[Personal Development] Encounters with masterpieces begin with the opening sentence. I created a web service where you can read only the opening lines of great writers.
Hello, I am Mamoru Memeto.
Yesterday, my son had his preschool graduation ceremony.
He had to leave school early the day before the ceremony due to unexpected vomiting. When I took him to the hospital, it was touch-and-go whether he would need to be hospitalized.
Fortunately, the blood test results did not require immediate hospitalization, and after receiving an IV drip, he recovered and was able to attend the graduation ceremony safely.
When he got the injection, my wife and I were kicked out of the room.
We could only crouch down together outside the door, listening to his cries of "I don't want to, it hurts."
The lingering effect was so strong that on the day of the graduation, rather than being moved, I was filled with tension hoping it would end safely, and I had no room to shed any tears (laughs).
I found myself overlapping this series of events with my own situation a little bit.
I am graduating from my current company at the end of this March. I just finished my final industrial physician interview, and this will be the end of my opportunities to talk with people from the company.
My son, who vomited, went to the hospital, received an IV drip, recovered, and attended his graduation. His small back looked somewhat like my own, as I took a leave of absence, recovered, and chose the path of entrepreneurship instead of returning to work.
Because it is such a turning point,
please let me write this note from a slightly different angle than usual.
I created a literary web service that I truly wanted,
and released it for free.
As someone who isn't earning money, do I have anything to offer?
Once again, thank you so much for always reading my work.
When you keep writing notes, it's human nature, I suppose, to get a little greedy.
Like, "information that is more useful to everyone" or "
I want to try writing articles that are called 'premium quality'".
However, my hands stopped in front of the edit screen.
Do I really have anything I can offer as 'premium quality' right now?
The content that the world calls 'premium quality' is generally like this.
Either a track record of "this is how I earned money" or highly reproducible know-how saying "
if you do it this way, you will succeed".
In contrast, what about me now?
At 40, I stepped away from the company I had worked at for many years and am currently on a career break.
With less than two weeks left until I graduate, and since I will be receiving injury and sickness benefits until I fully recover, I am not allowed to earn even a single yen.
Recently, I have been repeatedly rejected from new writer awards for novels.
In terms of writing, I have no glorious success stories,
nor do I have any magical know-how to make others money in my hand.
Does a person who cannot earn money have no value to offer?
After thinking about this while continuing to write for the past two months, I reached a conclusion.
My own definition of 'premium quality'.
It is not about talking about know-how that can make money,
“but creating a state where the reader, after finishing, has changed something in their actions or perspective.
” That is what I have come to realize.
For example, with this article, it would be that after reading it,
you might think, 'Come to think of it, I might have something I can pass on to someone else.'
Or, by opening the web service I am introducing today,
you might feel glad that you encountered the opening line of a great writer.
Yes, that is enough.
Creating a moment that changes from 'I'm glad I read this'I'm glad I read this to 'I did something'.I did something That is one condition for what I consider to be premium quality.
If I cannot talk about success stories, I will create what I 'truly want' right now and have people use it as is.
Until I start my business next January, I will release it completely free of charge without any advertisements.
That is the honest way I can offer it right now.
The author's soul dwells in the opening line
Even if you have never written a novel,
you might have heard words like these.
“A writer puts everything into the opening line”
“The opening sentence determines the fate of the novel”
At first, I wondered, 'Is that really true?'
But as I continued to face my manuscript for new writer awards,
I learned firsthand that it is painfully true.
I have to take the reader into that world with just one opening sentence.
The agony of that creation was beyond my imagination.
For example, Osamu Dazai begins 'Run, Melos!' like this.
“Melos was furious.”
Just a few characters. But the moment we read this one sentence, we are already inside the body heat of a man named Melos. This is the power of an opening line.
I couldn't find it, so I made it myself.
That is precisely why there was something I desperately wanted.
It is a web service where you can endlessly read only the "openings of masterpieces"
that our predecessors spun with heart-wrenching effort.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Natsume Soseki.
A place to encounter the opening lines that great writers poured their lives into creating,
and to use them as references for your own work.
Since I couldn't find one even after looking,
I borrowed the power of my "ultimate partner" named AI
and built it for myself.
The result is a web service called "Opening Collection Hall".
Leveraging my career of over 15 years of working with web services,
I focused entirely on an "experience that allows you to immerse yourself in words."
On a smartphone, just by swiping up and down,
you can encounter the openings of great writers one after another, from pure literature to mystery novels.
If you find a line that moves your heart,
press the heart icon to save it to your "bookshelf."
That is all there is to it.
Because I wanted to use it myself, I thoroughly eliminated complex menus.
[Operating Environment]
iPhone / iPad: Safari (recommended),
Chrome Android: Chrome (recommended)
PC: Chrome / Safari / Edge (latest version)
* Internet Explorer is not supported.
* On PWA-compatible browsers, you can add it to your home screen and use it as an app.
For those struggling with creation,
and for those who just want to encounter good words during their commute.
The barrier to entry is low, but the density of words is high.
I aimed for such a place.
What I can do, precisely because these are restrictive times
I am still nobody.
I cannot talk about how to make money.
However, at least until I start my business next January,
I want to be a giver.
That is why, for now, I can release this service, which I created because I genuinely wanted it, completely free of charge without reservation.
If I could even slightly push the back of someone struggling with the opening of their creation,
or someone who just wants to encounter beautiful words.
That is the most honest, "premium-quality" answer I have arrived at in my current situation of limited freedom.
If you are interested, I hope to write about the behind-the-scenes of this web service and how I built it with AI someday.
I would be happy if you could continue to watch over my progress.
#StartedWithAI
#Gemini