Summary of Volume 4
It's time to conclude this volume again.
I accidentally wrote 1,225,000 words in this volume.
It is the volume with the most words.
I wrote from mid-January to mid-July, a full six months, half a year.
As a result, the total word count of this book has exceeded 3.5 million words.
However, the number of words in this book does not determine the direction of the plot or when it will end.
So 3.5 million words does not mean that the novel is nearing the end. In fact, the story in my mind is only halfway through.
After all, Hu Lai and his friends had just participated in the World Cup for the first time, so how could it end so quickly?
Wouldn't that be a waste of the layout of the first three volumes?
Anyway, please be patient, it’s a long story, it’s really a long story.
I tried to write down in this story everything I have thought and wanted to say over the years.
After all, for me, this is a work that I have to give myself an explanation for in my almost twenty years of writing online football novels. I will not be perfunctory, nor will I finish it in a hurry just to finish it.
Even if some people say that I am weak and that my writing is verbose, I still insist on it.
Because when I finish writing it and look back, I will find that it is not a novel, but a world.
Let’s go back to Volume 4.
Let’s start with a recent controversial plot, which was the result of the Chinese team’s 3:3 draw with Brazil at the end of the World Cup.
In fact, before writing the plot of the World Cup, I had been hesitating and worrying.
That is whether I have the courage to write about a "failure" in detail.
This "failure" is not a certain game, but this entire plot - because no group qualified and no satisfying final result was produced, for readers, this is an invalid plot and naturally it is a failure.
It’s not like I haven’t written about failure before. After all, I haven’t written a story about never losing.
But in the past, when I dealt with these failure plots, I usually used some updating techniques or writing techniques to blur the failure and avoid this "lightning point".
For example, you can mention it in one stroke, try to expose the matter in a short space, or directly adjust the timeline. The major is that half a year later, the protagonist has suffered a setback and is ready to be slapped in the face.
For example, in "Winner Takes All", Chang Sheng transferred from Valencia to coach Roma, but suffered a waterloo in Roma and was kicked out after only half a year. I simply explained it in the form of a news review, focusing on the plot of his choice to go to Lazio and slap Roma in the face.
Because I know that readers don’t like to watch sadistic characters, and they also know that the sadistic character is actually trying to get the protagonist to come back with a slap in the face.
Now that everyone knows it, why waste time on frustrating plots to add to the confusion? Anyway, the setback is just to create a reason for the protagonist to slap in the face.
Then just write the part about the backhand slap in the face. Just let the readers know the reason for the slap in the face, there is no need to write it in detail.
In this way, the mood is aroused and the results are good.
Until now, this processing technique has been true, and it is. It's a commercial novel.
I remember when I wrote "The Godfather of Champions", I wrote about Tony Twain's first Champions League final in great detail, before the game, during the game and after the game... Then I had Nottingham Forest replace Arsenal and repeated the 2006 Champions League final. The plot of the final was losing to Barcelona.
I was actually very happy when I wrote this, especially when Tony threw the silver medal to a little caddy at the end, I felt so happy...
But when I posted it, I was scolded by readers.
How harsh was the scolding?
It was so miserable that I couldn’t even stand dancing anymore, so I came to my book review section and posted a long review to help me explain, to stand up for me and speak for me...
Then he was scolded along with me...
Although many people now say that "The Godfather of Champions" is the most classic football novel, in fact until the end of the series, the evaluation of "The Godfather of Champions" was not as high as it is now. At the time, it was not as good as "We Are the Champions" . I remember this very clearly.
The death of little Gavin led to the failure of the Super League. After being dismissed as the head coach of the first team, he did not "leave me here to stay" but returned to coaching the youth team. The Champions League final followed the inertia of history and lost to Barcelona. The reunion with Tang means that there is one more person who knows the secret of the protagonist's time travel. A sudden heart attack forcefully creates a setback. He suppressed the protagonist, broke up with the club owner and left Nottingham Forest, and then returned to Nottingham Forest with a shameful face... In fact, many plots were lightning points at the time, and there were constant controversies - I don't mean to evaluate it based on the current rhythm of online articles, but Under the aesthetic system of online writing at that time, these were things that readers did not like.
As for the comments and book reviews about my water, there are more...
