Chapter 36 of 100
Chapter 36
12 min read3,004 words
Hearing Liu Jingteng's words, Mi Hu was taken aback, frowned, and thought for a moment, seemingly understanding something. His tone lightened as he said, "You talk in contradictions, I don't feel like dealing with you."
"Can I see the photos?"
Mi Hu didn't refuse again and handed the camera to Liu Jingteng. Liu Jingteng looked at a few photos and suddenly said proudly, "Han Shuo's skills are impeccable, and the photos are better than mine, but you have to admit, you look better in my photos. Do you get what I mean?"
Mi Hu naturally wouldn't admit this point and quickly caught up with Yishui An and Han Shuo. Liu Jingteng raised the camera and took another photo of the three people in front.
...
The four people entered KFC, ordered half a box of egg tarts, a large portion of fries, a pair of grilled wings, a pair of spicy wings, two cups of snow cap coffee, and two cups of juice, then found a seat by the window.
"The beer fish tasted good, but it was still annoying to see the price gouging," Han Shuo said, holding a fry and dipping it in ketchup. "In comparison, KFC's prices are much more stable."
"Maybe it's because KFC lacks uniqueness," Liu Jingteng added, "and KFC's prices are not low to begin with."
Han Shuo nodded and said, "Despite the saying that foreign monks are better at chanting scriptures in our country, and despite KFC's branches being spread across the nation, the total GDP they create may not be as much as our Goubuli buns or Lanzhou noodles."
Facing this group, Mi Hu suddenly felt a sense of unreality. As a former editor, she had a deep understanding of the significance of these three authors. Han Shuo and Yishui An were undoubtedly top-tier popular writers, and Liu Jingteng was a promising author with unlimited potential. If his identity as a fairy tale writer were officially exposed, it would cause a huge stir.
"For a while, some people said you were the author of 'Shuke and Beta.' How did this rumor start?" Yishui An asked, seemingly guessing Mi Hu's thoughts.
Liu Jingteng smiled awkwardly and said, "You know, those two mice were very popular at the time, and there was a chance to take advantage of their names to gain popularity."
Han Shuo and Yishui An nodded in understanding.
Mi Hu secretly glanced at Liu Jingteng and thought, "This guy is really cunning."
"Speaking of which, I have a question to ask all three of you. It's a rare opportunity," Mi Hu said seriously, changing the topic.
Liu Jingteng smiled at her and said boldly, "Ask away, I probably won't know, but the two greats will definitely give you the best answers."
Han Shuo smiled slightly and continued eating the fries, while Yishui An took a sip of juice and said, "Mr. Gu Yongsheng, can you please stop calling us 'greats' all the time?"
Liu Jingteng immediately corrected himself, "Mr. Han, Ms. Yi."
Han Shuo said, "Don't call me teacher, I'm just a college dropout. Call me by my name."
"Then I'll call you Brother Han and Sister An—"
Han Shuo and Yishui An didn't comment further, but Mi Hu gave him a disapproving look. Liu Jingteng quickly gestured for her to proceed, "Please go ahead."
Han Shuo and Yishui An looked at Mi Hu, who didn't have time to glare at Liu Jingteng and quickly asked her question, "I want to ask the two of you, how do you convert your ideas in your head into written words?"
"This question can be more specific," Yishui An suggested.
"Because I've written novels before and tried a few times, but the results were poor. I have a lot of ideas in my head, like a vast forest with various backgrounds, character settings, witty dialogues, and exciting storylines. They are all vivid and lively in my head, making me unable to sit still, and I must write them down. But when I actually pick up a pen, I find I can't even write the beginning. Even if I manage to write the whole story, everything seems to have lost its flavor, with no highlights, and it's quite repulsive."
"So I want to ask, how can this problem be solved?"
Han Shuo looked at Yishui An and smiled, "You go first."
Yishui An nodded and said, "I understand your frustration, Mi Hu, because this is a problem almost all authors encounter, including the greats. To be honest, I still have the pain of not being able to write, and it has become a norm. It feels terrible, and I've cried many times over it."
"The last time was in May. For some reason, my mind was blank, and I knew the editor was waiting outside the door, but I couldn't write a single word. I cried on the table, feeling that I wasn't cut out for writing."
Han Shuo and the others were surprised to hear this. Who would have thought that a top-selling author like Yishui An, with a million copies sold per book, would be stuck to the point of crying.
"You must find it hard to believe, but it's the truth."
"How do you deal with this situation?" Mi Hu asked.
"Cry, just cry," Yishui An smiled faintly. "Regarding your question, according to literary theory, it's about the conversion between abstract thinking and concrete thinking. When the outline of a story appears, the brain automatically fills in the world and background. For example, when you imagine two people talking in a castle, your brain immediately pictures a castle with ancient and mysterious architecture. But when you put it on paper, you feel at a loss, not knowing where to start."
"When I encounter this, my solution is to leave blanks, pick a few typical places to write, and leave the rest to the readers. They will do the secondary creation."
