Chapter 86: Thoughts on Going Premium

Finally, it’s time for the book to be launched. This book has been revised many times.

As an experienced author, I know that usually, before the launch, there’s a lot of criticism, but after the launch, things improve. However, I feel this one might be rough, possibly facing criticism from start to finish.

Every time I look at the backend, my head hurts, so I go check out the comment section of Infinite Train.

That makes my mood much better.

The leader in the train genre is no doubt "The Train that Keeps on Going". I have to follow in its footsteps.

With my low-ranking position, I can only follow it across the river.

See where it gets criticized, and try to avoid that.

It does seem to have some effect.

However, I still got criticized a while ago because of the plot involving Yu Yue.

That part wasn’t just about being cheeky; it was mainly to establish the female character before the launch.

But because it involved two people, the content seemed a bit much. If I were to write it all, it would be at least five thousand words.

The first three thousand were really just setup... The purpose was to push Yu Yue. She usually likes to sing and is shy and reserved, so I wanted her to do what she loves most at her shyest time, aiming to tug at her emotions, causing a breakdown, altering some of her perceptions of the protagonist, forming a new conflict.

People behave differently in normal situations compared to extreme ones, revealing some innate characteristics, which in turn reinforce the protagonist’s negative traits.

However, this style requires more emotional elements, which conflicted with the previous writing style.

As a result, many people thought the plot was pointless, and when I finished writing at night, my brain was a bit fried. So when I saw someone criticize it for being filler, I got confused and hastily skipped over important parts of the plot.

This made the plot even more inexplicable, as if it had been forced in just for cheekiness.

No new conflict was formed, and the character dynamics didn’t change. The protagonist’s status in the eyes of the supporting character didn’t change.

Just thinking about this gives me a headache. If you read from the start, it’s obvious there’s a missing section here.

I almost want to slap myself. Everything was planned out, why change it?

Not changing gets you criticized, changing also gets you criticized. Now it’s great, getting criticized from both sides.

Even after suffering several times, I still didn’t learn my lesson.

After thinking for a day, I decided to add this plot back.

[Chapter 79 originally had 2100 words, I plan to extend it to 4000 words, it’s still free. Those interested can go back and read it]

Finishing it before launch, just considered it a benefit for everyone.

Really, adding more content so fiercely before the launch, I feel like such an idiot haha...

——

Now, let’s talk about something interesting.

Since post-apocalyptic vehicles are a level 3 category under science fiction - post-apocalyptic - post-apocalyptic vehicles.

The earliest in this genre was the big shot Bai Yuhan’s Armored Truck in the Apocalypse, and my book’s title is inspired by his.

However, the ones most similar to mine are the two other train stories currently on the charts. You can see them when you open the sci-fi rankings.

But——

The interesting thing is there’s no room for any inspiration at all.

None at all!

The three of us wrote in completely different directions.

Including the old book Armored Truck and the two train stories, they wrote non-rebirth stories, which means any crisis they encounter feels particularly intense!

There’s a massive environment and crisis pushing them forward.

But mine’s a rebirth story, which inherently diminishes many crises, so the path becomes different, turning into a "show-off" story.

To make the book longer, I set it at the awkward point of four years into the apocalypse.

You say the protagonist understands a bit, which he does, but not that much.

There are some crises, but the show-off feeling is weaker...

At first, I thought train stories were like Mad Max-like road stories, mobile shelters where you fight monsters and gather resources along the way.

Then I made the old mistake of baiting with one thing and selling another, turning it into an old-style apocalypse story. Later, Old Jiang pointed it out to me, (the author of ’Who Stole My Mind’) and said your story’s protagonist is a train. So why aren’t you upgrading the train?

I had an epiphany, and before it got recommended, I wrote over twenty thousand words in three days, replacing the original content.

Started writing about the train and the shelter.

But it still didn’t feel satisfying, only upgrading lacked the oomph.

While I was following the reading trend, I consulted Ye Liangju (the author of ’I’m Not a Literary Genius’). He pointed out the root cause: Rebirth is inherently an invincible path, but I only rebirth without showing off, so readers aren’t satisfied. The protagonist doesn’t undergo a phased transformation in the supporting characters’ eyes, such as from disdain to fear to admiration.

This way, neither side is quite pleased.

So I frantically added more scenes involving passengers; of course, the focus wasn’t on writing about passengers but writing the protagonist through them.

Then I studied how to show off and organized the main story line.

——

Many readers ask, why not take a plane? Why not take a ship? Why not drive?

What if the train encounters derailments or landslides?

Answering from a writer’s perspective.

Actually, these topics have been attempted by authors, but currently, train stories have survived, meaning most readers just mention it without caring much for planes, ships, or other vehicles. It’s partly because they’re not common, lacking immersion, and partly because "there’s no problem."

The biggest problem when writing is when there’s no problem.

Whenever there’s a train story, a lot of readers question one thing.

Why don’t these authors have any common sense?

In the apocalypse, who’s repairing tracks?

If there’s a derailment, what then?

This problem is unavoidable, like a child growing up and inevitably facing falling, but I’ve never heard anyone ask a parent, what if your kid falls in the future?

So every time I see readers questioning this in Infinite Train, I have to laugh for a while.

