My era, 1979!

Chapter 110 Invitation (Bonus Chapter 55 for Alliance Leader Zuo Xianyouyu)

How to write a novel?
This is not like writing a web novel that can easily reach several million words.

In the realm of serious literature, the creation of a full-length novel often requires a long period of accumulation and precise control.

Starting with short story writing is almost universally recognized as the "foundational path" for established creators.

This is not simply a matter of "starting with the easy and then moving to the difficult," but rather because short story writing can fundamentally hone the core expressive abilities of serious literature.

That is, to construct a complete narrative loop with concise language, so that the events have a clear beginning, development, climax and conclusion, and to avoid fragmented plots.

On the other hand, the characters must be believable. Even if there are only one or two core characters, their personality logic and inner tension must be revealed through detailed portrayal.

Furthermore, it is essential to embed suspense and foreshadowing within the limited space, making the story's progression both unexpected and logical.

When creators master this kind of concise and refined expression, they will not fall into the predicament of confused plots, flat characters, and out-of-control pacing when they turn to novels. This is because the essence of a novel is to expand and deepen the narrative logic of a short story.

Therefore, when Xu Chengjun took his first step into the literary world with his novella, it actually surprised Zhou Ming and others.

It's important to understand that serious literary novels are not simply "a collection of events," but rather unfold around the growth arc of the central characters and their destinies within the context of their era.

It uses several key "major events" as its pillars to connect the protagonist's choices and encounters at different stages of his life.

It could be a clash between ideals and reality, a struggle of humanity in a predicament, or a conflict between the individual and the group, tradition and modernity.

In these experiences, creators need to continuously ask and show how the protagonist's cognition has changed.
From initial confusion and persistence to later reflection, maturity, and even compromise and rebirth, every step of change needs to be supported by a solid plot.

At the same time, the protagonist's "gains" should go beyond the superficial "material improvements" or "skill enhancements".

In a sense, this is the key to the subject matter. Xu Chengjun chose Xu Jianjun as the protagonist and Huang Siyuan as the supporting character because he had heard firsthand accounts, which made the writing more vivid.

Above that.

Serious literature focuses more on spiritual gains.

It could be a sudden realization of the meaning of life, a clear understanding of social reality, or the glimmer of humanity that shines through suffering.

Those "lessons" often become the key to touching the reader's heart, allowing the story to break free from the "feel-good" logic and possess a more profound sense of reality.

At the same time, excellent long-form novels do not reduce supporting characters to mere tools, but rather allow them to form complementary, confrontational, or reflective relationships with the protagonist. Their growth and choices not only drive the protagonist's fate but also supplement and interpret the theme.

In "Red Silk", Huang Siyuan, Gu Daqiang and others are not only key factors in driving the main plot and the growth of the protagonist, but each of them is also the "protagonist" in their own story.

When all the characters' "gains" and "transformations" come together, the whole story gains a three-dimensional emotional space.

Only then can readers see themselves or the people around them reflected in the stories, creating a deep emotional resonance.

The leap from "qualified" to "excellent" lies in the creator's mastery of narrative techniques and the depth of thought.

Basic narrative can bring a story to life and immerse the reader.

However, more mature creators will break through the limitations of linear narrative and use complex techniques such as multi-perspective narrative, flashbacks, and symbolic metaphors to make the story more layered.

Going a step further, this is what Xu Chengjun wanted to achieve in his first novel.

The ultimate goal of serious literature is "the expression of ideas".

Great creators can make their stories a mirror of society, reflecting social problems, cultural conflicts, or human dilemmas of a specific era through the fate of their characters, allowing readers to not only empathize but also reflect on reality.

Top creators, on the other hand, can extract universal life philosophies from stories.

Themes about love and loneliness, ideals and reality, freedom and constraints—these timeless themes allow works to transcend geographical and temporal limitations, becoming enduring classics.

Clearly, Xu Chengjun wanted to embody these timeless themes in his novel.

To create a classic was his ultimate goal in writing this novel.