Not to mention "We Are the Champions", that is to say, everyone was quite tolerant at that time. Now, it is estimated that Zhang Jun's virgin character alone is disgusting enough to drive away many people...not to mention that I even let Yang Pan The Chinese team deliberately lost the game against Japan just to kill the leader of the Chinese Football Association at the time - think about the public opinion storm caused by the Chinese football team losing 1:5 to the Thai youth team and forcing Camacho to leave. You know how "toxic" this plot is...
So after seventeen years of writing football novels and business novels, I know very well which things are red herrings and should not be touched. If you must write, what techniques should be used to cover up the past and minimize the reader's discomfort.
That’s why I hesitated for a long time before the World Cup plot:
Do I dare to write about a "failure" in detail?
Based on my experience, I know that having the Chinese team eliminated from the World Cup group stage will definitely make readers unhappy - yes, this novel is different from other football novels from Qidian. Readers of other football novels have asked the author not to write about the national football team. But in my book, everyone asked me to be bolder and more yyy when writing about the national football team... I face-palmed.
This of course also shows that I actually brought the national football team in the book to life, and I wrote it in such a way that people are willing to place their hopes on them.
This is actually a compliment to me.
But at the same time, it also gave me tremendous pressure.
If I don't let the Chinese team qualify from the group stage, will it attract a lot of bad comments?
Of course, despite such concerns, I did not change the outline and said that the Chinese team would qualify from the group stage.
In my initial design, the Chinese team's first World Cup was to return home after finishing the group stage.
What I am hesitating about is whether I dare to do it, not whether I should do it.
You still have to write, and you have to write in detail.
Write about a World Cup that is doomed to be fruitless.
At least on the surface it seems fruitless.
But actually in my heart, I know that although this World Cup did not reach the knockout rounds, it was not a meaningless failure.
On this point, I expressed my opinion through Shi Wuyuan's report chapter - if it can leave a spark for the future national football team, then even failure will be worthwhile.
But how to define this "failure"?
As some readers said, it is acceptable to reach the knockout rounds, then meet France and lose cleanly.
This is of course a failure.
It’s just that I think this is not considered a failure for the Chinese team’s main line of the World Cup in this book. After all, participating in the World Cup for the first time, he was able to reach the knockout rounds, and still lost to the powerful French team. How can it be considered a failure?
It was simply a "glorious victory."
In this way, readers will not feel any pity emotionally.
Because losing is normal and you should lose.
What I call "failure" should be regretful. It makes people feel that it shouldn't be like this. In fact, it should be better. It's such a pity and a bit suffocating...
Some people will definitely ask: Why is this? Isn’t this going against the readers?
Of course I am not against the readers. After all, "Fox in the Forbidden Zone" is essentially a good book...
It's just that I think the "failure" in this World Cup is very important to this national team and these international players in the book.
This involves one of the themes of my book - growth.
Everyone is growing up, Hu Lai is growing up, Hu Lai's father is growing up, Xie Lan is growing up, Wang Guangwei, Zhang Qinghuan, Chen Xingyi, Luo Kai... and many, many others are growing up.
The small team of Leeds City is also growing.
The Chinese team and Chinese football are naturally growing.
In the campus chapter, I have described the reform and growth of Chinese football through the development of campus football.
But this is not enough.
Falling to the "national football" group, there is actually no growth - so far.
They are just a group of individual characters, without forming a common consciousness.
But they can't always be like this. They are bound to grow up and change in the future.
This positive growth is not growth in strength, but growth in the heart.
Chen Xingyi, Zhang Qinghuan, Luo Kai, Wang Guangwei, Xia Xiaoyu... their strength is actually growing, and their hearts are also getting stronger. But this is as a "professional player" rather than as a "national football player". The two are very different.
Professional players play football to make money and for their own various goals and ideals. The national football team plays for more metaphysical things.
Some readers said that the reason that made them unhappy was not that the Chinese team could not be eliminated in the group, but the way it was eliminated. They felt that they were too easily satisfied, had no desire to win, and gave up in advance. In the case of a draw and a loss, why not Give it a try?
This made them feel that this team did not have a "championship heart" at all, and the title of the chapter seemed like a huge irony.
I have to say that this reader is very right. This is indeed how the Chinese team is presented, and it is also the effect I hope to write - if you can see these things, it means that my writing is quite good, and the purpose has been achieved... …laugh.
Have you noticed that this book has 3.5 million words written so far, and only the protagonist Hu Lai has clearly stated that his goal is to win the World Cup.
