Chapter 24: Are You Crazy? Writing Such a Complex Plot Live!
âItâs got that crime-drama vibe!â
At the headquarters of Aiqiyi Entertainment, CEO Gong Yu had already gathered the top executives to watch this grand event that only happens once every four years.
As one of the fastest-growing platforms in the entertainment industry, Aiqiyi has always prioritized high-quality storytelling.
Moreover, during its development, the company had indeed reaped the benefits of this competition, producing several successful works inspired by the âScriptwriting Contestâ.
The returns on those projects had been remarkable. The only exception was the previous contest, which had been underwhelming overall and had caused the company its first loss. But this didnât mean Gong Yu was giving up on the competition.
It simply meant that they were being more cautious with their selections this year! Right now, Luo Chenâs story was leading with a landslide in popularity among the 64 contestants. Naturally, Gong Yu was taking it seriously!
The same thoughts ran through the minds of executives at Youku, Huanyu, Xinli, and other companies.
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Inside a room, Luo Chen walked over to the coffee table, picked up a cigarette, and lit it. Now, he had already introduced Li Weimin and the protagonist, Li Fei. The next step was Zhao Jialiangâs storyline.
Once Zhao Jialiangâs arc was developed, the overall framework of The Breaking the Ice would be complete.
As for other important characters like Ma Yunbo and Cai Yongqiang, they didnât need separate arcs but could be woven into the narrative during specific plot points.
Zhao Jialiang was crucial not just because of his unique relationship with Li Fei and Li Weimin, but also because he was another dagger pointed at Tazhai!
As an informant for the police, Zhao Jialiang was indispensable to dismantling Tazhai. Without him, Li Weimin couldnât gradually uncover the truth,
let alone reel in Lin Yaodong, the big fish.
Therefore⊠designing Zhao Jialiangâs character was critical for Luo Chen!
Looking at the entire plot of The Breaking the Ice, it actually revolved around four key charactersâLin Yaodong, Li Weimin, Li Fei, and Zhao Jialiang.
So, Next, Luo Chen needed to focus on introducing Zhao Jialiang!
As for how to introduce him⊠Luo Chen already had a plan!
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He scribbled the following on the whiteboard.
[The current situation is that Tazhai is impenetrable like a steel fortress. On Li Weiminâs side, even with the backing of the government, there are infiltrators and protectors working as shields, which puts him at a significant disadvantage overall.
He operates in the light, while Lin Yaodong hides in the shadows. So, how can I strengthen Li Weiminâs position and turn the tide? Thatâs what I need to focus on!
Since Lin Yaodong is in the shadows, could I also give Li Weimin a covert line of support to counter Lin Yaodong?
For instance, let Li Weimin have an informant? Someone working in secret against Lin Yaodong! Thatâs one direction to explore!
However, planting an informant within Tazhai is unrealistic, because Lin Yaodong wouldnât be foolish enough to let a spy stay close to him. Moreover, it wouldnât fit with the heavily clan-centric cultural setting of Tazhai. So, the idea of an internal informant is not feasible.
What about from the outside? Lin Yaodong has drug-trafficking routes, selling drugs worldwide.
This is an area where I can make a big move! I could create a storyline where this informant opposes Haoyu Group and ultimately impacts Tazhai!
But how should I design this informantâs identity?
There are three common design options.
The informant is a police officer who has been monitoring the Haoyu Groupâs activities for a long time.
The informant is a turned drug dealer who provides intelligence to Li Weimin.
The informant knows Li Weimin and has a certain purpose, determined to dismantle the drug network.
Since this informant must later return to Dongshan City to investigate Tazhai and become one of the key breakthroughs, thereâs a major flaw in making the informant a drug dealer.
Drug dealers are driven by profit and cannot fully cooperate or follow instructions. They might even betray Li Weimin in the end. Thus, this option is ruled out. I donât want any risks concerning loyalty on this line!
