The Scheming Fox Demon Won't Meet a Directionally Challenged Cultivator

Thoughts after writing 400,000 words across two volumes. Who would have thought that what started as a story about a runaway bride chasing after her fiancée would veer off this far? My original intention was for the wicked Su Qingfeng to juggle multiple women, then Tu Shan Wanwan to become corrupted, leading to a love-hate relationship with Su Qingfeng, culminating in a happy ending. I was initially worried about the word count being too low; now… this guy is still wandering around Qingqiu?! The main storyline of the chaotic era hasn't even started yet! Good heavens! This is absurd. I was originally planning a war between humans and demons, but suddenly I realized I made Su Qingfeng too powerful. He's no match for humans or even those from beyond the realms—he's the kind of person who can't even win by taking sides…

Here's a quirky Easter egg that I originally planned to write about but has since abandoned—the Southern Liang dynasty was annexed by the Northern Dynasties, and eventually the Great Chu dynasty rose to power. The emperors of the Southern Liang Dynasty were surnamed Xiao, which, when combined, forms: [Xiao Nanliang (little boy) in the Northern Dynasties, the most popular in Chu] Suddenly I feel like he's such a scoundrel.

Wow, 400,000 words and only three comments? The author himself accounts for two of those comments, and surprisingly, not a single one is mutual likes. That seems a bit strange.

Looking back after writing for so long, I see many shortcomings: First, the protagonist's goal is unclear; second, some characters introduced are not essential for later developments; third, the plot is redundant, with haphazard foreshadowing. This was only addressed in the third volume, making it somewhat drawn out; fourth, the selling points are unclear, and I only had a vague concept before writing, unsure of how to develop the main points. Ultimately, it became a road trip story driven solely by character interactions; fifth, the protagonist lacks motivation, which is the biggest weakness of this work—there's no leveling-up path, the level is too high; sixth, there's no stable narrative loop, making writing very tiring, as I had to resolve foreshadowing while maintaining...

That's amazing! You've been writing for so long without stopping.

It's been 6 days since my last update.

After reviewing the entire book again, I've reflected on it three times. First, the title. The selling point isn't obvious—for example, "scheming" or "fox demon." It doesn't actually portray the "scheming" personality, leading to a mismatch between expectations and reality. Furthermore, this character isn't likable and unlikely to attract readers, making it unsuitable as a selling point. If revisions are needed, one could use the technique of identity contrast, such as "The Me of xxx is Actually xxx"; or focus on the world-building as a selling point, making it more straightforward, such as "xxx the Fox Demon's xxx"; or even use the opening as a selling point, such as "The Me Who Deceived the Others into Marriage and Kidnapped the Cold Fairy" [PS: Actually, the opening also has problems, which I'll discuss later...].

I suddenly understood why novels, as they grow longer, constantly change locations, essentially hiding or disconnecting previous ones. First, within this new location, the protagonist has reached their peak, facing no enemies (this includes not only tangible enemies but also intangible, yet visible and tangible, obstacles). This is the protagonist's domain. Second, writing about daily life becomes less engaging, as the main scenes and experiences within a single location have already been explored, making any unnecessary back-and-forth or romantic entanglements feel repetitive and redundant. Third, it's about controlling the perspective; the later the story progresses, the greater the protagonist's control and development of the location, and the more unknown areas emerge...