Chapter 89

It's time once again for the much-anticipated summary of each volume, well, probably only I am looking forward to it.

Actually, this timing is quite awkward. If I wrote a few more chapters, it would be perfect for December 31st, and then I could combine the pre-publication statement, saving me the trouble.

Of course, there are benefits to this as well. Since the first part will be completed on December 31st, and the book will go public on January 1st, I wouldn't dare take a break, right?

So, everything has its pros and cons.

Speaking of the first part itself, since "Guisi" is written in a heavy tone, continuing "The Long Night" in the same vein would not only seem repetitive but also lack the necessary balance and adjustment. Additionally, in my previous novels, except for Xiao Meng, the other characters have significant similarities in personality and inner traits, with only certain aspects and details differing.

Therefore, I wanted to challenge myself with a protagonist completely different from the past, breaking my own limitations.

Based on these two points, I mentioned earlier that I planned to write a protagonist with a mental illness. On one hand, this would be a brand new experience for me, and on the other, it could bring joy to the rather gloomy background, diluting the underlying sadness.

I am not a mental patient, ha, I can't truly simulate the thought process of a mental patient, which is the biggest obstacle in my creative process. After much thought, I came up with a method: abandoning most psychological activities and using actions and dialogue to shape the character.

Using this method, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very different from my previous writing. I no longer pre-set the character's personality, preferences, flaws, and character arc. Instead, I provided their background and past experiences, and then, based on these, I derived different reactions when they encountered different situations.

As I wrote, I discovered who Shang Jianyao truly is.

For readers, this might not mean much, as the ultimate goal is to create a character, and there is no hierarchy in methods. However, for the writer, this new experience is particularly wonderful.

This is not to praise my own writing, as that is not the case. The first attempt at a new method will inevitably have various issues, but the sense of achievement from gradually exploring and experimenting is significant.

This method also has its shortcomings and drawbacks, and I have already identified several:

First, without psychological activities, the most powerful tool for creating a sense of immersion is lost, which is quite troublesome for a web novel. Without immersion, many plot elements cannot be fully developed.

Second, the initial character development is stretched out. It wasn't until the Water Enclosure Town incident, when Shang Jianyao gradually shared the beef with the little girl, that I felt the character's feet were firmly on the ground.

Third, it is impossible to quickly label a new character with psychological activities, deepening the impression and shaping the image.

Furthermore, combining this with the travelogue and road movie style I adopted in the first part, the overall story progression lacks significant tension, and the supporting characters are not quickly established, making the plot seem slow despite many ups and downs.

This method also has its advantages:

When psychological activities are lacking, character development relies more on interactions. Once interactions increase, frequently appearing characters naturally become more vivid and full-bodied.

In the first part, the main characters are the members of the Old Tune Group.

I can slightly praise myself for this, but the current plot is still too thin, and the character arcs are not yet fully developed. I hope to do better in the future.

After discussing the characters, let's talk about the overall structure of the first part.

Since I wanted to first present a large environment, showing the reflection of the old world, the darkness of the new world, and their absurd combination, I adopted a travelogue and road movie style, focusing on experiences rather than explosive content. Additionally, I downplayed the sense of progression, which resulted in the first part having weak plot tension, lacking two powerful tools.

By the way, the title of the first part is "Prelude," and the opening words are:

"At the moment of death, the solemn first note of an unknown song will sound. Life is merely a series of preludes to this song."

Many friends thought someone would die when they saw this, but it's not about death; it's about the "life" of civilization.

In the last two chapters, one song is a prelude to the death of the old era, a remembrance and mourning of past civilization, while the other is a prelude to the new world, a sincere hope for its future.

In the long night of civilization, there are still many embers.

Perhaps one day, one of these embers will spread, illuminating the world. This is similar to the meaning of Liszt's "Prelude." People and civilizations will eventually die, but we will make the prelude as long, grand, and brilliant as possible.

If, while reading the first part, you feel a sense of nostalgia for the old world when you hear the "memories of the past," and the word "civilization" flashes through your mind, then I feel that what I wanted to express has been conveyed, and that is enough.

After saying all this, let's discuss the problems in the first part:

First, the second half is tiring to read, not because of the writing but because of the pacing. Perhaps due to my gaming habits, I always set up a bunch of side quests before the main quest, so when I initially set it up, I didn't see any issues. However, once I started writing, I realized that once the task of delivering the crystal to Qifeng Town is given, readers will expect it to be completed. If it is delayed too long, readers will become frustrated and find the plot too drawn out and tiring.

Playing games and designing "games" for others are indeed different, ha.

Second, in the city ruins, I wanted to create a post-apocalyptic atmosphere and lay the groundwork for nostalgia and mourning of the old world by describing scenes and objects we take for granted. Many places are written in great detail, which is not a problem in itself, but I overlooked one point: the Old Tune Group was not free and was controlled by Qiao Chukong. Many readers were eager to see them break free, which conflicts with the calm mindset needed to read detailed descriptions. This is indeed a design flaw on my part.

The first part mainly outlines the framework and tries some new writing methods. That's about it.

As usual, I will take a break to organize the outline, but since the second part is very short, with only about twenty chapters, and is a crucial turning point, I will only take a day and a half off. I will resume updates at 12:30 PM on the 31st, which is the day after tomorrow.

You don't need to worry about the short length, as the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh parts are expected to be long, around 200 chapters each.

The title of the second part is "Unfinished."

Actually, there is still a lot more to say, but I'll leave it for the pre-publication statement, otherwise, there would be too much to say.

Thank you all.