In addition, the author seemed a bit restrained in describing the female lead and supporting female characters.

This is partly due to my own lack of writing experience, and partly because my family and friends were reading this book. After being exposed to this book, I've become more thick-skinned, and I won't be so reserved when writing about opposite-sex characters in my next book.

The third shortcoming of this book is its plot.

In my outline, Xia Zuo has three endings: a bad ending, a pseudo-ending, and a good ending. All three endings can be written out, and the cheat system will act as a bridge connecting these three endings.

The first one triggered is the bad ending:

Xia Zuo became the new Sodike Black Flag, joined the Saguma Universe Empire, and stood on the opposite side of Anjunya.

After triggering this ending, Shazo will be manipulated by the cheat system to travel back in time to the day before the creation smoke was shut off, and will be told by the cheat system that he has two more chances to travel back in time. At the same time, the cheat system will also warn him that joining the Saguma Universe Empire again will result in his annihilation.

This is to guide Xia Zuo towards both a false ending and a good ending.

The second one triggered was a false ending:

After realizing he couldn't defeat Vasaksat and couldn't join the Saguma Universe Empire, Shazo reopened the Creation Smoke that the August family had closed, using the planet's last moments to grant all living beings happy days.

The pseudo-ending is called "White Bread," which corresponds to the chapter title at the beginning of the book.

The third triggered ending is the one I posted in the main text—the male and female protagonists recognize each other, and the female protagonist's initiative clears up the barriers in the male protagonist's heart.

To write all three endings, a lot of foreshadowing was needed, which led to the creation of the Stillwater Town storyline, the scientific research storyline, and a series of other main storylines that caused the book's plot to fall apart.

Looking back at the plot of this book, I found the reason for the collapse of the main storyline:

When writing a detailed outline, be sure to write down the scenes, characters, and events of each plot point in chronological order. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find parts of the plot that feel awkward to read. Abrupt transitions in the main storyline are the main culprits that cause the main plot to fall apart.

The fourth shortcoming, in my opinion, is quite fatal:

The book contains far too little description of psychological activities, which directly results in a particularly dry writing style and a lack of immersion. It gives readers the feeling that the main characters and supporting characters are all just tools, and everything they do is to advance the plot and introduce the setting.

Specifically:

When writing each chapter, I considered too much from the author's perspective what to write, what new settings to introduce, or what foreshadowing to leave. The proper approach is to write from the protagonist's perspective, showing what they would do and think, using inner monologues to guide the protagonist in triggering the following content, making the plot and settings feel more natural.

Two completely different writing perspectives will lead to two vastly different reading experiences:

Writing a plot from the author's perspective is like the author engaging in a dialogue with the reader. The author forces the setting and plot onto the reader, while the reader can only passively fill in the plot content.

Writing the plot from the perspective of the male protagonist and supporting characters is like having the characters talk to the reader, which immediately enhances the sense of immersion.

This flaw must be fixed in the next book, both for the sake of reader experience and to better pad the word count.

The fifth and equally fatal flaw of this book is that it has very few truly satisfying moments.

This is directly related to my lack of experience in online content creation.

When I read online content as a reader, I only feel that the plot is exciting and enjoyable, but I rarely think about why it is like this or what the author did.

Therefore, when I started creating online content, I found myself to be a complete novice when it came to creating exciting moments. Apart from making the plot coherent and the sentences flow smoothly, I could hardly do anything to improve the reading experience.

After realizing I had this problem, I dug out all the books I had read that I thought were good and reread them.

Whenever I think, "Wow, this part is well-written," I bookmark it or take a screenshot, extract the plot, study it carefully, and find out why it makes me feel so good.

Building a satisfying experience is easy to get started with, but difficult to master.

In summary, I've identified the following points:

First, it should be made more accessible.

The more accessible a content is, the broader its readership will be. With the same percentage of reader retention, a more accessible content will garner more readers due to its larger readership.

In order to make the book accessible, many scientific and mystical theories that require a certain amount of knowledge to understand must be removed from the book's setting and replaced with things that are accessible to the general public.

These things, originating from the masses, will naturally create a sense of satisfaction once they resonate with the readership.

The second point is that the presentation and shaping of the characters must be done quickly.

When a supporting character appears, their characteristics must be portrayed within 300 words through narration, dialogue, actions, or expressions, leaving a deep impression on the reader.

The practice of dedicating half a book to in-depth character development in serious literature cannot be applied to online literature. It would directly lead to a slow pace and make readers sleepy.

A fast-paced story, its pacing is what makes it exciting.

