The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 79 Remarks on the launch
Thirteen years ago, in the summer, I accidentally found an online novel in my kitchen. It was a post-apocalyptic story with an online game theme. It was about a group of people who transmigrated into a game world, fought monsters, leveled up, and struggled to survive. The colorful cover aroused my curiosity, so I tried reading the first page. From then on, online novels have deeply attracted me, and I still am to this day.

A few years ago, as a complete novice in online literature, I listened to a lecture on writing techniques given by a veteran in the industry (Zongguan). He was incredibly skilled, but at the time, I was completely lost and couldn't understand most of the techniques. However, one sentence stuck with me: he said that the number of online writers in this era had surpassed that of writers in any previous era, and that we would create a brilliant literary era together. Now, it sounds like motivational fluff, but when Zongguan said those words, I could really feel his confident and exuberant spirit, which inspired me to strive to become an outstanding online writer.

So I went to many websites and tried many different topics. I spent my days reading, learning, thinking, and writing, with almost no time for entertainment.

Last year, for the first time, I felt that writing was no longer my weakness. I began to be able to express what I wanted to express according to my own wishes. I wouldn't say it was fancy, but at least I could read it myself.

So a new problem arose in front of me: I realized that I had learned too many techniques, but they were scattered and unsystematic, and I had not formed a systematic writing style that suited me. So from last year until now, I have been trying to solve this problem, and this book is also an attempt.

From the beginning of this year to April, I wrote about a dozen opening chapters, trying to use various elements and combine various writing techniques to explore and build a writing path that suits me. Now, I feel that I have a clear idea of ​​the direction. From the choice of subject matter to the opening, to the design of the golden finger, to the construction of character settings, to the plot in the middle and later stages, I seem to have the answers in my mind. Whether the answer is correct still needs to be tested by the market.

This book currently has 180,000 words and over 20,000 favorites. It was quite unexpected that it made it onto the Sanjiang list while competing with a group of veteran authors with millions or hundreds of thousands of fans. This shows that the book still has its merits, but I also made quite a few mistakes, especially the part of the plot before it was published, which I was not very satisfied with.

According to the initial plot outline, the protagonist was supposed to personally deal with several important villains, such as Cao Yongliang and the bandit leader. I designed many plot points around these points, but when I wrote about killing Luo Sheng, I felt that the pace was too slow. After some hesitation, I chose to cut these plot points and speed up the departure from Baiyun County. Now that I've finished writing it, I look back and feel that the pacing of this part is a bit chaotic, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. If I hadn't cut it and had followed the original plot, would the result have been better? Perhaps we'll have to wait for the next book to find out.

Of course, besides pacing, there are other issues, such as whether the plot will fall apart later on because some people think the "golden finger" (a powerful, overpowered character) is too much. I am personally confident that it won't fall apart. The plot outline and world view of this book are very complete, and I am even more confident about the plot after it is published.

Next, I would like to thank a few people. First of all, I would like to thank the gentle, lovely, charming and kind Bacon, who is also my editor. Her judgment was very accurate. I gave her many opening paragraphs, and she chose this one. Sure enough, the result was quite good.

Secondly, I would like to thank all the friends who have supported this book. Thank you for every vote, every comment, and every donation. I especially want to thank the generous donor, "Retention Rice Worm".

Although I don't like to reply to comments, I do read every comment, including negative ones. I think about why the person gave a negative comment and whether I made a mistake.
Some of the issues are indeed due to my lack of writing skills, but some are simply because this book doesn't suit your taste. There's nothing I can do about it; you might not be its intended audience.

I can't say how well it's written; I can only say I've tried my best. I've considered each plot point for a long time, sometimes for hours. If it still doesn't satisfy you, it's not a problem with my attitude, but a problem with my ability. I hope you can find a book that satisfies you soon.

Here are the bonus chapter rules: A minimum of ten chapters tomorrow; for every 100+ first-time subscribers, one extra chapter; 8 chapters daily after release; one extra chapter for every 200 monthly votes; 5 extra chapters for Alliance Leaders; and 50 extra chapters for Silver Alliance Leaders. (Tentative)

Finally, some heartfelt words: the path of writing is truly difficult, filled with so much negativity, setbacks, and self-doubt. I've become almost numb. But even after experiencing countless failures, I still love this profession and look forward to my future with positivity and optimism.

I'll write until I'm old. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier. I hope one day I can become a top-notch online novelist.

Perhaps this goal is still far away, but the Book of Changes says, "As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement." People should emulate the way of heaven, innovate themselves, make continuous progress, and never stop. As long as we keep moving forward and constantly optimizing, perhaps one day we can also grow into someone that others can look up to.

My heart is set on this, May 20, 2025.

(End of this chapter)