Then I think, when I write, I need to list solutions to this problem upfront to avoid being criticized.

After writing it, I couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because there’s still a group of people asking this question.

What numbs me even more is that some people are like, "You think you can solve it just because you say you can?" "I don’t think you can solve it."

Stumbling and derailing are inevitable, but isn’t the point to see how the author solves the problem?

——

Since I answered, let me address the current doubts all at once.

The protagonist’s character is a bit wicked, not likable.

The first to mention this was President Goose (author of "From Printing Money Live to Master Artist," currently writing "Middle East Tyrant"). He said your protagonist’s character is prone to criticism.

At the time, I thought, well, let them criticize. Controversy is better than being overlooked.

The traffic effect is indeed very good, but it does get real criticism.

So some people criticize me, why is the protagonist so bad, can’t you write a good person?

I often don’t know how to answer when I see this question. Can I write a good person?

Yes.

Why is the protagonist so bad?

Because I’m writing about a bad person... it’s more interesting to write, more satisfying, without moral shackles.

Why can the protagonist intimidate a thousand people at the beginning?

Let me give you an interesting example. At that time, I was watching "Bei Qi Strange Talk." Because there was no psychological description of the protagonist, I was curious about what motivated the protagonist to do certain things.

Once, the Wolf God appeared in the group, and I curiously asked him.

His answer was also very much in the author’s style.

"I didn’t think about it."

I pondered over this question for a long time and realized something.

Writing is not a flat linear narrative but about picking some key, interesting things to showcase, at least things the author finds interesting.

Similarly, the way the protagonist intimidates a thousand people is certainly fighting fire with fire.

... I reserved a week’s time, within which the story didn’t start. During this week, the protagonist used his "whoever you point at dies" ability, plus a lot of psychological battles, finally suppressing most of the passengers. Those passengers who didn’t comply either got off or were killed after conflicts with the protagonist.

But I don’t need to write in much detail about how tortuous and effortful the process was.

Although he’s a logically important link.

But writing out those details wouldn’t help my performance, and no one wants to see this logical progression written out like a grocery list.

Because people come to see how the train survives the apocalypse.

Not to watch the protagonist’s painstaking preparations and seizure of the train.

Why did the protagonist tease that girl at the beginning? On one hand, because of his malicious delight, and on the other, he was observing the girl’s character. From my depiction, it’s not hard to see that the protagonist quite likes Gao Zhe.

Because Gao Zhe is ruthless enough and fits his four years of apocalypse cognition.

The prototypes of Gao Zhe and Lu Xiao both come from my roommate, a retired marine, also from the northeast. He washes his head with cold water in winter, has a high fever of forty degrees, with whiskey in his left hand, a cigarette in his right, and hemorrhoids bleeding from his butt, coughing violently while watching English tutorials to do animation. He sits in front of the computer for fourteen or fifteen hours a day, sometimes more.

So why didn’t Gao Zhe die?

Do I feel sorry for him?

No, I’m just showing the setting... Serious injuries and insufficient accumulation lead to forced evolution causing genetic collapse.

This isn’t a weird text, so there’s no situation where someone can’t be killed.

Further extending a problem, someone said it’s a bit toxic for Lu Xiao to be involved with that woman.

That’s too normal. I happen to encounter these kinds of people more often, at various levels. I know their nature very well.

But they have special identities. I can’t say too much. Don’t have an identity filter. Their limits, both upper and lower, are much broader than normal people.

Then where did the "justice" forces in the book go? It’s part of the setting, and I have to tell you gradually. After all, you can’t ask a girl what color her underpants are on the first date, right?

But you can ask me, because I’m so fond of my fans.

I don’t wear any.

——

Last question, the Silver Alliance was given to me by my partner, and Yu Yue’s song voiceovers are also by her.

Ordinary Alliance Leader was a tip from my reader and fellow author, President Nan, who is about to start a new book (Isn’t Your Dungeon Wrong?).

Then, I’d like to thank the brothers for following and tipping all the way, and I remember those who often comment, even though I can’t list them all, over a thousand comments, more than five hundred tips and votes, Ah Qian will remember it all in her heart.

Don’t worry if the author is as petty as the protagonist.

The author is.

By the way, responding on behalf of my partner to those few "I fancy you" brothers, thank you.

There will be more of such voiceover content in the future. I find it quite interesting.

——

Old Jiang said this book can at most get eight hundred initial subscriptions, so my goal isn’t high either. If subscriptions exceed a thousand, I’ll add an extra Chapter. Normally it’s ten thousand words a day, 5 Chapters, adding to 6 Chapters, and I won’t speak about higher subscriptions because it’s unrealistic. I’ll start preparing for tomorrow’s update after work.

As usual, a spree of sacrifices on launch.

"Isn’t This Dungeon Wrong?"

"Starting as a Devourer to Become the Lord God"

"Mystery Revival: Starting by Driving a Trading Ghost"

"Who Said This Top Stream Faded? This Top Stream Is Blazing"

"Mecha Era, Fist Explosion of Sky Star"

"Fairy, Don’t Treat Me as a Simulator!"

"Rebirth of the Millennium: Starting to Get Rich by Fishing"

"Reliving 2006: Picking Up Attributes on Set"