Thirdly, if we take the amount of writing effort as the standard, the cheapest way to create a meme is to throw out a meme from a specific field.

Using internet slang that circulates on social media, or slang known to specific groups, to quickly create exciting moments and encourage readers to post comments and discuss the chapter is the easiest and most effortless method.

The difficulty in doing this lies in accumulating memes.

Fourth, the most enjoyable aspect, which is slightly more expensive than simply throwing out a joke and requires more writing, is creating comedic supporting characters.

For example, the villains who act like the protagonist in the brain, the female supporting character who convinces herself to like the male lead, the male supporting character who helps the protagonist make a fool of himself and take the blame, etc.

The fifth source of enjoyment is plot conflict.

For example, a maid who looks remarkably like the mistress kills her and lives with the master of the house, posing as the mistress. After discovering the truth, the master chooses to help the maid bury the body and find clues. The two live happily ever after. Only the family cat knows that the master has also long been replaced by the male servant who looks exactly like him.

Such plot conflicts require considerable writing effort in plot development and character portrayal. Moreover, the presentation of exciting moments takes a relatively long time. Authors with insufficient writing skills may easily ruin the story, and readers may choose to accumulate chapters or abandon the story due to the insufficient frequency of exciting moments.

Generally speaking, authors who can write plot conflicts are third-rate authors on the internet, those who can write comedic supporting characters are second-rate authors, and those who can throw out jokes and create exciting moments in every chapter are first-rate authors.

The reason for this ranking is that most online authors have time to polish the plot and build characters, but very few people can actively collect references in their spare time while writing every day.

In other words, the internet has a low barrier to entry; if you can write fluent sentences and are willing to spend time thinking about character development and plot, you can improve your quality of life.

If you want to go further, it has little to do with the author's writing skills; the key is to be able to capture the psychology of the general reader.

If general readers prefer straightforward plots, then the central storyline of an online story will be exceptionally clear, as if it were laid out directly on the table.

Popular readers enjoy supporting characters who express submission or admiration for the protagonist. Therefore, when writing web novels, it is best to present a variety of distinctive male and female supporting characters in an episodic format to avoid them interfering with the main plot.

The general reader says that the protagonist shouldn't have it too easy; he needs pressure to improve. So, the protagonist in an online novel must have a clear goal in each chapter. This goal can be big or small, but it must exist. It shouldn't be like a salted fish simply completing an alchemical experiment. There has to be some explosive element added to the experimental process.

The average reader says, "Your writing is too simplistic. Whether it does well or not depends entirely on when readers come back to their senses. If they're trying to read it with their brains, they simply can't stand it. It's full of logical flaws from beginning to end."

However, based on my own reading experience, many books with high monthly votes and high sales may seem like simple, easy reads, but a deeper analysis of their world-building, character portrayals, plot arrangements, detailed descriptions, and writing logic reveals that the authors have exceptional skill.

The kind of online literature that appears to be light novel on the outside but is as rigorous as serious literature on the inside is the truly successful. It can win the hearts of both light novel readers and those who are not.

My next book will continue the excellent qualities of this book, maintaining logical consistency and reasonable character actions. It will use a writing style that is logically tight and constantly puts the protagonist in conflict, so that readers who like light novels or rigorous novels can both enjoy it.

Having said all that, this concludes my author's closing remarks.

I sincerely thank all the readers for reading this; each and every one of you is a good friend to me, even though we have never met.

The outline for the new book is being finalized. Once all the plot points are covered and exciting moments are included in each stage, it will be submitted internally and the manuscript will be compiled. It is expected to be published within two to three months.

This time I absolutely need to accumulate 30 words before publishing, otherwise it will be too painful…

Finally, thank you to the following readers for their donations over the past two months:

Thank you Geng Xuju for the 1500 points;

Thank you d神兽 for the 500 points;

Thank you to reader 20181209185527055 for the 100 points reward;

Thank you to "一朝被猫咬" for the 100 points;

Thank you Zuiyaochi for the 500 reward;

Thank you to reader 20211021070949200 for the 5650 points reward;

Thank you to Baicai for the 100 points;

Thank you to Sunshine for the 11500 points;

Thank you Jiabao55 for the 5000 points reward;

Thank you, heroes, for the 1500 points!

Thank you zonnes for the 500 points;

Thank you to reader 20170511132935939 for the 500 points reward.

..

Wishing you all good health, success in your careers, and harmony in your families.

With deepest respect.

See you in the next book, bye-bye.

(A little reminder: For those following along, don't forget to check the last chapter, specifically the last line of the chapter summary.)

(End of the book)

-

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like