Chapter 1619 1621 [The Legend of the Condor Heroes]
Old school martial arts novels have a strong storytelling flavor. The structure is loose, the rhythm is slow, and there is no distinction between primary and secondary.
Xiang Kairan''s novels have this kind of problem. They are always full of details, and one character leads to a story. In the end, the relationships between the characters are so complicated and confusing that the readers are confused.
? Comparatively, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has a main line throughout, with a compact structure, a brisk rhythm, and clear priorities. It makes people put it down and want to keep reading.
?In addition, the writing skills of old-school martial arts novels are not as good as those of new-school martial arts novels.
In old school martial arts novels, the protagonists and villains have relatively distinct personalities. Good is good, evil is evil, and the writing is relatively routine, usually stories about repaying kindness and revenge, eradicating violence, suppressing bandits, and so on.
?In terms of the main theme of the writing, it is also through the conflict between civilians and powerful people, knights and bullies, honest officials and corrupt officials, etc., to declare the concept that good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil.
Comparatively, in new-school martial arts novels, the protagonists are mostly both good and evil, and the characters are more vivid and three-dimensional. And although it also writes about grievances and struggles between good and evil, it also adds more elements such as treasure hunting, adventure, emotional changes, and puzzle solving, making the story richer and more readable.
Hence, after the new martial arts novels were launched, the old martial arts novels quickly declined. So far, except for fans of martial arts novels, most people have never heard of the names of Xiang Kairan, Zhao Huanting, Zhu Zhenmu, Gong Baiyu, Zheng Zhengyin, Wang Dulu and others.
?Of course, the truth is the truth. As a junior in the literary world, Xiang Nan naturally cannot say that.
…
"Mr. Xu is too modest." Editor Shen smiled and said, "We at Shenbao want to publish Mr. Xu''s novel. I wonder if Mr. Xu has a sequel?"
“Yes.” Xiang Nan nodded, got up and went back to the house to get a stack of manuscripts.
Shen Jingtao glanced through it briefly and felt that the following stories were equally exciting, with no sign of a leopard''s head and a rat''s tail. She smiled and nodded, "Okay, very good. Mr. Xu, our newspaper is prepared to pay two yuan per thousand words." What do you think of the price for publishing your novel?”
"I would like to thank you for your appreciation in advance." Xiang Nan smiled and said, "But you also know that Hujiang is a big city and it is not easy to live in it. I write novels purely to make ends meet. Two yuan for a thousand words, to be honest, is not very suitable. My psychological expectations.”
“Mr. Naxu, what is your psychological price level...” Shen Jingtao asked.
“One thousand words and four yuan.” Xiang Nan said immediately.
"This is a bit high. Mr. Bao Tianxiao and Mr. Zhou Wanjuan are only at this price." Shen Jingtao advised, "Mr. Xu, although your novel is good, after all, you have not yet become famous and cannot compete with famous writers. . How about three yuan if one person takes a step back?”
“Okay.” Xiang Nan nodded.
The price of three yuan per thousand words is not bad. Anyway, there will be so many opportunities to make money in the future that we can’t afford to worry about it now.
“Mr. Xu is really a pleasant person, let’s sign the contract.” Shen Jingtao said with a smile.
Shanghai is an international metropolis with more complete systems. However, as Chen Hanlin said, the laws are good, but no one enforces them.
…
Xiang Nan subsequently signed the contract and received his first remuneration.
In the evening, he invited Fang Yanyun to have dinner at Rongshun Pavilion.
“Wen Qiang, seeing that you are in such a high mood, is there any good news?” Fang Yanyun asked with a smile.
“Well, my novel will be serialized in Shenbao.” Xiang Nan nodded and explained with a smile, “Today, I received my first royalties.”
"Really?! Congratulations, I knew you would be able to do it." Fang Yanyun said happily after hearing this.
“Thank you.” Xiang Nan nodded. “Then I’m going to have a good meal today.” Fang Yanyun said with a smile.
"Okay, but I want you to pay attention to one thing for me." Xiang Nan nodded.
"What''s the matter, tell me." Fang Yanyun agreed happily.
“Please keep an eye out for me. When someone in Huide acquires factory land on a large scale, let me know.” Xiang Nan said with a smile.
“Why, when did you become interested in real estate?” Fang Yanyun asked curiously after hearing this.
"I''m not interested in real estate." Xiang Nan waved his hand and said with a smile, "I''m interested in people."
“Oh?! How do you say that?” Fang Yanyun said in confusion.
“I can’t tell for a moment.” Xiang Nan waved his hand and said with a smile, “Anyway, just pay attention to it for me.”
In the drama "Shanghai Beach", the timeline is not very clear. Xiang Nan also didn''t know when Feng Chengcheng returned to Hujiang from Peiping. He couldn''t wait at the station every day. So I can only find a landmark event.
?As far as he knew, Feng Chengcheng returned to Hujiang after the French guy speculated on the Huide land and asked Feng Jingyao to injure Chen Lianshan. So, he was going to use this iconic event as an anchor.
“Okay.” Fang Yanyun nodded.
…
One week later, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was officially serialized in "Shenbao", with 3,000 words being serialized every day.
At the beginning, this novel was not too popular. But later in the series, the story gradually reached its climax when the Seven Monsters of Jiangnan had a gambling battle with Qiu Chuji in a restaurant and made an eighteen-year agreement.
??More and more readers are following it, and its evaluation is getting higher and higher. Especially after the heroine Huang Rong came out, she made a big fuss in Prince Zhao''s Mansion and battled wits with the four masters. The lively plots emerged one after another and became more and more interesting. Readers couldn''t put it down and were worried. Every day before dawn, some people would go to the newsstand to wait to buy the latest " Declaration".
The popularity of the serialization of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has also made Xiang Nan, who was originally unknown, become a rising star in the Shanghai-Jiang literary world.
?Not only newspapers and magazines wanted to interview him, but even the Shanghai-Jiang literary circles sent him invitations, inviting Xiang Nan to attend events organized by them.
?But Xiang Nan doesn’t really want to participate in such activities.
Because in the Shanghai-Jiang literary world at that time, the Left-wing Writers Alliance and the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School were fighting almost every day.
??Left-wing criticism of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School is a money-based literature that is a pastime, an anesthetic and a confusing soup on the road to people''s awakening. The content is vulgar and the ideas are empty. They are the remnants of feudalism and must be overthrown.
The Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School criticizes the left wing for its binary oppositional thinking, which is either black or white, friend or enemy, revolutionary or counter-revolutionary, and those who agree with the left wing are running dogs.
The two sides were going back and forth, fighting each other, and were at loggerheads.
Although the martial arts novels written by Xiang Nan also have patriotic ideas and advocate that the great chivalrous person serves the country and the people, there is no doubt that they also belong to the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School.
?It would be fine if he just kept silent about making a fortune, but if he jumped out, he might become a target. People like Zhang Henshui, Zhou Wanjuan, Liang Shiqiu and others have been criticized.
It can be said that the first ones die first. The more famous an author is, the more likely he is to be criticized both verbally and in writing. So Xiang Nan decided it was better to keep a low profile.
(End of this chapter)