I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 136 My Years of Spreading Inspirational Quotes in Russia
Mikhail has basically decided which science fiction novel he will serialize.

First and foremost, it must be clear that Mikhail's primary motivation for serializing this popular novel was undoubtedly to make a fortune. While the revenue from "Modern Man" magazine was indeed high, it required a long-term accumulation process. For Mikhail, after solving his basic needs, there were still many things he wanted to do.

For example, we could learn from Prince Odoevsky and do good deeds to improve the situation of others. In this era where we still need to accumulate strength, we might also sow the seeds for a more distant future.

For example, investing in individuals, funding individuals, or even funding certain groups or factions.

If I don't say it, it feels like something's going to happen.
Of course, that's too far ahead. In short, under these circumstances, anything too advanced is unusable. Otherwise, just that whole bunch of unfamiliar terms would be enough to leave people of this era completely bewildered, let alone make them flock to read it.

Writing something like a prophecy wouldn't be a good choice. Putting aside the possibility that this action might cause countless scientists in the future to have mental breakdowns, if someone actually said "physics no longer exists," then it would be all over. Even if it were written, the French people at that time probably wouldn't like to read it. After all, France raised the white flag in just six weeks, and the opponent was the German region, which can now be described as a disorganized mess.

It would be bad if someone saw this and got so angry they wanted to shoot Mikhail.
In this situation, being slightly ahead is fine; being too far ahead is not a good thing.

The origin of science fiction is also a rather interesting question. Generally speaking, its direct origin is fantasy novels.

Writers from all walks of life have used their rich imaginations to depict worlds that transcend reality yet seem close to it. In the past, people only imagined things out of thin air. It was not until the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of various technologies that some of people's fantasies seemed to have a certain basis.

This is how science fiction gradually came into being.

At the same time, many early science fiction novels were not actually that hardcore. In many cases, they were closely related to the present era and often told a very exciting story. The "science fiction" element in them was more of a flavor.

Of course, science fiction novels like this are more likely to be accepted by readers of this era. If they are written too far beyond common sense, most readers will just think it's some kind of nonsense, let alone a bestseller.

In conclusion, come forth, Mikhail's childhood classic: "Around the World in Eighty Days"!
This novel, whether in terms of its ideas, story, or earning potential, has very little to criticize.

This novel introduces local customs and geographical knowledge, while also criticizing and condemning various barbaric, backward, and ignorant social conditions with a strong sense of justice and humanitarianism.

For example, it expressed indignation at India's barbaric practice of funerary sacrifice, showed deep sympathy and indignation at the British opium poisoning of the Chinese people, and also satirized the chaotic situation of American democratic elections.
In European countries of this era, key verification is a characteristic of the times and something one must try.

If you overdo it or start using it in an inappropriate country, you'll definitely suffer a lot.

Meanwhile, during the serialization of "Around the World in Eighty Days," Parisians closely followed the protagonist's next travel destination, American journalists would telegraph the newspapers to report the protagonist's travel route, and when the protagonist missed the scheduled ship due to the detective's obstruction, the speculative activities on the other side of the ocean would reach a fever pitch. Several shipping companies would telegraph the author himself, requesting that he allow the protagonist to travel on their ships, and the company would pay the author a huge sum of money.

Incidentally, in this very year of 1844, a turning point in human history was quietly arriving at the Washington Capitol.

On May 24, American inventor Samuel Morse stood before a complex telegraph machine, eagerly pressing the send button to send the first long-distance telegram in human history to Baltimore, 65 kilometers away. This marked a revolutionary turning point in human communication.

Of course, Mikhail's novel needs to be revised in many places. After all, although the era is close, many major events such as the opening of the Suez Canal and the construction of the Trans-American Railway have not yet occurred. Therefore, Mikhail should have developed the story in the novel based on a hypothetical premise.

In a sense, "Around the World in Eighty Days," which appeared in this era, might be considered more like science fiction.

In addition, there is much to be done in the area of ​​political commentary. Although it is uncertain whether he will go to Britain to avoid the limelight in the future, before that, Mikhail is quite interested in exposing Britain's true colors.

It's also worth mentioning that by now, Mikhail has developed some writing skills. He can probably write popular stories without much trouble, and with his various reading experiences from later generations, he could even independently serialize some works to some extent.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to try writing popular stories independently afterward.

However, it must be said that Mikhail still has a long way to go if he wants to become a true writer.

After all, true literature is often complex and multi-dimensional, and it is hard to say that one can become a second-rate or even first-rate writer simply by relying on a little foresight.

For example, Jin Yong's popular martial arts novels have entered the history of literature. So if someone were to write martial arts novels earlier than Jin Yong, could they write in the style of Jin Yong or even surpass Jin Yong's status?

The story may be superior, but the language, the style of the writing, and the choice of words and phrases are all exceptional.
As for top-tier writers, they are almost impossible to replicate.

So, getting back to the main point, after Mikhail decided to serialize this science fiction novel, in addition to continuing to revise it based on various materials from this era, he also told Belinsky and Turgenev the name of the novel in advance.

Mikhail also has high aspirations for his career in Paris.

For now, I'm just serializing my work. Once the time is right and I've established myself, I might consider opening a publishing house in Paris.

While Mikhail was thinking this, Belinsky and Turgenev were so surprised when they heard the title of Mikhail's new novel that they were speechless.