Others, even Wang Guangwei, Zhang Qinghuan, Chen Xingyi, and Luo Kai, have not shown their goals and ambitions in their national football career.
In Volume 3, Chapter 117 "Hu Lai's Ambition", I used the dialogue between Hu Lai and the three international players Zhang Qinghuan and Ding Yuanhai to express this difference.
Ding Yuanhai feels that it doesn't matter if they don't qualify for the World Cup this time. Anyway, with Hu Lai's ability, they will definitely have a chance in the next World Cup qualifiers.
But Hu Lai is anxious, because in four years, Brother Huan will be 28 years old. At the age of 28, Brother Huan, who is in the prime of his career, can only participate in the World Cup for the first time to accumulate experience.
Isn't this a waste?
He hopes that the Chinese team can participate in every World Cup so that Brother Huan's talent will not be wasted.
His ambition frightened Ding Yuanhai, who had no lofty ambitions and only wanted to play well in the game in front of him.
It also made Zhang Qinghuan, once the number one genius in the country, lose his mind - because even he couldn't imagine what it would be like if the Chinese team could participate in the World Cup every time.
Because he never thought about it at all and had no awareness of it. Even when he went to play in the World Cup, he was mostly trying to fulfill his father's expectations.
The old players in the Chinese team in this World Cup, such as Jiang Wanqing and Yao Huasheng, also performed very well. I spent some words describing their persistence and performance, and also described their joy when facing a draw.
For these old players, who are likely to be the only ones in this World Cup, the future of Chinese football does not lie with them, so it doesn't matter whether they grow up or not, and it doesn't matter what happens to them in the future.
Most of the national team players at this stage are actually like them. They have no ambitions in the World Cup, and they don't have the clear goal of Hu Lai who said he wants to win the World Cup.
Their thinking is actually this - "Participating once is enough for me to brag about my awesomeness for a lifetime, so what else do I need a bicycle for?"
"Being able to draw with Brazil 3:3 is my highlight moment, what else do I need a bicycle for?"
"If I don't lose in the World Cup, I will have no regrets in my career. What else do I need for a bike?"
Of course Zhang Qinghuan and Wang Guangwei will not only participate in the World Cup once, but they also lack self-awareness in this matter. They do not think that not qualifying in the group stage this time is a failure, or they have never thought about qualifying in the World Cup group.
Because if you think about it in that world, you will feel that the performance of the Chinese team in this World Cup is enough to make the Chinese people proud.
Suppose, suppose that in the 2002 World Cup, the Chinese team drew with Costa Rica 2:2, drew with Turkey 1:1, drew with Brazil 3:3, and then exited the group... Then as fans, should we scold them when they played against Brazil? Is it to shrink the defense at the last moment and just want to keep the tie and surrender in advance, or to shout "the national football team is awesome"?
If you didn't qualify in the end, some people will definitely feel regretful, and it will definitely be a pity. But to say regrets and regrets will turn into accusing these players of not working hard enough and being embarrassing. Like some readers, they said very extreme things and thought that the national football team force-fed them... I think that is impossible.
So to be fair, the thoughts and performances of these players in the book are normal - some readers said why they didn't fight when they knew they could qualify if they fought hard?
The problem is that the players don't think they should fight to qualify, so they are content with the status quo.
Moreover, objectively speaking, the Chinese team was exhausted at that time, and it was not easy to equalize the score in the end. There is really no energy left to attack and grab a ball - all their remaining energy can only be used to defend.
Didn't they fight to the end? They fought hard to the end, but they didn't squeeze themselves any further or push themselves any further.
Because at that time, they were completely acceptable to the draw and didn't think there was anything bad about the draw.
But are those readers wrong in their criticism?
No.
After all, we are the gods overlooking them. We have a God's perspective and naturally know that they can actually hit the group qualifying.
And as readers of novels, it is normal for us to have higher demands on these characters who are emotionally invested. We hope they can fight to the last minute like warriors, we hope they have lofty goals and pursuits, and we hope they can represent the valuable sportsmanship in football...
There is nothing wrong with this, it is reasonable, and it should be required - after all, we read novels to appreciate the great heroism of mankind.
That's why everyone felt unhappy that the Chinese team didn't fight tooth and nail for a qualifying spot at the last minute.
I feel that they have betrayed their expectations and trust.
That's exactly what they should be, and that's what they will eventually become.
