Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 290 Prince Ma's Positioning (asking for monthly tickets)

Soon, Zhang Chao, Xu Ruiya and Ma Boyong were the only ones left in the office.

Zhang Chao got straight to the point and said, "I'm going to the United States in about two weeks to promote the second season of The Great Doctor. You two should come with me."

Ma Bo asked suspiciously, "Why the two of us?"

Zhang Chao said: "I brought Rheya with me because I may have a more important occasion this time and need to make a professional literary presentation. I am good at daily conversation in English, but my professional vocabulary is far from enough, so I need a translator.

I brought you along because I wanted you to visit Hollywood and have some exchanges with Hollywood screenwriters. You are the one whose work style is most suitable for series development in Tidal Culture. "

As Zhang Chao spoke, he recalled the grand occasion when the original novels of hit TV series were released one after another after Prince Ma's skills became great. He can be said to be the best "storyteller" among the young generation of writers.

It’s not that there haven’t been hit dramas among online novel adaptations, but their time has not yet arrived. Today’s directors and screenwriters look at works that often start at a million words and feel like “a rat pulling a tortoise, not knowing where to start.”

Ma Boyong is different. Since 2005, he has become a relatively mature "story-type" writer with a very complete writing logic and core support. As long as Zhang Chao gives him a little more inspiration, it will not be a problem for him to write "The Antique Bureau" and "The Longest Day in Chang'an" in advance.

Taking him to Hollywood is to let him get close to the Hollywood film industry, especially to gain some knowledge about the production of American TV series.

Xu Ruiya was very happy. She hadn't been back to the United States for a long time. This time she could go back home, so she agreed and asked, "I also need to prepare professional vocabulary in advance. What are you going to talk about?"

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, "First, translate a few chapters of The Inheritance, the Booker Prize-winning work from last year, for me to see. There is no Chinese version in China yet. Pick out some of the more important ones. You don't need to translate them too finely, just a rough outline will do. Send me some of them as you translate them.

In terms of professional vocabulary... look up more literary reviews about this work, as well as relevant content about national literature. "

Ma Boyong was a little hesitant. He looked at Xu Ruiya first, then at Zhang Chao, and asked, "Do you want me to become a screenwriter?"

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "If you are willing, that's great. But the main reason I asked you to go to Hollywood this time is because I think you need to get in touch with the world's most mature system for turning 'stories' into film and television dramas, and understand how they operate."

Ma Boyong was a little surprised. He didn't expect Zhang Chao to have such high expectations of him. But this was always a good thing, so he agreed. However, he still seemed a little hesitant, but he didn't want to bring it up directly in front of Xu Ruiya.

Zhang Chao also saw it, but since Ma Boyong was unwilling to say it, it was inconvenient for him to point it out now. Instead, he reminded him: "Make an appointment for your visa online tonight, so as not to be late by then."

Xu Ruiya is still an American citizen, so it is very convenient for her to go back; Ma Boyong studied in New Zealand before, so it is not difficult for him to get a visa. If everything goes well, the three of them can fly to the United States on the same flight.

Now that the discussion is over, it’s time to go downstairs to the hot pot restaurant. This is a traditional copper pot hot pot restaurant and a frequent gathering place for “Tide Culture”.

In early April in Yanjing, the daytime was already warm, but the temperature at night was still in the single digits. It was great to eat some mutton in the chilly spring weather.

At this time, Huang Jiefu and others had found a large table. The shaved mutton rolls were placed in a circle, and a sesame cake was placed in front of each person. When they were broken open, they were steaming hot, and it was obvious that they had just come out of the oven.

As soon as Zhang Chao, Ma Boyong and Xu Ruiya sat down, the soup in the copper pot began to boil.

In the rising steam, Zhang Chao looked at the people laughing and chatting in front of him, and his heart was filled with emotion. Three years ago, when "Chaotide Culture" was just established, he did not expect it to grow to its current scale.

I never imagined that I would have to leave "Tide Culture" one day - of course, it wasn't the case that the founder was forced to leave.

In a trance, Zhang Chao seemed to see himself traveling thousands of miles to study in Yanjing with only more than 100 million royalties...

The next day, Zhang Chao had just gotten up when he saw a text message from Ma Boyong on his phone, asking him if he was free and wanted to talk to him alone.

