Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 177: "Shame of the Academy", Methods to Improve Writing Skills
Before his rebirth, Cao Sheng had not helped new authors for many years.

It’s not that he is cold and unwilling to help newcomers.

In fact, he has helped quite a few newcomers.

When he was doing well, almost every year there would be a few new authors pretending to be his fans and joining his fan group.

Some people who have just joined the group seek him for guidance.

Some people joined the group and became familiar with him before asking him for guidance.

At that time, he was in his early thirties, in the prime of life and full of energy. He generally would not refuse when someone asked him for advice. At that time, he thought that since he was helping, he should tell the truth, hoping that he could really help the other person.

result?

Some people appreciate it, but very few.

Most new authors just hope to get a chapter recommendation from him.

Others, in fact, did not really want to listen to his advice, but just wanted to get affirmation from him to strengthen their confidence to continue writing. He picked out problems in the works of such authors, and they either lost confidence and gave up writing, or argued with him, insisting that they wrote very well.

After experiencing so many things like this, Cao Sheng naturally lost interest in reviewing new people and new books.

But generally he would not refuse others' requests for comments.

But, I rarely tell the truth anymore.

He had long understood that most of the newcomers who came to him for advice did not really want to hear his advice. Even if they said so, they probably still hoped to get his praise and affirmation in their hearts.

Therefore, whenever someone asks him for advice, he usually praises the other person for their good writing and makes the other person leave in a happy mood.

Even before, Huang Qingya asked him to comment on her book "The Little Woman in the Sword Controlling Sect".

He didn't want to tell the truth at first.

In order to take her feelings into consideration, he even said against his conscience: Readers are used to the fantasy novels he wrote, and readers might not buy into her romantic stories disguised as fantasy novels.

And in fact?
Did he really not know that many romance novels in the original time and space, which were disguised as fairy tales, sold very well? Many of them were adapted into TV series and movies?
At this point, after reading the introduction and the first chapter of "Shame of the Academy", Cao Sheng wanted to tell a few truths.

He felt that Xu Sanbiao, who could write this kind of novel, had a talent for writing online articles.

Although in his memory before his rebirth, he had never heard of an author named "Third-rate Scholar".

But he knows what the butterfly effect is.

I also believe that as the time since my rebirth gets longer and longer, my influence on the world will become greater and greater. Perhaps the Xu Sanbiao in the original time and space had never tried to write online articles.

Maybe he tried in the original time and space, but for various reasons, he gave up before he could finish writing.

It's all possible.

And now, Cao Sheng wants to help him.

After all, Xu Sanbiao just said when he stopped him on the road that he applied to Huizhou Teachers College because he was in this school.

Such a book lover, he is willing to help.

Putting down the manuscript and chopsticks in his hand, Cao Sheng looked up at Xu Sanbiao opposite him.

Seeing this, Xu Sanbiao also quickly put down his chopsticks. He had been keeping an eye on Cao Sheng, so he noticed him as soon as Cao Sheng came over.

Xu Sanbiao looked a little nervous.

Looking at his greasy hair, pale face, and thin body, Cao Sheng guessed that his family background was not that good.

Cao Sheng smiled slightly, "You have a talent for this business."

He gave affirmation first.

Xu Sanbiao smiled slightly, but his eyes were still fixed on Cao Sheng. He whispered, "Thank you, Senior, but I want to know more about the problems in this book and how to revise it. I hope you can tell me."

Cao Sheng nodded and looked at the manuscript in front of him. "There are definitely problems. This is your first time writing a novel. You have enthusiasm but no skills. You have a story but don't know how to write a fascinating beginning. Also, I noticed that in some of your paragraphs, the same words appear two or three times in a row. Pay attention to this in the future! This will expose your lack of vocabulary."

After a pause, Cao Sheng looked up at Xu Sanbiao who was frowning in thought, "Xiao Xu! When I said you have the talent to make a living, I wasn't being polite, I really think you have the talent! But if you want to turn your talent into a way to make money, you still have to practice! This process may be long, taking five to ten years, or you may make rapid progress with your next book and gain both fame and fortune. It all depends on how hard you work! If you really want to take this path, you must be prepared to endure hardships!"

Xu Sanbiao looked at Cao Sheng, smiled shyly and nodded, "Senior! I am not afraid of hard work, but can you be more specific? For example: How can I practice? How can I improve my writing skills?"

Cao Sheng laughed.

With this method, he usually only tells others half of it.

It is also the most useless half.

After all, who would be willing to tell others the real things that they have worked hard to figure out?
“Write more and read more!”

Cao Sheng first said the most useless half.

Who doesn’t know that if you want to improve your writing skills, you need to write and read more?

All primary school Chinese teachers have taught this.

