Page 3 of 17 FirstFirst 12345678910111213 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 336

Thread: Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay - The Prequel

  1. #41
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    I haven't finished reading, but zoomed in on the hot manhandling . You really should get this story published after you're done, Mel. I love this story to bits! SCN and his little fairy make such a cool couple, but you make other characters so interesting. Honestly, your writing continues to improve with each update. How do you do it? Can hardly wait for the next installment. I promise to comment more after I thoroughly read through the chapter.

  2. #42
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Oohh, Mel! A new chapter! Yay! I LOVE the scenes with SCN and his 'Yan Yan' in the inn, especially when she was wondering if she should give her blanket to SCN. It's so sweet to read about Yan Yan's conflicting emotions towards SCN. Can't wait until Yan Yan fully accepts SCN! I wonder how that will happen.

    The cliffhanger at the end is definitely piquing my interest for the next chapter! (The romantic interactions were really satisfying here, but no "hot steamy" ones like the kiss in the chapter before this, even though that wasn't really "hot and steamy" like the way you advertised it. Okay, I think I might want to 'glance' at the unedited version of Chapter 7 now.)

    Oh, and the appearance of Constable Miu (HG) in this chapter is also a bonus. The wuxia part of this chapter was really good, except that I, being the greedy reader I am, want more fights between the two of them.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  3. #43
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    I haven't finished reading, but zoomed in on the hot manhandling. You really should get this story published after you're done, Mel. I love this story to bits! SCN and his little fairy make such a cool couple, but you make other characters so interesting. Honestly, your writing continues to improve with each update. How do you do it? Can hardly wait for the next installment. I promise to comment more after I thoroughly read through the chapter.
    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    Oohh, Mel! A new chapter! Yay! I LOVE the scenes with SCN and his 'Yan Yan' in the inn, especially when she was wondering if she should give her blanket to SCN. It's so sweet to read about Yan Yan's conflicting emotions towards SCN. Can't wait until Yan Yan fully accepts SCN! I wonder how that will happen.

    The cliffhanger at the end is definitely piquing my interest for the next chapter! (The romantic interactions were really satisfying here, but no "hot steamy" ones like the kiss in the chapter before this, even though that wasn't really "hot and steamy" like the way you advertised it. Okay, I think I might want to 'glance' at the unedited version of Chapter 7 now.)

    Oh, and the appearance of Constable Miu (HG) in this chapter is also a bonus. The wuxia part of this chapter was really good, except that I, being the greedy reader I am, want more fights between the two of them.
    tweety and H.Ge-C.Liu - You two should enjoy the romantic scenes between SCN and Yan now because she's gonna die! DIE!!!! And then there will be no more cute couple!!!! I sound kind of mean and psycho, huh?


    tweety - You continue to baffle me. How in the world do you manage to pick out the "hot manhandling" parts without even reading the chapter first? Do you have some sort of special radar? And how do you even know there will be ANY "hot manhandling" scenes at all in any one particular chapter?

    Thanks for the compliment on the story, tweety. While I don't think my writing is bad, I don't think it's spectacular either. I think it's really the readers (like you and H.Ge-C.Liu) who are too kind and forgiving of my faults that make the story attractive. My readers (including you two ladies) are my inspiration and motivation to keep writing. So thanks for continually coming back to read!


    H.Ge-C.Liu - I don't think it will be hard for Yan to fall in love with SCN. He's hot. The guy certainly is not boring. Plus, despite his extremely overbearing attitude, I believe he actually has a gentle, romantic soul underneath all his bluster. I already know EXACTLY how Yan will tell SCN that she has fallen for him. I'll admit that I am kind of surprised how much you like the SCN-Yan couple. In the beginning, you sounded rather disgruntled by SCN's overbearing arrogance. In fact, you sounded like you wanted to whack him on the head out of frustration. You even busted out the Chinese word for "overbearing" in case you didn't get your point across in English.

    Maybe I'll send you the unedited version of the kiss from Chapter 7, but you have to promise me NEVER TO SHOW IT TO TWEETY!

    You're quite greedy about the fight scenes. Perhaps you would like to read my other story, since there are a lot more characters running around in there fighting each other.

    HG's Constable Miu will have a decent amount of "novel time" in the story. That's all I will say.






    Hey!!! How come no one mentioned about the young man with the fan?!

  4. #44
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    tweety and H.Ge-C.Liu - You two should enjoy the romantic scenes between SCN and Yan now because she's gonna die! DIE!!!! And then there will be no more cute couple!!!! I sound kind of mean and psycho, huh?
    I have fore-knowledge that BR will die (from the prologue), so I'm mentally prepared. Although, from calculations, there should be quite a few chapters left before she dies. I will definitely enjoy SCN and Yan Yan's romantic tidbits while they're available!


    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    My readers (including you two ladies) are my inspiration and motivation to keep writing. So thanks for continually coming back to read!
    It really is good, Mel! You're being too humble. I'm glad we're your motivation. Looking forward to new updates! 加油!


    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I'll admit that I am kind of surprised how much you like the SCN-Yan couple. In the beginning, you sounded rather disgruntled by SCN's overbearing arrogance. In fact, you sounded like you wanted to whack him on the head out of frustration. You even busted out the Chinese word for "overbearing" in case you didn't get your point across in English.

    Maybe I'll send you the unedited version of the kiss from Chapter 7, but you have to promise me NEVER TO SHOW IT TO TWEETY!
    Yes, I did want to whack him on the head (most likely with a heavy club, even though it wouldn't have succeeded). But throughout the story, I warmed up to SCN, because of how he treats BR. He's a softie at heart but has a cold/over bearing demeanour on the outside-these kind of men are no.3/4 on my list of 'lead males I fan-girl".

    Mel, you're so nice! I cracked up at the 'never show it to Tweety' part. But I'm sure you'll give it to her sooner or later. Treat it as a reward for your #1 reader.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    You're quite greedy about the fight scenes. Perhaps you would like to read my other story, since there are a lot more characters running around in there fighting each other.
    Hmm. I might give it a try when I'm waiting for updates from the Chinese fan fics, but I can't really promise that I'll last through the whole book.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    HG's Constable Miu will have a decent amount of "novel time" in the story. That's all I will say.
    Looking forward to it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Hey!!! How come no one mentioned about the young man with the fan?!
    Aiya, I forgot about that lad! Could he also be from some sect on a mission? He doesn't seem like someone who's only just entered the 'JiangHu'.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  5. #45
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    I have fore-knowledge that BR will die (from the prologue), so I'm mentally prepared. Although, from calculations, there should be quite a few chapters left before she dies. I will definitely enjoy SCN and Yan Yan's romantic tidbits while they're available!
    It's sort of strange, but tweety, like you, was also remarkably calm when she found out from the prologue that BR was going to die and was not going to grow old with SCN. Maybe I'm not as surprised by your reaction, since you're more of a HG fan rather than a Wallace Chung or SFF fan. I'm just glad that you are enthusiastic about Wallace Chung's character and his lady love even though WC is not your favorite guy, but tweety's a die-hard fan of the WC-SFF onscreen couple and yet she's as calm as a cool breeze on a spring day upon learning about BR's inevitable death. I expected her to jump up and down in frustration, but instead, she accepted the fact that BR will die soon fairly well.




    It really is good, Mel! You're being too humble. I'm glad we're your motivation. Looking forward to new updates! 加油!
    Again, thank you. I'm not humble at all. I'm just being brutally honest with myself regarding the story. I don't like deluding myself.




    Yes, I did want to whack him on the head (most likely with a heavy club, even though it wouldn't have succeeded).
    From SCN's reaction whenever BR whacks him, he'll probably just try to kiss you every time you give him a whack. Nothing gets through his thick skull. The overbearing brute...

    But throughout the story, I warmed up to SCN, because of how he treats BR. He's a softie at heart but has a cold/over bearing demeanour on the outside-these kind of men are no.3/4 on my list of 'lead males I fan-girl".
    So what are the types of male leads that you fan-girl?



