"Heh, everyone, don't get so worked up. There's no need for the whole taking-on-disciples thing. The fact that we can all gather here means we're connected by fate. I did promise earlier that I'd share some insights with you all. But first, let me ask Jiangshan something. Which site are you planning to post your next book on?"
The reason the Cabbage Group was called the Cabbage Group traced back to a top-tier author group from the online writing scene in a previous life. Anyone who could get into the Cabbage Group was a god-tier author. As for why it was called "cabbage," aside from the fact that these "god-tier authors" tended to write relatively white, noob-style novels, there was also a certain sense of showing off. Just think about it: who would imagine that in such a rustic-sounding group, any random author you pulled out would have tens of thousands of fans.
When Huang Yifan created the Cabbage Group, he also hoped that one day it would become the most elite author group in the industry.
"White, I'm planning to go back to Lingdian."
Jiangshan sent a message on the public channel.
"That's strange. Didn't Huanyue try to poach you?"
"Huh? White, how did you know Huanyue tried to recruit me?"
"There's nothing strange about that. Huanyue isn't stupid. If they've managed to become number one in the industry, they naturally have good judgment. If noob-style fiction was still controversial before, then your continuation of 'I'm Just a Scoundrel.' has already made the path for noob-style fiction increasingly clear. If I were Huanyue, I'd poach you too."
"But the problem is, Huanyue deleted the novel you had me continue. That really pissed me off, and I don't want to stay there."
"Then do you think if you post this book on Lingdian, they won't delete it?"
"This…"
Jiangshan was momentarily at a loss for words. A bit awkward, he said, "Actually, White, after Huanyue deleted my book, they did try to poach me and even offered me a buyout at 30 per thousand words."
"Offering a newcomer 30 per thousand isn't bad. Work hard, and you can still make ten thousand a month."
"It is good, but I don't really have confidence. White, you know this too. 'I'm Just a Scoundrel.' wasn't really written by me. I was continuing your work. Without your opening, I don't think I could've written it well. Now that 'I'm Just a Scoundrel.' has been deleted, I want to start a second book. I want to see if I can truly write a novel myself. So I turned down Huanyue's buyout and plan to try my luck at Lingdian, a relatively fair platform."
"Not bad. That's a good mindset."
Huang Yifan couldn't help but look at Jiangshan in a new light. "Refusing a buyout to go to Lingdian and write on a revenue-sharing basis, that takes backbone. I wish you success."
"Thank you."
"Alright, next I'll talk to everyone about so-called writing insights."
After finishing his chat with Jiangshan, Huang Yifan addressed the whole group.
"That's great, White, hurry up and talk. We're all ears."
"Dragging out a stool and listening seriously."
"White is starting, everyone, quiet down."
To new authors, those who had already achieved some success were, in their eyes, successful people.
They longed for these successful figures to pass on their secret techniques.
Back when Huang Yifan himself was a struggling, bottom-tier writer, he'd felt the same way. He understood their mindset all too well.
After thinking for a moment, Huang Yifan said, "Actually, I don't have that many writing insights. I'll just chat with you all about the difference between traditional writing and online writing."
"Traditional writing is generally divided into pure literature and genre literature. Online novels are mostly genre literature."
"So-called pure literature doesn't really have a genre. Its mission is to promote ideas and ideology."
"As for genre literature, that includes wuxia, science fiction, xuanhuan, supernatural, and so on."
"I call the traditional literary writing approach an angst-driven style."
"This style focuses most on suffering. Whether it's the protagonist, supporting characters, or even the plot itself, everything is about suffering. You can see this clearly in TV dramas, where male and female leads are classic representatives of angst-driven storytelling. This kind of angst culture is extremely popular. Whether in novels, scripts, or even opera, it's always been pushed forward."
"What they like is seeing the rainbow after hardship, or sometimes they simply enjoy the process of suffering itself. Take the novel 'Ordinary Years' as an example, where ordinariness, hardship, and struggle are treated as a kind of wealth."
"Of course, I also think there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, if angst-driven writing is done well, it can be even more educational."
"But what I want to say is…"
"Our online novels, our online writing methods, don't necessarily have to follow this kind of angst-driven culture."
"Take 'Bad Guy', take 'I'm Just a Scoundrel'. From start to finish, there's not a trace of angst. There's only one thing: satisfaction."
"So I believe that online novels don't just have angst-driven writing methods. They can also have feel-good writing methods."
"And from the perspective of the online platform reading experience, feel-good stories are undoubtedly more eye-catching than angst."
"Especially when judged by first impressions."
Writing is actually a very profound topic. Talking about so-called writing insights doesn't necessarily help authors all that much. Sure enough, after Huang Yifan explained the difference between angst-driven culture and feel-good culture, only Jiangshan really seemed to gain some insight. The rest mostly felt like they hadn't quite understood.
Bulü: "White, I agree with what you said about feel-good stories. Writing web novels is all about feeling good. But the novels I wrote before were also pretty feel-good. So why is it that such feel-good novels didn't have any readers?"
The Number One White Under Heaven: "Then give me an example."
Bulü: "The novel I wrote before was xuanhuan. The protagonist was bullied all the time at first, then he swore that ten years later, he'd slaughter his enemies in revenge. In the end, through hard work and talent, ten years later, the protagonist took his revenge. White, isn't that feel-good?"
The Number One White Under Heaven: "I…"
After hearing this story, Huang Yifan nearly burst into tears.
The Number One White Under Heaven: "Ten years later, revenge is achieved. Sure, that's satisfying. But why not try taking revenge one year later?"
Bulü: "One year later?"
The Number One White Under Heaven: "Don't you think taking revenge one year later is more satisfying than ten years later?"
Bulü: "Seems like it is."
The Number One White Under Heaven: "No, you still don't understand what I mean. Why one year? Don't you think one year is still too long? Do you really think readers have the patience to wait a whole year for revenge? Why not take revenge after one month? Why not after one week? Or even the next day. No, no, whether it's ten years, one year, one month, or the next day, I think they're all way too long. Why can't you take revenge on the same day? Revenge should never be left overnight, that's the idea."
Bulü: "Taking revenge on the same day… White, isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"
The Number One White Under Heaven: "Exaggerated? Readers can accept time travel and reincarnation, things with no scientific basis at all. And you think taking revenge the same night is exaggerated?"
Bulü: "Alright, I think I finally understand what you mean by 'feel-good,' White."
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