Chapter 147 Story Strategy

Chapter 147 Story Strategy

Chapter 147 Story Strategy
When sharing inspirational quotes, all strong people will mention the same secret to success in life, which is to make a daily plan.

Making a plan and then completing it will stimulate the secretion of dopamine and endorphins, give people a great sense of accomplishment, make them more confident, and establish a good physical and mental environment in the long run.

Wang Zixu also tried it, and after trying it, he found that it was indeed a trick of the strong, because only the strong can ensure that the daily plan is successfully implemented. The strong will never tell you what to do if the daily plan cannot be completed.

For most people, there will be a day when daily plans cannot be completed sooner or later. By that time, daily plans will not only fail to promote dopamine, endorphin and libido, but will also delay eating and sleeping, and will pile up day by day, eventually becoming a core source of stress for people to give up.

For example, Wang Zixu is in this situation now - he has made a strict daily plan for himself, and by the day before the exam, his revision and review plan is just enough to complete all the tasks.

Then he got stuck.

Writer’s block is an inevitable experience for every writer, and it is also one of the most terrible obstacles to writing.

I can’t write it. Ultimately, I can’t write it.

The daily plan stipulates that I should write from 7 am to 11 pm. After breakfast and coffee, I feel energetic. I look at the blank screen and see a glance at my watch. It is already 8 o'clock. There are still 3 hours left. I can still comfort myself that there is still plenty of time.

By 9 o'clock, people began to feel uneasy; at 10 o'clock, Wang Zixu fell into despair, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart - if he started to work hard from this moment on, he might be able to complete the task within an hour.

As a result, it was not until 12 o'clock that I looked at the 200-word work that I had written "explosively" on the screen. After reading it through, I felt like swallowing dog shit. My confidence was completely destroyed. In a rage, I deleted all of it, and by the way, I deleted the 300 words I wrote yesterday.

I typed for 4 hours and ended up writing 300 words. That's how it happened.

After Wang Zixu was stuck for five days, he realized that he couldn't go on like this, so he immediately placed an expedited order to buy a bunch of creative theories, such as "Story", "Story Strategy", "Save the Cat", "Story Project", "Your Script Sucks"... He used to look down on these books, thinking they were "model room decoration methods", but now he is extremely eager for these books that he once looked down on to bring him inspiration.

When the books arrived home, he could not wait to open them one by one and read them. The more he read, the more desperate he became. None of them was helpful. Whenever he saw a page of unhelpful content, he tore off a page. In the end, the flying white paper covered the floor of his house, like snow-white petals covering a grave. The faint light on the computer screen looked like a ghost fire.

Another day without completing my daily plan.

On the day of the house viewing, Ye Lan was shocked to see him: this man was swollen all over, walked unsteadily, had sparse hair, had panda-like bags under his eyes, had blue hunger wrinkles at the corners of his mouth, and looked half-dead.

Ye Lan was surprised and asked, "What's wrong with you? Kidney deficiency?"

Wang Zixu said: "No. I didn't sleep yesterday."

"Why didn't you sleep?"

"hungry."

"Then you eat!"

“That novel is not finished.”

Ye Lan said with a little distress: "People still need to eat if they haven't finished writing the novel! Is it necessary to rush like this? By the way, where have you finished writing?"

Wang Zixu said: "It's because I didn't write anything at all."

"What?"

"I'm stuck."

"What is Kaven?"

Wang Zixu explained to her what a writer's block was. Ye Lan didn't understand what it meant, but she understood that it was a tragedy. She couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, I didn't do creative work. It turns out that it's so hard to do creative work."

Wang Zixu said: "You don't have the experience to do it even if you want to."

"Hey! I'm comforting you, can you speak?" Ye Lan pointed at his nose.

……

Standing in the house that Ye Lan liked, Wang Zixu surprisingly felt it was okay. It had three bedrooms and two living rooms, the master bedroom had an independent bathroom, and there were two drying areas, so there wouldn't be too much friction between two families living together. In addition, there was a lounge that was open from north to south, and Ye Lan said he could use it as a workshop.

After Wang Zixu planned the location of the bookshelves and workbench in the lounge, he found that the size of the space was right within his comfort zone and he was deeply attracted.

The only drawback is that it is a bit expensive. After paying the down payment, the money that Prince had saved during this period was reduced to zero.