    Mel, you're so nice! I cracked up at the 'never show it to Tweety' part. But I'm sure you'll give it to her sooner or later. Treat it as a reward for your #1 reader.
    It's tweety's punishment for whining about how I killed off Vincent Jiao's character in my other story.



    Hmm. I might give it a try when I'm waiting for updates from the Chinese fan fics, but I can't really promise that I'll last through the whole book.
    So you're the short story type, huh? Don't like long stories? Yea, read my other story if you have time or if you're bored with nothing else to do. It's long but most people who end up reading it find it somewhat enjoyable. In fact, I have a few readers who prefer the original story to the prequel, as I think they've become rather attached to some of the characters in the other story. There are a few likable couples in there. I'm just glad you like Wallace Chung/SCN in this story. As I mentioned before, I know he's not your favorite actor, so I'm just glad you're reading despite HG not being the main character.



    Aiya, I forgot about that lad! Could he also be from some sect on a mission? He doesn't seem like someone who's only just entered the 'JiangHu'.
    I think you'll like the lad once he makes more appearances in the story.

  6. #46
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    tweety and H.Ge-C.Liu - You two should enjoy the romantic scenes between SCN and Yan now because she's gonna die! DIE!!!! And then there will be no more cute couple!!!! I sound kind of mean and psycho, huh?
    Yes, Mel, we all know BR will die based on the prologue, no need to rub it in our faces . I’m not having a hissy fit over her death like what you did to Vincent’s character because you are giving her so much novel time. Poor Vincent’s character was whacked in like 2 scenes . Why?! WHY?!

    Anyway, I will still ship this couple despite their short lived romance. Although, having the chance to be together for a few years is more than many ill-fated couples I’ve watched and read about in tv series and novels. So Tweety is definitely not gonna complain.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    tweety - You continue to baffle me. How in the world do you manage to pick out the "hot manhandling" parts without even reading the chapter first? Do you have some sort of special radar? And how do you even know there will be ANY "hot manhandling" scenes at all in any one particular chapter?
    Hehe, what I do is skim through the chapter really quickly to find out the gist of the events. Kinda like fast forwarding through a dvd or in vhs (back in the days). Hence, it is quite easy to zoom in on the hot manhandling scenes . When I have more time, I would read the chapter over again, but slower and analyze the details.

    My compliments on your writing are not empty praises. The story is really very well written and I still think that once you are done, you should definitely try to get it published. Even if you don’t make much money, at least you will get your work expose to more readers. Don’t be stingy and share your gift with others .

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Maybe I'll send you the unedited version of the kiss from Chapter 7, but you have to promise me NEVER TO SHOW IT TO TWEETY!


    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    I cracked up at the 'never show it to Tweety' part. But I'm sure you'll give it to her sooner or later. Treat it as a reward for your #1 reader.
    Well, at least somebody is being considerate around here. Thank you for your kind words, H.Ge-C.Liu . You know, it is getting harder and harder to be appreciated as a devoted fan. Perhaps I should register a new account and act like a new reader so Mel will be nicer to me. Kinda like how the cable companies and banks treat new customers, giving freebies and huge discounts to lure in new accounts.

  7. #47
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    So what are the types of male leads that you fan-girl?
    This is purely for books:
    Type 1: 夜华
    (from "Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms". Personality: steady (稳重), single minded (专一, only loves one), helpful)
    Type 2: 霍去病
    (from "Ballad of the Desert" [being made into a drama, most likely starring HG and LSS]. Personality: single minded (专一, only loves one), affectionate (深情), usually calm and not rash.)
    Type 3: 白子画
    (from "仙侠奇缘之花千骨". In the story, he's a deity, so he's everything a deity should be: calm, steady, cold demeanour, doesn't have feelings. Towards the end though, when he isn't a deity anymore, he becomes quite warm and affectionate)

    Type 4: Sit Chung Nam (I'm not too sure, but...薛钟南?).
    (I don't need to say anything about SCN, since you know him better than me.)
    **All four are witty and smart as well.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    It's tweety's punishment for whining about how I killed off Vincent Jiao's character in my other story.
    I can tell from Tweety's latest post in this thread.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    So you're the short story type, huh? Don't like long stories? Yea, read my other story if you have time or if you're bored with nothing else to do. It's long but most people who end up reading it find it somewhat enjoyable.
    Probably. Although there are 3 exceptions, but these Chinese fan-fics are novel length, so count as books(?). I'll promise I'll give the original story a try once I have enough time on my hands, but I most likely won't comment.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I think you'll like the lad once he makes more appearances in the story.
    If the character itself is likeable, I probably will once he appears a few more times.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  8. #48
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    Yes, Mel, we all know BR will die based on the prologue, no need to rub it in our faces . I’m not having a hissy fit over her death like what you did to Vincent’s character because you are giving her so much novel time. Poor Vincent’s character was whacked in like 2 scenes . Why?! WHY?!
    Well...ok, you want to know why Vincent's character was killed off so quickly in the other story? It was because his character was never meant to be anything more than an extra. I know... Crazy, right? Vincent Jiao as an extra! But he never really did catch my attention in his role as Yang Zhongbao in Heroine of the Yangs. He completely paled next to Gilbert Lam's villainous character. However, I thought he was very handsome (even with the layers of makeup) and I thought back then, "Why not? An extra can be a handsome guy, too!" So I threw Vincent Jiao in as an extra. The funny thing was the timing of your comment and my posting of the chapter in which Vincent's character was killed off. I had posted that chapter mere minutes BEFORE you posted your very first comment to me on winglin, telling me how much you enjoyed the story so far and how much you hoped I would pair Vincent Jiao up with Ada Choi. I have always respected readers who are willing to speak up and leave me comments, whether those comments are constructive criticism or praise, because it shows that you are REALLY reading. As a writer, I live for such moments when I come onto my story thread and find a comment. These messages make all the time I spend laboring over each chapter worthwhile. Therefore, when I read your message to me on winglin so many many years, I REALLY did want to give your Vincent his time in the spotlight and expand his role. After all, it was not too hard to do that since I can twist the plot any way I wanted to. Unfortunately, it was already too late. His character was already dead and even I, the author, could not plausibly bring the dead back without making the plot seem a bit corny and unbelievable. So...your poor Vincent had to remain dead. However, your loyalty to the story all these years and your unwavering support with your kind and encouraging words have not fallen on deaf ears. I have wanted to show my gratitude to you for a while now, so when you asked me to cast SFF instead of Song Jia (my original choice) as Black Rose, I did not even hesitate.

    Anyway, I will still ship this couple despite their short lived romance. Although, having the chance to be together for a few years is more than many ill-fated couples I’ve watched and read about in tv series and novels. So Tweety is definitely not gonna complain.
    Well, as H.Ge-C.Liu has predicted, SCN and BR's "short-lived" romance will take up quite a few chapters because I'm having such fun writing about them. Personally, I find them hilarious as a couple. BR is the typical spunky beautiful young maiden falling for the bad boy of the entire martial arts world, but SCN is turning out to be such a hoot. It's weird, but when I first started penning his character, I never intended for him to have a humorous side. But somehow the character gained a life of its own. He's still an overbearing ape (as BR calls him) sometimes but he definitely has redeeming qualities. I like him. I actually like him, and it has nothing to do with the fact that Wallace Chung is SCN.

    Well, at least somebody is being considerate around here. Thank you for your kind words, H.Ge-C.Liu . You know, it is getting harder and harder to be appreciated as a devoted fan. Perhaps I should register a new account and act like a new reader so Mel will be nicer to me. Kinda like how the cable companies and banks treat new customers, giving freebies and huge discounts to lure in new accounts.
    There are only a few people I pick on in my little circle of friends, and usually those people are the ones I consider my family. You probably already know that I'm an only child, so my best friends are my siblings. I pick on you (in an affectionate way) because I consider you as a sister. I enjoy bickering with you, just as sisters would with each other. You (and a few other online friends) are one of the few that I have grown to respect and like over the years without even meeting in person. So...it'll probably be more advantageous posting as "tweety" than as a "new reader."





