Gun of Ashes

Hello everyone, this is Andlao, your faithful friend who updates once a day, occasionally skipping a day.

As you can see, the third volume, ”Deep in the Soul,” is now finished. As a necessary ritual, let me think about how to write the end-of-volume commentary.

1. It still feels more convenient to use a list to brainstorm ideas.

2. Firstly, online novels are an extremely long process, akin to a literary marathon. So much of what I write, compared to my initial writings, will shift slightly over this long period of time.

3. Moreover, I have no draft stockpile. For me, I need to come up with the plot and write it out within a day, and there’s no chance for subsequent revisions.

4. In other words, once I’ve written it, it’s done. No matter whether it’s good or bad, it’s hard to change.

5. Therefore, I’m very cautious with my writing.

6. After all, this is already considered a niche piece, with 1.4 million words. It’s mostly impossible to gain the general public’s favor, so it’s better to carefully craft something for this niche.

7. Therefore, under these various factors, I leaned more towards physical writing for this volume.

8. The foreshadowing in the earlier texts, the echoes in the subsequent texts, the beginning and end of each character—I think I did pretty well.

9. Speaking of marathon writing, when I write, I’m still a random style author. I have a rough outline, but as I write, I often think, ”this way isn’t bad either!”

10. So I’m often changing the outline, that’s just how I am.

11. But interestingly, I unexpectedly didn’t break down, and instead, wrote quite well.

12. For example, the parts about 042 and Lorenzo de’ Medici.

13. In reality, I’m not that skilled to plant so many foreshadowing elements at the beginning of writing.

14. Actually, the main character’s name, Lorenzo, was something I just randomly looked up online.

15. Then, with the reminder of a friend of the book, I unexpectedly discovered that the protagonist shared a name with Lorenzo de’ Medici.

16. Unexpectedly, the historical timing happened to match perfectly.

17. With these various surprises, I extended these stories in the third volume.

18. From everyone’s feedback, it seems I did alright.

19. Indeed, I needed a plot to expand on the characters and world view.

20. For instance, I think the storyline should layer up step by step, gradually rising.

21. Usually, the ”rising” people see involves the upgrading of power systems, such as moving from small fireball spells to casting massive fireball spells, or something similar to plane nesting dolls.

22. I feel this kind of ”rising” is quite dull.

23. So I was thinking of ”rising” from another angle, such as the elevation of the protagonist’s ideals—from slaying Demons to blessing the world with goodness, with a more profound world view.

24. It seems to have worked out quite well.

25. Because I also feel that if the protagonist keeps slaying Demons, it gets a bit too juvenile. People should have higher pursuits.

26. Fortunately, I wrote it out.

27. The protagonist’s introspection of the self, the pursuit of the past, finding something deeply buried in the soul.

28. Now back to this volume.

29. In reality, this volume was still kind of experimental writing for me.

30. I wanted to try something new, like having the protagonist ultimately fail.

31. Failure is actually taboo in web novels.

32. But whatever.

33. You could say he killed Moriarty, but from another perspective, he didn’t really defeat him.

34. I also think many main characters in stories lack depth. Not philosophical depth, but rather narrative depth.

35. Many protagonists have no past, they just appear out of thin air, then move forward according to the author’s ideas.

36. I don’t want to write it like that, so I try to perfect each character’s past and future as much as possible.

37. This goes for both the protagonist and the supporting characters, I’m trying to perfect their stories as much as possible.

38. In character creation, when it comes to crafting antagonists, I’ve always written them as if they were protagonists.

39. So in this book, there are essentially no absolute villains.

40. It’s just everyone doing things they thought fit their character, personality, stance, and setting, yet were ultimately wrong.

41. Let me think of what else I can say.

42. I’m a backward-planning type of author; my writing method differs from others. I generally conceive a perfect enough ending, then start writing.

43. This means that, as you see, the ending of the third volume was something I had in mind when I started writing. The challenging part of my writing is the beginning; I have to find a way to guide the plot to the ending.

44. Also, the ending of this book has actually long been thought out.

45. Speaking of the results of this volume, as of now, the average subscription for this book is 2300. Though still some distance from becoming a hit, overall, it’s quite impressive.

46. According to online data records, my initial subscription was about 240, and on the first day of subscription, I uploaded 4 chapters consecutively, meaning the initial subscription was actually 60.

47. From 60 to 2300, I can hardly believe it myself.

48. I express my gratitude for everyone’s support and will work hard to try and make it a hit.

49. I’m just that little bit away from Brahmin status!

50. Now, back to the upcoming plans.

51. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a backward-planning type of author and also enjoy writing experimental pieces.

52. My intention for the next volume is to open the map, allowing the protagonist to roam the seas and wreak havoc elsewhere.

53. However, inspiration hit, and I suddenly had a new idea to add another volume between the two connecting ones.

54. This might be a very short story.

55. But being experimental, I want to write it more compactly.

56. The number of chapters probably won’t be too many, maybe finished in under sixty chapters.

57. Therefore, I need a few days to organize the outline.

58. So I’m taking a break, you all understand?

59. Not only to write the outline but to let myself rest a few days as well.

60. Do you still remember the public account’s ”Distorter”? It’s actually just two chapters away from being finished, but because I had to focus on the embers, I never got to write it. I’ll complete that story in the coming days.

61. Additionally, I consider myself quite a demanding author; I don’t want to muddle through things carelessly.

62. So over these three volumes, I’ve been striving to improve the narrative aspects of the story.

63. Of course, everyone has different views. At least I feel that in the end, these volumes didn’t fall apart.

64. But to prevent the fourth volume from falling apart, I need to write it better, which requires sufficient preparation.

65. The expected rest period won’t be too long because the ending of the fourth volume is already conceived; it’s the start that I’m having a headache with.

66. Actually, every time I write the commentary, I think a lot, but when I begin writing, it comes out a bit dry. Perhaps it’s because I’m not adept at it.

67. Then the main setup of this book should gradually be revealed.

68. The overall plot progress of ”Embers” is considered at the middle stage.

69. So I am indeed a backward-planning type of author.

70. You could say the first three volumes are basically preludes to the protagonist.

71. Friends of the book have pointed this out before.

72. They said I could’ve written all this in a normal narrative flow, starting with 042’s birth, following the chronological order to experience these events.

73. I think it’s doable but unnecessary. I think the interweaving of past and present will add more suspense to the story, as the book is essentially an entire suspense and decryption process.

74. And such interweaving can also be more cohesive.

75. Of course, I do find it quite thrilling to write this way.

76. I sincerely apologize for your terrible experience in keeping up with the updates.

77. Nevertheless, I thank the readers who stick around, many thanks.

78. In web novels, reading continuity is crucial, and even with my lousy updates, there are still people following. I’m truly grateful.

79. I’d also like to thank [NeeEIL121], our alliance leader.

80. Now that I have three alliance leaders, I can establish a branch.

81. And that’s pretty much it.

82. Sincerely,