"The Hobbit" is serialized to the sixth chapter,

At the same time, "The Mystery of Roger" ushered in the second reprint, which is still 10,000 copies.

Unexpectedly, along with it, the sales of "Seaside Magazine" climbed again, and broke the single-week sales record.

This was unexpected.

Wood of the Royal Publishing Bureau gave Lu Shi an analysis of the reasons:

For one, the "Six Busts of Napoleon" is of extremely high quality,

As a reasoning, it may be good, but as a detective adventure class, it is only weaker than Doyle's "Scarlet Study", "Four Signatures", and "The Last Case";

Second, "Roger's Mystery Case" was a big hit.

I have to say that "The Mystery of Roger" and the Sherlock Holmes series are in competition,

But that's the same type of competition,

In terms of price, the two are not in the same segment at all, there is a clear gradient, and readers who have read "The Mystery of Roger" will tend to look for works of the same type, and the Sherlock Holmes series will inevitably come into view.

vice versa

A Sherlock Holmes fan could also become a Poirot fan.

Two works of the same type at different prices have become hot in the market, but they have made the cake bigger.

After all, Lu Shi is a modern person, he has eaten and seen, of course he understands,

Competition can indeed expand the market of the same category in order to achieve the result of cooperation, which is the so-called "competition and cooperation" relationship.

Lu Shi doesn't care about this,

After all, it is not an irreconcilable contradiction with Doyle, there is no need for you to live or die.

Besides, there is no first,

In the end, who is strong and who is weak, it all depends on one mouth,

It's impossible to really run over to compare sales and sales with Doyle, right?

Lu Shi didn't care about what he didn't have, but devoted all his time to the creation of book reviews.

The book review is called "A Brief Discussion of Narrative Trickery and Mystery Works",

In a way, this is his first creation, so he has to put in 12 points of energy and strive for perfection.

And just like that, time passed.

……

Early February.

Doyle Mansion.

Doyle was sitting in front of a typewriter writing his manuscript.

The new short story is called "The Lonely Cyclist",

He feels good about himself and should be able to sell well.

At this moment, the door was quietly pushed open,

Hawkins, the wife, tiptoed over, put a cup of black tea in her husband's hand, and then prepared to turn around and go out.

Unexpectedly, Doyle spoke: "Ruth, has today's newspaper arrived?" I want to see ...... By the way, I told you before that I ordered the Manchester Guardian and The Scotsman, did you order them? ”

The Doyle family used to subscribe only to The Times,

Occasionally, during major events, such as Christmas and New Year's Day, they will buy all kinds of newspapers and magazines, not only for reading, but also for collection.

But recently, for some reason, Doyle suddenly changed his temper,

In the past, he hated liberal print media the most, but now he does not refuse to come.

There is another strange thing,

Once Doyle fell into a creative state of inspiration before, he would forget to shave, and sometimes even didn't take a shower for two or three days.

But now, he has completely changed, and he can do whatever he wants, bathing and shaving.

It's as if writing is just an ordinary job.

Hawkins didn't know if it was her former husband or her current husband.

She said worriedly, "Arthur, do you want to see it now?" ”

Doyle took a sip of tea,

"Didn't book?"

Of course it is.

But Hawkins decided to test it first and see her husband's reaction,

Don't be stimulated by anything!

She said, "Arthur, do you know that Roger's Mystery has been reprinted again? ”

Doyle nodded,

"You know, 10,000 copies, the news from three days ago."

For such news, Doyle is already numb,

He didn't think about anything compared to Lu Shi at all, he simply turned into a ruthless codeword machine and seriously created "The Return",

The most important thing is to keep your own pace.

This is also the reason why he suddenly became distracted,

Two words –

Buddhism.

Hawkins looked at her husband, and although he thought it was a little strange, he couldn't say anything strange.

She walked to the door,

"I'll bring you the Manchester Guardian right now. There's a review of Lu's book on it, what's it called...... It's called 'trickery' or something, and I'm dizzy to see it. ”

A tome refers to a book that is long and large.

Doyle came in a mood,

"Tome? How do you have a tome in the newspaper? ”

However, Hawkins went out and did not answer.