    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    This is purely for books:
    Type 1: 夜华
    (from "Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms". Personality: steady (稳重), single minded (专一, only loves one), helpful)
    Type 2: 霍去病
    (from "Ballad of the Desert" [being made into a drama, most likely starring HG and LSS]. Personality: single minded (专一, only loves one), affectionate (深情), usually calm and not rash.)
    Type 3: 白子画
    (from "仙侠奇缘之花千骨". In the story, he's a deity, so he's everything a deity should be: calm, steady, cold demeanour, doesn't have feelings. Towards the end though, when he isn't a deity anymore, he becomes quite warm and affectionate)

    Type 4: Sit Chung Nam (I'm not too sure, but...薛钟南?).
    (I don't need to say anything about SCN, since you know him better than me.)
    **All four are witty and smart as well.
    I can see a pattern here. You like steady/stable and faithful guys who give a sense of security and will love only one woman. Although...I don't think SCN is very stable, given his occupation as a bandit. Plus, he doesn't seem to be very nice to anyone else other than BR. BUT I will say that I like this type of character much more than those who pretend to be righteous heroes but are really cowards who would abandon those who love them without any thought in times of hardship. At least SCN doesn't hide the fact that he's ruthless; he admits it and is proud of it. And somehow, I seriously doubt he would cowardly run away and abandon BR during dangerous situations or times of hardship.


    Type 4: Sit Chung Nam (I'm not too sure, but...薛钟南?).
    I guess so... I'm not too sure, since I'm Chinese illiterate. I was a Saturday Chinese school dropout as a kid, mainly because my parents didn't have the money to continue paying for tuition.


    Probably. Although there are 3 exceptions, but these Chinese fan-fics are novel length, so count as books(?). I'll promise I'll give the original story a try once I have enough time on my hands, but I most likely won't comment.
    Gosh, I envy your ability to read all those wonderful Chinese fan fics out there! I bet Wallace Chung has a ton of Chinese fan fics on him! And maybe they are martial arts fan fics, too! Unfortunately, I don't understand them.

    Are the ones you're reading (on HG, I presume) martial arts fan fics? What is it like to read a martial arts fan fic in Chinese? It must feel much more authentic!

  9. #49
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I can see a pattern here. You like steady/stable and faithful guys who give a sense of security and will love only one woman. Although...I don't think SCN is very stable, given his occupation as a bandit. Plus, he doesn't seem to be very nice to anyone else other than BR. BUT I will say that I like this type of character much more than those who pretend to be righteous heroes but are really cowards who would abandon those who love them without any thought in times of hardship. At least SCN doesn't hide the fact that he's ruthless; he admits it and is proud of it. And somehow, I seriously doubt he would cowardly run away and abandon BR during dangerous situations or times of hardship.
    Oh, the male characters I fan girl over don't necessarily have to be stable (as in occupation). The 'steady' I meant was personality wise (isn't rash-thinks over things carefully before deciding).

    It is because SCN only loves BR and only shows her his 'other side' that I fan girl characters that have his personality. I think everyone detests cowards who only say that they are righteous heroes, but don't prove it by actions. I admire characters who are honest, despite the fact that it may sometimes be hurtful or brutal. Therefore you can probably tell I'm also not a fan of male characters that just let an admirer think that he is in love with her because he is afraid he will hurt her feelings. IMO, that is not a good plan in the long run.



    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I guess so... I'm not too sure, since I'm Chinese illiterate. I was a Saturday Chinese school dropout as a kid, mainly because my parents didn't have the money to continue paying for tuition.
    That's fine Mel. A few of my friends are also Mandarin illiterate, but still enjoy dramas and fangirling actors. As for the translations, I just based it on my assumptions (e.g. Wallace Chung = Wallace Zhong).



    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Gosh, I envy your ability to read all those wonderful Chinese fan fics out there! I bet Wallace Chung has a ton of Chinese fan fics on him! And maybe they are martial arts fan fics, too! Unfortunately, I don't understand them. Are the ones you're reading (on HG, I presume) martial arts fan fics? What is it like to read a martial arts fan fic in Chinese? It must feel much more authentic!
    I haven't been on Wallace Chung's tieba (a Chinese forum), but due to his popularity, I think there are quite a few fan fics out there about him. In actual fact, the Hu Ge tieba does not have any fan fictions. Most of the fan fics I read are GeShi [ancient] fanfics. Some fan fics don't even have HG or LSS in the cast list, but I just picture them as the leads (sometimes it's actually inevitable, because the OTP is Long Yang and Long Kui, so I naturally link them to Hu Ge and Liu Shi Shi). The fan fics I read are about 75% romance and 25% wuxia (characters sometimes don't even enter the JiangHu). I hardly read any fan fics that are mostly wuxia based (like books by Jinyong/Louis Cha or Gu Long/古龙).

    **I'm currently starting a book by Qing Leng Yue/倾冷月, who's works are mostly wuxia, with only the last few parts dedicated to romance. That should be a new change for me.
    Last edited by H.Ge-C.Liu; 02-17-12 at 04:35 AM.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  10. #50
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    It is because SCN only loves BR and only shows her his 'other side' that I fan girl characters that have his personality.
    I think SCN's single-minded devotion to Black Rose is certainly one of his most attractive characteristics with the readers, especially since all my readers are female. I wonder what guys think of him... I have loosely based SCN's character on two other characters I have seen in dramas - Wallace Chung's Gu Xi Zhao in Ni Shui Han and Gilbert Lam's Yelut Honam in Heroine of the Yangs. Both characters in the above mentioned dramas are ruthless and evil but highly intelligent. They are favorites among the female audience because of their cool evilness but also because of their devotion and love for their respective lady loves. You could never guess how evil these characters are if you see them with the women they love. As a hopeless romantic, I'd like to think that love can bring out the good in everyone, even in a villain.

    It's interesting that you fangirl SCN because he only loves BR and only is sweet to her. Let's flip the situation... As mentioned in the story, BR already has a prior love, Kuk Wai. Now, their relationship hasn't been explored too much yet, but let's say Kuk Wai is a very nice guy also who loves BR very much. Then does it mean that you would not like BR if she has a change of heart and falls for SCN later on in the story? I mean, I am sure you wouldn't fangirl SCN anymore if he were to have a change of heart and fall for another woman later on in the story. So how would you feel if BR has a change of heart?


    Therefore you can probably tell I'm also not a fan of male characters that just let an admirer think that he is in love with her because he is afraid he will hurt her feelings. IMO, that is not a good plan in the long run.
    I agree! I think it's cruel to lead someone on. It's always better to state everything clearly in the beginning rather that raise someone's hope. Unfortunately, a lot of male leads in wuxia stories are prone to leading their female admirers on in the name of "being kind" to them. Well, you don't have to worry that SCN will be that kind of wish-washy guy. He's blunt and will tell a woman he doesn't like her without any qualms. Just look at how blunt he was with that elderly innkeeper. He slammed the door in the old man's face!




    I haven't been on Wallace Chung's tieba (a Chinese forum), but due to his popularity, I think there are quite a few fan fics out there about him. In actual fact, the Hu Ge tieba does not have any fan fictions. Most of the fan fics I read are GeShi [ancient] fanfics. Some fan fics don't even have HG or LSS in the cast list, but I just picture them as the leads (sometimes it's actually inevitable, because the OTP is Long Yang and Long Kui, so I naturally link them to Hu Ge and Liu Shi Shi). The fan fics I read are about 75% romance and 25% wuxia (characters sometimes don't even enter the JiangHu). I hardly read any fan fics that are mostly wuxia based (like books by Jinyong/Louis Cha or Gu Long/古龙).

    **I'm currently starting a book by Qing Leng Yue/倾冷月, who's works are mostly wuxia, with only the last few parts dedicated to romance. That should be a new change for me.
    It's quite surprising to find out that you read fan fics that have more romantic content than wuxia content! Since you expressed a wish to see more fighting scenes in my story, I thought you were a hardcore wuxia fan.

