I write martial arts because I'm really bored-bored! But I was depressed and wanted a place to express myself, so one morning, I wrote it on a piece of paper. But after only ten days of writing, I was transferred to another department, and suddenly I got busy. At the same time, it was strongly opposed by her husband. My writing plan soon fell into place, but at this time I was like an addict. If I don't write 30,000 to 50,000 words every day, I can't live this life. It was in this state of "addiction" that I finished the first draft of Destined Chang 'an in only 10 months, but it took me eleven years to revise the book.
I write martial arts, and no one teaches me. I was just thinking: What kind of story should I write? What kind of heroes are there in the story? What kind of personality does this person have? ...
My feeling is that the creation of novels, not only the creation of martial arts novels, seems to be dominated by characters. When the characters stand up, they are more than half successful. Shen Congwen also said so: "Write with people."
When I first wrote Yan Changan, the first draft made him perfect. Then it doesn't feel right! To write a living person, we must write him like a human being, with people's joys and sorrows and worldly desires. Of course, there are also some weaknesses and shortcomings ... so I changed them. This change is nearly 30 drafts. Now, I feel that he and other characters in the book are finally like' people'. Good people have shortcomings, and bad people have human nature. Another key to the creation of martial arts novels is strong storytelling. Novels are stories, so it's important to look good. Even if the author has a grand and profound truth to express, if the story is not good-looking, the reader will turn two pages and throw it aside. How can those truths be seen, thought and finally accepted by readers?
Grasping these two points is like a person making a large clay sculpture and putting the steel skeleton of the clay sculpture together. Next, it's time to throw mud on it.
The first piece of "mud" that is the most difficult to throw in the creation of long martial arts novels should be the beginning.
It has been four times since I got stuck in the mud for the first time. The first two times were in their twenties, when they were in college. At that time, I had a good time and loved martial arts novels, so I started, but the manuscript paper was torn, thrown away and torn, and finally it all went away. The same is true this time. I just wrote a beginning, and I feel unsustainable. I had to stop writing and look at the manuscript paper in a daze, but then I remembered Lu Yao's creative experience when he finished writing "Ordinary World". He and I also met a problem, which I believe is also the problem that most novel writers encounter in their creation: how to start? How to start a wonderful and extraordinary stroke and bring a good beginning to the whole article?
Finally, after throwing the manuscript paper all over the floor, Lu Yao made a very common beginning, and at the same time let the protagonist Sun Shaoping of the book appear on the first page.
Everything is difficult at the beginning, and so is writing. This is the first group of notes in the symphony, which will determine the development of the whole melody. According to my understanding, the so-called "beginning" of a long scroll is mainly to solve the problem of "betrayal" of the characters. Among the long works I have read, there are clever ones and clumsy ones. The worst is the "introduction" method. Characters are passively introduced to readers by the author. This introduction is both biographical and abstract. The author is like a wall between readers and characters, becoming a pure "announcer". When introducing one character, other characters are shelved. The relationship between characters must also be explained by the author. Readers will get bored after reading these lengthy resume forms. In fact, all brilliant "appearances" should be in the movement of the plot. Readers should enter the "plot" from the beginning, and the interweaving of the "appearance" of characters and the relationship between characters should be natural, and there seems to be no special arrangement. Readers unconsciously accepted all this in the process of art appreciation. From the beginning, the author should hide behind the characters and behind the stage, so that the characters can walk directly in front of the readers and blend in with them.
However, in a long scroll of nearly a hundred words, should all the characters appear as soon as possible? Or do you want to put the appearance of some characters behind? My tutor Liu Qing seems to have said that characters should come out slowly. But I have a different view. For example, the second part of Yang Youzui (Yang Jiaxi), which is as important as Sun Shuizui (Zhiming Sun) in the history of entrepreneurship, has only appeared for the first time, and obviously there is not enough "length" to complete this role. Related questions, from such an important angle, what did this person do in his first social life at Frog Beach? The appearance of this character is too abrupt.
In my opinion, in a long scroll, all the characters should appear as early as possible so as to have enough length to complete them. Especially some minor characters, if they appear earlier, you can always show them in all directions, although they can only flash in every part. By the end of the book, they may become rich and complete images. Except for some main characters, most of them are done bit by bit. Let them show up early, it may be fuller. How to make as many people as possible appear in as little space as possible? This is a big problem. We must find an opportunity to plan. (Lu Yao-"Morning starts at noon")
So one of my heroines appeared on the first page, and the hero appeared in the second chapter (manuscript, now it should be the first chapter).
As the saying goes, a good beginning is half the battle. After solving the beginning, the creation of "Fate Destroys Chang 'an" is like a canoe that resigned from the White Emperor, and it goes very smoothly. I don't stick to the writing from beginning to end, I will decide according to my own situation. If you feel confident about which paragraph and chapter, write which paragraph first.