That leaves the first and third designs as viable options.
If the informant is a police officer, loyalty isnât an issue! However, considering that this informant is going up against the Haoyu Group, they must have significant power, which might even raise concerns of blackmail or corruption. Designing them as a police officer could harm the image of the police, so itâs not ideal!
On the other hand, if the informant is an ordinary person, these concerns are eliminated, as we wouldnât need to worry about tarnishing the image of the police.
But another question arisesâWhat kind of motivation would drive an ordinary person to risk their life to dismantle Tazhai?
A common approach is to give this character a strong belief or personal reason, such as their family being killed by drug dealers, driving them to seek revenge. This makes their pursuit of drug dealers reasonable and logical.
However, there are two paths here.
Option 1: The informant doesnât know who killed their family and continuously investigates until they discover it was Tazhai.
Option 2: The informant knows itâs Tazhai from the start. However, this design lacks suspense.
Comparing the two, I believe Option 1 is more effective! It also better connects to Li Weiminâs storyline.].
As Lu Chen wrote all this in one go, the live stream viewers were stunned.
[Viewer Comments].
[Oh my god, just reading this is frying my brain. How does Lu Chen even think of all this?].
[Every step of this deduction is beyond my expectations but still makes perfect sense!].
[Respect. This is what professional screenwriting looks like. No wonder heâs ranked first in the division!].
[This level of deduction is insane. Not just this seasonâthis would stand out even in the first season!].
[Iâm rooting for Lu Chen to win the championship!].
[If heâs creating this level of story in the Top 32, what will he bring to the Top 16, Top 8, and Top 4?].
[Donât get too optimistic. Heâs set up such a big plot. If he canât deliver, itâll be embarrassing.].
[Exactly. Honestly, Iâm not confident in this. The design is too complicated.].
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In the judgesâ room, seeing Lu Chenâs design made Liu Heping and the others visibly concerned.
âIsnât this plot a bit too ambitious?â Yan Geling muttered.
Shu Ping nodded.
âMost contestants are just writing simple stories, but this kid is designing a script like itâs a full-fledged production. Heâs so dedicated!â
Although Liu Heping didnât say anything, his furrowed brows showed his concern. As Shu Ping mentioned, Lu Chenâs story was indeed too ambitious. If the main storyline about Lin Yaodong wasnât about drug trafficking, his growth arc alone could already be a complete story meeting the programâs requirements.
But unfortunately, it is a drug-trafficking story, and it wonât pass censorship. Now, he has to redesign the drug-busting storyline, a challenge even Liu Heping found daunting.
Lu Chen, aware of the risks, was still charging aheadâstraight into the fire. But concerns aside, Liu Heping couldnât help but admire Lu Chenâs courage.
If all young screenwriters held themselves to Lu Chenâs standards, the future of Longguoâs film and television industry would be unstoppable!
Meanwhile, Chen Sicheng, sitting nearby, seemed to have switched roles with the others. Earlier, heâd been skeptical and resistant, but now he looked calm and smug, his smile growing wider.
Heh, so this is how youâre writing it?
Now Iâm really not worried!
With so many intertwined storylines and charactersâŠ
Does Lu Chen think heâs some kind of screenwriting god?
Even if you gave this plot to Liu Heping, he couldnât write a good story in just three hours.
Let alone Lu Chen.
This oneâs in the bag! No question about it!
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Inside the room, having successfully introduced the characters Li Weimin, Li Fei, and Zhao Jialiang, Lu Chenâs next task was to deduce the relationships between them.
He wrote the three names (as codenames) on a whiteboard.
Li Weimin
A Certain Person (A)
The Informant
Then he added.
âWhat kind of relationships can they have?â
âHow can these relationships be crafted to better fit the anti-drug theme?â
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At this point, countless viewers were convinced.
No way, dude!
Itâs not that we donât believe in your skillsâŠ
But with so many complex character designsâcan you really pull this off?