    So HG doesn't have fans who like to write fan fics? Rather they are really LSS's fans who like to pair her up with HG?

    I know Wallace Chung has plenty of highly talented fans who make tons of impressive MVs of him. When I look at those fan-made MVs, which are much higher in quality than some professionally-made ones by the film production companies, I can't stop thinking how lucky Wallace Chung is to have such fans. Think of all the free advertising and free publicity he gets through these MVs! Too bad I can't contribute and give him some free publicity. I wouldn't know how to make a MV if my life depended on it!

  11. #51
    Member Xaari's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    141

    Default

    Hi Melanie,

    I've been a lurker for a couple of months and decided that it's high time I commented on your story. I've read all the chapters of your fantastic prequel so far and enjoyed myself immensely. You definitely know how to craft a superb story, what with your creative plots, engaging characters, and excellent word choice. I've been intending to comment a long time ago, but unfortunately I'm only capable of giving two kinds of feedback: spazzy (or speechless) fangirl love if I'm impressed, or awfully long tirades if I'm disappointed. Obviously I've been stunned speechless. I'm a really picky reader, which often makes writing my own stories difficult because I need to read profusely in order to improve my own skills, yet I can't endure plowing through second-rate works. Luckily, your stories keep me constantly on my toes with excitement!

    I really have to commend you for your unswerving dedication to your stories. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, but only started getting serious about two years ago. I've written several half-baked novels that I gave up on because they usually exhausted me after six months, so recently I turned to short stories instead. I started out writing sci-fi, but my focus has since changed to Chinese historical fiction sprinkled with wuxia. I don't read romance, so I'm quite awkward at writing any kind of romantic scenes, and I'm usually 60,000 words into the story and my poor heroine still hasn't fallen in love, haha. I definitely consider your stories to be highly inspirational. None of my male characters are as confident and oozing with manliness as SCN, and I deliberately make my heroines average/slightly pretty, so they can't compare to BR either. I'm a sucker for imperfections and only wish I could contrive a couple as endearingly perfect as yours. When I have writer's block in the future, I'll be sure to read your Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay. I just get befuddled by Cantonese pinyin and present tense, which are the only things that slow me down when I'm reading your delightful stories. I really admire how you've steadily continued writing for an entire decade. I hope I can muster up the determination to do that too! You're my hero!
    Last edited by Xaari; 02-17-12 at 10:31 PM.

  12. #52
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    Mel, so does this mean that if I call you Jie Jie, you will send me the unedited version of chapter 7?

    Xaari! Fancy seeing you here. I just finished reading the latest update of Demi Gods Semi Devils, but haven’t had the chance to thank you yet. Much appreciate all your hard work on translating

  13. #53
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    It's interesting that you fangirl SCN because he only loves BR and only is sweet to her. Let's flip the situation... As mentioned in the story, BR already has a prior love, Kuk Wai. Now, their relationship hasn't been explored too much yet, but let's say Kuk Wai is a very nice guy also who loves BR very much. Then does it mean that you would not like BR if she has a change of heart and falls for SCN later on in the story? I mean, I am sure you wouldn't fangirl SCN anymore if he were to have a change of heart and fall for another woman later on in the story. So how would you feel if BR has a change of heart?
    Hmm. I'm much more lenient towards female characters. Besides, in this case, BR had not met SCN before Kuk Wai. I actually like how their romance is progressing. I prefer 日久生情 (falls in love after time) rather than 一见钟情 (love at first sight). SCN's type of "love at first sight" is okay, since he doesn't really show it. Even though some of his words and actions seem like he's just playing around with BR, but readers know SCN truly loves BR.


    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    It's quite surprising to find out that you read fan fics that have more romantic content than wuxia content! Since you expressed a wish to see more fighting scenes in my story, I thought you were a hardcore wuxia fan.

    So HG doesn't have fans who like to write fan fics? Rather they are really LSS's fans who like to pair her up with HG?
    Exactly.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Too bad I can't contribute and give him some free publicity. I wouldn't know how to make a MV if my life depended on it!
    Same here! The most I can do is put music as a background with a photo slide show (although I think anyone can do that just by fiddling around with the program controls).

    Through my months of uploading MVs, some of them seem to have been taught this in computer class at school(?). After they graduated, some students took this MV making as a part time hobby, refining their skills to make the MVs even better.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  14. #54
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by Xaari View Post
    Hi Melanie,

    I've been a lurker for a couple of months and decided that it's high time I commented on your story. I've read all the chapters of your fantastic prequel so far and enjoyed myself immensely. You definitely know how to craft a superb story, what with your creative plots, engaging characters, and excellent word choice. I've been intending to comment a long time ago, but unfortunately I'm only capable of giving two kinds of feedback: spazzy (or speechless) fangirl love if I'm impressed, or awfully long tirades if I'm disappointed. Obviously I've been stunned speechless.
    Wow, I guess it's my turn to be stunned speechless. I'm very pleasantly surprised to find out that you've been reading. I've seen your translation work in the DGSD thread. I have not read your translation yet, but I've always admired members who dedicate their time and effort to translating for those of us who crave wuxia but cannot read Chinese. So thank you for your dedication and time. Anyway, I am so surprised that you're reading because I've always thought that most people who can read published Chinese wuxia novels (from the likes of Gu Long and Jin Yong, for example) won't want to "downgrade" and read an amateur work, especially one that is not that good in the wuxia aspect and written in English! (I believe H.Ge-C.Liu can read Chinese novels, too, but she's reading my story because I hounded her and bribed her with putting HG in the story. ) Therefore, I'm very flattered. Thank you for letting me know you're reading!



    I really have to commend you for your unswerving dedication to your stories.
    Most of that dedication comes from reader support. I used to think that I write for my own enjoyment. While that is partially true, writing can get pretty lonely and discouraging without readers. Now with a busier schedule, I can rarely find time to write, but I keep plowing forward because of the few loyal readers I have still hanging around. Without these readers, I would have hung up my pen a long time ago.



    I've been writing for as long as I can remember, but only started getting serious about two years ago. I've written several half-baked novels that I gave up on because they usually exhausted me after six months, so recently I turned to short stories instead. I started out writing sci-fi, but my focus has since changed to Chinese historical fiction sprinkled with wuxia.
    I don't think I've ever been very serious about my writing. When compared to some writers here who meticulously plan out the plot or do extensive historical research so that they can incorporate history with fiction, I am a slacker. Most of the time, I have no clue what will happen in the next chapter and just wing it as I write. Plus, I don't have the time to do any historical research at all, so my story is purely filled with fictional characters, locations, etc. So I think you have much more dedication than I have if you're writing Chinese historical fiction.


    I don't read romance, so I'm quite awkward at writing any kind of romantic scenes, and I'm usually 60,000 words into the story and my poor heroine still hasn't fallen in love, haha.
    I have the opposite problem. I'm relatively adequate with romantic scenes but have a harder time with witty or humorous dialogue and with the wuxia elements of the story. Kissing scenes or lovey-dovey scenes are definitely easier for me to write since I'm a hopeless romantic.


    I definitely consider your stories to be highly inspirational.
    Thanks. You're going to make my head swell.


    None of my male characters are as confident and oozing with manliness as SCN, and I deliberately make my heroines average/slightly pretty, so they can't compare to BR either. I'm a sucker for imperfections and only wish I could contrive a couple as endearingly perfect as yours.
    I figure that we live in such a flawed world that I might as well have fun by escaping from reality once in a while and pen a "physically perfect" couple in my make-believe world where anything can happen. Besides, while SCN and BR are physically perfect, they are far from perfect character-wise. Take SCN, for example. The guy goes around killing people who don't agree with him. If that's not a flaw in his character, then I don't know what is. Haha.


    When I have writer's block in the future, I'll be sure to read your Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay.
    Thanks. Just remember that I started the other story about a decade ago. My writing style back then may be very different from my current style in this story.


