"An outline isn't strictly necessary. Plenty of top authors don't bother with one."
In Qiu Wuji's room, Chu · Father God · Author Whose Fans Ask For Autographs · Cultivation Disciple · Writing Teacher · Open Admirer · Ge dragged over a little stool, sat down beside her, and began to hold forth:
"The whole point of an outline, really, is to make it clear to yourself what story you're writing—what the protagonist does, what she goes through, what she ends up with. Lay that process out in brief, and that's your most basic outline. If you've got a clear story line in your head, you don't need the thing at all. So—what story do you want to write?"
Qiu Wuji's eyes were spinning in circles. "I want to write a story about a swordswoman slaying demons and monsters."
"…That's not a story. Try repeating what I just said."
The circles in Qiu Wuji's eyes began to spread. "What the protagonist does… my protagonist slays demons and monsters. What she goes through… she goes through slaying demons and monsters."
Chu Ge: "And what she ends up with—successfully slaying demons and monsters, right…"
"Ah, yes."
"That's not a story. That's a genre." Chu Ge said, "If you want to write a story about a heroine who runs out of a book, that's just an idea, a premise—not a story. What happens between Qiu Wuji and Chu Ge—that's what makes it a story."
Qiu Wuji seemed to come back to herself a little. "So what is it you want to happen between you and me—you pervert!"
Chu Ge covered his face. "I can't teach this disciple."
Qiu Wuji glared at him, cheeks puffed out. "You already touched my hand."
"…Fine, fine, fine, I'll give it another try." Chu Ge grabbed her little hand and stroked it a couple of times.
Qiu Wuji's reflexes took over and she punched Chu Ge in the face.
Stage One of the lesson: over.
"If the story doesn't hold together, set it aside for now—let's talk character design. You can build plot out of a character too. For example, what kind of person your heroine is, what she pursues, what ideals she holds, what experiences turned her into this sort of person… then from her ideals and pursuits you can build the next step in the plot…"
Qiu Wuji clicked. And clicked.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for your Qiu Wuji character sheet."
Chu Ge: "I'll be goddamned…"
"Wait, that's not right either. Your setting doesn't say what I've been through, either—it just sets the personality."
"Because the background and the focus are different. Your past is just a powerful label: heaven-gifted genius who led her sect to ever-greater prosperity. As for how you cultivated along the way, what thorns you hacked through—readers can fill all that in themselves.
It doesn't need to be spelled out. And that actually leaves me room to play later, like splashing ink on a blank sheet: any time I want, I can add a line saying Qiu Wuji has a literary streak, or that Qiu Wuji has good-wife-and-mother qualities. Nobody knows what you went through before, so they're more willing to accept it."
"Then why did you tell me to do that kind of setting?"
"Because the thing you're writing has a female lead."
"Isn't your Qiu Wuji the female lead?"
Chu Ge covered his face. "I can't teach this disciple."
"You already touched—"
Chu Ge got into a defensive stance first.
Stage Two of the lesson: over.
"Forget it, let's do this: we'll build character relationships first. You can organize plot out of relationships too. Say your heroine comes down off the mountain and runs into the male lead.
What kind of person is this male lead, what situation is he in right now—the heroine runs into it, and whether she helps him or there's a misunderstanding, there's your first plot point. Then you unfold it: what's the male lead's background, who's connected to him, what factions are involved, what does each of them want.
Later you dig into the heroine's own origins, who's connected to those, weave it all together, and a web of plot comes out."
"I don't even know what your family does. You don't know either. And our days still go just fine."
Chu Ge: "…You're making up a story. Could you forget about our real life for a second?"
"I just feel like what you say isn't the same as what I've experienced."
"You're experiencing life, and life is bland and boring—firewood, rice, oil, salt, the same routine every day. What we're doing is fabricating stories, and that needs all kinds of ups and downs. Those aren't the same thing."
"Didn't you say stories come from life?"
"…Back when I was your disciple, was I anywhere near as good at talking back as you?" Chu Ge was so annoyed he paced circles around the room, then snatched up the little pig pillow and pressed it down on Qiu Wuji's head. "Keep it balanced!"
Qiu Wuji, pillow still balanced on her head: "Is this balance training too?"
"No. Old folks say you supplement a thing by its shape, so this is to supplement yours."
"Chu Ge, you're getting awfully cocky, aren't you?"
