Chapter 49
A weak plot can still be engaging if the characters are compelling enough. Audiences invest a lot of attention in characters. For example, in the previous round, if Breaking the Ice had lacked Lin Yaodongâs character, the story wouldâve lost at least half its brilliance.
Without Lin Yaodong, it mightâve even been mediocre. But because of how well his character was designed, the entire story was elevated!â
Shu Pingâs words made Yan Geling and Liu Heping nod in agreement. It was a precise, insightful analysis. This round was all about character-building!
Yan Geling smiled.
âIf I were writing, Iâd probably do a fish vendor version of The Flowers of War.â
The judges laughed.
âWhat about you, Liu Heping?â
Liu Heping pondered briefly before replying, âA profession shapes a personâs character. A personâs character shapes their destiny. And destiny is what forms the story.â
The room fell silent.
After a moment of contemplation, the judges all nodded in agreement.
âDamn, Liu Heping is truly on another level,â Yan Geling gave a thumbs-up.
Even Chen Sicheng had to admitâthis man, the unrivaled legend of the Chinese screenwriting industry had an understanding of storytelling that was simply unparalleled!
As the four judges finished their commentary, despite all the chatter and jokes in the live stream, one thing was clearâthis roundâs prompt was incredibly difficult!
Far more challenging than the last!
With such a steep difficulty curve, would the contestants crumble under pressure?
For a moment, everyoneâs attention returned to the live streams. A few minutes had passed since the competition started. Yet, Lu Chen remained in his lounge chair, motionless.
And his cigarette? Already lit againâŠ
In other contestantsâ streams, most had started drafting outlines, structuring plots, and developing characters. But Lu Chenâs longtime fans werenât surprised.
After all, he did the exact same thing in the last round. While others were writing, he was sitting in his room, smoking in the corner.
âLooks like this roundâs prompt has stumped Lu Chen too.â
Xiao Sa chuckled.
âJudges, why donât we check on the other contestants?â
âGood idea!â
The panel switched to âinspection modeâ.
âŠ
Meanwhile, inside his room,
Lu Chen remained seated, deep in thought.
Finding sitting too tiring, he simply lay down.
ăDamn, bro, why are you lying down?ă
ăRelax, standard procedure.ă
ăCould he be brewing up an insane story?ă
ăYeah right, heâs probably stuck.ă
âŠ
Lu Chen pondered for a long time. He realized he was still trapped by his previous methodâhow he structured Lin Yaodongâs story.
If he used the same approach for Gao Qiqiang, the repetition would be too strong. Even if the audience bought into the story. It wouldnât bring him maximum benefit!
So, how could he break through this dilemma?
How could he tell the same kind of story in a completely new way?
It was tough. His brain kicked into overdrive. He needed to analyze the differences between Breaking the Ice and The Knockout. Maybe, he could find a new approach within those differences.
Letâs start with Breaking the Ice.
At its core, it was a boss battle story. Bringing Lin Yaodong to justice was the central theme. When Lu Chen structured it, he mapped out Lin Yaodongâs entire growth path.
That method was actually better suited for Gao Qiqiang.
Why?
Because in Breaking the Ice, Lin Yaodongâs rise to power was revealed through fragmented dialogueânever explicitly shown. But Gao Qiqiangâs was different. The original drama fully displayed his transformation.
Audiences had already seen it. In fact, more than half of the show focused on Gao Qiqiangâs rise. It wasnât until the last ten or so episodes that the anti-crime action really kicked in.
The best parts of the storyâthe parts that gripped the audienceâwere in the first half. Which meantâŠ
He had already used the best method for Gao Qiqiang on Lin Yaodong instead.
A waste!
But Lu Chen didnât panic. He knew he would find a way. He just needed to keep thinkingâŠ
Compared to Breaking the Ice, The Knockout had far richer characters. It was a multi-protagonist ensemble drama. In Breaking the Ice, only a few characters stood outâLin Yaodong, Lin Zonghui⊠maybe Li Weimin. Zhao Jialiang? Meh.
Li Fei? Not even worth mentioning.
Cai Yongqiang and Ma Yunbo had their moments. That was about it.
But The Knockout?
It was overflowing with standout characters!
Forget just the Gao siblingsâ
Chen Shuting? Memorable.
Tang Xiaohu and Tang Xiaolong? Not bad.
Even the fish vendor Old Mo became a viral sensation!
Then there was the king of arroganceâLi Hongwei, who almost died over a frozen fish. His father, the reckless driver Li Youtian.
Xu Jiang.
And Xu Jiangâs hilarious underlingsâMad Donkey and Scarface. Everywhere they looked, there were iconic characters. So in short, The Knockoutâs strength was in its characters!
Which meant Breaking the Ice used plot to drive characters. The Knockout was the opposite!
It used characters to drive the plot!
Wait.
Characters driving the plot? Lu Chen repeated this phrase a few times. Since The Knockout relied on its characters to tell the storyâŠ
Then the characters were the key breakthrough point!
What if Instead of structuring the story traditionally, I let the characters tell it themselves?
That thought hit him like lightning.
BOOM.
Something clicked in Lu Chenâs mind. As if a single flash of light pierced through the darkness of his thoughts. In the next instant, he shot up from the lounge chair!
The sudden movement startled the live stream viewers.
What the hell just happened?
âŠ
But what they saw next was the look of pure enlightenment on Lu Chenâs face.
Thatâs it! I donât have to use the same broad overview technique I used for Lin Yaodong!
Instead, I can use a far more immersive method!
A method that puts the audience right in the charactersâ shoes!
And that method⊠is direct interaction!
I will step into their world, walk through their stories!
Then, Iâll weave those stories together!
Lu Chen couldnât sit still anymore. He started pacing around the room, thoughts racing.
But how do I interact with them?
Simple. Iâll have conversations with them!
Iâll pull them from my mindâturn them into independent individuals.
Then, Iâll talk to them face-to-face.
Iâll ask them questions, listen to their perspectives.
Maybe itâll look crazy to outsiders, but thatâs what screenwriting is!
Every writer, when crafting characters, detaches from themselves.
They step into their charactersâ shoes.
They think like them, act like them.
Just like Liu Heping once said about writing The Ming Dynasty 1566.
When he wrote Hai Rui, he became Hai Rui.
When he wrote Jiajing, he became Jiajing.
When he wrote Yan Song, he became Yan Song.
And he made them talk to each other.
I can do the same!
I will talk to Gao Qiqiang.
I will talk to An Xin.
I will talk to Chen Shuting.
I will talk to Gao Qisheng, Gao Qilan.
I will talk to all of them.
Tonight, I am not the creatorâI am the audience, the listener, the recorder.
At that moment, Lu Chenâs mind completely cleared.
A new creative modelâFinally, he had found it!