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Chapter 334 The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts

At the end of June, Cao Sheng finished his school's final exams, and he had more free time every day.

He moved to the villa where his parents lived and began a secluded summer vacation.

But he did not stop practicing boxing every day.

They simply moved their boxing practice to the basement level of this villa.

The air quality on the basement level is not bad.

Because there is a sunken courtyard behind the basement level, which allows fresh outdoor air to enter the basement level.

Having all his time free each day led him to decide to start preparing the outline for his next book.

He had already decided what to write in his next book long before he wrote "The Legend of the Primordial Era"—it would be about martial arts.

His tentative title for the book is: "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

In the original timeline, before Shenji wrote "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake," there had already been many people writing novels on the theme of traditional kung fu, and quite a few of them had read them. At that time, traditional kung fu was considered a niche genre.

Shenji's "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake" raised the upper limit of this subject matter many times over, and sublimated the concept of traditional kung fu by using the concept of "national martial arts".

Many people have tried to write about this subject.

But no one has been able to surpass "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake".

There are many reasons for this.

For example, surpassing the classics is never easy.

For example, if readers have a preconceived notion that someone is imitating "The Legend of the Dragon and Snake" after reading Shenji's "The Legend of the Dragon and Snake," they will subconsciously think that the author is imitating "The Legend of the Dragon and Snake" when they read similar works. With this view in mind, they will naturally feel that these works are not as good as "The Legend of the Dragon and Snake."

For example, those who imitate "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake" are almost all writers of lower to middle level, whose strength is not as good as Shenji's. On the other hand, those great writers whose strength is similar to Shenji's are too embarrassed to follow Shenji's works.

All of this makes the original "Dragon and Snake Romance" a pinnacle of the martial arts genre. Before Cao Sheng's rebirth, no other work in the same genre had surpassed it.

Cao Sheng was not confident that he could surpass "The Romance of the Dragon and the Snake".

Even if he is a reincarnated person, even if he has read "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake" more than once.

But the essence of Shenji's works has never been the plot of the book.

What's most difficult to imitate is actually the way the book creates atmosphere and its control over the pacing of the plot.

When watching Shenji's works, many people often have this feeling: the atmosphere has been built up to this point, shouldn't this person die?
Therefore, in Shenji's works, the protagonists almost always kill in a way that the readers expect.

That will make readers feel great.

I think every villain deserved to die.

He died at the perfect time.

It will give you a feeling of complete satisfaction.

This is probably related to the fact that Shenji was a chess player by training.

Shenji, who has been a professional Go player for many years, seems to be writing a book in the same way he plays Go. How is Go played? One Go stone is placed on the board one by one, just like the plot development in a novel. When there are enough Go stones on the board and a complete encirclement is formed, some of the opponent's stones can be captured. How similar is this to the plot development in his works, where one or even a part of the opponent is suddenly eliminated after a certain point?
After the summer vacation started.

Cao Sheng spends every morning in his study brainstorming outlines for his new book.

When conceiving the outline, he subconsciously imitated the writing style of Shenji, first arranging a series of foreshadowing plots to gradually build up the emotions in the plot, and only arranging for the protagonist to kill the enemy when the atmosphere reached its peak.

In order to create a vivid image for readers during the kung fu duel, he, like Shenji, broke down various kung fu techniques into specific moves.

Only by breaking down each set of kung fu into specific moves can the writing be detailed enough, and only by writing in sufficient detail can the reader visualize the scene in their mind while reading.

This is a very difficult way to write.

Because under normal circumstances, words are just words. No matter how you write them, it is difficult for readers to visualize the scene when they read your words.

However, the detailed descriptions can make readers feel as if they are seeing a series of pictures while reading the text.

Looking at famous works from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, almost all of them are written in great detail.

For example, before the protagonist enters a house, the author will describe in detail the environment outside the house, where there is a river, where there are trees, where there are flowers, etc.

After the protagonist enters the house, the interior environment will be described, including the tables and chairs, the paintings on the walls, the material and color of the floor, and so on.

Because of these detailed descriptions, readers can imagine these things when they see these words, and the more they imagine, the stronger the imagery becomes.