Standing in the living room, Wang Zixu took out his cell phone and sent a message to Ning Chunyan:
【Are you there? 】

Soon, there was a reply:

[Yes. I'm waiting for you. ]

The Little Prince: [I have written half of the manuscript. Now there are two endings. One is happy but plain, and the other is shocking but very sad. I don’t know how to write it. I would like you to help me choose one.]

Qiuge said: [What kind of story did you write? ]

The Little Prince: [How about I send it to you? ]

……

Shi Shuqiu: [How about I send it to you? ]

Xiao Mengyin: [Yes, send it over to have a look. ]

Putting down the phone, Xiao Mengyin sank deeper into the soft sofa chair.

The air conditioner was set to 24 degrees Celsius, fake flames were burning in the fireplace, and Xiao Mengyin was lying on her favorite black and gold lace cotton pillow with a Gothic-style white and black striped blanket on her legs.

Next to her, the girl in black clothes sat next to her and said with a little dissatisfaction:

"If that's the case, what's the point of this kind of award? Wouldn't it be better to just give it to the second generation of writers?"

Xiao Mengyin glanced at her and smiled.

The girl in black clothes said, "Why, what I said is wrong? For the Feishi Award, we only get a nomination. It's a great joy for those newcomers who haven't made it yet, but it's embarrassing for people like us to get it. Don't you think it's unfair?"

Xiao Mengyin said: "I don't think it's fair, nor do I think it's unfair. If you want fairness, don't participate in the literary award. Let the value of your work remain in the hearts of readers and yourself."

The girl in black pouted and said, "That's what she said, but in the end, this award belongs to them."

The girl in black is named Duan Xiaosang, which is also her pen name. She debuted under this name and was initially a representative of the new school of martial arts. She was known for her fresh and natural style of writing, and later worked as an editor at a magazine.

In recent years, her reputation in the literary world has not been so loud because she has not published any new works for a long time. Her current battlefield is behind the scenes: copyright management.

This is a job that can make more money than writing.

Xiao Mengyin said: "The way of playing is different now, and it is not so naked. Although the second generation of writers has advantages, it is only limited to the second generation of writers who write well.

"Or we can put it this way: if you are a second-generation writer among a group of people who write similarly, why shouldn't we choose you? If he writes the best among a group of second-generation writers, why shouldn't we choose him?"

Duan Xiaosang said, "That means he has the most connections among those who write well, and he writes the best among those who have connections?"

Xiao Mengyin drank black tea: "Yes! Now everyone plays like this, and everyone is a face-conscious person. In terms of relationships, which circle doesn't have them? At least the literary world is the most restrained." After drinking, she put down the teacup and continued: "You count, the big names in the literary world, there are at least two digits of those who are still alive in the "History of Contemporary Literature" alone? The big names who are just one step away from being listed in the history of literature, those who are in high positions, and those who are doing research, add up to three digits, right? There are so many second-generation writers, most of them are just given a position in the Literary Association for fun, why is only Shi Shuqiu here to participate in Feishi?"

Duan Xiaosang said: "Because he is the best writer among the second generation of writers?"

Xiao Mengyin emphasized: "It is written quite well."

After saying that, she opened the file sent by Shi Shuqiu.

After reading it for a while, he exclaimed: "Look, this style is in line with his father's. The writing is solid and the plot is surreal. It's what the judges like the most. At his age, it's not too much to give him the first prize."

Duan Xiaosang sighed: "Fame is like a floating cloud after all. The fairest thing in the world is only money."

Xiao Mengyin smiled and said, "You've become indifferent, right? I was expecting you to make a comeback and give the literary world a surprise."

"There's no chance of a surprise, but I'll be more like a shock," Duan Xiaosang shook his head self-deprecatingly. "By the way, in this case, are you going to try to become Mao Dun this year?"

Xiao Mengyin said: "Of course we have to go for it. With his level, he can win the first prize of Feishi, how can Shi Tonghe not be satisfied? If he can really influence the Mao Dun Literature Prize, then I will be convinced."

Duan Xiaosang smiled and said, "Things in the world are always like this. The more important a place is, the fairer it is."

Xiao Mengyin said: "But there is never absolute fairness."

"I'm afraid you have quite a few opponents this year, right?"

Xiao Mengyin's eyes darkened: "Not a few, but I only have eyes for Chen Qingluo."