This was within Zhang Chao's expectations. He quickly replied and asked Ma Boshuang to come to Chaoyang Park so that the two of them could chat while taking a walk.

Zhang Chao simply cooked himself some noodles and fried an egg for breakfast. Then he put on some casual clothes and a pair of sneakers and went for a stroll in the Chaoyang Park next door.

It was 9 o'clock on Saturday morning, and there were many people doing morning exercises in the park, and Zhang Chao couldn't help but join in. However, after running two or three kilometers, he received a call from Ma Boyong, saying that he had arrived at the park.

The two made an appointment to meet at the "Ecological Water Stream" in the park, which is a naturally formed valley between the hills, planted with Metasequoia and weeping willows. There are also wooden piers and pavilions built on the water, and the environment is very good.

When Zhang Chao walked to the entrance of the "Ecological Stream", he saw Ma Boyong already waiting there.

After greeting each other, the two walked along the shore, chatting.

Ma Boyong didn't hesitate to ask directly, "Is there something wrong with my creation?"

Zhang Chao smiled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Ma Boyong said: "I don't think you let me go to Hollywood just to broaden my horizons. Even if I were to learn to be a screenwriter, wouldn't Qin Wen and her classmates be in the team? No matter how much I learn, it's unlikely that I'll be better than those who graduated from professional schools.

I have some self-awareness. Li Bihua's novels are so good, but the script of Farewell My Concubine was finally finalized by Lu Wei. So, I was wondering if there was something wrong with my creation, and you wanted to wake me up in this way. "

Zhang Chao thought about it and did not directly answer Ma Boyong's question. Instead, he said, "Old Ma, you know, you were once my 'idol'."

Ma Boyong looked at Zhang Chao with a bit of surprise, and then said, "It was during the literature forum, right? The golden lion flag, under the banyan tree, at the end of the world."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "I regarded "The Cruel Nature of Class Struggle from Doraemon" and "The History of the Shang Fleet's Conquest of the Maya" as masterpieces back then...Now these forums are declining, and I see that you rarely go there."

Ma Boyong is five years older than Zhang Chao. He was in his early 5s when he wrote these works, and Zhang Chao was only 20 or 15 years old at that time, far from being the world-famous young writer he is today. So it was normal for Zhang Chao to admire Ma Boyong at that time.

Compared with Han Han and Xiao Si of the same age, the literary quality of Ma Boyong's works is much higher.

Ma Boyong smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Nowadays, I have to read dozens of essays and novels at least, and hundreds at most. In addition, I have to write my own articles, so I really don't have time to hang out on forums."

Zhang Chao said: "Your literary taste, appreciation level and creative ability can actually support you to be a pure literary writer, but you just resist writing in that way. Am I right?"

Ma Boyong looked at Zhang Chao in astonishment, wondering why he could see this.

From making a name for himself on forums to publishing two best-selling novels in recent years, "The Wind Rises in Longxi" and "She Died on QQ", almost everyone regards him as a popular novelist with the potential to become a best-selling book mass-producer.

Recently he is writing a fantasy novel "Notes from the Pen Tomb". Zhang Chao has already read some chapters and also loves it very much.

This has nothing to do with "pure literature" anyway. Even Ma Boyong himself has never thought about this.

However, Zhang Chao hit the nail on the head, causing Ma Boyong's heart, a "pure literature" writer that had been dead for a long time, to start beating again beneath his playful and humorous surface.

In the original time and space, Ma Boyong once participated in a writing competition called "Anonymous Writer Project" in 2018. He submitted his works in an "anonymous" manner to equally "anonymous" judges, who then decided the final prize.

Participants in the "Anonymous Writers Project" include both talented newcomers who have made their mark in the literary world (such as Zheng Zhi) and veteran writers who have been famous for decades (such as Yan Lianke).

All participating writers have brought out their best talents. The "double anonymity" is like the "double-blind" test in the medical field. It eliminates almost all subjective factors of human nature and avoids the trick of "flattering".

The result was quite "cruel". Chen Xue, who was born in the 50s, Luo Yijun, who was born in the 60s, and Qi Jinnian, who was born in the 80s, all failed to make it to the first round. Young and talented people like Lu Nei and Di An were only shortlisted for the long list and did not make the short list for the final selection.