"Bang! Bang! Crash!"
After a good deal of chaos and clatter, Chu Ge lay face-down on the floor, eyes spinning in circles. "Qiu Wuji, you traitor to your master and your ancestors!"
"I'm your master too!" Qiu Wuji said with an angry huff. "I'm not learning from you. You're neither a hit nor quite a flop yourself. I'll write it on my own—don't think I can't!"
Chu Ge nodded with grave solemnity. "Believe in yourself…"
"Mm!"
"What I mean is, believe in yourself—you'll come begging me to teach you again."
Qiu Wuji opened the group chat. "Go type your words. I'll watch the group chat. They know everything."
Group member: "Qiuqiu~ my Qiuqiu…"
Blue Little Pill was muted by administrator Qiu Wuji for one hour.
The group members were no help either. Qiu Wuji had a bellyful of gloom and nowhere to vent it, then suddenly remembered that her avatar really ought to be finished after all these days, so she went to them to ask for it. "Meow, is my avatar ready?"
The other side fell silent for quite a while, then suddenly created a discussion group and put Qiu Wuji in it along with an unfamiliar artist. "This is the artist lady we commissioned."
Then they sent over a form. "Please fill out a three-star character portrait form."
Qiu Wuji: "?"
Her anger came surging up. "How long has it been? So it turns out you've only just now found an artist? And what's this form—last time you said I didn't need to fill one out, and now you want a form? I already gave you the picture, just draw from it and be done. What do you need a form for?"
"emmmm sorry, it's the rules…"
Qiu Wuji: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
She finally understood how Panda felt, wanting to reach through the network cable and punch somebody. She turned and went to Chu Ge's room. "Get in touch with Panda. Have him beat someone up for me!"
Chu Ge: "?"
"As long as he hits someone, I'll lift his mute!"
"You're feverish," Chu Ge said, speechless. "If I put in an order with him and you unmute him in the group, aren't I plainly telling him who we are? Who's got you this worked up?"
"The people at Dianniang making my avatar."
Chu Ge thought it over, then logged onto his main QQ account first and privately messaged "Blue Little Pill": "Panda Head, getting muted day after day—want to be a moderator? Then she can't mute you anymore."
Panda was overjoyed. "Big Chu, you're my eternal light!"
"Mm, mainly because I noticed you're online a long time…"
"Right, right, I'm soaking in the net! I'll keep a close eye on this crummy group for you—anyone dares post smut in there, see if I don't smack him to death!"
"Not that. Help me deal with Dianniang—they drag their feet over there and it's infuriating."
"No problem!"
Blue Little Pill was promoted to moderator.
Qiu Wuji messaged him privately: "They're so infuriating. My avatar's been over ten days in the making, and they've only just now put the discussion group together, and I still have to fill out some crummy form."
Blue Little Pill: "Rest easy, Sect Master Qiu. Leave it to me!"
Qiu Wuji invited Blue Little Pill into the discussion group: "Chu Tian Wu Ji Character Card Discussion Group."
"One thing conquers another." Chu Ge turned to Qiu Wuji with a smile. "I can foresee our character cards being the most efficient in the world."
Qiu Wuji's mood improved, and she smiled. "Sure enough, writers really do all have dirty hearts."
"Hey, you're a writer-to-be now too."
Qiu Wuji's eyes rolled—and then her voice suddenly took on a certain sultriness. "Master~"
Chu Ge shuddered all over. "What?"
"I got to thinking, and some of what Master said just now really does make sense—mm, a whole polished set of reasons, very intimidating… so won't you teach me a little more?"
Chu Ge's expression turned serious and righteous. "If you keep that pig-head pillow balanced on your head, I suppose I can give it another try."
This is my chance to assert my husbandly authority!
"Fine, don't teach me then!" Qiu Wuji's face changed; she gave a huff and turned to leave. "Just wait until this Sect Master writes it out—it'll scare you to death!"
Chu Ge watched her back as she left the room. His poor little heart was still fluttering and hadn't calmed down yet.
That instant of sultriness just now… it really had melted his soul and soaked into his bones.
Then something occurred to him. He carefully opened the outline's character design section, found the entry for "Qiu Wuji," and ran the mouse over a stretch that appeared blank—revealing characters hidden in white font, invisible in normal view: "Inner allure."