I wanted to write a great tragedy, so I finished the whole book first, and it was also the most satisfactory. It is the third and fourth books, especially the ending of each character in the book.
Many people who are ready to go are eagerly waiting for you to arrange performances for the stage. All the characters who want to enter the river of works, even a very minor character, can't be ignored, but concentrate on it and flow to the end with the total capacity including dead leaves. End point! The habit I conceive is often to start from the finish line first, regardless of the starting point. Where are the two ends of each character, especially the protagonist? If you can't determine the end point, it's hard to find their starting point, and it's hard for you to grasp their internal processes in the whole operation process of the book. Of course, the pre-designed destination will not be fully realized in the end, and the total trajectory of the character's movement will constantly revise its final destination; There are also some characters whose destination can't be at the end of the book, and their existence should end in some paragraphs.
There is no doubt that the end point is not only in the sense of the plot and characters, but more importantly, it is also the theme of this book. At this "end point", the characters, plots and themes are unified. Why did it end here? Not just because the story has just been finished here. Even the most "casual" stream-of-consciousness novelist took great pains when he came to an abrupt end.
After finding the "end point", you can sort out all the crisscross canals, whether counterclockwise or clockwise; Because at this time, you already know where all the twists and turns on this big network will end. At this time, you can even confidently "mess up" these clues, so that readers can be led into the "gossip" array, so that they can't judge the fate of people and things before reading them. If there is such a large layout, it is possible to set gully channels everywhere, and it is difficult for readers to jump to the end of the book in a big span. There can't be a wide and flat place for readers to drive straight ahead. We must stop at every corner and read carefully before we can pass ... (Lu Yao-"Morning starts at noon")
After writing three or four books, I came back to write the first book and the second book. During this period, I encountered a lot of creative troubles, mainly because I didn't know how to write the jokes in my head best. For example, at the beginning of the second book, Yin Yannian and Qing Zi went to Xixia for a period of time, so I shelved it for a long time because I couldn't write. Yes, it was shelved. When I encounter a paragraph that I can't write, I will shelve it. Time is the best teacher. He will always help you when you feel at the end of your rope and make you suddenly enlightened!
Now, the canoe I am driving is running briskly, and a lot of mud has been thrown out of the bracket, but I don't know that there are countless reefs and shoals in the Three Gorges of Literature, and the scenery is beautiful, waiting for me on the long road ahead. ...
As it is the first time to write, the difficulties and problems encountered can really be measured. First, names. I really admire the vivid and meaningful names in Jin Yong's and Gu Long's books: Ren Woxing, Wang Yuyan, Lin Shiyin, Gao Jianfei, Huamanlou, Ximen Chuixue ... but I still write and think at a loss.
As a result, some people's names in the book have been changed eight or nine times. Because the first three drafts are all handwritten, which is very tragic. What impressed me most was that Mahua's name was Qin Guan. After reading in Kunming newspaper that Ma Hua, an outstanding young man who graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai, came to Yunnan as a volunteer and died in the Yarlung Zangbo River in a car accident, I was very moved, sad and disappointed. I immediately changed Qin Guan to MCA. Place my deepest respect and memory on this great man! At the same time, the ancient Egyptians believed that as long as a person's name can be repeatedly mentioned by future generations, then that person can get eternal life!
At that time, my manuscript had been completed by two thirds. In order to change Qin Guanquan into MCA, I turned pages and changed them one by one. I really feel breathless, but compared with MCA's lofty dedication, what is my little gesture?
Other names are a little confused about this, so I won't go into details one by one. Next, there are all the details in the book.
There is a good saying: details determine success or failure! When writing this book, I have a fixed view: the age should be as vague as possible, but the details should be as true as possible. Just like A Dream of Red Mansions, only in this way can the whole book feel like a dream, but at the same time, it can make readers feel audio-visual. Only in this way can I achieve the creative effect I hope to the greatest extent.
To this end, I go to the provincial library almost every noon. If time permits, go again in the evening, almost trotting forward in the hot sun and going back and forth for an hour and a half ... Even so, some information and plans are still lacking. At this time, I will go to city maps, district maps and various bookstores. ...
When Chang Yan 'an was trapped at the bottom of the well, she chatted with Ziqing to relieve boredom, saying that the founder of Dharma had been in Songshan for 8 years. When I wrote this article, I wasn't sure whether it was 8 years or 9 years, so I started running ... I don't remember how long I ran and how many miles I ran. Finally found it on my sister's bookshelf: 8 years!
Similar examples, such as Ganges sand, are numerous, so I won't list them one by one, so as not to upset you and my memory will collapse.
Alas, I thought this was the first dangerous beach of the Yangtze River in literature. Who knows, this is just a trivial grain of sand, and the real black beach is approaching!
