Chapter 163: Epilogue Reflections

Epilogue Reflections

Epilogue Reflections

After stumbling through it, I've finally finished the Eastern Han volume.

To be honest, I still feel a bit heavy-hearted; compared to my original word count target, I'm nearly a hundred thousand words short.

I originally planned for four hundred thousand words, but ended up with less than three hundred—this is failure upon failure.

I did cut a lot of plotlines, but that was inevitable.

First, there's Gu Kang's arc.

I initially planned a scene right after Liu Zhuang and Gu Kang, Gu Cheng are born, where they meet, are stunned, and discuss Liu Xiu's posthumous title.

Then I'd follow it with the reform plotline.

But at the time, I felt it dragged the pacing, so I deleted the drafted material outright and jumped straight to the main story.

That probably amounted to about twenty thousand words of plot.

Then there's Gu Xi—this was the most heavily cut arc; I'll come back to this later.

By now, readers should have realized the author had the entire plot mapped out from the start.

The entire Eastern Han volume.

The four main family figures I focused on are Gu Xiao, Gu Kang, Gu Cheng, and Gu Xi.

Gu Xiao needs no elaboration—this was actually the easiest part for me to write.

Because when I wrote him, the stats were terrible: fewer than 120 favorites in eleven days.

Plus, due to the protagonist's control over events, I didn't need to worry about plot design at all.

I simply followed history, condensing the highlights of a time-traveling prophet story into those dozen or so chapters.

Letting him lay the foundation for the Gu family's rise in the Eastern Han.

Then came Gu Kang and Gu Cheng.

I put real effort into these two, because I wanted them to build upon Gu Xiao's groundwork and add further bricks to the Gu family's legacy.

I designed them as civil and military counterparts—this was planned from the start.

Their plots weren't hard to write.

I had clear goals; I knew exactly what they needed to do.

Gu Cheng—pacify the Western Regions and defeat the Northern Xiongnu.

Gu Kang—use the knowledge taught by the protagonist to massively fertilize farmland and manage the Yellow River.

They complement each other; their arcs flowed naturally.

Civil and military, each with their own objectives.

There were also many interconnections; while researching, I came across the attitudes of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming toward solar eclipses.

So I devised a linked plotline.

It began with Emperor Guangwu's response to a solar eclipse, then followed with Emperor Ming's response to the same phenomenon.

There's also a hidden thread: Gu Kang's attitude toward the eclipse, which ultimately ties to Gu Xi's differing personality later on.

I feel I handled these earlier generations reasonably well.

I wrote what I wanted to write, and the plot points weren't sluggish.

I originally intended to expand more on Gu Cheng's brotherly bond with Ban Chao, but to avoid dragging, I cut it all.

Then came Gu Xi.

How to put it—I felt somewhat withdrawn when writing this character.

This character was fully planned before I even started writing the novel, including his longevity and his role in introducing the Three Kingdoms.

Everything was in my original design.

I truly didn't improvise for self-indulgence.

At the beginning, my expectations for this character far exceeded those for Gu Kang and Gu Cheng; I even set up the props, used the longevity card, and intended to enrich the entire plot through him.

I was originally very ambitious about this character.

But plans are plans—when I actually started writing, I ran into problems.

First, Gu Xi's arc far exceeded my anticipated length.

I had to consider issues of plot homogenization affecting reader experience, and more nuanced plot problems.

Including how to write after Gu Xi peaked too early.

When I truly began thinking about this, I had no choice but to cut plotlines.

Speed up the pacing, reduce the length.

Looking back now, if I were to rewrite Gu Xi under today's circumstances, I'd handle him more properly—maybe not more thrilling or brilliant, but far more stable.

The pressure those days crushed me.

How to say it

I can only admit my mindset was weak.

Many people told me not to read reviews, not to read reviews—but I still read them, and often replied to readers.

If my mindset were strong, it wouldn't matter; if it's weak, I'm bound to be affected.

Because you can never please everyone.

Some don't want to see the Three Kingdoms; some want to see the Three Kingdoms; some dislike Shu Han; some dislike Cao Wei;

The pressure from reviews made me walk on eggshells.

Releasing chapters felt like enduring a heavenly tribulation—my fellow authors know these past few days' slow updates were due to extreme tension.

It looks like I posted four thousand words, but I often wrote at least eight thousand, even over ten thousand.

Then gradually cut it down to one chapter and release it.

How to put it? Painful and withdrawn.

I felt completely lost, and the acne that had just subsided a few days ago came back.

I know many people are dissatisfied with this character's later development, but how to say it? Only by revising the sequel can I pay more attention to character design and plot going forward.

Then let me address the revision issue everyone cares about most.

I've already written it.

Human effort can reverse it, but the difficulties are immense.

Even divine-grade artifacts can be reversed.

No words can fully express it—I can only say thank you for your support, brothers.

Thank you deeply for subscriptions, tips, and votes.

I'll do my best to write better, fix my flaws, and see you in the new volume.

I'll find a chance to stabilize my update schedule; lately my state has been tense and updates inconsistent—I'm truly sorry.

As I wrote this, I suddenly remembered the volume title.

The first novel I ever finished reading was Dong Ge's Divine Tomb; I've been an old Dong fan since then.

I originally planned to call it 【Rising from Ruin, Reviving from Extinction】.

But then I remembered how Dong Ge felt when he wrote it—something ominous—and I'm not sure if I'll live to see a second life.

So I'll simply call it 【Chaos: Contesting the Throne, Spark Igniting the Prairie】.

I forgot to think of a title for Volume One—brothers, please help me brainstorm; eight characters are best—I have a slight obsession with it.

Let me say again: I'll fix the problems and strive to deliver a perfect ending.

Thank you all for your support.

The fish nodded repeatedly.

Finally, I beg for monthly votes.

(End of Chapter)