Knowledge
In recent years, with the vigorous development of online literature, "post-90s" writers have become one of the main creative groups of online literature. Through the digital reading platform, they present their imagination and their thinking about the world and the times on the Internet in a cutting-edge way. Online literature has a wider spread power and vitality in a way that is more in line with the cultural background and expression of readers of the same generation. In view of this, we intend to show the creative path of these young authors through dialogue. The interviewee of this issue is Zhi Geng, a member of the Beijing Writers Association and a contracted author of Tomato Novel.
"Record the most interesting moments in the world"
Reporter: In recent years, your two realistic novels, "Twins" and "Happiness at Home", have been supported and signed for publication by the key works of online literature of the China Writers Association, and film and television adaptations are also in progress. Why did you start from the creation of online novels from the reality of the theme and embark on the road of full-time writing?
Zhigen: In 2017, when I was studying in the UK, I began to try to write my first documentary essay "The Fifth Year of English Drift" on the Internet forum. It started out as a serial on the forum, writing about some of my cultural observations when I was studying in the UK. Later, after an editor saw it, I was invited to participate in the "Fifth Douban Reading Essay Contest", and I wrote a novella focusing on the emotional growth of single women, "You Sleep, I Wake Up", which was shortlisted for the final, which gave me great encouragement. After writing the essay contest, I had a stable editor and slowly developed into a full-time author.
Becoming a writer is something I've never thought about before. My dream in high school was to be a clinician. After graduating from graduate school, I worked full-time in writing, and at first the elders and relatives and friends in the family were still a little surprised. And when I made two works and made some small achievements and found a starting point for my career, I also got their recognition. On the other hand, I am grateful to my parents for always supporting me. They are also lovers of literature and are looking forward to my journey to writing.
Reporter: Does your medical background have an impact on your work? What other hobbies do you usually have besides writing novels?
Zhigen: My undergraduate science is pharmacy, my master's degree is epidemiology, and there is not much connection with literary creation. However, in the process of my creation, I will unconsciously set the protagonist or character's occupation as medical related. For example, the protagonist of my first novel had a certain medical background. I feel that the academic background provides me with a relatively familiar field, and I will try to write about the process of illness and healing as close as possible to the realities. In addition, the epidemic experienced in recent years has also made me think about creating a story related to the fight against the epidemic after the work at hand is finished. In fact, I have not stopped since I began to write, and I currently have a short story, three long stories and a collection of essays. Now I try to get one or two works on the market every year. In the future, I hope that more works can be adapted to IP and present stories to more people in more forms.
I like to draw outside of fiction, but I don't have much professional training in painting. At first, I would post my paintings on social platforms, and later I tried to draw some illustration-style paintings. In my opinion, writing and painting have something in common, writing is a written record, painting is an image record, both record the most interesting moments in the world, and then share them with more people.
Chisara Self-Portrait
"Online literature is emerging from traditional literature
Absorb the essence"
Reporter: In your opinion, what are the similarities and differences between the creation of online literature and traditional literature? What are some of the special feelings of becoming a contracted author of an online platform?
Zhi Geng: I think that in contrast, online literature will be more inclusive, and there is no restriction on the subject matter. Online literature is open to all readers, you can see a variety of themes and works, and the interactivity is very good. Specifically, as an emerging literary carrier, the more attractive thing about the Internet is that the interaction between readers and authors will be more direct and frequent. In the creative process, the author can communicate directly with the reader through comments and comments. Readers' opinions and suggestions will have a certain inspiration and influence on the author. In addition to writing, I usually like to read some online articles on love, workplace, and marriage on the Internet, especially I like to read works that are more realistic. After becoming a contracted author of the Tomato Novel Digital Reading Platform, he also became their "user", and in the process of reading the works of other authors, he could not help but leave comments. Due to the limitations of the carrier, traditional literature is indeed not as timely and direct as online literature in terms of reader feedback.
From the perspective of literature itself, online literature is drawing the essence from traditional literature. What traditional literature can embody is not inferior to online literature. In the past, people would feel that traditional literature would pay more attention to the artistry and literature of works, while online literature paid more attention to the leisure and relaxation functions that reading works could bring. But such boundaries are now blurring, and we see that many authors of serious literature are also trying to serialize their works on online reading platforms. A large number of works with realistic themes have also emerged in online literature, which are both literary and ideologically profound. At the same time, through the rapid dissemination of the Internet, it can also attract more young readers.
On the one hand, I chose to sign a contract with Tomato Novels because this platform is an e-reading platform under Douyin, and I think there is a certain guarantee for both the product and the author. On the other hand, the editors of the platform give the author a very high degree of creative freedom. After I provide the editor with the topic, outline, sample chapter, they will carefully evaluate and communicate with me closely, but after the evaluation is passed, they will leave the work to me to create freely, and according to the quality of my work, they will also help me recommend the award and give great support.
Reporter: What is your usual writing status? What are some unique ways to open up new ideas?
Zhigen: Before I write a novel, I think and plan the characters and plot very carefully, and this process often takes several months. However, when the idea is cleared, the specific process of writing is still quite fast. When I can't write a satisfactory word, I choose to stop, go downstairs, go to the supermarket, because the most interesting thing about writing is that all the good things and bad things in life will become the inspiration for the story. Go out and take a turn, it is possible to think about it at once, and when you have ideas, you may write thousands of words smoothly.
"Using stories to provoke readers to think about reality"
Reporter: The "Happy Family" (publication name: Happy Family) that you released on Tomato Novel tells the story of a young man returning to his hometown to start a business, why did you choose such an entry point to tell the story?
Zhigeng: I began planning this work from the second half of 2020 and completed all the writing in the first half of 2021. One of the opportunities to write this work is that I found that many of the friends around me are now "job-hopping" back to their hometowns, and some have returned from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities around their hometowns. Young people withdraw from first-tier cities and choose a place that is more suitable for them to live, which I think is a very prominent phenomenon at present. From my point of view, in fact, each of us faces such a problem when we graduate. At first, it was ambitious, and even felt that staying in the big city was the only yardstick to measure success. But after years of physical and mental exhaustion, I may not have experienced the imaginary success. What exactly is success? Does that mean having to stay in a place that makes you stressed a lot and live an unhappy life? What is the cost of success and the standard of happiness? This is a question that many young people are thinking about now. I think it is also because of this that in recent years, more and more people have returned from big cities to their hometowns to choose their favorite careers and lives. Therefore, I want to write such a story to reflect reality and provoke further thinking from the reader. I want to convey the idea through this work, whether in a first-tier city like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou or in an ordinary town, there is no fixed standard for success, and happiness should not be defined by others, but needs to be chosen by ourselves.
Reporter: The characterization of the protagonist in this novel is what you think of contemporary young people?
Zhigen: This story takes place in the context of the 2022 Winter Olympics, telling the history of the "alternative" struggle of Song Jiali, a girl from the North Drift, who quit her job and returned to her hometown. In fact, everyone will face different choices in the face of love, life, career, and ideals, and each choice will have two sides: one side is an ideal that may be unrealistic, and the other side is the reality of chai rice oil and salt. Specific to this work, I designed two possible choices and an open-ended ending for the protagonist, but also to express my point of view: whether it is ideal or reality, there is no right or wrong choice, just make yourself happy.
In the novel, I also set up some plots from the seemingly impossible to the final reality, a humble small city will one day usher in the Winter Olympics in the eyes of the world, and Song Jiali, who is at the trough of his life, fell back to his hometown, but he did not expect that he would one day have an inn and become the leader of the development of his hometown. I hope that through such a story, I will bring hope and positive energy to those friends who are in a confused period of life like the protagonist Song Jiali.
WeChat Editor: Lv Yimeng
Second Instance: Cong Ziyu
Third trial: Ren Jingjing
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