    I just get befuddled by Cantonese pinyin and present tense, which are the only things that slow me down when I'm reading your delightful stories.
    I really can't do anything about the Cantonese pinyin since I just recently started learning Mandarin by watching Wallace Chung dramas. My Mandarin is still very rudimentary. I also don't know how to read or write Chinese so I don't have a clue how to translate the character names into Mandarin pinyin or Chinese characters. Sorry.

    As for why the story is being written in the present tense, well, it's a long story. This prequel was originally part of my first story (Legendary Book) before it was ripped away from Legendary Book and made into a prequel because SCN developed a following. Many years ago, when I first started writing Legendary Book, I came up with the brilliant idea ( ) of writing in the present tense to make the action seem more immediate and more exciting, even knowing that novels were traditionally written in the past tense. However, I never intended for my first story to be so long. It was suppose to be a short story dedicated to Gilbert Lam and Annie Man (my favorite onscreen couple at that time), and I figured writing a short story in the present tense would be okay. However, the story dragged on and on...and on and on... Even when I wanted to change the tense later on, it was too tedious to edit everything after so many chapters. Since the first few chapters of the prequel originally was part of Legendary Book, it was, of course, also written in the present tense for uniformity's sake. Now that the prequel is a separate story of its own with not that many chapters, I might just go back and change the tense. Of course, that will slow down my frequency of new chapter updates.


    You're my hero!
    Thanks! Kissy back! People who so generously volunteer their time to translate novels and subtitle dramas are my heroes, too.






    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    Mel, so does this mean that if I call you Jie Jie, you will send me the unedited version of chapter 7?
    No.... But I will dangle the unedited version in front of your nose and then yank it back at the last minute while laughing in your face like any self-respecting sister would do.




    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    Hmm. I'm much more lenient towards female characters.
    Double standard! Shame on you!


    Besides, in this case, BR had not met SCN before Kuk Wai.
    You lost me here. So it's ok for BR to lose interest in Kuk Wai and fall madly in love with SCN because she met SCN later? But it's not ok for SCN to fall in love with another (hypothetical) woman he meets later on in the story?



    I actually like how their romance is progressing. I prefer 日久生情 (falls in love after time) rather than 一见钟情 (love at first sight). SCN's type of "love at first sight" is okay, since he doesn't really show it. Even though some of his words and actions seem like he's just playing around with BR, but readers know SCN truly loves BR.
    I think BR and SCN are acting like what a typical female and male would do. BR, being a woman, places less value on looks during first impressions and only slowly starts to fall in love with a man after getting to know his personality. (Note how she was not all that impressed by SCN's handsomeness in the beginning and only started to care for him once he started showing her some true concern and caring.) SCN, on the other, acts like any typical man. He falls in lust with a woman's beauty first (during the first meeting), and once he's hooked in by her looks, he then starts discovering her finer points, like her intelligence, kindness, humor, etc. (I bet if BR were ugly or even just plain-looking, SCN would not have bothered to take the time to learn about BR's personality. Remember, he was intrigued by her legendary beauty at first. Only later was he fascinated by her feisty spirt and sweetness. That was when he started falling in love with Black Rose the person and not Black Rose the legendary beauty.)



    Same here! The most I can do is put music as a background with a photo slide show (although I think anyone can do that just by fiddling around with the program controls).

    Through my months of uploading MVs, some of them seem to have been taught this in computer class at school(?). After they graduated, some students took this MV making as a part time hobby, refining their skills to make the MVs even better.
    You contribute by subbing dramas! You allow people who don't understand Chinese to enjoy HG's works!

  15. #55
    Senior Member H.Ge-C.Liu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Amsterdam
    Posts
    5,692

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    (I believe H.Ge-C.Liu can read Chinese novels, too, but she's reading my story because I hounded her and bribed her with putting HG in the story. )
    Hey! That makes me sound like a really dedicated HG fan (but I'm not really.). I was quite interested in Wallace Chung after the Anhui TV Drama awards last year (okay, that's because of his boyish-ness backstage with HG), and came really really close to watching "Too Late to say I love you." But then I was tricked away by the news of ShiGe in DMY~~~

    So, in conclusion, putting HG in this story only made me want to continue reading the chapters, while I started this story purely for Wallace (and later on, i.e. after Chapter 3/4 started chasing this story for SCN and BR's relationship, as well as HG).:p
    ------------- Redressing complete --------------------

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Double standard! Shame on you!
    You lost me here. So it's ok for BR to lose interest in Kuk Wai and fall madly in love with SCN because she met SCN later? But it's not ok for SCN to fall in love with another (hypothetical) woman he meets later on in the story?
    I almost always give double standards.

    That's about right. Although if a female character does it more than a few times, I wouldn't like her either (or maybe you can just make Kuk Wai a very detestable guy. ). Male characters don't really get chances from me, but in the minor chance that some characters (use Little Lee as an example) do slip through, it is because I can bear "Little Lee" being in love/has a crush on a different girl before he falls in love with his actual leading lady. You may ask, what qualities do they need to slip through? That is a wholly different matter, but other than their personality, it also depends on the storyline slightly.



    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I think BR and SCN are acting like what a typical female and male would do. BR, being a woman, places less value on looks during first impressions and only slowly starts to fall in love with a man after getting to know his personality. (Note how she was not all that impressed by SCN's handsomeness in the beginning and only started to care for him once he started showing her some true concern and caring.) SCN, on the other, acts like any typical man. He falls in lust with a woman's beauty first (during the first meeting), and once he's hooked in by her looks, he then starts discovering her finer points, like her intelligence, kindness, humor, etc. (I bet if BR were ugly or even just plain-looking, SCN would not have bothered to take the time to learn about BR's personality. Remember, he was intrigued by her legendary beauty at first. Only later was he fascinated by her feisty spirt and sweetness. That was when he started falling in love with Black Rose the person and not Black Rose the legendary beauty.)
    Ah, yes. Their first few meetings. Makes sense now.


    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    You contribute by subbing dramas! You allow people who don't understand Chinese to enjoy HG's works!
    I haven't actually subbed any HG dramas. Our next project will be Xuan Yuan Sword, which will incorporate an adequate amount of GeShi scenes-doesn't matter if they're trying to kill each other.
    Last edited by H.Ge-C.Liu; 02-20-12 at 03:59 AM.
    Biases: Hu Ge, Qiao Zhenyu, Liu Shi Shi
    Jiang Hu Fansubs - Recruiting members (especially translators).

  16. #56
    Member Xaari's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    141

