When it comes to the surface, it is the end of the work

2023.08.28 Launch of Matters

Here is the cat who has been hidden for nearly a year, and I am back.

The last time I disappeared for the same long time was a wayfinder. It seems that I would disappear occasionally. Maybe it has something to do with my personality, I am not good at maintaining and managing social relationships, or maybe it is just a reason for not thinking.

came back. Once you have sorted out your thoughts, you can start posting here again.

This year I have completed two works, one is an essay for a literary award, and the other is a serialized story for a novel competition. Especially the latter, I really feel a sense of relief at the moment of completion, and I finally reached the end.

The link of the work is here:https://www.kadokado.com.tw/book/26127

I didn't plan to write for so long—it's easy to be physically exhausted or fall into blind spots in the story, let alone write more than 130,000 words for the first episode of the series. At first, I just thought that 80,000 words should be able to finish it. It was the end of 2021. I didn't expect to think about it like this. After a year and a half, the story had tens of thousands of words to finish.

The seemingly infinite expansion of the outline is actually just a simple and unique belief: I want to write it well . Excessive perfection is easy to break, and I tried to tell myself not to be too demanding, after countless N times of manuscript review.

There are no spoilers in this article, nor is it an afterword. It’s just that a creator who has delayed the draft for nearly 3 years stood up and stretched himself, talking about the loneliness/depression/pleasure during this period of time, and there are too many emotions that need to be expressed.

First of all, I would like to thank the artist who drew the cover @优格配炒蛋. Not long after I moved to Matters, my new home, I noticed his works. At that time, I felt that one day the story was finished and I must ask him to draw, especially the male protagonist. It’s just that at that time, in 2021, there is still too much white mist in my story, and it is estimated that when it is finished, it will always be just a blank check (under such circumstances, I am also embarrassed to ask someone to draw the cover). Then I was also very worried, what should I do if the painter does not accept the case one day? To find a work that meets the expectations of the character and likes it, this opportunity is rare.

After I finally finished writing the first episode this year, the cover that I had been thinking about was finally officially drawn. I still remember that my hands trembled slightly when I wrote the first commission letter. One was commissioned for the first time, and I was afraid that it would be impolite to convey it poorly; the other was that I could finally see the protagonist of the story.

This is the final product, the painting is fine and amazing, I like it very much. During the drawing stage, the artist sent a draft of the line for confirmation. At the first glance, I felt, wow, this painting will be great after finishing, and I have to admire the artist's skill.

The cover of the first episode is the heroine, and the male protagonist that has been agreed to be drawn is expected to be the cover of the second episode, but it may be presented in the form of an easter egg. Of course, the premise of drawing is that the second episode is also over.

I highly recommend the works of Yogurtegg Painter. Friends who need to entrust drawings can contact him: https://joy.link/yogurtegg

The end of a story took 3 years, and if the beginning of the first chapter is added, it would be more than 10 years. Excluding the stage of writing in the middle, 3 years is actually enough to drag the show. If it takes such a long time to create each episode, the motivation and enthusiasm will probably be exhausted by the second episode, and I will be internally consumed by self-doubt lost energy.

The original intention of maintaining the creation is to keep telling myself: My task is to finish the story , nothing more.

When a work is born, you will always lose yourself in the process. Many creators will experience a similar state of mind, feeling that they are not good enough, other people's writing is excellent, and there are many readers. But if you think about it from another angle, everyone has worked hard like this, who didn't write like this word for word? A lot of things I haven’t seen are deleted plots and discarded ideas, withered predicaments and back-and-forth inkling of words. The works are all slowly tempered. After going through a long nightclub and waiting until dawn, it’s just how long, no one knows how long it is .

As for good or bad, in fact, there is no absolute good or bad, there is a certain degree of subjectivity. After the work is finished, the author is separated from it. There is no standard answer for the interpretation of the story, and readers do not need to check the answer with the creator. The wide range of literature includes interpretations and comments from all sides. In the face of criticism, the author must learn to relax; winning an award or not is not the only criterion for judging the merits.

(Just thinking that there were more than 1,900 submissions for the Lin Rongsan Literary Award last year, of which there were only 25 winners, and thousands of contributors faced the same loss, I feel relieved even though I didn’t submit any)

What are you going to do after writing? I think I can finally give my head a break. The books at hand have been put aside for a long time, whether it is literary works or humanities and social sciences in unfamiliar fields, those books that you want to read carefully, choose a time when you will not be disturbed, and read them as you like. Random reading, random reading, books that jump out of the scope of your own defense, change your horizons, and refresh your thinking.

Writing is really like what teacher Chen Xue said, if you want to prove whether you like it or not, let yourself be completely messed up, play and play, and if you are still thinking about writing after a few days, then you are sincere like.

I think I testify to this truthfully, even though I seem to be out of sight for a long time. Just finished a part of the story, and can't wait to write another story stranded in youth. Maybe it’s because I’m used to that rhythm. Around July, I added and subtracted manuscripts every day. It also has something to do with the time of submission. I’m the kind of person who often arrives at the deadline. If I’m sure Once submitted, it must be completed.

And, be sure to prepare yourself.

@Red brother, my sister said that I will meet again, that is, I will meet again =)