The lonely Hikigaya Hachiman wants to become the king of mystery novels

"Actually, I'm thinking about some things about the new work. Are you interested in hearing about it?"

Out of the blue, Hachiman said this suddenly. He still needed to have a brief chat with other people in order to straighten out his thoughts.

"You want it, I'm so interested."

Yuigahama Yui quickly moved her chair to the opposite side of Hachiman's desk and looked at him with bright eyes.

Although Yukinoshita Yukino on the side did not express any words, she also put down the library book in her hand, turned around and waited for Hachiman to speak with a very obedient expression.

"We are all of the same age, and we have all learned from textbooks such as the Plaza Accord, the Bubble Economy Era, the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and the Asian Financial Crisis. But we have never really experienced it. When you see this history, you will have a real sense of it. ?"

What Hikigaya Hachiman said is the great changes that have taken place in Japanese society during the growth of the heroine in the plot of "Scream".The "social" part of this novel is extremely ambitious and very successful.

"Does it feel real... This should be hard to come by, and just understanding these things is already very taxing for me..."

Yuigahama Yui said with a confused look on her face.

"That being said, we can still see the imprint of history on some of the people and things around us. These things that we mention casually now, seemingly as light as a feather, are very important to those who have actually experienced them. For people, it’s enough for them to remember for the rest of their lives.”

Yukinoshita Yukino's words contain more humanistic thinking. People like her are also a group of people who are consistent with the central idea of ​​novels such as "The Scream".

"Yes, that's it. What I want to write is exactly a story about a small person in the context of a big era. The protagonist will be a woman. She is very ordinary, with an ordinary appearance, an ordinary figure, a mediocre background and no talent. So. What will such an ordinary place look like after experiencing all the tremendous changes in Japanese society over the years? This is the story I want to tell."

Hikigaya Hachiman briefly describes the plot outline of this book.This type of novel has always been very popular in the Japanese literary world. If it can be written well, it will definitely become a hit.

"Does it sound a bit like "Forrest Gump"?"

Unexpectedly, it was Yuigahama-san who proposed a work that was relatively similar in structure.

"Well, if compared with what I mentioned above, this book is indeed somewhat similar to "Forrest Gump". The difference is that "Forrest Gump" is a work with the main theme and a work that gives people hope; and I The novels to be written may not have such things as hope and redemption.”

Hikigaya Hachiman replied with a smile.

The novel "The Scream" is not only a chronicle of the changes in modern Japanese society, but also more like a survey of social problems, which mostly involve domestic violence, campus bullying, consumerism traps, loan sharking, etc. These are things that are very confusing to hear.

"Hey, it does sound like a work that you can write for a small business..."

Yuigahama Yui complained that she had finished reading Hachiman's "Confessions", and the "good-looking but desperate" plot was really unforgettable for an emotional girl like her.

"But in fact, Hikigaya-kun, your works always have a temperament that is cold on the outside and warm on the inside, right? Just like you."

Yukino's view is very optimistic. In her opinion, although Hikigaya-kun is unsmiling in his dealings with others and will make some negative and world-weary remarks about her from time to time, he has a gentle and enthusiastic character in his heart. This is the writer's point. This identity brings him a unique temperament.

"I will not express any obvious personal feelings in my works. I will leave these things to future critics to analyze."

Hikigaya Hachiman knows very well that after he becomes a writer, even if he does not take the initiative to express his views on certain things or some ideological tendencies, critics and readers will find part of the content in his books. Analyze it and come up with your own conjectures, and turn these conjectures into labels and put them on Hachiman.

Of course, Hachiman cannot resist these things. After all, most socialist mystery writers stand on an obvious standpoint to analyze various problems that arise in the current society.

If a writer chooses to create social reasoning, it means that he can have a wider readership, but the price is to be labeled with various labels.

"So, Hikigaya-kun, the reasoning part of your new book won't be very heavy, right?"

Yukino guessed reasonably.

"No, Yukinoshita-san. On the contrary, I want to carefully devise a trick for this book."