I hastily solved the problem of names and details, and another worse problem, like an insurmountable mountain, suddenly stood in front of me: I can't write anymore! I was horrified to find that the manuscript was still too rough to read, but I have done it! In the face of manuscript paper, no matter how hard you rack your brains, you can't leave a word!
Me? Am I writing material? I wrote these, look at that thick pile of manuscripts, can people understand them? Extremely suspicious, I was so angry that I just wanted to give up, but I was unwilling after all, so I asked my mother for help, not because she could write, but because maybe my capable mother could help me find a martial arts novel editor and help me see if these things I wrote were ok. Can you still watch it? If not, can the editor give me some useful suggestions and help?
My poor mother immediately ran around to fulfill her daughter's illusory dream. Finally, one day, she and a good friend led me into the office of a leader of the publishing bureau. Oh, my mother and the leader will misunderstand, and both elders think: I want to publish this book. Yes, of course I want to publish this book! Which author doesn't want his work to be black and white? But not now, not this time. Once again, I realized what a ridiculous result would be when I had different views on the same thing. Of course, I tried my best to ask for advice this time, but I failed in the end.
Since there is no teacher to ask, it's up to you. I will skip the part I can't write, write other chapters, and bypass the mountain first.
Facts have proved that my decision at that time was correct. Soon, with the help of God, I successfully finished the big chapter that stopped me at first in one afternoon.
Van Gogh, a Finnish painter, once had an example similar to mine: he started painting and soon doubted whether he painted correctly. So I walked dozens of miles and visited a teacher's house with my own paintings. When the teacher saw his painting, he shook his head: the scale is wrong and the lines are wrong. So I began to help him change it, and then I looked at it after the change: the proportions and lines were in line with the specifications, but the original charm of the painting was gone!
Therefore, in the process of writing, we must have confidence in ourselves, self-confidence is very important! Under the sun, no one is born to write. Everyone is advancing through exploration. It is almost impossible to find a person who can not only teach you how to write, but also meet your creative intentions because of differences in personality, beliefs, education level, life and values. Therefore, at this time, it is very important to believe in yourself.
Amitabha, the first shoal has finally been bypassed, but how many more will there be in the future?
In a crazy state, it only took me 10 months to finish the first draft of this book, with1.20 thousand words. Then, with the help of my sister, I bought a computer, and typed all 654.38+02,000 words on the computer for the convenience of review. Then, I started the "revision" work for twelve years at the rate of one chapter a day.
Chapter 39, more than a month at a time, revised six drafts. But no matter how I change it, I feel that something is wrong, but I am at a loss. God bless, at this sad moment, the savior has come. By chance, I borrowed two books on literary criticism from the provincial library-On Literature with Three Sighs by Wang Binbin and Enemies of the Times and Their Literature by Li Jianjun. Then I managed to search Li Jianjun's books, such as The Subject of Fiction-Basic Views and Contemporary Experience, Why Literature is Great, Great Literature and China Style. Wang Zhu focuses on the overall situation, emphasizing the times of literature, the theme, structure and ideological content of the article ... Li Zhu pays attention to details, brings some famous works, analyzes them word by word, and studies the shortcomings and shortcomings in these works.
After reading these books carefully, I woke up from a big dream! Although these five books don't comment on martial arts novels (disdain), the two teachers criticize and correct those famous books, as if every sentence is about the shortcomings of my book!
Personal feelings: Although the types of literary works are different, such as romance, martial arts, detective, adventure, fantasy and so on, some of them are common. In this way, the author's mistakes in writing are common.
At that time, my sixth draft had been changed to chapter 20. After that, I regarded these two books as revised bibles, and changed them bit by bit, which felt great. It's like knowing that your job is sick and has symptoms, but you don't know where the cause is. Can't prescribe the right medicine, prescribe the right medicine. Now that we know the cause and how to "cure", it is much easier to do something.
But even so, so far, I have revised nearly 30 drafts of The Death of Chang 'an, and I can't count the minor revisions. During the period of 12 years, except for about 2 years, I wrote and revised another long historical biographical novel "Ode to Luoshen", eating, sleeping, working, housework and taking care of children. I spent almost all my time deleting this book from 6.5438+0.2 million words to 735,000 words, but I still feel jumbled. Under the guidance of Yu Qiu, the editor of martial arts stories, and Chen Jian, the director, we can say that we have grasped the key of' revision' and really got it handy.
Looking back on this 12 year, I feel a lot. The reason why I wrote this series of articles today is that I hope that all chivalrous friends will not make the same mistakes as me and take so many wrong paths as me.
Of course, the way of literary creation is different, because one's life experience, personality, education and views on life and the world are different. What Lala said above is, after all, only my own experience, and it is by no means a universal truth. You chivalrous friends can laugh it off after reading it, and don't take it seriously. Lest I mislead other people's children and cause great harm!
Say hello to all chivalrous friends again. I hope that in the future, we will encourage each other, spur each other and advance together!