Ma Boyong made it to the final round with his essay "Bu Mawei" along with Yan Lianke and others. Although he did not win the grand prize, he also demonstrated his solid foundation in pure literary creation.

"Bu Mawei" is a departure from his previous style of concise narration and rich details. It presents a kind of delicacy, poetry and rhythm that are almost unique to female writers, which makes people never expect it to be his work.

Ma Boyong was silent for a while before he said, "Compared to showing the purity of literature, I prefer to tell the story in an interesting way."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "That's right. An interesting story is first of all a powerful motivation for story writers. The advantages of your previous works are basically in the 'mix and match' and 'dislocation'. Including the dislocation of style and content, the dislocation of history and imagination, the dislocation of small people and major events... This kind of dislocation can create a very amazing reading experience, and people who like it will like it very much.

Oh, and your attention to historical detail is fascinating.”

Ma Boyong smiled and said, "This is purely a personal preference. I really like to get to the bottom of some details. - No, you are 'praising before criticizing'. You first praise my strengths, and then the weaknesses, right?"

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "It can't really be considered a 'disadvantage'. You're not writing a long novel like online literature, and the length of traditional publications is always limited. If you want to present too many dislocations and details, and put in too many 'stalks', it will definitely take up space for other content."

Ma Boyong hesitated and said, "What are you talking about...?"

Zhang Chao said: "I mean characters. The characters in your works, from motivation to image, are too thin. They lack inner drive and complexity."

Ma Boyong fell silent for a long time before he said with a self-deprecating smile: "Go on."

Zhang Chao then continued, "In fact, I have read almost all of your works, but I didn't feel this way before. It was later that I saw discussions about your works on many forums and discovered a problem -

Everyone is praising you for your 'big imagination', 'serious nonsense', 'humor', 'lots of jokes'...but almost no one is discussing the characters in your novels. "

Ma Boyong was a little surprised. He didn't expect Zhang Chao to approach the topic from this angle.

Zhang Chao glanced at him and continued, "Look at the years when we were on the forum, we talked about the novels of Jin Yong, Gu Long, Huang Yi, Tanaka Yoshiki... What did we discuss the most? It was precisely the characters!
In Jin Yong's novels, we would argue about who is better at martial arts between Guo Jing and Qiao Feng, whether Yang Guo loves Xiaolongnu or Guo Fu, why junior sister Yue Lingshan fell in love with Lin Pingzhi, which of Wei Xiaobao's seven wives is most likely to leave him, and whether Hu Fei finally chopped down the target with his sword... and build hundreds of floors.

am I right? "

Ma Boyong nodded his agreement without even thinking about it, and added: "As for Gu Long, we can discuss who is smarter between Chu Liuxiang and Lu Xiaofeng, and who has better swordsmanship between Ximen Chuxue and Ye Gucheng;

Huang Yi explained why Kou Zhong surrendered to Li Shimin; not to mention Tanaka Yoshiki. If Yang Wei-li had not died so early, the question of who would win between him and Reinhardt would be an eternal topic.

so……"

Zhang Chao hummed, and said, "You've also discovered it, right? From the perspective of popular novels, the 'interesting story' that everyone cares about is not just the 'environment' - that is, the historical details that you love - interesting; nor is it just the 'plot' - that is, the 'imagination' and 'dislocation' - interesting;
It also requires interesting characters. You should be aware of the fact that there are so few discussions about the characters in your work on the forum. ”

Ma Boyong fell silent again, but this time he quickly said, "Just tell me, what's the problem with my character creation?"

Zhang Chao did not hold back this time and said directly: "The 'good guys' in your novels always look like a different gender and a different version of yourself wearing different clothes; the 'bad guys' in your novels are neither extremely bad nor complex, and they also look like the bad guys you play yourself."

Ma Boyong looked at Zhang Chao deeply, sighed, and said, "I thought others couldn't see it..."

Zhang Chao said: "If I hadn't had so much contact with you, I might not have been able to tell."

Ma Boyong said: "It may be related to my life experience. My life has been too dull. My family environment is good, and my study path is also smooth. I haven't encountered any special difficulties after going abroad..."

Zhang Chao said: "So you always feel alienated from the real world."

Ma Boyong did not deny it, but said: "This may be because I feel that reality is not 'interesting' enough, and it is only in literature, history, animation, games... these stories experienced or created by others that life is more interesting."