Duan Xiaosang curled his lips and said, "Is Chen Qingluo that powerful? Why do I always feel that she is not well-known?"

Xiao Mengyin said: "You think she is not well-known because the New Talent Award is not popular now. When she was young, the New Talent Award was still very valuable. In addition, she debuted too early. The Feishi Award was established five or six years after her debut. She has already won more important awards, so she doesn't need Feishi anymore."

Duan Xiaosang said: "Don't be afraid, you are not bad, who is not a young genius?"

Xiao Mengyin smiled slightly and did not answer.

Although she didn't answer, she felt a little proud and ambitious. Yes, who isn't a young genius?
We are all gifted by heaven, shall we compete?
……

Ning Chunyan must have read it very seriously, because Wang Zixu waited for a long time before she replied.

Qiuge: [I finished watching it and was very moved. I even shed a few tears. You know, I’m not the type of person who is easily moved. I’m also looking forward to the ending.]

Wang Zixu asked: [What kind of ending do you expect? ]

Qiu Ge: [I look forward to any kind of ending, as long as it’s from you. ]

The Little Prince: [I am afraid of this answer.]

Qiu Ge: [Hehe, then I will be a little willful. As a little reader who admires you, you are a hero in my heart. A hero should always be able to have it all and achieve the best of both worlds. I just want an ending like this.]

Wang Zixu sighed and stood up.

You want it all, but it's not a multidimensional universe. Where in the world can you find such a good thing?
Science fiction writers say that there are many root time dimensions in a multidimensional universe, so theoretically a person can make many choices at the same time, and multiple possible worlds exist at the same time.

Wang Zixu couldn't imagine what the scene was like, but in the boring four-dimensional universe, even if the hero and heroine in his story could manipulate the timeline (without any scientific logic), they could not have each other at the same time. If the two wanted to be together, the price must be that one of them would end hopelessly.

It is simply impossible to have the best of both worlds.

“Heroes are able to do the impossible because they are heroes.”

Wang Zixu suddenly remembered these words in his mind.

It seemed that Chen Qingluo had said this to him. He could no longer remember the context in which this sentence appeared, but he would remember every meaningful sentence Chen Qingluo had said like a treasured photo.

The heroine in his story is not without the shadow of Chen Qingluo. Even though they are so far apart, she is always the one who understands him best.

Even though their souls were so compatible, she moved forward straight ahead and never looked back; while he, like the male protagonist, hesitated and spent his years in inferiority and cowardice.

How can two people like this be together? How can I deceive myself to give them a perfect ending?

The prince sat down dejectedly, and suddenly felt sad.

"Ye Lan," he said, "what is love all about?"

Ye Lan said: "Ah? You suddenly ask me this, I don't know."

"What if the person you love requires a huge price to be with?"

Ye Lan said: "Then just pay it."

"What if it even costs one's life?"

"Then pay with your life?"

"..."

Seeing Wang Zixu's puzzled expression, Ye Lan hesitantly said, "Life is precious, but love is more precious."

Wang Zixu was immediately shocked: "You actually know this sentence?"

Ye Lan blushed: "This is a famous saying, why don't I know it? Damn, I grew up watching Qiong Yao dramas, and they all have this kind of values, okay? What's wrong with women being a little childish? They mature early..."

The prince waved his hand and said, "Thank you. I know how to write the ending now."

Ye Lan blinked: "What ending? Are you talking about your wonderful story?"

Wang Zixu nodded: "The essence of love is childishness."

……

A month later, the weather is getting colder. The autumn heat is gradually fading away, and we no longer need to turn on the air conditioner when we sit at home.

Wang Zixu took off his blue light blocking glasses, gathered the manuscripts and placed them on the table.

This is his workroom at his residence in Donghai. The desk is filled to the brim with all kinds of notes, professional textbooks, draft papers, answer sheets, and test papers. This fullness has its own sense of fulfillment.

Wang Zixu opened his phone and saw the message from Ning Chunyan. He picked up the phone and was about to reply. At the last moment when he pressed the "send" button, he realized: the sender on the other end of the message was "Ning Chunyan" instead of "Qiuge", and his current identity was "Wang Zixu" instead of "Little Prince".

He deleted the previous message and changed his tone: "What's the matter?"

Ning Chunyan asked: "Are you free tomorrow? The magazine has been a bit too busy lately."

(End of this chapter)