101 On Writing (147) "On the "Pressure" and "Yang" of Online Novels
Before posting, I wish everyone a prosperous Year of the Dog, all wishes come true, the novel is a big seller, and become a god as soon as possible!
Recently, 101 has written a few books, although the results are not satisfactory, but the understanding of online novels is much deeper than before, taking advantage of the New Year, to write down the most important insights, and communicate with everyone.
Today's main discussion is about the motivation to read a novel, in the vernacular, what attracts readers to follow, before 101 also analyzed the reader's reading expectations, citing Maslow's theory, when the protagonist's wishes are urgently to be realized - wealth, pickles, upgrades, realization of ambitions, etc., these wishes are oppressed, resulting in readers' expectations, so I hope that the protagonist will realize his wishes, this is reading expectations.
The big truth is true.,But in terms of operation,There's no point through the hero's long-term expectations.,That is to say, getting rich.,Pickle girls.,Upgrades are all small goals.,There needs to be a long-term expectation strung together.。
For example, in "Breaking the Sky", the three-year appointment with Nalan Yanran is a long-term expectation, and in order to achieve this goal, the family wins the competition, which is a short-term expectation, which means that this small goal of upgrading is to serve the three-year covenant and wash away the shame.
This divorce plot is so gripping, so that readers can empathize, and they can't wait to replace the protagonist to go up to justice, which is a very powerful "pressure", this pressure is the soul of a book, the protagonist of the establishment, the long-term goal of struggle, and everything is established, so that readers have a strong sense of substitution and expectation.
Another example is "The Legend of Mortal Cultivation of Immortals", the big "pressure" of the book is that the two stunned people want to see the world, the children of poor families have bad names, fewer opportunities than others, and the assessment of the Seven Xuanmen is almost brushed down.
So this kind of long-term oppression is on the topic - "mortal cultivation of immortals"!
Readers will always have a sense of anticipation, wanting to see how the protagonist fights against these oppressions, although his goldfinger vial is very rebellious, but the oppression continues, and the expectation continues.
For example, when Han Li went to the Yellow Maple Valley, the Zhuji Dan quota was robbed, and the Zhuji Dan Fang was finally able to get it, but when he got it, he couldn't refine it, so he had no choice but to participate in the Blood Trial...... These oppressions make readers feel unwelcome in Huangfeng Valley, and they can't wait for the protagonist to turn over as soon as possible and raise his eyebrows.
Later, Han Li naturally raised his eyebrows, but not all at once, but pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, which belonged to pressing Yang, such as Fang Shi came back and killed Chen Qiaoqian's fiancé, the sect investigated, and no one knew that it was him, this was secretly cool.
In the blood-colored trial, he killed ten parties, reaped enough benefits, and even went to Jindan monk Nangong Wan, but as soon as he came out, no one knew that he was awesome! This secret was only hidden in the hearts of a limited number of people, which was also secretly cool.
Until the invasion of the Demon Dao, Han Li did not make a splash, he kept pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, until he came back from the Chaotic Star Sea and broke through the Yuan Infant, and then he reached the sky, and everyone knew that he was the first Yuan Infant Monk of the Human Race, and he was not afraid of the Shanghua God.
Throughout the plot changes of the whole book, it has been in the midst of changes in "pressure" and "yang", just like "yin" and "yang", "pressure" has "yang" at the same time, "yang" has "pressure" at the same time, "pressure" has "yang", "yang" has "pressure", and "yang" has "pressure", always hanging the reader's breath, scratching the heart and looking down.
Another example is the most popular "King Spares Life" recently, the long-term "pressure" at the beginning is that Lu Shu wants to live a good life with Xiaoyu, a little money, a little time, go out to travel, and see the world, but in reality, both of them are orphans, and they have to calculate whether the money is enough to eat a sugar gourd, Lu Shu is a high school student, and he has to sell eggs every day, Xiaoyu can't afford to go to school, so he can only study at home, and he is so greedy!
This kind of long-term pressure runs throughout, even if the protagonist earns millions, after buying a house, this "pressure" has not been loosened, and little by little it translates into two people cultivating, adventuring to see the world together, going to adventures one by one, and growing together.
If there is no such heart-warming "pressure", simply pretending to slap the face and talking scarelessly, I believe it will not attract readers to chase it all the time.
Let's take a look at "Let Go of That Witch", the opening line "pressure" is that the protagonist Roland wants to survive in another world, live a dignified life as a prince, liberate witches, and create a world of harmony between witches and mortals.
This long-term "pressure" is also throughout, for example, the early plot is in the face of assassination, plotting, and oppression by competitors, such as the eldest prince sending people to him, such as the fortress behind not supporting him, and so on.
The Witch League doesn't trust him, his sister doesn't trust him, his subordinates don't trust him, the church wants to mess with him, and these "pressures" are everywhere.
When these are all done, it is time for the battle of divine will and the oppression of the devil.
No matter where these pressures come from, the point of action is to "prevent the protagonist from realizing the long-cherished wish of witches and mortals to build a beautiful and harmonious society, and prevent the protagonist from realizing his ideals and ambitions in life"!
The "pressure" and "yang" of all the above books are pointed out at the time of opening the book, and they are all working hard in one direction throughout, so there is a good reading experience for readers.
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Finally, let's take a look at some examples of how "pressing" and "yang" are not doing well:
1. The protagonist lacks a goal to be recognized with, anyway, he has a golden finger, he pulls hatred everywhere, and he pretends to be forced to slap his face after pulling, and the reader doesn't agree with it at all, and it's not cool.
2. The author arranges a great conspiracy and crisis, and the protagonist is tired of running for his life and pretending to be saints everywhere, but this goal cannot be recognized, even if it is written fiercely, it will not attract readers.
3. The author came up with a very novel idea, the beginning of various gold finger research and development pretends, it looks very attractive, and when more than 300,000 words are put on the shelves, the novelty is exhausted, the long-term "pressure" is not, and the shelves collapse.
In comparison, let's summarize the "pressure" and "yang" of the above books:
1. "Breaking the Sky": Long-term pressure - Nalan Yanran's three-year appointment, short-term pressure - recovering strength, winning the clan competition, winning back prestige, protecting Xiao Xun'er, etc.;
2. "The Legend of Mortal Cultivation of Immortals": Long-term pressure - it is not easy for mortals to cultivate immortals, the protagonist wants to see the world, short-term pressure - Qixuanmen assessment, Mo Lao's calculations, Huang Fenggu's low status and being bullied, etc.;
3. "The King Spares His Life": Long-term pressure - Lu Shu and Xiaoyu rely on each other, live a stable life, see the world together, and short-term pressure - being misunderstood and ridiculed by classmates, the selection and assessment of the ability agency, not enough money to spend, etc. "Yang" has negative values to scare people, abilities to open and hang, and so on.
4. "Let Go of That Witch": Long-term pressure - Roland wants to create a win-win world for witches and mortals, win the recognition and admiration of the world, and short-term pressure - the royal order, the church, the initial disapproval of the Witch Alliance, the invasion of evil beasts, the invasion of demons, etc.
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Finally, dig out your heart and say a word of insight——
Before opening the book, first establish the protagonist's long-term goal, and then design long-term oppression along this goal, and then decompose it into various short-term oppression, and finally put the golden finger and the protagonist's personality into it, and design all kinds of "Yang", as long as the writing is stable, you will become a god!
Of course, you have to choose a more innovative "idea" as an entry point.