Mi Hu nodded in agreement.
Yishui An then looked at Han Shuo, who rubbed his chin and said, "I rarely do scene descriptions in my novels, just a simple mention. In the book, it's called a brief sketch. The truth is, I'm not good at writing those things, so I hide my shortcomings."
"Moreover, I think an author doesn't need to put so much effort into writing the background. The key is to have a good story, emotion, and a sense of humor."
Mi Hu nodded.
"Gu Yongsheng, do you have anything to add?" Yishui An looked at Liu Jingteng and asked.
Liu Jingteng naturally didn't have this problem, but since his brain was filled with so many masterpieces, his theoretical insights were also elevated. He didn't pretend and said directly, "Like that cliché, there's no shortcut for this. Just pick up the pen and write, keep writing, and one day, you'll find these problems are no longer problems, and you'll have succeeded."
"I don't know what others say, but I've always believed that writing requires talent," Han Shuo added.
Liu Jingteng nodded in agreement and said, "Your previous book, 'Resident Birds,' already showed your talent. Your narration is very honest and straightforward, despite the traces of imitation from Sister An, but your talent is undeniable."
This was the most flattering thing Mi Hu had heard from Liu Jingteng during the trip, and she felt a bit embarrassed, saying, "You like to flatter people."
"Dog blood? Why use such a violent term for something as elegant as writing?" Han Shuo joked.
"Of course, it's a metaphor," Liu Jingteng laughed, "not really about killing dogs."
Everyone laughed at Liu Jingteng's humorous explanation.
...
...
"Haha, Xiao Liang, you use your writing skills to flatter people, that's really clever," Cui Song said, his face red, pointing at Xue Muliang and teasing him.
Today was the birthday of Mo Yuzhi, the deputy director of the Yellow River Literature. At the birthday banquet, Xue Muliang said in his toast, "I think the entire publishing industry is celebrating Mo Sister's birthday, and they are genuinely congratulating her. Everyone is looking forward to her early retirement because as long as she stays in the publishing house, others can only follow from a distance."
Hearing Cui Director's joke, Xue Muliang shook his head and laughed, "Director Cui, you can laugh at my flattery, but you can't deny what I said. The mountains you and Mo Sister have left in the publishing industry are too high and too big, and we, the younger generation, are under immense pressure."
Hearing Xue Muliang's clever response, everyone at the table laughed.
The birthday girl, Mo Yuzhi, stopped laughing and looked at Xue Muliang, "Xiao Liang, you think Mo Sister and I are putting you under immense pressure. Have you thought about how the Hermes bag you gave me is also putting me under immense pressure, leaving me at a loss?"
Everyone knew that Xue Muliang always gave extravagant gifts, so they weren't surprised by Mo Yuzhi's words.
Xue Muliang said seriously, "When Mo Sister carries that bag, I think anyone who sees it will be speechless."
This wasn't entirely flattery. Mo Yuzhi's status in the publishing industry was queen-level, and the golden duo she formed with Cui Song had launched countless bestsellers and famous works.
The current best-selling king and publishing miracle, Xue Muliang, was also cultivated by their joint efforts, which speaks volumes.
Mo Yuzhi stopped being modest and said, "Don't leave after the meal, let's chat a bit."
Xue Muliang nodded and called over a waiter to book a quiet VIP lounge.
The banquet lasted nearly two hours before it ended. After the guests dispersed, Xue Muliang, Cui Song, and Mo Yuzhi entered the lounge.
The always high-and-mighty Xue Muliang now acted like a junior. He adjusted the air conditioning temperature, poured three cups of tea, and considerately served them to Cui and Mo. After doing these things, he sat politely at the end of the sofa.
"The June statistics are out and will be announced in about two days," Mo Yuzhi said to Xue Muliang, her tone slightly heavy.
"I've been following the data. We've been leading, except for 'Children's Literature,'" Xue Muliang said cautiously.
Mo Yuzhi nodded and said, "It's a close win, but the gap is almost negligible, especially 'Yuan Shang Cao.' The magazine was released on the 10th. If June had ended a few days later, 'Ding Xiaoshuo' would have lost for sure."
Hearing the word "lose," Xue Muliang's expression changed slightly, "Because it's the first issue, and the delay of over ten days is clearly a marketing strategy. We learned it from them. The real competition will be their second issue."
"'Yuan Shang Cao' is a book masquerading as a magazine, which is illegal," Cui Song, sitting in the middle of the sofa, said coldly, his tone completely sober and chilling.
"Let's put that aside for now. As Xiao Liang said, because it's Han Shuo's first magazine, there are elements of curiosity and novelty. I've looked at the feedback, and there are two conclusions: the readers of 'Yuan Shang Cao' and 'Ding Xiaoshuo' don't overlap, and the magazine, for various reasons, didn't meet the readers' expectations, so the threat is not significant."
Mo Yuzhi sighed lightly, "What I want to talk about today is 'Da Jianghu,' more specifically, Gu Yongsheng."
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