Traditional martial arts novels, such as the works of martial arts masters like Wolong Sheng and Liang Yusheng, also employ this writing style, describing the environment in great detail.

Jin Yong's works also employ this writing style.

There are also masters who don't write like this.

For example: Gu Long.

Gu Long actually wrote it this way from the beginning, and he devoted a lot of ink to describing details such as the environment.

But it is said that when he later saw the screenplay adapted from his work, he found that all his detailed descriptions of the environment, era, and other aspects were omitted, not a single word of which was used.

This discovery aroused Gu Long's rebellious spirit.

—Since you don't need any of the detailed descriptions from my book when you adapt it, then I won't write any details.

From then on, Gu Long's works became remarkably concise.

The book doesn't specify the era, the setting, or many other details.

For example, "The Magic Blade".

It looks dry and lifeless, relying entirely on the characters and plot to support the whole story.

This writing style presents considerable difficulties for film and television adaptations.

The screenwriter and director didn't know which dynasty the stories in his novels should be set in, and when it came to setting up the scenes, they were also a bit unsure of where to start or how to arrange them.
Every time Cao Sheng thinks about this, he suspects that it was Gu Long's revenge on those screenwriters and directors.

He certainly wouldn't imitate Gu Long's writing style.

However, they will not imitate the writing styles of traditional masters such as Wolong Sheng and Liang Yusheng.

Besides being a writer, he is also a seasoned fan of online novels.

He knew very well that many readers, like himself, were annoyed by the detailed descriptions of the environment and other aspects in the novel.

I don't have the patience to read those tedious, detailed descriptions.

But how can we create vivid images in the reader's mind while writing, and how can we ensure that detailed descriptions are essential?
The way the divine strategy was written helped Cao Sheng understand how to write it.

You can describe the environment less and focus more on the details... placing them in the minutiae of each set of skills.

Simply put, it breaks down each set of kung fu into its entirety, describing every move and style in great detail.

Furthermore, it frequently employs metaphors, using various metaphors to describe the characteristics of each move, each style, and even each set of kung fu.

For example, the move "Flying Horse Trampling a Swallow".

In the novel "The Legend of the Dragon and the Snake", when describing this killing move, the protagonist first sees the sculpture of a flying horse trampling a swallow. It is a sculpture of a galloping horse with one of its hooves about to step down, under which is a swallow with outstretched wings.

This sculpture allows readers to intuitively understand the inspiration behind the move and its general appearance.

Next, a master who was proficient in this move demonstrated to the protagonist how to perform it.

This is to further help readers understand the technique and characteristics of this move.

Then, the protagonist practices this move again and again. This further helps the reader understand the move.

This process is repeated so that readers will have a thorough understanding of the move while watching this scene, and when they think of the "Flying Horse Trampling a Swallow" move, they can imagine the scene when the move is performed.

Finally, at the crucial moment of the duel with the enemy, the protagonist seizes a fleeting opportunity and, at the most opportune moment, suddenly unleashes the full power of the Pegasus Steed, instantly turning the tide and defeating the opponent.

Which reader wouldn't be thrilled by this kind of writing?

How could one not visualize the scene?
This writing style tests the author's ability to create atmosphere and control the pacing of the plot. If the author relaxes even slightly, the atmosphere built up by the plot will be destroyed, and the momentum will be abruptly interrupted.

This is why few authors have been able to grasp the essence of the "divine strategy" writing style.

It's not that I don't know how to write it.

More often than not, it's difficult to achieve this kind of interconnected, step-by-step writing style.

After Cao Sheng's rebirth, he had only used this writing style in two of his previous works.

One is "The Tomb of the Gods", and the other is "The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth".

"The Tomb of the Gods" was his first attempt at a fast-paced writing style after his rebirth. A fast-paced writing style requires a strong grasp of the plot. The rhythm cannot be messed up, otherwise the book will fall apart.

"The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth" is also written in a fast-paced style.

With the emergence of one cinematic world after another, the plot pace cannot be slow in order to create a tense atmosphere like in an infinite flow story.

but……

The fast-paced writing style of those two books is actually different from that of Shenji.

The writing style of "The Divine Strategist" doesn't actually have a fast pace. Before each enemy is killed, there is a lot of foreshadowing and detailed descriptions. Only in the instant of killing is it clean and efficient, which is considered fast-paced.

