CK 2: 0 Book 1 thoughts & CK 2
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Hi!

My thesis statement for Cultivating Karma book 1 (or at least part of it) ended up being incorrect. Female protagonists have it hard in the cultivation world unless they are backed by a large and powerful clan. Bai li yue going to the Sword river sect was the culmination of the test. In essence i was asking if my MC would be able to flourish in such a place and maintain her dignity. Some might say that the introduction of Meixiu and Shen duyi tilted the scale againt her drastically. 

She was bound to fail! 

Or maybe Bai li yue was not just the best kind of character that could go up against such odds and maintain her dignity. Now that I think about it, in hindsight of course; Bai li yue could have proved her worth to the sect. After all, she had inherited the legacy of an immortal (who is now a deity). If she displayed her power to others- the kind of people who respect strength and power, she might have been able to oppose Shen duyi. 

Instead she chose the non confrontational path of leaving the sect. And that led us inevitably to the end of book 1. 

All I can say in end is that Bai li yue is just a different kind of protagonist. Probably not the best suited for the Xianxia genre. Some readers ask me why she spends her time doing other things instead of cultivating and to that... i have no answers for you. I do understand where those questions are coming from. For most MCs, cultivation is a sprint, but i guess for her it's more of a marathon or triathlon. There are periods of progress followed by periods of inactivity and those periods have to be filled with some other things. Does it make sense? Bai li yue is odd and I guess I am writing a story about her and not a xianxia MC. I follow where the story/ she leads me. Remember that cultivation is not the end for her but the means to an end: to live a good, safe and happy (or contented) life by breaking her curse.

On the issue of romance:

I intentionally didn't add a romance tag because i didn't wish to raise the reader's hopes since that isn't happening any time soon. I want Bai li yue to stand on her on merit. And I honestly do dread the day he shows up in full glory as I have seen it happen where every action the MC takes is related somehow to the ML. It turns into a weird struggle that I don't want to deal with. So for those asking: it will happen later. Much much later.

 

Now that I mentioned the ML, (have we met him yet? hehehhe) I do have a funny story to share.

During the planning stage, I had intended for the unconscious Bai li yue to be saved from Shen duyi by a mysterious person (aka the ML). Only the reader will be aware that he was there. That first meeting would be followed by subsequent encounters, but I later scrapped that idea, since I didn't want her to become a typical damsel in distress. If he saves her once, he'd have to save her again and again. 

Mm what else? Another anecdote.

I was testing my ideas for the Sword river sect section of the story on a writing forum and most of the people who replied called Bai li yue a psychopath. 

According to them: her response was an overeaction when Shen duyi didn't even rape her. I had a hard time explaining to them that taking away her freedom and sealing her dantian was as much a violation to Bai li yue as anything else he could have done. She was powerless against the fake monk but in a way Shen duyi doing that to her is worse since she is now able to fight and protect herself. Moreover the fake monk never couched his motives with claims of love.

(Man! I have a lot to say about Shen duyi as a character but this might not be the right place for it. I hope his death was satisfying, since it was tough. That ending was a chore to write. Well, what matters is that he's gone and good riddance!)

I took some time off debating whether to continue with Book 2 of Cultivating Karma right away or to go on hiatus and work on some other novels in other cliché genres I wanted to try: a danmei novel set during an apocalypse and an interstellar novel. In the end, I just couldn't. Those 2 are at the beginning stages and I don't claim to be a pro novelist if anything i am a bad one (this is practice for me because I prefer writing scripts to anything else). While i fumble around creating apocalyptic and futuristic settings, the chapters of book 2 will just be gathering dust. 

So that's that! I want to at least finish book 2 before taking a break. That said my word is my bond. Book 2 begins.

We meet Bai li yue again a few years later after leaving the Sword river sect. She is doing well, but the tragic event has scarred her deeply. However, the cave that has been plunged in darkness for a thousand years needs only a single flame for it to be illuminated. We all know that life goes on and no one knows it better than Bai li yue. 

To those who have stuck with the book 2 far, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading, for commenting and basically for letting me know that somebody out there is reading what i write. To you all: Thank you again! Merci beaucoup aux lecteurs! Shukran katheeran! Arigato gozaimasu! Gracias! Danken! Medaase bebree! 

Please bear with me once more while we set off on another journey.

Madeingoldcoast/ Worldsinmymind

Book 2:

Well met, Xu Shirong!

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