After waiting for half a minute, she returned to the house with the newspaper in her hand, and at the same time pointed to the book review page and said, "This is it, called "A Brief Discussion of Narrative Trickery and Reasoning Works". ”

Doyle hadn't heard of "narrative trickery", but he still understood the term "speculative work".

He was surprised: "This title is too big, isn't it?" ”

Could it be that Lu Shi is floating?

Hawkins handed the newspaper over and said, "Take a look, it's too professional for me to read." ”

Doyle nodded and took the newspaper.

The first thing that catches your eye is a concept:

Narrative trickery refers to the author's use of article structure or writing techniques to deliberately conceal or mislead the reader about certain facts, until the truth is finally revealed, leaving the reader with an indescribable sense of consternation.

Doyle was even more surprised,

Undoubtedly, the writing technique of "Roger's Mystery" is this,

Lu Shi uses the tacit understanding and inertia of readers when reading, introduces readers or players to the pre-prepared story environment, and finally makes the whole story complete the reversal by pointing out the misunderstandings of readers.

The question is......

Isn't "The Mystery of Roger" still on sale?

Just give the core ruse like this, and it won't affect sales because of spoilers?

Doyle was puzzled,

As a result, he tilted his head and saw his wife's confused gaze, and suddenly changed his mind.

After all, not everyone can read a tome.

For the author, the concept of narrative trickery is very easy to understand, but in the eyes of the reader, it is a bit confusing.

"Tsk......"

Doyle staggered,

He felt in his heart that Lu Shi's attitude of "I review my own books" was quite arrogant.

But I feel that Lu Shi has this qualification.

A book of more than six pounds sold 20,000 copies in less than ten days, and everyone had to float.

Doyle continued to read,

Unexpectedly, the more he read, the more shocked he became,

Because Lu Shi really didn't hide his secrets, he broke down and crumpled all the narrative tricks what they were, how they should be structured, and how to guide the reader, just like writing an academic paper.

Hawkins looked at her husband and wondered, "Arthur, what's wrong with you?" ”

Doyle was silent for a long time and said, "If you can completely understand this article, it will definitely be no problem to make a living by writing." ”

Hawkins was puzzled,

"Huh? Is it really that powerful? ”

Doyle nodded,

"Yes, it's that powerful. You see the classification of these narrative tricks he wrote, gender narrative, age narrative, identity narrative, one person playing two or even multiple roles...... These things must have been thought of before, but Lu Shi was the first person to write them so systematically. ”

Hawkins didn't understand, but was shocked.

She asked, "You mean, Lu used so many tricks in Roger's Mystery?" ”

Doyle smiled

"That's what shocked me."

Hawkins was stunned,

"Did you really use that much?"

Doyle shook his head violently and replied, "Not really. The narrative trickery used in "The Mystery of Roger" is not that complicated. However, if you think about it the other way, Lu Shi has so many good ideas that he can keep them for his own use, and now he has announced them to the public, which is ......"

As soon as these words came out, Hawkins also fell silent.

If Lu Shi writes it one by one, it is certain that he will have no worries about food and clothing in this life.

Of course, money is something outside of the body for a best-selling author of this level, and what really matters is the honor of the book.

Doyle looked at the review and said, "Now that I see this article, I can immediately come up with a few good ideas, like ...... Well...... Pregnant! A character who is colorblind and sees colors that are different from what ordinary people perceive, using him as the first perspective can lead the reader to the wrong conclusion. ”

It's interesting to hear.

Hawkins nodded,

"It's definitely going to be a good subject."

Doyle had a smug expression,

But soon, he restrained his smile,

The feeling of eating is very refreshing, but it is not particularly refreshing.

It's a pity to eat tastelessly and throw it away.

Hawkins said: "What did Lu think when he wrote this book review? ”

Doyle look at the article,

"I'm not as good as him."

Hawkins was surprised that her husband bowed his head and conceded defeat.

She shouted, "Arthur! ”

Doyle waved his hand,

"I didn't throw in the towel, and I didn't lose my fighting spirit. When I say I'm inferior to him, I mean my heart. Lu Shi wrote this article probably to teach us how to write a good reasoning work......"

As he spoke, his gaze wandered over the book review page,

The article is called "A Brief Discussion on Narrative Tricks and Reasoning Works", in addition to the description of narrative tricks in the first half, there is also the second half, which talks about what kind of reasoning works are in Lu Shi's eyes.

