A few words about the recent plot

Let's talk about the recent plot, or rather, the overall plot of Volume 3 so far.

Originally, I envisioned the third volume as a story of a young man's travels and wandering the martial arts world, depicting the characters and events within it. The idea was excellent, but reality is often harsh.

To write the third volume well, I read a lot of travel novels, as well as anime and film works.

The frustrating discovery is that travelogues, if placed in the online literature world, will inevitably fail to resonate with readers.

The reason is simple: in travelogues, the protagonist is constantly walking and embarking on journeys, which leads to two results:

1. The character is not developed in depth and becomes just a passerby.

Second: Readers lack a sense of immersion and anticipation.

The first point needs no explanation, right? After finally creating the character and getting familiar with the place, they immediately set off to leave.

The most fatal flaw is the second point: readers lack a sense of immersion and anticipation. As readers, you may not have summarized this phenomenon, but as an author, I have conducted relatively in-depth research on readers' anticipation and immersion.

The fixed map and well-developed characters create a greater sense of anticipation and immersion.

For example, if Xu Qi'an wanted to sleep with a woman, which would be more anticipated: sleeping with the Imperial Advisor or sleeping with a courtesan? If Xu Qi'an wanted to show off, which would be more anticipated: showing off in front of the bigwigs in the capital or showing off in front of a bunch of commoners in the martial arts world?

The former builds anticipation through word count, while travelogues, being too "unpredictable" and involving constant travel, fail to create this sense of anticipation.

Before starting, I originally planned to write the Jianghu (martial arts world) chapter in an episodic format.

For example, you could focus on the nine hosts of the dragon energy and write their stories, with the protagonist participating as an observer. However, this would make the protagonist's presence too weak and lack exciting moments.

If it doesn't have enough exciting moments, it means it won't work!

Later I thought that I could use a lot of small events to make up for it and increase the tension of the plot. Those small events don't necessarily have to be useful. For example, it could be that you pass by a village and find that there are ghosts causing trouble.

While passing through a town, I witnessed local bullies harassing men and women.

These are common techniques in travelogues, describing the events and local customs encountered by the protagonist on the road, but they are not very useful for the main plot.

Writing fragmented stories like this occasionally is fine, but writing too many will make readers feel that the author is just padding the story, as it lacks both relatability and anticipation.

Even now, I haven't come up with a good way to solve these problems.

I was thinking of asking an expert for advice, but then I realized there aren't many people who can teach me, and besides, I don't know any.

Throughout December, I was in a state of utter chaos regarding my writing.

I was eager to find exciting moments and increase the tension of the plot, so I created the storyline about the pagoda. But as I wrote this, I realized a problem: the groundwork wasn't laid enough.

This setup isn't to say the event is too abrupt, but rather that the characters haven't been fully developed yet. Without well-developed characters, the pretentious act lacks charm.

But that's just how travelogues are written.

Next, I will develop the plot around the themes of "conflict," "crisis," "escalation," and the Sleeping Grand Tutor. Then, based on the results and your feedback, I will decide the length of the first half of the third volume.

The journey of a young man is only the first half of the third volume.

That's all for now. I haven't written a single word today; I've been thinking about these issues the whole time.

The first reason I wrote this chapter is to vent and share the frustrations of the creative process. The second reason is that I hope readers will offer any suggestions in the comments section.

The stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade; perhaps your opinions will give me inspiration.

I long for a deep, soul-to-soul connection with you all. (doge)

Okay, time to eat. I'll write again after I finish.