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    Xaari! Fancy seeing you here. I just finished reading the latest update of Demi Gods Semi Devils, but haven’t had the chance to thank you yet. Much appreciate all your hard work on translating
    Hi tweety! Aww, thank you very much for reading! So glad to know there are still DGSD readers out there.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Wow, I guess it's my turn to be stunned speechless. I'm very pleasantly surprised to find out that you've been reading. I've seen your translation work in the DGSD thread. I have not read your translation yet, but I've always admired members who dedicate their time and effort to translating for those of us who crave wuxia but cannot read Chinese. So thank you for your dedication and time. Anyway, I am so surprised that you're reading because I've always thought that most people who can read published Chinese wuxia novels (from the likes of Gu Long and Jin Yong, for example) won't want to "downgrade" and read an amateur work, especially one that is not that good in the wuxia aspect and written in English! (I believe H.Ge-C.Liu can read Chinese novels, too, but she's reading my story because I hounded her and bribed her with putting HG in the story. ) Therefore, I'm very flattered. Thank you for letting me know you're reading!
    I LOVE reading wuxia fiction in English! Hehe, sometimes I get lazy and read the lovely English translation instead of the original text (like the Legendary Siblings) but of course I have to read untranslated works in Chinese. Other than the very basics (like 5-year-old reading level) that my parents taught me, the rest is all self-taught. By now I can usually get through several paragraphs without coming across any unfamiliar characters, but there are bound to be words I have to look up in every chapter. I've always wanted to read original wuxia fiction in English, and yours is the most brilliant and lengthy I've discovered to date. I often try to read the few published English novels set in ancient China (or a China-based fantasy world), but neither the plot or prose are good enough for my picky tastes, haha. Definitely not a match for your riveting stories.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I don't think I've ever been very serious about my writing. When compared to some writers here who meticulously plan out the plot or do extensive historical research so that they can incorporate history with fiction, I am a slacker. Most of the time, I have no clue what will happen in the next chapter and just wing it as I write. Plus, I don't have the time to do any historical research at all, so my story is purely filled with fictional characters, locations, etc. So I think you have much more dedication than I have if you're writing Chinese historical fiction.
    Haha, whenever inspiration hits, I'll just start writing, but as soon as the adrenaline cools down, I always like to plan as far ahead as possible. Maybe not the details, but definitely the big picture (who dies when, who betrays who, etc.). I love reading about history (oh man, I've read hundreds of pages of primary sources and Wikipedia/Baidu articles), but it's a pain to take notes and try to incorporate everything into my stories. Usually 80% of my characters are historical figures, but my main character is never real. I've written two short stories so far, one about Gao Jianli's assassination on Qin Shi Huang, and the other is set in the Ming Dynasty, but surprisingly none of the characters existed in history. My novel is set in the Northern Song Dynasty, and much of it takes place in the Khitan Empire.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    I have the opposite problem. I'm relatively adequate with romantic scenes but have a harder time with witty or humorous dialogue and with the wuxia elements of the story. Kissing scenes or lovey-dovey scenes are definitely easier for me to write since I'm a hopeless romantic.
    Since I don't read steamy romances, I have nowhere to look for help on writing romance. Thankfully I found your stories. I've never written or translated a kiss scene in my life...that's just terribly sad. But I think I can manage flirting.

  17. #57
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    No.... But I will dangle the unedited version in front of your nose and then yank it back at the last minute while laughing in your face like any self-respecting sister would do.

    Now I'm tempted to write a story of Wallace Chung being a eunuch

  18. #58
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Talking

    Phew! I spent the last few days editing and changing the tense of the story from present tense to past tense so that it would read more like a traditional novel. Anyway, that took a lot longer than I thought it would! I didn't realize my chapters were sooooo long! Geez! Do you ladies think my chapters are too long? Maybe I should shorten them so your attention doesn't wander...




    Quote Originally Posted by H.Ge-C.Liu View Post
    Hey! That makes me sound like a really dedicated HG fan (but I'm not really.). I was quite interested in Wallace Chung after the Anhui TV Drama awards last year (okay, that's because of his boyish-ness backstage with HG), and came really really close to watching "Too Late to say I love you." But then I was tricked away by the news of ShiGe in DMY~~~

    So, in conclusion, putting HG in this story only made me want to continue reading the chapters, while I started this story purely for Wallace (and later on, i.e. after Chapter 3/4 started chasing this story for SCN and BR's relationship, as well as HG).
    What?! You're not a super devoted HG fan???? I thought you were since you seem to live in the HG thread. Haha. Anyway, I think it's quite a compliment to Wallace Chung that you want to watch his dramas and read fan fiction about him after seeing him appear in the award shows, since it means that you are charmed by his true personality (or at least, the personality that he wants his fans to see). I think you should give Too Late To Say I Love You a try someday. It's actually pretty good and engaging, despite my bashing of Wallace's character later on in the series. (See the TLTSILY thread.) Plus, Wallace looks really hot in military uniform. I heard he gained quite a few new female fans after that drama because he was oh-so-dashing toting a gun in military garb.

    Yea, I noticed the DMY thread is on fire lately. I would probably get more excited about it if Wallace Chung had a role in it...

    I almost always give double standards.

    That's about right. Although if a female character does it more than a few times, I wouldn't like her either (or maybe you can just make Kuk Wai a very detestable guy.). Male characters don't really get chances from me, but in the minor chance that some characters (use Little Lee as an example) do slip through, it is because I can bear "Little Lee" being in love/has a crush on a different girl before he falls in love with his actual leading lady. You may ask, what qualities do they need to slip through? That is a wholly different matter, but other than their personality, it also depends on the storyline slightly.
    I give double standards, too. I think, especially in the olden days, it was important for women to choose their husbands carefully, since marrying multiple times was frowned upon for women. So women should have a right to change their minds as many times as they liked. If there is a better man who is interested, there is no reason why a woman should not be allowed to change her mind.

    On the contrary, I despise male characters who "fall in love" at the drop of a hat with one woman after another. I feel that men, especially those in ancient wuxia times when polygamy was common practice, took a woman's love for granted. In ancient times, a man will often claim to "love" all ten of his wives, but in reality, how much did he really love his wives if he showed no consideration for how his wives must feel having to share a husband? You just don't treat someone you claim to love that way. I'm sure if two men fall in love with one woman, there would be duel to the death before any one of them is willing to share his lady love.

    I haven't actually subbed any HG dramas. Our next project will be Xuan Yuan Sword, which will incorporate an adequate amount of GeShi scenes-doesn't matter if they're trying to kill each other.
    Ah! So you finally have your wish of a GeShi collaboration! I'm happy for you!




    Quote Originally Posted by Xaari View Post
    I LOVE reading wuxia fiction in English! Hehe, sometimes I get lazy and read the lovely English translation instead of the original text (like the Legendary Siblings) but of course I have to read untranslated works in Chinese. Other than the very basics (like 5-year-old reading level) that my parents taught me, the rest is all self-taught. By now I can usually get through several paragraphs without coming across any unfamiliar characters, but there are bound to be words I have to look up in every chapter. I've always wanted to read original wuxia fiction in English, and yours is the most brilliant and lengthy I've discovered to date. I often try to read the few published English novels set in ancient China (or a China-based fantasy world), but neither the plot or prose are good enough for my picky tastes, haha. Definitely not a match for your riveting stories.
    Really? You prefer wuxia stories in English? That's awesome but also very surprising. I always thought that wuxia novels would be more authentic and engaging in the Chinese language. Also, I have always wondered if the essence of a wuxia story would be lost in translation, no matter how good the translator is.

    Now I'm VERY impressed! You are translating DGSD with only a 5-year-old's knowledge of Chinese?! It must take you a lot of time translating then! Definitely, I am now more grateful to members, like you, who volunteer their time to translate.

    There are published wuxia novels written in English out there? That's cool! Any of them worth reading?

    Now that you've mentioned your picky tastes several times, I'm starting to sweat a little. I know more than anyone here that my story is riddled with flaws. I only hope that the story will be able to hold your interest all the way to the conclusion.


    Haha, whenever inspiration hits, I'll just start writing, but as soon as the adrenaline cools down, I always like to plan as far ahead as possible. Maybe not the details, but definitely the big picture (who dies when, who betrays who, etc.). I love reading about history (oh man, I've read hundreds of pages of primary sources and Wikipedia/Baidu articles), but it's a pain to take notes and try to incorporate everything into my stories. Usually 80% of my characters are historical figures, but my main character is never real. I've written two short stories so far, one about Gao Jianli's assassination on Qin Shi Huang, and the other is set in the Ming Dynasty, but surprisingly none of the characters existed in history. My novel is set in the Northern Song Dynasty, and much of it takes place in the Khitan Empire.
    I know advanced planning is always the best way to write a novel. However, I can't seem to bring myself to do that, for some reason. It takes the fun out of writing for me. But the real reason is that I just don't have the time to plan out a story. I write whenever I have time and cross my fingers that the chapter will turn out well.

    Are any of your stories published? Are any posted here?


    Since I don't read steamy romances, I have nowhere to look for help on writing romance. Thankfully I found your stories. I've never written or translated a kiss scene in my life...that's just terribly sad. But I think I can manage flirting.
    Ha! I hope you're not going to use my romantic parts as a model for what romantic scenes should be like in wuxia novels! I think most conventional wuxia stories rarely have any kissing. The male and female lead probably just hug and that is already tantamount to being scandalous! The only reason I have more "risque" scenes in the story is because I seem to have a lot of female readers who adore such romantic and sexy parts... Some have even complained that my scenes are not steamy enough. What can I do?

