lord of Mysteries", I reflected on my gains and losses, and now I'll talk about my new book.
Hmm, I won't jump straight into "Lord of Mysteries 2". I'm worried it will repeat some things from the first book, so I want to write something else first to change things up and gain some experience.
As I mentioned before, I had a choice between "Post-Apocalyptic" and "Xianxia" for my next book. While writing "Lord of Mysteries", I hoped that my next book could have a lighter tone and be more fun, so I was leaning towards "Xianxia" at first.
Later, someone suggested to me that I could make the protagonist crazier and use that to offset the grim tone of "Post-Apocalyptic" setting, which seemed interesting.
In any case, my scales are now balanced. I'll take a break, clear my mind, and then ask myself which one I really want to write.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone again, thank you to all who subscribed to this book and liked it. It is because of you that I had the opportunity to tell my own story.
Thank you to those who consistently voted for this book, we broke the monthly record for male-oriented web novels on Qidian in the past two days. Let us congratulate ourselves and laugh.
Thank you to those who ranked the characters, Klein, Audrey, Leonard, Sharon, they all had their own birthday party because of you.
Thank you to those who supported me with donations. My attitude has always been not to let the donations affect your life, studies, or other forms of entertainment. Within these limits, all I can do is smile and say "thank you". Who doesn't love money, right? (serious tone)
Thank you to those who recommended this book to others, your appreciation and affirmation are great experiences.
Thank you to my moderators and managers, you work very hard and bear a lot of responsibility and are at the forefront of fighting toxicity.
Thank you to my advisory team, you spent too much time giving suggestions for the cover and peripherals.
Thank you to those who left comments and feedback on this chapter, most of the time you brought me joy.
At first, I read every single one, but later there were too many and I couldn't keep up, so I had to set aside a fixed time to read some.
Thank you to all who accompanied me to the completion of this book. It has been my fortune to have your company in the past two years, and I hope that it will be a beautiful memory in your life as well.
Last but not least, I bow with my hand on my chest.
After finishing this message, I'm going to take a good rest and sleep in.
Looking forward to seeing you all again!
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