After a long while, Belinsky finally spoke, unable to hide his surprise: "Mikhail, travel around the world in eighty days? Isn't that a bit too exaggerated? Even though our current means of transportation are much, much faster than in the past, eighty days? It's hard to believe that this is feasible enough."

"Is this the science fiction you were talking about? It's more like Prince Odoevsky's fantasy novel about the future."

Seeing Belinsky's surprised expression, Mikhail thought it was normal, after all, in this day and age, the Earth is a behemoth to most people.

If a letter can take three to five days to arrive, how could an eighty-day journey around the world not seem incredible to others? “When I was studying in Europe, I heard similar things. According to some optimistic inventors and scientists, many places that were originally completely unrelated will eventually be connected by trains and ships.”

Turgenev, whose knowledge was more extensive, found the name quite interesting. While not denying the possibility, he also praised it, saying, "The name alone, I believe, is enough to attract many readers. It just sounds like it requires a lot of geographical knowledge, which explains why you asked me to bring you some geography books from Paris, Mikhail."

But is there really enough time? Perhaps in less than two months, Belinsky and I will have to embark on our journey abroad.

Turgenev was taken aback when he realized that Mikhail might be planning to write the report based on recently acquired information. However, after he raised this question, he only saw Mikhail casually wave his hand and then say something like:
"It should be fine. If I really don't have enough time, I can just sleep less."

Despite having known him for a long time, Turgenev still felt unfamiliar with Mikhail's words: "?"

Putting everything else aside, just considering the matter of sleeping less, Turgenev strongly suspected that Mikhail would only reduce his afternoon nap time, and would definitely still sleep as usual at night.
So, is it really possible to finish writing it?
Well, maybe Mikhail just had a sudden whim and wanted to give it a try.

After all, the genre and title of his novel are virtually unheard of, and it has nothing to do with his previous works.

Who knows, Mikhail might just give up on the rather crazy idea of ​​serializing his novel in France!

But then again, since this person is Mikhail...
Turgenev sensed something was wrong.

While Turgenev was deep in thought, Belinsky engaged in a serious discussion with Mikhail about scientific and geographical knowledge for quite some time. Although these were not Belinsky's forte, this did not prevent him from saying to Mikhail with a hint of admiration at the end:
“Mikhail, I thought Turgenev’s statement that your gaze is fixed on the whole of Europe was an exaggeration, but now it seems that it is not only that, but that your gaze has been set on the whole world!”

Mikhail: “?”

If someone else had said this, Mikhail would have just laughed it off, but since Belinsky said it, Mikhail always felt there was something more to it.

While Mikhail was discussing this matter with Belinsky and Turgenev, other events were also unfolding.

Firstly, for some reason, Mikhail only went to Prince Odoevsky's house for a meal, and the meal wasn't very pleasant, but the reputation of the magazine "The Contemporary" experienced a small boom. Not only did the number of times the magazine was discussed in literary circles increase significantly, but even in high society, which didn't really care much about Russian literature, there were many rumors about it.

Mikhail could only say that perhaps it was just a twist of fate.
However, it seems that many people outside the government still attribute the credit for this matter to Mikhail.

Then came the news that Mikhail's novel, written in French, was about to be published in a French magazine. This news, once widely circulated, sparked heated discussion and even reached the ears of the general. According to Nadya:

“After my father heard about this, he spent the whole dinner talking about you and praising you with all sorts of words. You know, he rarely has such a rich vocabulary.”

In short, the general thought Mikhail was quite impressive, managing not to lose face in front of those Frenchmen.

Then the general and many others became curious about what Mikhail's novel was like and whether there was a Russian version. Under such strong demand, Mikhail and his team naturally decided to put the Russian version of "The Necklace" in "Contemporary Man".

It's almost certain that with this novel, "Modern Man" will experience another surge in subscriptions.

Prior to this, the latest issue of "Modern Man" had undoubtedly been released.

In this issue, Mikhail didn't include much else, just the content of the novel that is still being serialized.

However, this may not be entirely accurate. It's probably because Mikhail has come up with so many memorable quotes, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that Belinsky and his colleagues created something similar to Mikhail's quotes in the magazine section to ensure that these inspiring words wouldn't go to waste and could be used to their fullest potential.

Of course, it only appears occasionally, not every time, but even so, it made Mikhail extremely embarrassed, since this section contained not only the famous quotes that Mikhail remembered, but also quite a few of his own words.
The key point is that, when viewed individually, many of them are similar to inspirational quotes.

Mikhail strongly opposed this, saying that rather than making such statements, he would rather say something like:
"May all my readers become rich overnight and live forever."

However, Belinsky stated that he would never allow Mikhail's words to appear in the magazine, as it could have a devastating impact on Mikhail's reputation. Moreover, this section was extremely popular with readers, and almost every time it appeared, a large number of readers would write in to express their thoughts and hope that Mikhail would say more.

If it weren't for the concern that too many such comments would cause them to lose their meaning, Belinsky would have wanted to make this section a regular feature long ago.

Mikhail: “.”

What were my years of spouting inspirational quotes in Russia?

And is it really that popular?

Despite Mikhail's skepticism, when the latest issue of "The Contemporary" was released, a young nobleman named Tolstoy, far away in Moscow, hurriedly received the magazine. Without even reading the novel, he immediately flipped to the last page to see if there was anything he wanted to read and might write down in his notebook.

Upon seeing this, the seemingly aloof young nobleman became slightly excited; there was another one in this issue!

After checking his surroundings, he couldn't resist taking out his pen and paper.
(End of this chapter)