    Romance is actually not that hard to write, whether or not the author has previously read a steamy romance. I've read one or two steamy romances in the past but got bored with them fairly quickly. My tastes run toward mysteries from authors, like Agatha Christie. Anyway, most women have an idea of how they would like to be courted or what their ideal man is like, and therefore, it is not difficult to transfer these ideas into writing. For example, I like manly men. No metrosexuals for me. Therefore, you don't see Sit Chung Nam preening in front of the mirror, fiddling with his hair. Hahaha. Also, most male characters in my stories will not be unfaithful fools leaping from one woman to the next, since I despise such men. I like a gentleman, but he can't be too straight-laced or he'll lose my interest very quickly. Hence, SCN so far has a mix of gentlemanly traits (like how he gave the blanket to Yan in Chapter 8) but also has plenty of manliness and is not afraid to act on his desires for Yan.

    Flirting is good. If you can manage flirting, then the romance part of your story is going to be just fine.

    By the way, I'm curious.... Are you a Wallace Chung fan? How did you find your way to this story? Most of my readers are Wallace Chung fans.



    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post

    Now I'm tempted to write a story of Wallace Chung being a eunuch.
    You wouldn't do that. First, eunuchs don't interest you, and so it's hard writing a story about a character that bores you. Second, having Wallace Chung be a eunuch is such a waste of a hot male specimen. I trust you are not a wasteful woman.

  19. #59
    Member Xaari's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    141

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Really? You prefer wuxia stories in English? That's awesome but also very surprising. I always thought that wuxia novels would be more authentic and engaging in the Chinese language. Also, I have always wondered if the essence of a wuxia story would be lost in translation, no matter how good the translator is.

    Now I'm VERY impressed! You are translating DGSD with only a 5-year-old's knowledge of Chinese?! It must take you a lot of time translating then! Definitely, I am now more grateful to members, like you, who volunteer their time to translate.

    There are published wuxia novels written in English out there? That's cool! Any of them worth reading?

    Now that you've mentioned your picky tastes several times, I'm starting to sweat a little. I know more than anyone here that my story is riddled with flaws. I only hope that the story will be able to hold your interest all the way to the conclusion.
    Wow, it must've taken quite a while to change all those tenses! I don't think your chapters are too long. I devour words like food.

    Yes, I like reading wuxia in English, because there are as many limitations in the Chinese language as there are in English translations. For example, I find descriptors really lacking in Chinese stories. It's always he says, she says, not he snarled, she fumed. It also gets boring when descriptions of people's physical appearances in Chinese novels are limited to comparisons to weather or natural scenery. It's always the same face-like-a-flower, complexion-pure-as-jade. When writing historical/wuxia stories in English, I get to use a richer selection of vocabulary while still faithfully describing clothing, architecture, etiquette, etc. A few weeks ago, someone posted part 1 of my Gao Jianli story on Baidu Tieba, and at least two lovely girls attempted to translate it but failed. It was likely that they got stumped by the heavy descriptions and complex sentence structure. Also, Chinese authors get let off the scene transition hook so easily! All they do is add a simple scene break, and sometimes they don't even bother to do that. Meanwhile, in English novels, scene breaks are used sparingly and really aren't encouraged.

    Haha, no, I was only taught Chinese up to an elementary level, but I'm a fluent speaker and have become tolerably literate as a result of self-teaching. I'm not so good at writing in Chinese, and can probably write about 2,000 characters, but I love to write Chinese poetry.

    I think only Dream of the Dragon Pool by Albert Dalia is classified as English-written wuxia fiction right now. I've only read the first couple of chapters, but I think it's more mythology than wuxia. There's also Jeannie Lin, who writes historical romances set in the Tang Dynasty that are sometimes inspired by wuxia. I've only previewed several chapters of her works, but the emphasis on romance really isn't my cup of tea. Finally, there's Cindy Pon, who writes YA fiction set in a China-based fantasy world. I've read both her books, Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix, and I feel like the content is so sexually charged that it's highly indecent for a YA audience. Her heroine is so invincible that I couldn't really enjoy the stories.

    Don't sweat! I love your writing! There are no glaring flaws at all! I guess the four issues I have with novels in general are:
    1) flat characterization
    2) predictable plot
    3) poor prose quality
    4) lack of appeal to the senses
    Your stories definitely don't fall under any of those categories! I loooove the names you give to places as well. Forest of Shifting Echoes, North Star Town, Cherry Blossom Inn...aaaah! If you must insist that I pick out a flaw, though, the only one I can find at the moment is your tendency to begin sentences with "ing" verbs. Of course, considering that your stories are so action-packed, it really isn't a problem.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    Are any of your stories published? Are any posted here?
    None of my stories are legitimately published. I started posting my novel on FictionPress two years ago when I was in high school, but I stopped posting after chapter 8 even though I've written 13 chapters so far. All the posted chapters were first drafts, and I've since made many revisions. This little baby is currently the length of an average novel, but I'm only 25% done, and it's my dream to publish it one day. A number of people have read my Gao Jianli story, and a few close friends have read my other short story set in the Ming Dynasty. If you're interested in taking a peek at the first part of my Gao Jianli story, here's Burning Clouds.

    Also, two other wuxia translators and I are currently discussing potential publication of an English wuxia anthology. I'm planning to contribute about 25,000-30,000 words. Would you be interested in it, by any chance?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melanie View Post
    By the way, I'm curious.... Are you a Wallace Chung fan? How did you find your way to this story? Most of my readers are Wallace Chung fans.
    Haha, well all I had to do was look below the Wuxia Translations subforum and ta-da, there's your story! I watched all of Too Late to Say I Love You just over a year ago, and it was my first time seeing Wallace Chung. I must admit, my first impression of Wallace Chung (I don't mean this negatively at all) was that he resembled Barack Obama. I think his acting skills are first-rate. But he's all yours, because my physical ideal is Yuan Hong, haha.

    Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I love Agatha Christie's novels too! I looooved Anthony Browne in Sparkling Cyanide.
    Last edited by Xaari; 02-28-12 at 06:33 PM.

  20. #60
    Senior Member Melanie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    3,729

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by Xaari View Post
    Wow, it must've taken quite a while to change all those tenses! I don't think your chapters are too long. I devour words like food.
    I was actually in Las Vegas at a conference the past few days. I brought my laptop with me and edited the tense of my story at night after coming back to the hotel. It did take a long time, much longer than I had anticipated. But in the end, the story did sound better in the past tense. I had been meaning to change the tense of the story for a while now but just never found the time. I guess we have to make time for things we feel passionate about... I might tackle changing the tense of my other much longer story, but that one has about 80 chapters.

    Yes, I like reading wuxia in English, because there are as many limitations in the Chinese language as there are in English translations. For example, I find descriptors really lacking in Chinese stories. It's always he says, she says, not he snarled, she fumed. It also gets boring when descriptions of people's physical appearances in Chinese novels are limited to comparisons to weather or natural scenery. It's always the same face-like-a-flower, complexion-pure-as-jade. When writing historical/wuxia stories in English, I get to use a richer selection of vocabulary while still faithfully describing clothing, architecture, etiquette, etc. A few weeks ago, someone posted part 1 of my Gao Jianli story on Baidu Tieba, and at least two lovely girls attempted to translate it but failed. It was likely that they got stumped by the heavy descriptions and complex sentence structure. Also, Chinese authors get let off the scene transition hook so easily! All they do is add a simple scene break, and sometimes they don't even bother to do that. Meanwhile, in English novels, scene breaks are used sparingly and really aren't encouraged.
    This is very interesting, hearing you compare novels written in Chinese and those written in English. Since I've never read a Chinese novel before, I am unaware of all the limitations of writing in Chinese. I have always thought it would be an advantage writing wuxia in Chinese. Now, I'm feeling somewhat relieved that my attempt to write wuxia in English isn't a total laugh for readers.