"In 1972, due to his outstanding performance in the Third Front construction, Xu Jianjun was recruited into the army. With his excellent qualities and combat experience, he was gradually promoted to the 4th Platoon Leader of the 2nd Battalion of the 361st Infantry Regiment. In 1979, when the Sino-Vietnamese War broke out, he led his platoon to carry out the infiltration mission of the Lang Son Campaign. He was shot in the left shoulder but still insisted on commanding. Huang Siyuan sacrificed himself to cover him."

The main storyline, and all the content, revolves around this point.

In this novel, Xu Chengjun explores several core philosophical questions. "The transcendence of existence: how does meaning continue after the individual's passing?"

"The dialectic between the collective and the individual: mission and humanity, is it an either-or situation?"

"The nature of memory and time: Is the past truly 'past'?"

"The Boundary Between War and Humanity: Does Violence Inevitably Alienate Humanity?"

The Ambiguity of Historical Truth: Does 'Truth' Exist?

These philosophical propositions all ultimately point to one core question: How can a person preserve their essence in the face of grand history and brutal violence?
Xu Chengjun's answer was simple.

Individual lives may be finite, collective missions may be heavy, and the truth of history may be complex, but as long as people continue to safeguard memories, uphold warmth, and pursue meaning, humanity will not be alienated, existence will not become nothingness, and history will not become cold numbers.

That night, Xu Chengjun wrote the last sentence of this novel.

Grandson Xu Nian'an tugged at his clothes, pointing at the wooden comb in the display case: "Grandpa, is this the one Grandpa Huang didn't finish carving?"

Death is not the end of life; forgetting is.
-
Xu Chengjun was about to take Xu Xiaomei downstairs to find food.

Suddenly, someone unexpected appeared.

Chen Dengke.

However, Su Zhong followed behind.

"Chengjun, are you busy?"

Seeing Su Zhong walking over with a canvas bag slung over his shoulder, followed by Chen Dengke, they saw him.

Chen Dengke didn't wear the Zhongshan suit he wore at the meeting today; he wore a blue cloth jacket instead.

"Old Su, Chen ZC."

Xu Chengjun was helpless; it was a waste of time to delay people's meals.

But he politely stood up and casually gathered the papers on the table.

He smiled and said, "I was just revising the manuscript, waiting for your guidance."

Strangely enough, these past few days, Chen Dengke has acted as if the evaluation of "The Fitting Mirror" never happened, frequently inviting him to participate in discussions among veteran writers, and praising Xu Chengjun in front of everyone whenever he has a spare moment.

To say that Xu Chengjun's level of skill would make even veteran writers feel ashamed is an understatement.
Zhou Ming's brows twitched at the sight of that enthusiasm.

Su Zhong laughed: "Aren't you going to let us sit down? Comrade Deng Ke made a special trip here today, not to see your manuscript."

Xu Chengjun: ?

Chen Dengke smiled and said, "This novel was one of the goals! Your latest novel is truly amazing!"

He looked up at Xu Chengjun with a hint of something else, which he couldn't quite decipher: "Especially the section on the Third Front construction, you brought to life the spirit of Comrade Jianjun and his comrades carrying steel bars and climbing cliffs. And Huang Siyuan's half-broken comb, it made me so sad."

By the time Hanzi was consulting him about the battlefield, the manuscript had already been circulated among these well-known veteran writers.

When Su Zhong finished reading it, he slapped his thigh for a long time: This manuscript, hey, this manuscript!
Xu Chengjun also smiled and said, "Teacher Hanzi gave a lot of suggestions. The battlefield details she talked about were much more realistic than what I could come up with out of thin air."

"But it's not easy to weave details into the bone and make readers empathize with the characters."

Chen Dengke interrupted him, took out a folded piece of paper from his canvas bag, and placed it in front of Xu Chengjun. “Comrade Chengjun, at this Youth Writers’ Conference, your speech in the prose group, your report in the novel session, and your diamond-like novel have all been seen by the veteran comrades of the Anhui Writers Association.”

After saying that, he glanced at Su Zhong.

Old Su stood to the side, smiling with his eyes narrowed.

"Today, Comrade Su Zhong and I are here on behalf of the Provincial Writers Association to formally invite you to join us."

Writers' Association?

So fast?
(End of this chapter)