But not now.
Because of growth.
They are not perfect characters with high-level interests, lofty goals, firm beliefs, and strong execution ability as soon as they appear.
They are living people with their own selfish motives, various shortcomings, and historical limitations...
In the first World Cup, they were still ignorant. They thought it would be good to participate in the World Cup once, and thought that if they could draw with Brazil, they would brag for a lifetime. They did not have the terrifying ambitions of Hu Lai, or in fact, in their hearts, they I don’t agree with Hu Lai’s goal.
Hu Lai must also know, so he never asks others for his own goals - I have indeed never written that Hu Lai is like a missionary, telling everyone his inner ideals, and going around to persuade people to join him for Chinese football. In the future, fight to win the World Cup championship - because that is a kind of moral kidnapping.
Their hard work on the court is not because they have a kind of self-awareness, but just because they are professional players. They have the most basic professional qualities. Since they are on the court, they must play well.
That's all.
To put it bluntly, in reality, it is difficult for many players to meet the most basic requirements - not just domestic players, but players around the world - so much so that the mass media will often publicize and praise a certain player. A player’s “professionalism.”
To put it bluntly, it is still the small pattern of "It's hard to participate in the World Cup, if you don't go all out, how can you live up to yourself?"
There is no deep consciousness of "I want to change the future of Chinese football."
All critical readers are right to criticize this team because they are such a "low-level" group of people.
In fact, most professional players are actually such people. They do not have much ambition, nor do they have too lofty ideological moral character or lofty goals.
Not to mention the players, even the managers of Chinese football in the book have not yet had such a consciousness. Through Hong Renjie’s words, I expressed the attitude of the Chinese Football Association is “If the next edition can still reach the World Cup finals, That'll be great"...that is to say, the goal of Chinese football managers is just to participate in the World Cup again.
Of course, this is actually true. After all, it was almost impossible for Chinese football to even participate in the World Cup before. It is impossible to ask them to suddenly burst out of ambition - in fact, they are not as good as the football managers of neighboring Japan in this regard. So their structure is actually small.
Therefore, Japanese football has made great progress, both in reality and in books, and has become the big brother of Asian football.
In the book, Chinese football has undergone reforms and changes, but some things are indeed not so easy to change. I don’t want to write about a reform that will suddenly change the mind and create a perfect Football Association that is impeccable in all aspects.
If some readers say, "I don't think what you said. When I watched this plot, I thought it was very natural and completely acceptable."... That's right, that's fine.
Because if you really integrate into the world of this book and become a fan in the book instead of an omniscient and omnipotent "God", then of course you will feel that the performance and results are very good and satisfactory enough.
The reason why I didn’t lay the groundwork in the World Cup plot that the team couldn’t qualify in the end, and arouse the readers’ excitement, but didn’t comment from a “God” perspective, and build the readers’ psychology for the team’s failure to achieve three consecutive draws... In fact, it is just to not interrupt this immersive reading experience.
Even including why I wrote these three games in detail, as if they were text version of live broadcasts of the games, and wrote some clips that neither produced goals nor turned the game... This is all to make readers really enjoy the novel. It feels like watching a real World Cup game.
So I was very happy when I saw everyone’s book review section and the calculation of scores in this chapter. Is it like in reality that everyone goes to great lengths to calculate scores for the national football team in the top 40 games?
I think everyone can have such a reaction, which shows that I have really written this team realistically, and written it so that everyone is willing to accept them, and are willing to worry and look forward to their fate in the World Cup.
The debate and different opinions on whether to qualify from the group also illustrate this point.
Now it seems that it was actually successful.
Some people were so immersed that they couldn't accept that the Chinese team didn't fight in the end.
Some people are so immersed that they feel that with the ability of the Chinese team, they are satisfied to draw with the Brazilian team 3:3.
People from different angles can read their own feelings from it, all based on their different perceptions of the world.
And this world really exists, even if it exists in books.
Let’s go back to the novel itself and continue to talk about my various foreshadowings and metaphors:
In the book, I named the football "Champion's Heart" and asked He Feng to explain the meaning of the name. Is it to praise them for having a championship heart?
No, it’s because the previous group of people didn’t have a championship heart!
They need this heart.
So the referee gave the football called "Champion's Heart" to Hu Lai, and also gave the Chinese team a "Champion's Heart" - this is the metaphor I left in the book.