Zhang Chao said: "So the characters you write about lack change. The characters in Jin Yong's works always have moments of confusion, even chaos and madness. The process of finding oneself and recognizing oneself is closely linked to the process of adventure.

The characters in your works, especially the protagonist, are too rational and kind. They are always driven by the same motive and make different decisions with similar attitudes.

Although you try your best to write about the character's growth, this growth is often one-dimensional and linear, a process in which the "advantages" are constantly strengthened and increased, and the disadvantages are constantly reduced.

People in the real world are often not like this! Because you are separated from the real world, your characters are also separated from the times they live in.

No matter how interesting you make them, in the end it’s still you in the character’s costume.”

Ma Boyong thought for a long time after hearing this, and after a fierce struggle in his heart, he said: "My parents are both airport engineers, and when I was a child, it was the peak period of domestic airport construction.

They were building airports everywhere, and I moved with them. I couldn't stay in any place for long, so naturally I couldn't build stable friendships.

All I had were a few boxes of books - even "Jin Ping Mei". Haha, my parents never cared about me when it came to reading.

So since I was a child, I have been used to making friends with books rather than people. I always imagine myself as a character in a book, but I am more resistant to playing a certain role in a friendship. "

Zhang Chao said: "It's a pity that no matter how vivid the characters in the book are, they can never replace the observation of people in reality. I said yesterday that your book has the most potential for dramatization.

If a TV series wants to attract people, the charm of the characters must even outweigh the plot. Although Qin Wen and his colleagues are very capable in writing, it is difficult for the screenwriters to create charming characters out of thin air if you don’t give them a handle.”

Ma Boyong finally felt relieved and said, "So I'm going to Hollywood to learn how to magnify the charm of a character, or to add depth to a character."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes. If you write slowly, you will definitely be able to break through this layer of window paper in the end, so there is no need to rush.

But there is a characteristic of Hollywood TV series: after many seasons, the stories are actually nothing new, but relying on the charm of the characters established before, many more stories can be made up, and the audience will buy it.

If you could learn how American TV screenwriters weave characters, maybe you could make a breakthrough sooner.

This advantage of theirs involves a very important system in American TV series production—the screenwriter-centered system.”

Ma Boyong finally showed a curious look: "Oh? Screenwriting Center?"

In 2007, American TV series were already very popular in China. In addition to the "oral teaching material" "Friends", several other American TV series such as "Lost" also became popular.

Ma Boyong naturally also follows TV series, but he had never thought of becoming a screenwriter before, or even thought that his novels could be adapted into TV series, so he did not have a deep understanding of the screenwriting process of American TV series.

Zhang Chao explained: "An American TV series may have many directors, many screenwriters, and actors who come and go, but the chief screenwriter, or the series coordinator, will not change.

The series coordinator is not only the contributor of the initial creative ideas of the series, but also the head of the entire writing team. The series coordinator not only writes the scripts of several episodes that set the tone of the series, but also improves, supplements, or cuts the ideas and plots provided by other single-episode writers.

Finally, the scriptwriting task is assigned to different screenwriters. Some write the outline, some write the dialogue, and finally the single-episode screenwriters compile it into a script and hand it over to the series coordinator for approval.”

Ma Boyong was surprised and said, "You want me to learn how to be the coordinator of this series?"

Zhang Chao said: "In China, it is not easy for screenwriters to have this status, but we can first form such a mechanism internally, so that the scripts we produce will be more solid, and we will have stronger bargaining power when negotiating with others.

And your thinking is particularly suitable for the role of "story initiator" because you are good at finding small gaps in the big history that can be cleverly cut into, and then expand this "small gap" into a "big era".

But I think Hollywood screenwriters can give you more realistic inspiration on how to tell a good story while establishing the characters and making them truly irreplaceable in the story.

I have already contacted 20th Century Fox, and they have agreed to let you observe and even participate in the writing of an American TV series produced by Fox."

Ma Boyong asked in surprise, "Which one? If it's Fox TV, is it Prison Break?"

Zhang Chao said: "Prison Break? It's a thing of the past. What I want you to watch and participate in is a drama that truly relies on 'personality' to conquer the world!"

(Seeking monthly tickets in the last two days of December)

(End of this chapter)