Ahem, if I directly start the next volume with a
Hehe, just kidding. No matter how dramatic the twist, it has to follow the basic law, no, basic logic. Given the foreshadowing and clues laid out previously, I can't just write whatever I want. Everyone can rest assured on this point.
For the entire Volume 5, I've actually already summarized the main problem. That is, for a long period of time, Klein was quite lost, lacking sufficient internal drive. This caused the narrative tension to gradually decline. After all, it wasn't the beginning stage where you could follow Klein step by step in understanding this new world, with other elements to cultivate and sustain interest. In the middle and later stages of a book, everyone definitely wants to see the plot develop and advance, and it must be the kind that gives people something to look forward to.
However, when I initially structured this part, my consideration was that this transition couldn't be too abrupt. After all, after the huge impact at the end of Volume 4, Klein definitely needed considerable time to digest and accept it, requiring a lot of foreshadowing to slowly find new motivation. You see, there's no need to worry about the narrative tension of the next volume now.
And while writing Klein, I also have to take care of other characters, depicting their growth, their obsessions, their internal conflicts. Thus, the pace was further slowed down. This is like a cuttlefish, waving its many tentacles. From initially handling a simple two or three storylines to manipulating seven or eight, even a dozen or so storylines and character arcs, it's genuinely becoming more and more difficult, and I can't let this affect the story structure of this volume, can't make it bulky and stumbling.
Unfortunately, for this reason, I had to temporarily suppress the plotlines of certain characters to prevent the story structure from becoming unbalanced.
Besides the problems summarized above, I'll add two more points now. First, it took nearly two hundred chapters to complete the advancement. Structurally speaking, it was too slow, but in terms of actual progress in the story, it was too fast. Although all kinds of foreshadowing made this result reasonable, I still feel it was too compact. Klein digesting for another year or two before advancing would have been a gentler way to handle it. I need to pay attention to this in the future. This is a problem with the overall story arrangement; I didn't leave much blank space to jump timelines.
First I say it's too fast, then I say it's too slow. I don't know if I've summarized this before, I don't really remember. Let me say it again anyway. For many authors, the main function of advancement is to provide gratification points, and I'm no exception. But I have another understanding of advancement. It is my tool and yardstick for grasping the rhythm of the plot.
Why can this be the case? My understanding is the word 'change'. When a stage of the story is maintained for too long, everyone will crave the addition of something fresh, crave something different, and don't want things to remain unchanging. At this time, advancement can naturally provide 'change', very gently. And it's not just a simple change of environment, but also the change of the protagonist himself, from the inside out, both inside and outside.
So, a novel that doesn't directly contain advancement elements isn't impossible to write, but it must have 'change' nodes one after another. In a sense, this is internalized, softened advancement. Just like in some romance novels, the relationship between the male and female leads can also be seen as an advancement, from less to more, coupled with elements like regression, separation, and reconciliation.
The second additional point is that many plots in Volume 5 gradually moved away from the mid-to-low-level Beyonders and the social environment. This is an inevitability brought about by the increase in Klein's strength, status, and the level of things he gets involved in, and it's also a problem I hope to find a way to solve. Because once the environment and the sense of reality are gone, the whole story will lose its roots, leaving only dramatic conflict. This is the reason why my previous novels developed faster and faster towards the later stages. Well, 'Martial Arts' is an exception, that's because it was too repetitive, and 'change' brought by advancements to the plot was too little.
One of my original intentions in designing the Sequence system and the Acting Method was to, through the Acting Method, let the high-level beings who had detached from society re-enter this world, give them lives, and return reality to the world.
Due to the main tone of this volume, this has been reflected somewhat, but not too much. I hope to strengthen it in the future.
Back to Volume 5. The theme of 'Red Priest' represents war. There isn't much direct description of battles, but it runs through the entire text, being the clear narrative thread. At the same time, the encounters in this environment are used to show the feeling of drowning and struggle. Triss is one, Klein is one, and those characters struggling to hold on in the face of the tide of the times are all examples.
I repeatedly emphasized drowning earlier, just so I wouldn't have to mention it in the final dozen or so chapters, creating that atmosphere and feeling through the story itself. I believe everyone can perceive it. When you saw Triss speak those words and fall towards the mausoleum, and
And the corresponding character images were thus established.
Precisely because this atmosphere was needed, there aren't many skirmishes or dramatic twists in this volume. In my opinion, being attacked by the enemy, attacked again, and attacked again might not be as dark and oppressive as the step-by-step foreshadowing of someone constantly struggling hard, trying to break through, but finding no direction.
And it is precisely because of the problems summarized above that subscriptions have been dropping continuously since Volume 5. Occasionally they recover a bit, but the trend hasn't changed, dropping by nearly 10,000. That's why I said the 'Self-Questioning' chapter was necessary. Because it solved the problems of internal drive and narrative tension. It was a bit hard, but the effect was very good, immediate. Since then, subscriptions have steadily recovered, and recently reached a state matching the peak. Average subscriptions are now also at 89,000.
Volume 6 is called 'The Light Chaser', coming from Sequence 2 of the 'Sun' Pathway, anciently known as 'The Sun Chaser'. Its specific meaning is the literal meaning, but it symbolizes many people and many things.
This volume is very important to me personally. It is the most important link in the overall story structure. It's the preliminary completion of the world building, the opening of the situation, and the key to whether the narrative impact can be formed. A friend asked me before if *
I'm a bit nervous. I don't know if I can write it well.
Hmm, for the next three volumes, none of them will reach two hundred chapters. As for the exact number, I can't tell either. Maybe a little over a hundred, maybe one hundred and forty or fifty, maybe less than a hundred. This is mainly because before I finish Volume 6, I can't foresee exactly how many chapters Volume 7 and 8 will need.
I am a lousy cuttlefish without an overall outline or detailed outline, only key plot points, climax scenes, general development, and main structure. That's why before I write every chapter, I have to think deeply for nearly an hour, sometimes even longer. Hmm, it's not that I don't have an outline, it's all in my mind, updated dynamically every day. A friend asked to see my outline before, and found out what kind of mess it was. Except for the world setting, character setting, power setting, and historical timeline being very detailed, the outline is often just a decoration, I basically never write according to it == Alright, we're back at the highly anticipated moment. Volume 5 ends, taking three and a half days off. This time, I have to make a relatively detailed outline for Volume 6. Otherwise, relying solely on mental deduction will become more difficult as it goes on. There are genuinely too many things to consider.
Hmm, the half day counts from Saturday noon, and the last chapter was released early. That means, I'll rest for half a day on Saturday, then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I'll resume updating at 12:30 PM on Wednesday.
The bonus chapter for being first in the November monthly ticket rankings will be served at a critical plot moment!
Pleading for monthly tickets, pleading for monthly tickets, pleading for monthly tickets. Important things must be said three times~ (End of this chapter)