Edict of Self-Reproach

This is my first Book, and with only 300 favorites and 30 active readers, it's safe to say it's a flop. Well, that's acceptable; I was already prepared for no one to read it when I started. The current results are actually beyond my expectations. But people are never truly satisfied, are they? Who wouldn't want their work to do better?

However, this is just the extent of my ability. There's no helping it, and I won't sit here blaming the heavens, the earth, or the readers. Ultimately, it's my own fault. First, there's the update schedule; I've missed two days, one of which was because I updated so late it rolled into the next day. It's my own failing. I can't even guarantee 2,000 words a day.

This seems to have affected my recommendations, but I don't know much about that, so I won't dwell on it.

The rest comes down to the most important issue: the content. My opening was submitted internally and passed, so it was basically qualified—it perfectly met the "Golden Three Chapters" standard. But the subsequent performance proves that I didn't write this story well. I haven't mastered the most important aspect of web novels: pacing. A comment on the Qidian forum described authors like me perfectly: we only learned how to write an opening, but we don't know how to handle what comes after, or we simply can't control it.

I realize this problem now, so I have to change.

I declare here and now, I stake the reputation of Li on finishing this Book. At the very least, I will write until the protagonist reaches godhood and finish the scenes I envisioned. I swear I will never abandon this story.

Let's talk about the direction of the plot. My original plan for school life definitely won't work; I have to expand outward. Sticking to the status quo is a death sentence. Why not jump around a bit and take a more manic, Gintama-esque route?

The key points of a power fantasy are self-improvement, gaining profit, and playing the savior. There's also the romance angle (damn, I almost forgot how to spell the word for love), but can you really expect someone who has never been in a relationship to write it well? There's another fatal issue: many people around me haven't been in relationships either, and worse, they are almost all simps. They say birds of a feather flock together. I've even started doubting myself—am I a simp too?

Of course, I have no intention of finding a partner for now, so I won't give myself the chance to be a simp. Hahaha. These friends aren't entirely useless, though; I can ruthlessly mock them, which provides me with plenty of entertainment. It gives me an endless, inexhaustible supply of inspiration for the dialogue between Huo Yuhao and the young girls. Some of the things they do, I couldn't even make up; no human would actually act that way.

Alright, I'll stop mocking them. There will be a female lead. There are many requests in the comments, but I can't possibly write them all, so I'll just have to write according to my own vision. I'll keep it simple and take it one step at a time; even I don't know what the future plot holds.

Finally, regarding updates, I'm finally getting people asking for more, which makes me very happy. I have plenty of excuses to write less: exams, classes, three-kilometer runs, and so on. But a daily update of 4,000 words is a basic skill a web novel author should possess, and it's a problem I need to solve. I wrote 3,000 words quite quickly today, so I'll strive to reach that standard. I need to fix my sleep schedule; I'm writing this at 12:00, and I've been going to bed at 4:00 or 5:00 AM lately. Even I think that's excessive.

I've been obsessed with Japanese anime lately. Fine, Gintama is genuinely very good; I watched all three hundred-plus episodes in this short span of time. It's the main culprit.

There's nothing left to watch now, so I hope to return to normal. I'll strive to get the book published soon and earn enough for my own meals.

Let's go!