Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 222. Mortals and Writing

Title:

A few immature suggestions that a new author got from "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality"

When talking about novels about cultivating immortals, one cannot avoid mentioning Wang Yu’s "A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality".

This work started the "mortal flow" of online literature.

Looking back now, the story is actually very simple.

An ordinary village boy accidentally entered a small local sect and became a registered disciple. With such an identity, how could he gain a foothold in the sect, how could he enter the ranks of immortal cultivators with mediocre qualifications, and thus dominate the three realms?

The book didn't do well in the beginning, and signing a contract was a struggle. The author worked through about 40 words before signing. This, for countless novice authors today, is simply unimaginable.

I've met many people who, at 40 words, would fill at least five of their books. Those people have become so accustomed to fragmenting their stories that they simply don't have the energy to construct a complete novel world.

This is also related to the current impetuous atmosphere. Everyone wants to become famous quickly, make money quickly, and quickly become an Internet celebrity or a great figure.

There are only a few people who can be as patient, believe in themselves and persevere as Wangyu.

There's a popular saying in online writing circles: There's no secret to writing; diligence and persistence are key. That's exactly the truth!
The so-called mortal storyline in this book is based primarily on the protagonist, Han Li, who possesses ordinary talents, looks, family background, and experiences. Aside from the incredibly powerful "Heavenly Bottle" that can produce elixirs, his magical treasures, skills, techniques, spirit beasts, and companions were all acquired through his own efforts.

The reason he's considered ordinary stems from his numerous battles. He's known by the nickname "Han Paopao," meaning when he's outmatched in combat, he quickly flees, employing extreme escape techniques, crossing mountains and seas, running from one place to another, and then finding a way back. He rarely manages to defeat a high-level foe openly and honorably.

He was calm, even cautious, though not to the point of being reckless. Throughout Han Li's cultivation career in the lower realms, he never rushed rashly or fought unprepared against any enemy. He always observed, observed, and re-observed, only stepping in to rescue or meet the enemy when forced to do so.

He wasn't one of those urban immortal cultivators with unlimited AC, nor did he have a special slogan. He had always been called Han Daoyou, and even when he later became Han Lao Mo, it was just a name given to him by his enemies out of fear.

The plot of this book is quite complex, and you can check it out on Baidu for details. Although there is a cliché of changing maps, fighting monsters, and leveling up, in immortal cultivation novels, the protagonist often updates his skills, defeats enemies, and sees new world maps appear.

Wangyu won the platinum title with this book. He is the only writer who won the platinum title with just one book and has remained popular until now.

After completing "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality," the author also wrote several custom works, but none of them were particularly outstanding. However, due to the long-awaited response from readers, the author finally wrote "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: The Immortal Realm," a sequel to the mortal world, and the results were explosive.

"Xianjie Pian" dominated the Xianxia category for nearly a year last year, until two other excellent works emerged ("Lan Ke Qi Yuan" and "My Senior Brother is Too Steady"), which finally gave up the top spot. However, it currently ranks among the top three in the Xianxia category in terms of monthly ticket sales.

In "Immortal Realm", although Han Lao Mo successfully ascended to the Immortal Realm, he was directly tricked back to the lower realm and traveled through the small world again. After going through untold hardships, he returned to the Immortal Realm step by step and continued to fight against more powerful enemies.

Many people say that "The Immortal Realm" hasn't broken away from the formula of "Mortal." This is indeed true. Despite the significant enhancements to skills and techniques, and the vastness of the world, Han Li's "pseudo" mortal cultivation has never ceased.

When authors write sequels, side stories, biography, and fan fiction themselves, they are actually supplementing and improving the established world of their famous works. Even if the author doesn't write them themselves, many other authors will still volunteer to help. When you write your own children, you know exactly how much to do, and the quality is guaranteed; at least there won't be any accidents where the writing fails.

Moreover, this phenomenon is very common. For example, there are the two-part Hongmeng series by I Eat Tomatoes, the N-part Douluo series by Tang Jia San Shao, the three-part Doupo series by Tian Can Tu Dou, the five-part series "Gods, Demons, Monsters, Ghosts, and Immortals" by Er Gen, the three-part "Zhan Tian" series by Chen Dong, and so on.

I actually agree that authors should constantly improve their works and form a system, but there is no need to be absolutely innovative or completely copy others.

【to sum up】

Wangyu's road to success is extraordinary and difficult to imitate.

Successful authors have gone through numerous hardships and finally developed a completely new style and characteristics.

Has been imitated, never surpassed!

New authors can imitate popular books and perhaps achieve good results.

But if you want to become a king, a god, or a platinum, you need to go through the severe test of the market. It is difficult to achieve without the courage to innovate and the incomparable tenacity.

Writing is not easy, so cherish every moment!

I’m Cang Yiwei, and I’m here to endorse “The Devil of Collapse”!
(End of this chapter)