It was like being put into a body like a walking corpse, with souls and hearts put into it. From this moment on, they truly had the hope of becoming "human".
Only then can we complete transformation and... growth in the future.
Yes, grow.
Consciously and voluntarily pursue your highest ideals in the World Cup.
So even though they are now in high spirits and celebrating with Brazil after drawing with Brazil 3:3, it makes some readers very unhappy.
But who can guarantee that one day in the future, when they come back from the excitement of being able to draw with Brazil in their first World Cup, they will not feel regret and shame for their original excitement?
Who can say that they won't be upset: If I had gritted my teeth and fought harder, if I could seize the time to make a breakthrough... maybe we could have crossed the insurmountable mountain of the Brazilian team and entered a new world?
When they have this awareness, the silent "champion's heart" really begins to beat vigorously in their chests.
In the World Cup, they have stronger motivation to move forward and continue to move forward.
Therefore, the title of the chapter "Heart of a Champion" and its interpretation are not to praise them, but to express their expectations and entrustments.
This brings me back to the reason why I want to write this World Cup plot in detail.
Can I not understand that the result of trying to draw water from a bamboo basket but in vain should not be written about in a big way, but should be dealt with quickly to avoid readers being unhappy?
Don't I know that after raising everyone's emotions before, but not letting everyone release them, it will be very uncomfortable?
Could I not have known that I should use a technique that worked for me in the past to blur out the uncomfortable areas?
Can I not know that letting the Chinese team reach the knockout round and then lose to the French team without regrets will make readers’ evaluations better? Might the subscription performance of novels be better?
I know, I know it all.
But I still want to write about this group of people's first World Cup in detail, even if the group failed to qualify in the end.
Because this is a "coming-of-age ceremony" for a group of people.
"The rite of becoming human", not "the rite of becoming an adult"
If I don’t write in detail, but just briefly introduce the results in the tone of a news summary, or write that the Chinese team lost to Brazil 0:3... then how can I let everyone see clearly the current face of these people and what is in their hearts? What about "small"?
If you can’t see this, how can you rejoice in their growth and transformation in the future?
Do you want me to just say "they grew up"?
Was He Feng's speech when Zhang Qinghuan came off the field just for Zhang Qinghuan?
Of course not.
It’s also given to these players.
They are not perfect people, and sometimes they are not even good people.
They have shortcomings, some of which are deeply hated by everyone.
But as long as we are human, we must have shortcomings.
The important thing is not not to have shortcomings, the important thing is how to face yourself with shortcomings and imperfect life.
The straight and detoured "shortcuts" that everyone has taken, the mistakes they have made, and the stupid things they have done have all ultimately made them what they are.
True maturity is not the pursuit of perfection, but facing one's own shortcomings.
Verify the truth of life, recognize that you are not as good as you think, and then continue to love life, love yourself, and move forward.
For me, it is also one of the life insights I want to express in the book...
In fact, not only this group of international players, but also every character who appears in my book is basically like this. They are imperfect and have shortcomings. Some shortcomings may be very annoying and fatal to readers.
For example, Li Ziqiang is extremely selfish in protecting his daughter, Hu Lixin is cowardly and arbitrary, and Xie Lan also has shortcomings. She is sometimes too self-centered and does not care about her husband's feelings. If the reader takes the place of Hu Lixin, he will feel that his wife sometimes Very annoying...
Shi Wuyin also has his own selfish motives, and is not as great and upright as everyone thinks - otherwise, why would he refuse to renew his contract with the Football Association after leading the World Cup and insist on quitting? Why don't you devote yourself to Chinese football until your death? Doesn't he know that after he leaves, the performance of the Chinese team may have ups and downs? He knew it all, but he still didn't renew the contract because he cherished his reputation. He is afraid that his fame will not be guaranteed until the end of his life. That's why he said to Hong Renjie, "I don't have the ability or motivation to lead the national team to continue." If he doesn't have the ability, he can improve his abilities, but he has no motivation... He has no motivation himself, so how can you let him renew his contract and let him continue? Lead this team?
The Chinese Football Association after the reform will still have bureaucracy - in the plot of deciding whether to let Shi Wuyuan continue to coach the national team in the top 12, I saw that many readers were unhappy with the Football Association's performance in the chapter. Very good, that’s what I hope you think...
