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Summary of Volume 1
The first volume was finished, and so was the beginning of Wang Lie's new chapter in Tain.

Basically, the story structure of this book is destined to be short, and it should be about three volumes.

So it can be said that one third of the book has been written.

I have to say that this was quite a challenge for me as it was my first time trying this kind of story structure.

In fact, after I started writing it, it was not as easy as I had imagined.

My original idea was to use different opponents in each game to bring out Wang Lie’s past little by little, just like following the clues, and eventually reveal Wang Lie’s past completely.

But in practice I found it difficult to write, mainly because once I start serializing, I don’t have enough time to carefully plan it out slowly.

People also don't have the patience to watch me lay the groundwork for many other characters before, during and after each game.

I don't want to see a bunch of new characters appearing and talking to themselves.

So I can only compress it as much as possible, or even discard some content.

Even so, before and for a period of time after it was put on the shelves, it was criticized a lot for being "watery" and "slow".

I actually don’t really understand this trend – as long as I don’t write about the protagonist, there will be people in the comment section saying “Is so-and-so the protagonist? If he’s not the protagonist, why did you write about him?”

Does this mean that everyone except the protagonist needs this novel?

Then I might as well not even give the supporting characters names, so I don’t have to name each character, make task cards, and compile character biographies…

But is this fiction?

If I had listened to these people and not spent more time on the supporting characters, when Sonny Dean left Tyne at the end, the plot would have been meaningless and there would have been no emotion worth remembering.

I saw later that someone left a message saying that they hoped Dean would not leave because they had feelings for him.

Yes, because there is emotion.

But where does the feeling come from?

Isn't it just the author's repeated descriptions?

This is a fictional football world, not the real one. It is impossible for everyone to automatically imagine his past experiences, personality and abilities just by writing a name.

I'm glad that everyone finally accepted and liked Dean.

But I also feel it is a pity that there are too few characters like this in the first volume.

After writing nearly a million words, there are not many characters that people can remember.

This is my problem.

This is one of the reasons why this book was written so slowly.

I may have overestimated my ability to create characters.

There aren't enough interesting, vivid characters.

Of course this may also be related to the structure of my story.

After all, the story starts out as a depressing one, and everyone is eager to see the protagonist get slapped in the face, so they don’t have much patience to wait for me to create all the characters around the protagonist...

Not to mention that I have to write about the protagonist first, so that everyone knows what kind of person the protagonist is and what he has experienced before the story begins.

If this story was placed in the middle of a seven-million-word serial, the pace would indeed be much faster, because everything that needed to be explained had been explained in the front...

But as the beginning of a new book, there are many limitations.

There is no other way but to slowly finish it in the second volume.

Just like the last chapter of the first volume, two new characters are introduced at the end of the volume, serving as a link between the previous and the next volumes, connecting the stories and character relationships of the two volumes.

In fact, it is also an arrangement to show the influence of the protagonist. How to show that the protagonist is a world-class superstar, just by me saying it literally over and over again, actually has little effect.

It is necessary to use various plots, side descriptions, and the perspectives of other characters to make the image of Wang Lie clearer and clearer in everyone's mind.

Another reason why I wrote this book slowly is my own health.

Ever since I had an erection at the beginning of 23, I don’t know if I have contracted COVID- or if it is simply due to the debuff caused by aging.

I feel like I have been unable to concentrate for a long time in the past two years, and I often forget things. It's like my short-term memory is not working.

For example, I plan to let the sweeping robot clean the house when I go out.

So I pushed the chair out of the study, cleared the floor, changed my shoes and went out.

But when I closed the door, I forgot about cleaning.

It wasn’t until I got home at night and opened the door that I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t cleaned the house…

This happened more than once or twice.

That’s why I wonder if I have the sequelae of COVID-19 and have brain fog.

There are many similar things. If you don’t do them the first time you think of them, you will most likely forget them.

For example, if you hear the reminder sound of the washing machine, if you don’t hang the clothes out to dry at this time, then by the time you remember to hang the clothes out to dry, it may be a random time period the next day...

I wrote this chapter this morning until six in the morning before going to bed.

I stayed up all night, but when I got up at noon today, my mind was still fuzzy until I finished my meal. I felt my scalp was tight and my temples were aching slightly.

This should have nothing to do with the new crown, it's just that I'm old...

As we age, our body's ability to recover is not as good as it used to be.

I went to Yunnan during the Spring Festival last year and hiked six kilometers in Zhaotong. When I finished the hike, I felt pain in my right hip joint. I thought it would get better if I walked more and rested for a few days.

As a result, the pain has continued to this day. When it was at its worst, I would wake up several times at night due to the pain.

It still hurts now, but not as much as it was at its worst.

So as a 42-year-old me, I write about a 38-year-old veteran. To some extent, I can understand Wang Lie’s “incompetent rage” before he got the plug-in.

So I arranged a hang for Wang Lie.

I just don't know if someone can give me a cheat - every time I update a certain number of words, I can be one year younger...

Alas, it is difficult for one who heals others to heal himself!
Having said so much, I am not trying to gain sympathy. I just want everyone to understand my real situation.

This is the fact. If I could write more and faster, would I be unwilling?
Everyone knows that if you update quickly, you can get better results even if the content is a little less comprehensive.

But I really can’t do it…

I don't have any manuscripts left, and with the beginning of a new volume, I have to sort out all the intricate threads, design new characters, and the corresponding plots...

I also don’t want to be chased by the serialization progress and rush to write just to complete the update task, lest I write so hard that even I can’t read it anymore…

So…yeah, I’m taking another day off.

Adjust your work and rest schedule, design new characters, and most importantly, save up manuscripts.

I don't know how long it will take, it depends on the situation.

If I want to resume updating, I will notify everyone in advance in the individual chapters.

So that's it... I won't write today. I'll go to bed early to adjust my mental and physical state...

(End of this chapter)