Xu Sanbiao nodded, but frowned. He didn't know how many books he had to read or how many words he had to write before he could reach his level.

Cao Sheng then said the other half: "If conditions permit, try to publish your book on the website as soon as possible! When your book is serialized, readers will help you point out all the problems in it. If no readers point out your faults, it means that your first three chapters are particularly poorly written. Readers leave after reading these three chapters and are too lazy to give you comments. You should carefully think about what problems there are in these three chapters, and then look at how the first three chapters of those successful works are written. Compare more! Think more, and then you will definitely understand something. Only what you understand yourself will become your instinct and become your own thing! No matter how reasonable the principles others tell you are, you only know them, and it is difficult to do them."

Is this all Cao Sheng has understood?

Actually not.

But as he himself said - no matter how reasonable other people's reasons are, even if they tell you, you will just know them, but it is difficult to put them into practice.

Only what you comprehend yourself can become your instinct. He has never been a method writer.

He has never liked to ponder various writing techniques.

He likes to comprehend things that belong to him.

Because with every little understanding he made, he could feel his obvious progress.

Before his rebirth, many people gave him the title of "Old Loser".

However, few people noticed that after he entered the industry, he experienced several major changes in the online literature circle, and each change completely eliminated a large number of authors.

But Cao Sheng has never been eliminated.

After every major change, he would fall for a while, but he would always stand up again like an indestructible cockroach.

Where is the reason?
He thinks it’s because of his writing skills, which he learned on his own.

When the skills he had previously mastered become obsolete, he can still master new skills.

However, authors who learn techniques from others often cannot do this.

What he just told Xu Sanbiao is actually the way most online writers improve themselves quickly.

It is difficult to improve yourself quickly if you work in isolation.

Publishing your work early and enduring readers' criticism and sarcasm can not only help you clearly understand the problems in your work, but also improve your psychological endurance.

Any personal comment is biased.

Only by publishing it and allowing every reader to comment on it can we get the most accurate and comprehensive evaluation.

Only by enduring the criticism of countless readers can one be truly qualified to make a living in this field.

People who are not strong enough inside cannot be online writers.

After hearing what Cao Sheng said, Xu Sanbiao frowned and said with a wry smile: "Senior, I have also thought about posting it online, but the Internet fee is too expensive. I, I..."

Cao Sheng laughed.

"Then find a way to make money! If you want to accomplish anything, you will encounter various difficulties. If you are really determined enough, you will naturally think of various ways to overcome these difficulties. If you can't overcome them, it only means that your efforts are not enough and you need to work harder."

He would not provide Xu Sanbiao with the conditions to access the Internet.

Firstly, they are just senior and junior in relationship, and he has no such obligation.

Secondly, it was already an exception for him to tell Xu Sanbiao so much.

Whether Xu Sanbiao can persevere and succeed in this journey in the end depends on his own determination. No one can succeed easily. Not only Cao Sheng, but also Xu Sanbiao.

As ordinary people, if they want to gain something, they must pay a sufficient price.

After meal.

Cao Sheng left, leaving Xu Sanbiao sitting there alone, flipping through his manuscript and recalling what Cao Sheng had said.

His eyes gradually became firm.

He did apply to Huizhou Teachers College because Cao Sheng was studying at the school.

In his senior year of high school, he read Cao Sheng's "I Want to Become an Immortal" and heard about Cao Sheng's growth experience. At that time, he regarded Cao Sheng as his idol.

I want to follow the path that Cao Sheng has taken.

Because he is also a student with only one subject.

Except for Chinese, his performance in other subjects is not good enough.

Even so, he was still unwilling to live such a mediocre life. Cao Sheng's deeds made him see a completely new path.

A path where you don't have to compete with others in academic performance.

……

The Shame of the Academy...

On the way back to the villa by bike, Cao Sheng was still thinking about Xu Sanbiao's manuscript.

He had actually just thought about giving Xu Sanbiao some advice on how to write this story so that it could be more interesting and even have a chance of passing the publisher's review.

He knew how to use amazing creativity and unique writing style to cover up the weakness of poor writing skills.

Before his rebirth, he had also seen some works whose writing style was like that of an elementary school student, but whose works performed very well.

Almost all of these works rely on creativity and unique writing perspectives to attract readers.

It's a shortcut.

He thought the idea of ​​the book "Shame of the Academy" was good, but Xu Sanbiao's writing perspective was not special enough, which made the beginning of the book lose a lot of its luster.

But after thinking about it, he decided not to tell Xu Sanbiao about this tricky way of writing.

Because he felt that that kind of writing style could be done once or twice, but not again and again.

Once Xu Sanbiao gets used to that kind of tricky writing style, he will probably be eliminated from this industry in a few years.

Because no one can always come up with amazing ideas and clever ways of writing.

(End of this chapter)