    The two girls trying to translate your English story into Chinese are so adorable! I think it's a great compliment to you that people like your story enough to attempt to translate it into another language so that more people can enjoy it! For example, only some of the best and most popular wuxia stories in Chinese are translated into English by the spcnet members here. You don't see members clamoring to translate bad Chinese wuxia stories! Good for you, Xaari!

    Haha, no, I was only taught Chinese up to an elementary level, but I'm a fluent speaker and have become tolerably literate as a result of self-teaching. I'm not so good at writing in Chinese, and can probably write about 2,000 characters, but I love to write Chinese poetry.
    I wish I could speak Mandarin fluently... I'm struggling with the language right now because I want to watch Wallace Chung dramas. In fact, I learned my rudimentary Mandarin by watching his dramas, the first one being Ni Shui Han. If you speak Mandarin to me, you'll think I speak the language relatively well for the first one or two sentences. Any further conversation beyond that, you'll realize, "Hey, this woman doesn't know what she's talking about!"

    Oh, Chinese poetry! That's pretty cool! I can't even write a decent English poem, let alone a Chinese one. Care to share your Chinese poems? Of course, you'll have to translate them for me.

    I think only Dream of the Dragon Pool by Albert Dalia is classified as English-written wuxia fiction right now. I've only read the first couple of chapters, but I think it's more mythology than wuxia. There's also Jeannie Lin, who writes historical romances set in the Tang Dynasty that are sometimes inspired by wuxia. I've only previewed several chapters of her works, but the emphasis on romance really isn't my cup of tea. Finally, there's Cindy Pon, who writes YA fiction set in a China-based fantasy world. I've read both her books, Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix, and I feel like the content is so sexually charged that it's highly indecent for a YA audience. Her heroine is so invincible that I couldn't really enjoy the stories.
    I completely agree that stories (or dramas) revolving completely around romance are a tad boring after a while.

    You don't like mythology?

    What is YA fiction? Young adult fiction? Some of the English young adult fiction, like the Twilight series, are somewhat sexually charged. I haven't read any of them (and don't plan to), but after watching some of the movies, I assume there is sexual content in the novels from which the movies are based on.

    Anyway, since starting this prequel story, I keeping worrying that my content is too sexually charged. I don't think so, as I've read other novels with much more graphic scenes, but you never know what others think, right? I assume my audience is over 18 years of age, but I know some readers are turned off by sexually suggestive scenes. (So far, no one has run screaming from this story because of the kissing scenes.) People who have also read my other story (Legendary Book) will notice that the characters in the other story are not as openly physical as SCN. Those characters hug, peck each other on the cheeks, etc. There is no tongue-kissing or ripping of gowns. However, when I started penning SCN's character, I wanted him to be this alpha male, aggressive type. He is a bandit, after all. And what are bandits known for? Raping and pillaging. Plus, he leads a scary group of thieves and murderers. In order to prevent a mutiny from occurring, he needs to have a dominant personality and rule with an iron fist. So I cannot have him be a sedate, pacifist type who goes around giving Yan prim and proper pecks on the cheek. It would not fit in with his character. Anyway, I just hope SCN's tongue-kissing isn't going to scare readers away.

    Don't sweat! I love your writing! There are no glaring flaws at all! I guess the four issues I have with novels in general are:
    1) flat characterization
    2) predictable plot
    3) poor prose quality
    4) lack of appeal to the senses
    Your stories definitely don't fall under any of those categories! I loooove the names you give to places as well. Forest of Shifting Echoes, North Star Town, Cherry Blossom Inn...aaaah!
    Thanks! I actually think my plot is pretty predictable and my characters are pretty flat, but I've been told by many readers that I am too critical and finicky with myself.

    I like fanciful names. By the way, there will be a romantic scene explaining the origin of the name, "Forest of Shifting Echoes."

    If you must insist that I pick out a flaw, though, the only one I can find at the moment is your tendency to begin sentences with "ing" verbs. Of course, considering that your stories are so action-packed, it really isn't a problem.
    I'll keep that piece of advice about the "ing" verbs in mind when I write the next chapter.



    If you're interested in taking a peek at the first part of my Gao Jianli story, here's Burning Clouds.
    I just read the first few pages of your story! It's awesome! I don't know what other word to use for it. I'm usually very polite when I comment on other people's works, but rarely do I get excited about a story. Since we're on the topic of wuxia stories written in English, I would like to say that Burning Clouds definitely more than adequately conveys that "wuxia feel." Ah! I especially love your description of the zither playing! How long is this story? You should publish it and make some money!


    Also, two other wuxia translators and I are currently discussing potential publication of an English wuxia anthology. I'm planning to contribute about 25,000-30,000 words. Would you be interested in it, by any chance?
    An anthology of short stories? Thank you for asking! I'm very honored that you asked. Are the stories in the anthology going to be interrelated? It sounds like such fun! But I don't have any short stories. Plus, I'll be very honest here. I have a low opinion of my writing skills. I don't want to be the one bad apple in the barrel and ruin the anthology. If you and your friends are not afraid of my potential bad apple effect, then I'd be happy to consider the invitation depending on how much time I have.



    Haha, well all I had to do was look below the Wuxia Translations subforum and ta-da, there's your story! I watched all of Too Late to Say I Love You just over a year ago, and it was my first time seeing Wallace Chung. I must admit, my first impression of Wallace Chung (I don't mean this negatively at all) was that he resembled Barack Obama. I think his acting skills are first-rate. But he's all yours, because my physical ideal is Yuan Hong, haha.
    Actually, most members don't bother looking at the Fan Fiction forum. I think many are too busy to read. Even the ones who have time would rather watch dramas than read a story. So I'm surprised but glad you saw my story and decided to give it a try.

    Ahahahahaha! Wallace Chung resembles the President of the USA? I guess he's a lot tanner now... Ahahahaha! I wonder what Wallace Chung would think if he happens to see your comment by accident! Your comment is just as funny as another reader's recent comment, although your comment is about Wallace Chung the actor and the other reader's comment is about SCN the character. In fact, that reader's comment about SCN is so funny that I want to share it with you.

    From readers Black Rose and Mimi at winglin forum:

    Mimi: (referring to SCN and Yan's scene at the bottom of the cave in Chapter 6) Too bad nothing naughty happened between them in the privacy of the cave. :-) But I suppose it was too soon in the story.

    Black Rose: (in response to Mimi) Not true! Ha ha ha! Something naughty DID happen between Black Rose and Sit Chung Nam in that cave! Sit Chung Nam showed her his family jewels but she was just too polite to investigate!

    Yea, I choked when I read Black Rose's comment about SCN's "family jewels" in the nude scene.

    I used to be nuts about Yuan Hong, too! I thought he was so sexy in LOCH 08 and Young Warriors of the Yang Clan. However, my interest in him faded a bit after I saw his bare chest. He's pretty thin. Not that Wallace Chung is the most muscular guy out there, but I like his lean muscular body. I don't like grotesquely overly muscular men with the popping veins.

    Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I love Agatha Christie's novels too! I looooved Anthony Browne in Sparkling Cyanide.
    I saw a play the other day based on Christie's novel Ten Little Indians. I have not read that story before and loved the twist in the plot when I saw the play!

    I haven't read Sparkling Cyanide before. I'm going to look for it at the library or maybe they might have an e-book for loan! I used to have a lot more time to read, but now, I'm just too busy.

Similar Threads

  1. Poll: Ming Cult versus Sun Moon Cult
    By augster123 in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 125
    Last Post: 09-22-20, 12:47 PM
  2. Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay
    By Melanie in forum Fan Fictions
    Replies: 1254
    Last Post: 01-20-16, 11:44 PM
  3. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-14-10, 08:41 AM
  4. Sun Moon Sect and Hmong
    By PJ in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-12-08, 03:28 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •