2.1.1 The Topic Selection Logic for Microdrama Scripts - Breaking Through Traditional Genre Limitations

The Origin and Limitations of Existing Genre Classifications

Alright, hello everyone, let’s continue our class. In previous lessons, we covered the current state of the microdrama market, its operational logic, its scale, and development trends. I believe many of you, after gaining a basic understanding, are now eager to get started and prepare to dive in.

So, the first important issue we face when starting to create microdramas is topic selection. What kind of microdrama should we make? What genre should it be?

Those of you who know a bit about microdramas have probably already heard some genre terminology. For instance, we see genres like Urban War King, Rural Miracle Doctor, Live-in Son-in-law, Divorce, Domineering CEO, Sweet Romance, Ancient Romance, Immortal Cultivation, Fantasy—all these so-called genres.

Where did these genres come from? They were actually directly borrowed from online novels, and not all online novels, but specifically what we call New Media Novels. When we categorize online novels, there’s a type we refer to as New Media Novels, which focus more on driving top-ups.

So, it’s this category of novels that is currently influencing microdramas, or vertical dramas. Currently, microdramas are still in their early stages of development, and their current form references New Media Novels. Of course, some of you might still not know what type of novels I mean by New Media Novels—YY fiction, wish-fulfillment novels. Right now, microdramas basically follow the classification of YY fiction.

The Chaos and Shortcomings of Current Classification Methods

Is this classification correct? For now, it’s fairly efficient because it’s readily usable. But it certainly won’t stay this way in the future because microdramas and novels are fundamentally different. Currently, it’s borrowed, but the future will be different.

For our course, we must understand how it works, why these classifications exist, which aspects are reasonable, and which are not. This is essential knowledge. Otherwise, if you want to write a microdrama now and you look at those YY fiction categories…

Let me tell you, I just casually listed over ten types, but in reality, there are hundreds. How do you choose? Which one is suitable for you, or for your users? Or what are the characteristics of each? It’s actually quite difficult to distinguish.

Including looking at current hit dramas—you’ll see a hit where the male lead first discovers he’s a live-in son-in-law, then you think it’s a son-in-law story, but he quickly gets divorced. After the divorce, you find out he’s actually an Urban War King returning for revenge and face-slapping. And while he’s getting revenge, it turns out someone is sick, and he’s also a miracle doctor! See the problem?

Establishing a New Framework for Topic Selection Thinking

Therefore, in this lesson, let’s first forget about so-called New Media Novels, or YY fiction, or the existing genre classifications for microdramas. Let’s logically examine what a microdrama should fundamentally be. We’ll start by studying the logic behind topic selection for microdramas.

This lesson is about topic selection, so let’s first understand the logic behind it. What is our mindset? What exactly is a microdrama? We’ve previously discussed film and television dramas, stating they are narrative products. I’ve told you that film/TV dramas are narrative products.

So, are microdramas the same? Obviously, yes. First, do they have a story? Of course, they have a story in the broad sense. No matter how short, it’s still a story—it has characters and events, right? It’s also a story. But is it a product? Compared to film/TV works, microdramas have a stronger product nature.

Because they require a relatively heavy payment/top-up model, they are still a combination of story + product. Since they are a story + product, that makes things easier. We can break this down and study it from these two aspects.