Therefore, when Cao Sheng was conceiving "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts", he needed to try to control the pace of the plot in a slow-paced writing style.

This is difficult for him.

It takes a lot of effort.

In order to write the outline of this new book, he opened the training videos that Zhao Wenzhuo sent him and watched them over and over again.

The first thing we looked at was Xingyiquan.

Because Xingyiquan can be broken down into many things, such as the twelve forms of Xingyiquan.

Xingyiquan has twelve forms.

Examples include twelve styles such as Dragon Fist, Tiger Fist, Monkey Fist, Horse Fist, etc.

It can also be broken down into Xingyi Five Elements Fist. Based on the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, Xingyi Fist has evolved into Piquan, Zuanquan, Bengquan, Paoquan, and Hengquan.

It can also be broken down into the three-body stance of Xingyi Quan.

Each form of boxing has many moves, enough to be written about and full of distinctive characteristics.

The five styles of Five Elements Fist can be described in many ways.

In contrast, traditional martial arts like Tai Chi and Baguazhang are much harder to break down into so many elements.

Therefore, Cao Sheng decided that Xingyiquan would be the first style he would use in his new book.

This set of boxing techniques could take the protagonist a long time to learn.

It also provides readers with ample room for imagination.

For example, with Dragon Fist, Tiger Fist, and Monkey Fist, readers can imagine the characteristics of a dragon, a tiger, and a monkey, and thus visualize the corresponding scenes based on the style and characteristics of these fist techniques.

First impressions are very important.

If the boxing techniques introduced at the beginning of the new book can give readers a sense of immersion, then writing about other martial arts techniques in the later parts of the work will be much easier.

At that time, if the writing is a little rough, readers will only think that the author is lazy, and will not doubt the author's writing skills.

This is like someone who once jumped two meters high. After that, when he can't jump two meters high, most people will think he didn't try his best, rather than doubting whether he can jump two meters.

……

In early July, Cao Sheng continued to live a secluded life.

I wrote the outline for my new book in the morning, and wrote "The Legend of the Primordial Era" in the afternoon and evening.

After meals, he would relax by browsing the news online.

During that time, he saw the trailer for "Ong-Bak," which he had written, come out.

The release date announced in the trailer is August 8th.

A few days later, he saw that another movie he had written, "A World Without Thieves," had also released its first trailer.

The release date announced in the trailer is August 15th.

The release date of Ong-Bak is only one week apart from that of Ong-Bak.

Is this another case of self-inflicted damage?

Cao Sheng chuckled to himself.

However, they had no interest or intention to intervene.

For him, these two movies were just about selling the scripts and making some money. Once the scripts were sold, they had nothing to do with him anymore.

He doesn't pay much attention to the film's final box office performance or word-of-mouth.

In the first half of this year, directors and film companies from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan approached him to commission scripts, but he declined them all.

As some readers have said, he is already financially independent.

He's not short of money and has no interest in writing any more screenplays for the time being.

Throughout the first half of the year, he focused all his energy on the book "The Legend of the Primordial Era". Regardless of whether the outside world asked him to write a script or said that he had lost the motivation to write, he ignored it and just wanted to calm down and write the story well.

He didn't want to ruin the "primordial chaos" genre.

Of course, writing diligently will bring good rewards.

At least this book's sales have already surpassed any of his previous works, and it has also broken the sales records for physical books in mainland China and Taiwan.

Its reputation is also getting better and better.

On the afternoon of June 7th.

Huang Qingya came to see him, and after chatting with his parents for a while, she quietly said to Cao Sheng, "Shall we go to your study? I need to talk to you about something."

Cao Sheng's curiosity was piqued, so he led her to his study.

"What is it?"

She took a floppy disk out of her bag and put it into his computer. While operating the computer, she said, "I recently prepared an outline for a new book. It's quite rough, but the general outline is there. Could you take a look and give me some feedback?"

Cao Sheng was a little surprised, "A new book outline?"

Huang Qingya hummed in agreement. She stared at the computer screen, operated it skillfully for a while, then pointed to the open document on the computer, turned back to him and smiled, "Look! This is it! Help me take a look."

(End of this chapter)