There are no bells and whistles in the whole article, and the text is very sincere.

Doyle only read it for a few minutes before he couldn't help but take a deep breath,

"He's teaching us how to write."

Hawkins was surprised,

"What?"

Doyle pointed to the article and said, "You see, he wrote here, what kind of 'information asymmetry' ......"

Hawkins nodded immediately,

"Yes, I see that Lu mentions this many times in the article, but I don't understand what it means."

Doyle replied: "Simply put, information asymmetry is 'unfair'. Because of the author's deliberate concealment, the detective has key evidence and information that the reader does not know. Do you remember what I did at the beginning of The Hound of the Baskervilles? ”

Hawkins recalled,

At the beginning of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", the husband writes that Sherlock Holmes made a mistake,

Sherlock Holmes speculated that information about the owner of the cane left at 221B Baker Street did not match the actual situation at all.

Doyle sighed,

"Alas......"

Readers may not know, but his heart is like a mirror,

The Sherlock Holmes series of reasoning is not rigorous, and readers will believe it because the other writers are not good enough.

Doyle looked at the article again and sighed again,

"That's right, he's teaching us how to write."

……

"He's teaching us how to write."

Cambridge

King's College.

James was in his office, reading today's Manchester Guardian, with an admiring expression on his face.

Cavendish said, "Really? But I find this article a little aggressive. ”

James looked puzzled,

"Where?"

Cavendish took the newspaper and read the original text:

“

'Detectives can't use supernatural or weird detective methods. ’

”

This is one of the principles of reasoning given by Lu Shi.

James will,

"Do you think Mr. Lu is hinting at the monsters I wrote?"

As he spoke, he shook his head,

"As you say, he also wrote, 'The detective's dumb friend, whose judgment must be told unreservedly, that the man's intelligence must be slightly below the average of the reader', is that 'the detective's dumb friend' implying Watson?"

Cavendish felt that

Isn't that what hints at Watson?

He said: "I don't think Lu Shi himself believed what he wrote. For example, "The Mystery of Roger", doesn't it violate this article? The 'detective's friend' is actually the murderer. ”

James chuckled,

Indeed, Mr. Lu's writing seems a bit dogmatic, and there is even a risk of slapping himself in the face. But I don't think he's trying to classify detectives roughly, but rather ...... Well...... Instead, it gives a way to evaluate the good and bad detectives, and gives the writers a writing suggestion. ”

Cavendish was a little confused, and asked the other party: "Listen to what you mean, Lu Shi is teaching the real thing?" ”

James nodded.

He pointed to the summary at the end of the article,

There, Lu Shi made a vivid analogy,

Lu Shi divides all the information that makes up a story into a hundred cards,

In the initial stage, a hundred cards are all placed on the table, and the development of the story is the process of turning over the cards one by one.

The vast majority of stories are linear, and the order in which the cards are opened is also a straight line, all of which are revealed chronologically starting with the basic information, allowing the reader to follow the plot development according to clear clues.

James said, "The category of reasoning is different. ”

He spreads the newspaper flat while turning it irregularly,

"Reasoning is based on a special 'flop method', and even more so in works with narrative tricks like Roger's Mystery."

Cavendish asked, "Doesn't it look like acrobatics when written like that?" ”

James replied, "It's an acrobatic." ”

He flipped a newspaper back and said, "Deliberately keeping the cards that should have been opened in a folded state and not being noticed by the readers, until the end, trying to show the wrong composition in front of the readers." ”

This style of writing is very demanding on the writing.

Cavendish thought of "The Mystery of Roger", which had been sold out, and fell silent,

That's a great work.

James smiled and asked, "Mr. Supervisor, do you think our family is fooling people?" ”

Cavendish was stunned,

Immediately, he laughed,

"No, no, no. I just think the reasoning is fooling, because the reader can't preemptively guess who the killer is before seeing the detective decrypt it. ”

James couldn't help but laugh when he heard this,

If the reasoning is "fooling people", then Zhiwei can't see it.

He pondered for a moment, and then said, "Mr. Chancellor, I think we should show the consciousness of an English gentleman." You tell me? ”

Cavendish's laughter came to an abrupt end,

Silent for a long time,

He said, "Okay." ”

(End of chapter)