Even the protagonist Hu Lai is definitely not perfect. He has many flaws, some of which are innocuous, but some of which are actually personality flaws. This was felt by readers at the beginning of the novel, and they were deeply disgusted and felt that the protagonist was very wretched. Very annoying.
When I was creating each character in this book, I reminded myself repeatedly - don't write them as omniscient and omnipotent perfect characters, but deliberately write about their shortcomings and flaws, and deliberately write about their mistakes - because I hate such characters. , lifeless, inhuman. Since I hate such characters, I naturally can’t write stories about such characters.
Therefore, both Shi Wuyin and Clark had times when they made mistakes, times when they were powerless, and times when they surrendered. They were not like the ideal sports figures who should always pursue victory and fight until the last second.
I know that in the current aesthetic environment of online writing, this old-school approach is unpopular.
What everyone wants to see is that everyone will not hold the protagonist back, they are absolutely reasonable, and there is no fault in their behavior... To put it bluntly, why is this happening, because of "a sense of security".
Because only by doing this can these characters make readers feel safe and feel comfortable reading books. The results of the novel are naturally good.
After all, everyone reads books to pursue relaxation and refreshment.
If readers don’t feel safe and uncomfortable, they won’t read it.
As a reader, I feel the same way.
But as an author, I have my own pursuits.
So I stick to this thankless way of writing.
Just because I think those characters should be human beings. Only when they are human beings can they collide with each other to create stories, stir up emotions, and ultimately form a convincing world.
Of course, I will try my best to maintain a balance. While sticking to myself, I will not give up on the general direction of making readers happy. That's why I allowed the Chinese team to remain undefeated in the World Cup, and it was the only team to remain undefeated. Otherwise, I might have let the Chinese team lose to Algeria in the first game - in my original plan, this was indeed what I thought.
I also know that blindly insisting on your own things may not always resonate, and sometimes it is inappropriate. If I don’t want to throw myself on the street until I die, then I’d better use the techniques of commercial novels to express my thoughts instead of just running out and throwing things in front of everyone without any cover. If no one reads a novel, what meaning does my so-called life insights and thoughts have?
So for me in this book, what I often struggled with during the writing process was how to write "failure" instead of "victory". After all, winning is very satisfying, as long as you keep winning and get all the honors you can get. What is so difficult about writing this?
But if you continue writing like this, the novel will soon lose its vitality, or as the saying goes: if the rhythm is not maintained, it will collapse.
For an old author who has written 37 million words, it is not difficult to make readers happy. What is rare is how to keep readers interested and sticky in the book, and how to continue to find enjoyable points in the book.
My solution in this book is to slow down the pace a bit.
Instead of just focusing on the protagonist alone, write group portraits so that readers can find more spiritual objects besides the protagonist.
Therefore, there is a 700,000-word campus football chapter, and a 2 million-word chapter is still hanging around in China.
But because of this, there are characters other than Hu Lai, Zhang Qinghuan, Wang Guangwei, Chen Xingyi, Xie Lan, Li Ziqiang, Li Qingqing, Shi Wuyuan, Luo Kai...
When I shaped them and described them like "watering" them before, in the following chapters, when they complete their respective growth, I think readers will really feel the sense of accomplishment of "scattered stars in the sky" , and rejoice in it.
Thanks to everyone for not giving up, such a story with old-fashioned writing, old-fashioned plot, and old-fashioned core is doing well now. I was walking on thin ice, fearing that the writing would collapse. I carefully considered every word and sentence in each chapter, trying to maintain a unified style throughout the book.
Therefore, this book may be the most tiring book I have written in many years. I have never been as eager to go out on vacation as I am in this book - you know, I am a homebody for thousands of years, and I will never go out if I can stay at home. But now, I think about going out to play from time to time...
Every day, not almost, but every day, I write until about two o'clock in the morning, and I never finish writing before twelve o'clock in the evening.
It’s not that I haven’t thought about it sometimes, don’t have such high standards and strict requirements, just be casual and write out today’s update.
But no.
Even after I finished writing, I still felt that I couldn't write like this when I went to the bathroom before going to bed, so I went back to the computer, opened the document, and rewrote.
In this way, I feel that this book has maintained a unified style and level so far.
So I will continue to write persistently, even if the writing process is tiring and painful, but looking at the finished product still gives me a full sense of accomplishment...
Of course, sticking to your true heart and original intention is actually easier to do when your grades are not good.
