End-of-Volume Reflections

Now that I've finished writing a volume, let me summarize it as usual.

This volume generally follows the original outline, but there were still quite a few problems along the way, which can be summarized below.

1. There were too many things I wanted to write, and they were too complex, making it difficult to grasp. Actually, I'm quite satisfied with the various settings in this volume; they're all interconnected, forming a fairly meticulous underlying logical chain in my opinion. The initial setting of this volume shifted from the rebellion in the first volume to the search for the truth, that is, to unravel the mystery. But this raises a problem: Bai Wei must also be unaware of the truth from ten years ago. Otherwise, if he knew everything, neither telling everything to Jie La Er nor keeping it to himself as the riddle-maker would be a good writing approach.

2. Jie La Er's problem. Actually, this character was initially quite unique. As Lyra's most loyal warrior, he needed to find the truth for himself while simultaneously eliminating Bai Wei. He absolutely couldn't allow Bai Wei to descend, because in his heart, Bai Wei was an even more terrifying being, and Bai Wei was meant to corrupt him, using the truth to lure him little by little towards him, ultimately leading to Baivy's descent. However, this concept was a bit too idealistic, and coupled with my limited writing skills and the sheer amount of material to cover, I only managed to stick with it for a short time before abandoning it, instantly making Jie La Er's character one-dimensional.

3. World-building. According to a friend of mine, my ability to construct a cohesive world is still too weak. Therefore, the initial concept I wanted to include—that Lyra was trapped and killed by the order, and everyone acted for the sake of order—didn't resonate with readers. This is why Ku De's death initially seemed so trivial. What I wanted to write was that he was fulfilling his duty as the last defender of order, so he absolutely couldn't take Jie La Er with Jie La Er. If he did, he would have already violated the order, rendering the entire concept meaningless. So, I wanted to create a respectable yet tragic character, just like Lyra, but that too seems like a failure.

4. The attempt to create a multi-narrative structure with a large cast of characters is similar to the first point. It's too complicated, and the writing skills aren't up to par. There are too many characters to develop, so each character doesn't get enough screen time, making the story seem somewhat fragmented.

The problems are roughly those mentioned above. In summary, they can all be attributed to a lack of "writing skills" and "experience." To be honest, this is the first time in all my years of writing that I have had a complete outline and then wrote according to it. However, many problems cannot be discovered when building an outline. Only when writing it out will I be surprised that "this is how it is."

But to be honest, I gained a lot. I really felt that there was a lot to learn and many areas where I could improve, and I'm quite happy to feel that.

Then there's the issue of updates, which is probably the biggest problem in everyone's eyes.

There are subjective and objective reasons for this. The subjective reason is that I am not a very diligent author (I admit that). I think I have only updated 10,000 words a day three or four times in all my years of writing.

The objective reason is that this book was indeed not easy to write, at least for me. Perhaps it's because this book doesn't resemble a traditional online novel. In the past, when writing books, the protagonist would simply walk straight down a path, encountering certain people and events, resolving them, reaping the rewards, and then continuing on their journey. I, however, had to construct a unique world within hundreds of thousands of words, possessing a distinctive logic, with everyone serving and acting within that logic. This was indeed not particularly easy for me.

I'm not making excuses, this book completely destroyed my once relatively normal sleep schedule. After several nights of reversed sleep patterns, my sleep schedule is now so chaotic that I can't even read it. Every night, no matter what time I go to bed, I usually only sleep for a maximum of three hours before waking up, feeling sleepy and tired but unable to fall back asleep. Then, at noon, I take a nap that lasts for more than five hours, and I still have to set an alarm to wake up. I really want to sleep more, but I have to stay awake.

So I'm planning to take a day off today, stay up all day, and then take melatonin tonight to see if I can sleep through the night.

These are just some random thoughts; let's get back to the book itself.

Overall, I'm not very satisfied with this volume, but it's not a failing grade either. At least it was written according to my original ideas. If I were to grade it myself, I would give it a six or seven out of ten.

The focus of the next volume will return to the host. I really like the character design of this new host, so I will try my best to write her well. I hope everyone will enjoy the new story.

That's it~