The third book is called " The Traveler," so I booked a book with a more relaxed style and a very simple structure. Just as I said before, it's about a person traveling around, seeing some scenery, meeting some people, and accomplishing some things, but without being deeply involved.
To be honest, this kind of travelogue-like content is quite difficult to write. After finally creating a character and getting familiar with a place, experiencing the differences in customs, you have to leave and continue your journey. It really tests your ability to quickly introduce distinctive characters and interesting events. Looking back now, before Little Klein became a " Marionettist," I did pretty well. After that, I was busy buttoning up my clothes, there was too much to write, and it was basically a revisit to familiar places, so I omitted the previous parts. Relatively speaking, it was a bit rushed.
Many people say my outlines are very detailed, but that's not true. What I detail are the various settings. An outline usually outlines the theme, the structure, which storylines will be connected, what new foreshadowing will be added, and what suspense will be developed. Then it's free play. I only start thinking about the detailed outline for the next story after one story is finished. With hundreds of thousands of words of content, it's not only a waste of time to think about every single plot point in advance, but it's also very rigid. Because you really can't know how a plot will unfold or how it will continue until you actually write it down. And new Spirit Intuition often come during the writing process.
Just like when I wrote the ending of the previous book where Little Klein left Backlund, I already had the scene and the finishing touch of returning amidst the undercurrents in this book's ending, and I also foreshadowed the appearance of the brother and sister. At the same time, when I was organizing the outline, I also had markers for the characters from the book's world to appear, but compared to the ending, there were no more specific ones. Later, when I wrote about releasing the " Nightmare," I was Spirit Intuition to pass on his message to his daughter and present another meaning of the Travel's end. When I was writing about " The Groselle's Travels " and started setting up specific characters in the book, when I created Loen soldier, I suddenly had the Spirit Intuition of homesickness and returning home. With all of these combined, I had a very clear idea of how to write the ending of the third book.
The third part is rather bland overall, which is determined by its structure and intended style. As I mentioned before, those who are looking for a major event at the end may be a little disappointed. As I just said, the ending is meant to create a sense of undercurrents and lurking crises, including Ince's appearance, the malice of the Mother Tree of Desire, and the attack by the Rose School of Thought. These elements are brought to a climax to highlight the scene of Little Klein's return to Backlund.
Well, for the third part, firstly, the travelogue at the beginning was difficult to write, and secondly, I had to write about two dungeon runs, the Ruins of the Gods' Battle and the world in the book. This was a considerable challenge for me.
Those who have read my previous novels should know that the sections on the Destruction of Fortune and the Arcane dungeons are rather dry and rough, lacking in appeal. The former is strong because of the explosive ending at the end of the dungeon, while for the latter, after careful consideration, I think only the dungeon of Dream Interpretation and the part about the New World boasting about the god's prestige are interesting; the rest are not very good.
In the first game, many instances were expanded into a world using the framework of the infinite flow genre, allowing for gradual writing, introduction, and foreshadowing. Moreover, the presence of companions often significantly increased the game's appeal. However, individual instances, such as the Zhenwu's Suspected Tomb, still suffered from dryness and roughness, relying on suspense to keep the story going.
There were basically no dungeons in Martial Arts, except for a short section in the war-torn region, so there's not much to summarize. But when I got to the third part of Mysteries, I seriously thought about how to handle the two major dungeons.
Based on my experience, I first set the two points as " Mysteries " and "companionship". Based on my experience before and during the writing process, I also set the point as "interesting". But I still felt that something was missing.
Later, I remembered chatting with Douzi before and realized that our creative methods were different. I would first think about a story and a worldview, and then decide on a few main characters with distinctive features based on the story and background, and then slowly add new ones. He would first think of a group of interesting people, and then decide on the stories that would happen when these people meet, travel together, and have conflicts.
Although I have always adhered to my own creative philosophy, I have also gradually incorporated some of his experience. So, I was thinking, could we change "companions" to "characters" in the dungeon, create some unique and interesting people, let them interact, develop some stories, enrich the content of the dungeon, and make it more attractive as a whole? That's Ruins of the Gods' Battle experiment came about.
The result was pretty good. This was the first time I wrote a copy of the novel that the subscription rate not only didn't drop, but actually kept increasing. I wrote nearly 100,000 words of content, and it was very interesting.
Once I entered the world of the book, I made another attempt. Because the first exploration of this instance would be very short, it would be impossible to delve into the past of the characters and thus not be able to express their joys and sorrows in a very moving and impactful way. So I started thinking about how to express it.
Ultimately, the title " Traveler " helped me finalize my approach. As a Traveler, I can't truly immerse myself in other people's lives; everything I see is merely an external manifestation, which leads to different feelings. For example, during Travel, if I see a girl drunk and vomiting and crying on the roadside, some people might think, "How can she be so shameless?" Others might wonder if she's experienced something sad, while still others might find it noisy.
Based on the premise that human joys and sorrows are not the same, I deliberately avoided writing about Grossermobett and his companions' past or embellishing their emotions. Instead, I faithfully, objectively, and calmly recorded their words and actions, without delving into their inner monologues.
If you look closely, you'll notice that I didn't directly write down Little Klein's inner feelings in that section; I deliberately left it blank.
Therefore, some people may feel that the forced sentimentality is a bit awkward, some friends may feel more sentimental, and some may think deeply and extend the idea, trying to restore the original meaning.
This is the effect I wanted to achieve. Human joys and sorrows are not the same, especially in the eyes of a Traveler. (laughs)
I've written quite a lot, and the summary of the third part is that the characters and story are well integrated, but I rushed through the chapters a bit, and some parts could have been more developed.
Okay, it's getting harder and harder to write as I go on. I need time to relax my mind and organize the outline. I'll have to take another day off. Also, my stomach hasn't been feeling well this week. I made an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow. I'll rest for three days. Well, counting from this point, it's two and a half days. I'll start updating Part 4 on Saturday noon.
I'll be updating the character list later, so please let me know which characters are included so I don't forget.
Oh, and some of you guessed it right, it's the fourth one, " The Undying "!
Thanks again everyone, and I'd also like to ask for your monthly votes again!