1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 72 Character Arc
Sha Ting and Guang Weiran looked at each other, both stunned by Jiang Xian's inexplicable behavior.

"Revised? Have you revised the manuscript?"

"As soon as I heard your opinion, I immediately started to revise the script and made the character of Dou Baoying more full-bodied."

"So fast?!" Sha Ting couldn't believe it.

You should know that revising a manuscript is different from writing it. When writing a manuscript, you can be as imaginative as you want, but revising a manuscript becomes a stereotyped essay. You can only display your talent within certain rules, and you have to break out of your inherent thinking.

Some writers have revised their manuscripts countless times, spending a lot of effort, but their works often get worse and worse. Teacher Shen Congwen was particularly good at revising manuscripts. Sometimes, a manuscript he had revised with great effort was not as good as the original. He would give it to his wife Zhang Zhaohe, who would restore it for him.

"Let me take a look first."

After making all the changes, Sha Ting simply went back to the big office, put on his glasses, took a magnifying glass, and found the newly added paragraph.

Jiang Xian added a growth experience for Dou Baoying.

Dou Baoying grew up in the family of Li Guoxiang. Because of her special status as an illegitimate daughter, she was treated coldly by the whole family.

She attributed the injustice she suffered to Li Guoxiang's failure, believing that she lacked tact and wisdom and her methods were not very clever.

In her later work, she laughed at the former pioneer Li Guoxiang, who was ignorant of the times, unable to discern the direction of the wind, and took too small steps. He was a cadre who was "three-tenths mature and seven-tenths raw."

The first thing Dou Baoying did was earth-shattering.

She used the man Li Guoxiang was with as a target because she knew too many "secrets".

This also brought her rich rewards, and she became a prominent figure in Furong Town.

"Yes, it has some flavor of 'transformation character' and is more vivid." Sha Ting nodded.

Some people may have already noticed that this is actually an application of Jet Li's version of Huo Yuanjia's early image.

In the movie, Huo Yuanjia could not stand his father's kindness, which caused his own boxing to suffer humiliation, and he became too aggressive. He became impetuous and arrogant, and gradually became more and more arrogant and aggressive, which eventually brought disaster upon himself.

There is a similar character in "The Godfather". Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, was unwilling to get involved in family affairs at first, but was inevitably involved. Slowly, in the development of the story, he became a cold-blooded killer. At the end of the first part, he sent his relatives to a mental hospital, which was deeply shocking.

This type of character setting has become somewhat common in the film and television industry in later generations, but literary works at that time are still filled with a large number of model people and "shell people", namely "heroic characters", "positive characters", "middle characters", "transformation characters", etc., which makes the character of Dou Baoying seem very novel.

After affirming the richness of Dou Baoying's character in the early stage, Sha Ting continued reading:

That evening, Dou Baoying convened a mass meeting for the first time. The meeting was held in the dirt yard in front of the stage in the market.

Unlike in the past, Dou Baoying, who presided over the conference, did not give an opening speech. Instead, she talked about a few specific issues. As she read them out, they immediately produced magical effects. The conference hall fell silent, as if a sudden snowstorm had come and frozen all the people attending the conference.

"Bring Qin Shutian to the stage!"

Dou Baoying pointed at Qin Dianzi and spoke in a pleasant and clear local Mandarin.

"This is the famous Qin Shutian in town, Qin Dianzi, who is very active because of his ability to write, play musical instruments and sing. How many of you have heard him tell stories about decadence and decline, using history to satirize the present? How many of your children have called him 'Uncle Qin' or 'Uncle Qin'?"

She spoke and asked in a calm, gentle, and logical voice.

The air in the entire conference hall seemed to be frozen, and it was so quiet that everyone in the venue seemed to be holding their breath.

"Qin Dianzi is not being honest! Tell him to kneel down!"

Someone in the audience immediately started shouting.

"Qin Dianzi, kneel down!"

"If Qin Dianzi doesn't kneel down, should we agree or not?"

"No!"

Qin Shutian seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and his whole body was soaked with cold sweat. "Oh my God! I guarantee it with my head! I didn't, I didn't!"

Dou Baoying was very satisfied with his performance. Like Li Guoxiang, she habitually gathered the few strands of messy hair on her forehead.

"Qin Dianzi, toasts are still delicious. You can take the lead and tell us who assigned you these tasks?"

Sha Ting held the manuscript in his hand and was stunned for a long time.

It was late, and the office was a little dim. The paper was honey-colored, but he seemed to see light between the words.

Character arc!

The character of Dou Baoying hated Li Guoxiang at first, but then gradually got closer to Li Guoxiang, and finally became even worse than Li Guoxiang.

It's like the breeze carrying messages among the leaves, the ripples gradually spread into waves, leading the readers into severe contemplation, which is quite earth-shattering.

"Old Sha, how is it?" Guang Weiran asked impatiently when he saw Sha Ting put down the manuscript.

"."

Sha Ting did not answer. He put down the magnifying glass and looked up at Jiang Xian who was sitting by the window.

The arc of light on the paper seemed to extend all the way to him. In the dark room, his magical talent and extraordinary creativity shone brightly.

Robert McKee writes in Story: The best writing not only reveals the truth about a character but also shows how that character develops or changes, for better or worse, in the course of its telling.

This is the shaping of characters, to reveal their deep personality.

“It’s a good change.”

As if he felt that this answer was not enough to fully express his appreciation, Sha Ting added: "The changes are real, beautiful, and amazing!"

"You are too polite, Mr. Sha."

"I'm not polite to others. I always have something to say." The short Sha Ting shook his head. "You always write in a hasty manner. How can you write fluently like this?"

“It’s not like I’m always inspired.”

"You are a very modest kid." Sha Ting smiled.

He had difficulty writing, like having a difficult childbirth. At this moment, seeing the talent that Jiang Xian inadvertently displayed, it was as if he saw a chasm between the two of them, and he was extremely envious.

"You wrote this article really well. You have a strong artistic insight and you are very free-spirited!

I have given you some additional comments, please go back and read them."

"Thank you, Mr. Sha."

"I have to regret it again today. I have to write a review of this novel. I must write it. Even if it is not good and people laugh at me, I don't mind. Why should we old guys cherish our feathers? Ba Jin said it well. We should cherish talents like you and use our last breath to pave the way for new literary talents."

"Mr. Sha is going to write a review for Jiang Xian?!" Wang Fu became excited.

Cui Daoyi also looked excited: "With Mr. Sha's concurrent comments, Furong Town is really like a tiger with wings."

Jiang Xian was somewhat touched.

Of course, I am also very happy.

Before "Furong Town" was published, writers of Sha Ting's level had already written reviews for it.

He had never received this level of treatment before.

(End of this chapter)