After all, no one was reading it at that time, so I convinced myself that "since I can't please the readers, I'll please myself." Anyway, I have to take one from both ends, just like a stand-alone game. I actually also like to play stand-alone games - WOW allows me to complete stand-alone games...
As more people watch and the subscription performance improves, it becomes more difficult to stick to the original intention.
After all, when what you want to write conflicts with readers' expectations, you will definitely hesitate.
Worried that I will live up to everyone’s expectations.
Worry that the way you handle it will offend readers.
Offending readers means losing subscriptions and poor results.
It doesn’t matter whether the grades are good or bad when the grades are not good to begin with.
When my grades get better, I start to worry about gains and losses, fearing this and that.
Of course I hope my grades will be good, and I still hope my grades will be better.
I also know how to write my grades better.
But in the end I chose this willful approach, as I said in my preface.
This itself is a willful book written by a willful person...
I finally persisted with 3.5 million words. If I gave up my original idea here, I would feel like my previous efforts have been wasted.
No matter what the final result of this book is, I want to write it completely. This completeness not only means that it is not unfinished, but also means that I have written everything I want to write thoroughly and everything that should be written.
As a novel, this should be a highly completed work, rather than a nondescript half-finished product that swings back and forth between insisting on oneself and pursuing achievements.
So I'm sorry if my approach to this book makes you feel uncomfortable and you don't want to read it, and I respect your choice. But I will still write this.
If you want to read a particularly refreshing article, maybe I will write it in the future - I don't reject the kind of simple and crude refreshing article - but this is what this book is.
So please understand.
Anyway, that’s it for the World Cup plot.
As I said when I posted my update strategy before, this plot is very important to the entire book. It can be said to be the key link between past and future.
What young people gain from this World Cup is definitely not as simple as increasing their knowledge and improving their level as they think.
Some effects are deep-seated and may not become apparent until later.
But after I write this part out in detail, I can make their future changes stand firm.
Just like when I first insisted on writing a campus chapter.
It's a truth.
Only when there is a way forward can there be a way out.
This is true for the protagonist Hu Lai, and it is true for other people in this book.
Of course, you don’t have to worry about me being a literary person.
Basically, I attach so much importance to the plot of the World Cup because it is really important.
It doesn’t mean that I would write about “failure” in such detail at other times.
After all, "Fox in the Forbidden Zone" is still a qualified commercial novel in essence, and it still pursues pleasure.
I don’t intend to write about just this one World Cup. I have already thought about all the subsequent arrangements. But in order not to spoil the story, I won’t say it. Anyway, believe me. I am a YY writer who dared to write about the Chinese team winning the World Cup in 2006. Over the years, how many football novels have written about the Chinese team winning the World Cup? I don’t know, but We Are the Champions is definitely the first one.
I was actually very bold - at that time everyone said that I was writing fantasy novels.
It’s just that I always hope that while being bold in YY, I also have to be careful with assumptions and fill in enough credible details, so that YY can eventually become real and believable.
Even if it is YY, you should do YY seriously instead of doing it perfunctorily.
Personally, I think the highest level of YY is to make people who see it truly believe that YY is real, instead of just being fake at first sight.
Even if it is a high imitation, it must be fake and authentic - I wrote in "Do You Care If I Play Football" that Kaka is a descendant of Chinese descent born in Brazil. In order to let him experience the Chinese culture, his father asked him to return home. I went to school in China and met Zhang Jun and others. After I arranged such a family and life background for this character, when I wrote it, some readers actually thought that Kaka was Chinese and that he at least had Chinese ancestry...
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Let’s go back to Volume 4.
In fact, the fourth volume has two main lines, one is Hu Lai's performance in the club, and the other is the World Cup.
Then there are many branches in it.
Such as Luo Kai.
I didn’t write about Luo Kai’s situation in Veronica in detail, I just mentioned it once when he had an intersection with Hu Lai. On the one hand, it avoids distracting everyone's attention and slowing down the pace; on the other hand, it is naturally because Luo Kai's part is very similar to a sadistic novel. For the sake of commercial novels, there is no need to write it down in detail.
So I am still a writer who knows very well what I should write and how to write to make readers happy.
And I'm also good at listening to opinions and self-correcting.
For example, the plot dealing with Hu Lai's transfer at the end of the third volume was decided to overturn the subsequent plot and rewrite it after listening to feedback from readers.
But sometimes I can be stubborn.
