Chapter 22

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

During the day, Fang Yuan was dragged into Sakazaka Rion’s room to write “The Lost Tomb”.

At night, he was dragged back to his room by Sherry Young to write “Candle in the Tomb”.

As time passed, Fang Yuan finished the first volume of these two works.

The Fall Cup was coming to an end. On the eve of the final selection, a dinner party was held at the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.

Many authors were unable to complete a novel with more than 100,000 words within the stipulated time.

Thus, they had already left the competition venue.

As a result, there were much fewer participants compared to the beginning.

The authors who had finished their manuscript had already printed it out in the font and font size stipulated by the competition inspectors.

The manuscripts were then handed over to the judges.

Every author at the dinner party was happy.

Regardless of the final result, whether they won or not, they had at least finished a 100,000-word novel in half a month.

Finishing a novel brought great pleasure for any writer.

It meant that they could have some downtime before they started the next book.

At the reception, the authors socialized with each other and clinked their wine glasses. They celebrated with each other for having completed the toughest part of the Fall Cup.

This was also the purpose of this workshop.

Most writers were solitary creatures. They usually stayed in their study and would not go out much, so naturally, they did not socialize often and only had a small circle of peers.

This dinner party was a good opportunity to get to know more peers.

Therefore, many writers kept coming over to Fang Yuan and clinked glasses with him.

Everyone’s seats were arranged randomly. Two American male authors sat on both sides of Fang Yuan.

The man on the left was in his early thirties and had a crew cut. He spoke in a muffled voice and looked like a geek.

The man on the right was wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looked like an old-school gentleman who was a few years older than Fang Yuan.

Both of them looked very refined.

When everyone broke the ice and introduced themselves. The two men next to Fang Yuan immediately piqued their interest when they knew of Fang Yuan’s identity.

The geek’s eyes lit up. “Are you that Fang Yuan? The author of ‘The Coiling Dragon’? I’ve read your novel and think that it’s amazing! It’s also very new. Nowadays, American fantasy novels are all about some epic fantasy. It seems that whoever has a grand narrative will get more validation in the literary world. Very few authors actually pay attention to the growth of ordinary characters, so your angle is quite unique.”

The old-school gentleman sighed slightly. “Are you talking about ‘The Coiling Dragon’? It’s extraordinary! I stayed up all night reading it, and after I finished, I felt a little depressed for a few days. I was down because the book ended and felt a little lost. From a fellow author’s perspective, I was truly depressed because I know I can’t match up to you! Fang Yuan, you’re literally sent from the heavens. It’s only your first book yet you had already gotten Tolkien’s praise. I’m serious, we can never compare to you. After reading your book, I’m planning to change my genre. Just like Stephen, I’ll try to get into horror.”

The old-fashioned gentleman pointed at the geek, who nodded and said, “Yes, indeed. Recently, Neil felt pretty beaten up by you, Fang Yuan. He almost gave up writing! That’s why I persuaded him to come to the Fall Cup Workshop. At the very least, he should write something first so that he can gain some self-confidence and experience. A writer’s profession is very much like an athlete’s. We can’t stop training our minds! If we don’t write for three days, the pen will feel unfamiliar to us. After a long time, writing will feel foreign. This is a fatal blow to any author. Things that haven’t been created cannot be judged. Even if we can’t write well, it’s necessary to maintain this habit of writing. After all, practice makes perfect, right?”

The geek and the old-school gentleman chatted non-stop with Fang Yuan.

The topic between authors naturally revolved around writing.

However, compared to Fang Yuan, who had already made a name for himself, the two of them did not have any outstanding works at the moment, so it felt like they were just consoling themselves.

However, as long as they were brave enough to chase after their dreams, they would achieve it.

Fang Yuan also said a few encouraging words.

He then asked casually, “Speaking of which, I haven’t asked for your names yet. How should I address you?”

The geek pointed at himself and said, “My name is Stephen King. Mr. Fang Yuan, you can call me Stephen. Anyway, I’ve already set a path for myself and hope to be the best author in the horror genre. I’d love to get any advice from you if you don’t mind.”

“As for this sad young man…”

Stephen King pointed at the old-school gentleman beside him and said, “He’s Neil Gaiman, so you can call him Neil. He used to write a lot of fantasy novels, but the results weren’t great. Recently, I’ve been advising him to try out horror novels.”

Seeing Fang Yuan’s gaze, Stephen King immediately added, “You may not have heard of us, but we’ll certainly make a name for ourselves in the literary world!”

Stephen King?

Neil Gaiman?

Of course, Fang Yuan had heard of them!

In his previous life, Stephen King was the undisputed King of American horror novels!

Neil Gaiman was not inferior either. He was one of the top fantasy authors. His novel, “American Gods”, shocked the literary world.

His works won the Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, Orbit Awards, and many others.

In this world, they were still at the bottom of the bunch?

Thinking about it, that seemed reasonable because only a few gained fame with just one book.

Countless literary idols who were looked up to by people in later generations all had a period of struggle.

“The two of you must persevere,” Fang Yuan said seriously, “Stephen, your work will definitely shine in the world of horror novels. As for you, Neil, I suggest you keep on writing fantasy novels. One day, you’ll surely have a breakthrough.”

Fang Yuan, as the author of “The Coiling Dragon”, said his words of encouragement to the two “new” authors.

There was no doubt that they did feel encouraged.

Stephen King said, “Thank you, Fang Yuan. Thanks for saying that.”

Neil Gaiman held back his tears. He had worked too hard on this path for too long, but he had repeatedly hit a wall. He had reached the point where he could no longer support himself. However, his favorite author just told him that he would see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Neil was even in disbelief. “Really…Really?”

Fang Yuan patted his shoulder. “It’s nothing surprising. You just need a few more twists and turns.”

[ Ding! Your reputation in Neil Gaiman’s heart has reached ‘Reverence Level’. ]

[ In the future, reputation points earned by Neil Gaiman’s works will be counted to the host by a certain percentage. ]