Hikigaya Hachiman replied.

For many socialist mystery writers, the concept of "trick" is very familiar at first sight, and they have never paid much attention to it.

After all, the content of socialist reasoning focuses on authenticity, and the main line of the story is mostly the formal case handling process. There are not so many tricks with frequent and complicated designs in real cases.

However, the trick that is not taken seriously by colleagues has become one of the outstanding aspects of the novel "The Scream".

Although this book has grand-sounding themes such as "reflecting the changes in Japanese society" and "the struggles of ordinary people under the wave of the times", it does not cut corners in the "reasoning" part, but is extremely thoughtful.

Compared with other socialist mysteries, the suspense part of this book is very sufficient, and foreshadowing can be seen everywhere. As for the core conspiracy revealed in the end, it is an excellent design rarely seen in works of the same type.

Of course, if we let those experienced fans of real-life reasoning judge it, the plot of "The Scream" is still lacking in novelty, but this does not explain any problem, otherwise the fans of socialist reasoning can also use the same words to question the plot of "The Scream". Most of this reasoning is impersonal.

"But... socialist reasoning is often based on what happens in reality, so how can one devise a sophisticated trick?"

Yukino asked a more professional question.

You must know that the reason why original reasoning can often write ingenious tricks is that it often needs to be based on classic settings such as secret rooms, isolated islands, castles, mysterious organizations, etc., and then design the tricks to give full play to the space. Certainly much bigger than socialist reasoning.

Moreover, in the reasoning of this case, it is often assumed that the murderer is omnipotent in heaven and earth. No matter how difficult the trick designed by the author is, the murderer will definitely be able to do it.Don't ask, just ask and you will be born with divine power.

Considering the above factors, it would be extremely unfair to use the standard of true reasoning to measure the tricks in a socialist reasoning.And the socialist reasoning is that it is indeed very difficult to write an excellent conspiracy while wearing shackles.

The fact that Yukino can raise this question shows that she is very concerned about Hachiman's career and has a deep understanding of it, which surprises Hachiman.

"You asked a very insightful question, Yukinoshita-san. In social reasoning, if you want to write a trick that makes readers shine, it must be perfectly integrated with the character's experience. Let everyone I agree, it is precisely because the murderer has had that experience that he came up with this trick, and this is what I am working on."

Hikigaya Hachiman explained in detail.

"It sounds like a very complicated matter, but if you are a small business, you will definitely exceed the task."

"No matter what, I will look forward to your work Hikigaya-kun. If you have already completed some of it, don't forget to feast my eyes on it first."

The two of them said to Hikigaya Hachiman expectantly.

With the experience accumulated from the previous books, Hikigaya Hachiman logically already has relatively rich creative experience.However, in the novel "The Scream", there is a writing technique that he has never been exposed to, and is even rare in literary works: second-person narrative.

Normally, in a literary work, the first person is often referred to as "I" or the third person is "he".There are really only a handful of works that use the second person "you", and even if they are used, they are only used on a small scale in a certain part.

Like "The Scream", half of the book is written in the second person, which is a reflection of the boldness of the author's skill.By the final chapters, readers will also discover the importance of this writing technique to this book.

In addition, the use of the second-person writing style of "you" throughout the text can add a strong sense of oppression to the reader's reading experience. Together with the various tragic energies of the protagonist Yoko in the previous book, the book creates an atmosphere of despair. It has almost reached its peak.

Therefore, for Hikigaya Hachiman, how to reproduce this second-person narrative with high quality is the focus of his next efforts.

"As expected, it would be better to ask a teacher for advice..."

Hikigaya Hachiman made a decision.

Of course, the teacher Hikigaya Hachiman was talking about was not the Chinese teacher at Sobu High School.He needs to consult a true literary master before he can gain anything.

Chapter 184 The choice of instructor

Hikigaya Hachiman has always had an impolite but correct idea, and there is no need to say it in public.That is, the writing style of most mystery writers cannot be called excellent, and can even be said to be very mediocre.

In addition, the amount of knowledge accumulated in the minds of most mystery writers is basically crushed by other types of writers.

If we talk about the past life, there are two Japanese mystery writers who are out of tune with their colleagues in the above two aspects.

The first is Renjo Mikihiko, who writes mystery literature with a prose-like beauty. His works are among the very few in the mystery world that can be appreciated from the perspective of traditional literature.

The second is Kyogoku Natsuhiko, who has an extremely extensive reserve of miscellaneous knowledge, and has applied a large amount of this knowledge to the creation of mystery literature, forming a unique sect in the mystery world.

Of course, if I insist on talking about it, there is another writer who is incompatible, and that is Keigo Higashino, who has been mentioned many times.

His characteristic is that he can always write particularly excellent stories in mystery novels that have nothing to do with mystery (not in a derogatory sense).

In addition, there is another very powerful thing about Higashino-kun, that is, his ability to complain is particularly strong.

For example, a well-read fan of mystery novels will sneer at works such as "White Night" and "The Devotion of Suspect X".But when he reads "Super Murder" and "The Code of Detectives", he will probably smile knowingly.

From this point of view, it is not entirely correct to say that Keigo Higashino's books are suitable for newcomers to read. At least the two novels above will be more enjoyable for those with more reading experience.

In short, except for the above three writers with relatively unique temperament, other mystery writers who have neither excellent writing skills nor much ink can only rely on conceiving a clever trick to make up for the above-mentioned problems. Not enough.

And this situation is intensifying with the gradual rise of new writers. The most representative one is the increasing number of mystery works in the young novel style recently.

Of course, this is not to say that mystery writers are lower in status than other writers or anything.However, when Hachiman wants to improve his writing skills, it may not be useful to find fellow mystery writers.

However, Hachiman was in trouble when he really thought about who to find.In fact, after Hachiman became famous, he also had correspondence or phone calls with many writers in other fields.

But improving writing skills is not as simple as chatting and eating. It takes time, especially the lecturer's time. Anyway, it is a thing that will cause a lot of trouble to the other party.

Just as Hachiman was thinking about it, the Japan Mystery Writers Association, of which he is a director, sent an email, inviting him to participate in an internal discussion within the association this weekend.

"Do you need me to tell you that you are unable to attend? Teacher Hachiman. I remember you once said that you would not participate in the activities organized by the association except for selection-related matters."

Konjiro Sakamachi confirmed to Hachiman.

"Let's agree first this time. I happen to have something to do recently and I need to go to the association to inquire about it. Sakamachi, you can just pick me up downstairs at eight o'clock on Sunday morning."

"Understood, Hachiman-sensei."

Sakamachi agreed quickly and wrote down the itinerary in his notebook.

Hachiman believes that since he has now become a director of the Mystery Writers Association, he must appear at the first event, otherwise he will look a bit arrogant.

In addition, he also plans to take this opportunity to consult other seniors who have worked in the literary world for many years and have rich experience on the matter that he is worried about.

The time soon came to Sunday, November [-]th.

Hikigaya Hachiman was still worried when he was in the car. After a while, he entered the venue and met many writers he didn't know.

But of course, after he actually walked into the venue, he realized that his worries were unnecessary, because most of the writers would take the initiative to say hello to him and state their names, along with a few compliments.

"Hello, Mr. Hachiman, last night's "Furuhata Rensaburo" was very exciting. I'm still thinking about it now."

"Hello, Mr. Hachiman, congratulations on becoming a director of the association. I hope you will give me more advice in the future."

"Hello, Mr. Hachiman, your works inspire me a lot, thank you very much."

Hikigaya Hachiman was in such a state that he would be stopped by an association member to say hello even if he took two steps, and finally came to his special seat as a director.

It is said that it is a special seat, but in fact the tables and chairs are no different from those of other ordinary members, except that a name tag is specially placed on the table, that's all.

"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun, you are here after all."

As soon as Hikigaya Hachiman sat down, Mr. Arisugawa also sat down next to him.

"Good morning, Mr. Arisukawa. After all, this is my first meeting after becoming a director, so it is appropriate to come here so that everyone can get to know me."

Hikigaya Hachiman replied.

"Haha, you are being humble, aren't you? In today's reasoning world, how can anyone not know you? Among the people here today, many are also fans of your books. To put it bluntly, just by using your The book "Disintegration of Causes" that I came here to practice with contains enough ideas that they have been thinking about for ten and a half years."

"This is a bit exaggerated, Mr. Arisukawa... Actually, the tricks in that book were criticized by many readers, saying that they were low in executability and meaningless. I myself didn't feel that the degree of completion was very high."

"If you can say this, it means those people don't understand New Benge's reasoning. Why don't they go to see the Socialists when they are so pursuing rationality and meaning? Why bother coming to New Benge to feel uncomfortable? Of course, I didn't say that the Socialists are not Good intentions."

Mr. Arisukawa defended Hachiman's injustice.

In the years before Hikigaya Hachiman was born, the new style of reasoning was in a leaderless stage, and Mr. Arisugawa was the writer who carried the banner of the new style for a period of time.

Arisukawa himself has a very strong level of conspiracy design, but because he has long insisted on pouring a lot of water into his works (cheating manuscript fees), the first impression everyone has of him as a writer is "water", and only then will they discuss his conspiracy design.

In addition, Arisukawa is also one of the representatives of mystery writers with poor writing skills.It can be said that he relied solely on his own efforts and hard work on the reasoning part to achieve his current status step by step.

It is precisely because of Qichuan's research spirit that he is particularly fond of experimental novels such as "Causes of Disintegration".

Of course, writers cannot publicly make remarks such as "the reader is not good enough", so Arisukawa would only say such things when chatting with Hachiman privately.

"Hikigaya-kun, you have to be confident and don't let your imagination be limited by what those people say. The reasoning world still needs more interesting works."

Mr. Arisukawa warned.

"I'm glad you could come, Hachiman-sensei."

Konno Toshiro, the current president of the Mystery Association, came to Hachiman's side and shook his hand.

"My pleasure, President Konno."

As Toshiro Konno sat down in his seat, the discussion officially began.

For an organization like the Mystery Writers Association, whose members are all active writers, if there is nothing really to discuss, they will hardly waste time by calling everyone together.

After about an hour and a half of discussion, the meeting finally came to an end.Everyone in the association went to have lunch at the club that President Konno had mentioned to Hachiman before. This was also the first time for Hachiman to enjoy the benefits of the association.

"I can't say anything else about this club, but the buffet is still very good. Some people in the association may not come to participate in the discussion, but they will definitely come here to eat the buffet."

Arisugawa, who was taking food from the plate, said this to Hikigaya Hachiman as if he was showing off.Just the dazzling array of fruits on the table is enough to convince Hachiman.

"Teacher Arisukawa, actually I came here this time to ask about something..."

Hikigaya Hachiman told Arisugawa about his desire to find a great writer and ask him for writing techniques.

"Well... I believe there are many writers who are willing to help you, Hikigaya-kun, but considering that most of them still have writing tasks, they really can't spare the time to do this... .”

Arisukawa rubbed his chin and thought.

"By the way, I thought of a very suitable person. Hikigaya-kun, do you have any contact with Mr. Asada?"

"Mr. Asada...are you talking about Mr. Saburo Asada? I, Mr. Asada, had an exchange with me once, so we have some contact."

Hikigaya Hachiman was a little shocked.

Mr. Saburo Asada is 65 years old. It would be a bit vague to talk about things like status, but there is one statistic that will not lie. That is, Mr. Asada has won a total of fifteen awards, including the Naoki Award. There are literary awards in Japan. If anyone wants to know what the literary awards are, they only need to take a look at Mr. Asada's encyclopedia page.

To put it simply, Saburo Asada is one of the few active literary figures in the Japanese literary world.In addition to his achievements in literary attainments, his novels are also very popular in the publishing industry. The sales of many of his historical novels have exceeded 300 million copies.