That's because I know what to hold on to and what not to hold on to.
The treatment of Luo Kai is actually the arrangement of Hu Lai's overseas career that I deleted at the end of the third volume - to go to a wealthy team, not be reused, and then rent out. Unable to adapt and perform poorly, I gradually found the feeling later, but it was too late. I returned to a wealthy club and was rented out again... At this time, Leeds City took action to buy out Hu Lai, and then what everyone saw The content of the original fourth volume.
But I thought about it and felt that the protagonist of this story is a naked abuser, which is acceptable but unnecessary.
After all, this book is essentially a good read...
I do deliberately slow down the pace, but this slow pace of the plot will not help shape the characters, and will not allow readers to have the patience to read on, so why bother? The reason why I insist on writing the World Cup plot in detail is because it has a profound impact on the entire national football team and is a foreshadowing of the later plot.
So I deleted the tens of thousands of words of the plot and changed it into what everyone sees now.
But I don’t want everyone to think that studying abroad to play football is an easy thing - so easy, why is it that only Qin Lin did it once in the book many years ago?
In order to highlight the difficulties of studying abroad, since the protagonist cannot express this difficulty, naturally he can only arrange important supporting characters to bear it.
So there was a series of arrangements for Luo Kai after he went abroad to play football...
The book also expresses this meaning through the perspectives of many people - don't just look at Hu Lai's scenery in Leeds City and think that studying abroad seems to be an easy and simple matter. Also look at Luo Kai, he is the path that all ordinary Chinese talented players who are not cheating will go through - if Chinese football really has talented players like him.
At the same time, it also echoes the lyrics in the ending song of Volume 3, "Everyone's Life is a Long Journey":
"The dream is just ahead of the road, shining dimly and fascinating; I hope you find it in the end.
"But there are also hot summers and cold winters in the distance, windy and rainy nights, and muddy roads; I hope you will be safe all the way.
"May the wandering bring you enough wisdom and firm courage, but not wear away your dreams."
Going abroad to pursue dreams is not as refreshing as in YY novels. Many times it is more like Luo Kai, wallowing in the quagmire over and over again, in a state of embarrassment, and may not be able to achieve a satisfactory result in the end.
It can be said that Hu Lai is the collection of all our fantasies and the bearer of all the good hopes we have given.
Luo Kai is a cruel reality - of course, it is not as cruel and cold as the real reality. This is a YY novel after all, and it is a refreshing novel after all, and it must still retain a touch of warmth.
It can be said that the subsequent studies of other characters abroad will basically follow this principle. It will not be too YY, but it will not be completely realistic.
I won’t write them into rich families anytime soon, and write about them becoming famous.
After all, the time span of this book is very long. As long as they can meet people's expectations of them in the end and make due contributions to Chinese football, then their study abroad will be considered a success.
Again - I think about the plot arrangement from the perspective of the entire book, not the perspective of serialization. So sometimes if you follow the serialization, you will inevitably feel unhappy. There is no way, there is always a choice. If you write carefully, you cannot increase the speed. If you increase the speed, the writing will be sloppy, and there will be many things that are ignored and cannot be taken care of.
But I believe this is definitely a book worth reading again and again after you finish it.
This is also a novel that should leave its name in the history of online literature - when the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League conducted a telephone interview with me some time ago, I was asked to recommend my favorite masterpiece that is most suitable for reading in today's society. I don't have it. I recommend "We Are the Champions", and I don't recommend "Heart of a Champion" which is included in the electronic library of the National Library. I don't even recommend "The Godfather of Champions". What I recommend is this "Fox in the Forbidden Zone".
I think the current book "Fox in the Forbidden Zone" deserves to be recommended to the whole society as my masterpiece.
This is my goal and my ambition.
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Volume 5 is Hu Lai’s first time participating in a European competition.
The perspective of the novel will also follow him to unfold the world of European football in the book.
More new characters will appear on the stage, and Hu Lai will play out his love and hatred.
The growth and maturity of the Chinese team also continues.
All in all, it's still a wonderful volume.
The story is still very long, and the time is also very long.
Let me write slowly and you can read slowly.
Maybe the book and reality can be intertwined and synchronized again during next year's World Cup?
After all, the time span in the book is very long, really very long, definitely not "four more years" as some readers guessed...
Thank you all for your support, let us continue to work together in the fifth volume! (End of chapter)