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Online literature has opened up a boom in popular writing and expanded the infinite possibilities of enriching literature. Online writers weave dreams, insist on their "shepherd teenager fantasy journey" in their exploration, and their various attempts may become a new way to tell Chinese stories well.
Every wave that can rush to the front of the times is supported by countless large and small waves. And these waves are also real ordinary people. A writer once said, "We are like olives, and only when we are crushed do we release our essence." "Every success is not just a result, every journey has landscapes and storms." The "Face to Face with Famous Artists of Online Literature" column will focus on different themes and talk with online literary writers. Listen to them tell their joys and trepidations, sort out the confusion and bottlenecks of writing, and dig deep into the uniqueness and shortcomings of the work...
As an excellent representative of the current network literature, Seven Cats has supported the diversified growth of writers' works in multiple dimensions, and a number of potential online writers have emerged. This issue will invite six writers, namely Bandit Jia, Yin Yue Yue Hua, Tang Hua Luo, Gu Su Xiao Qi, Buddhist Monk, and Sheng Bu Shi, to conduct a series of interviews.
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Silver Moonlight: War, the "Lone Brave" who does writing
Silver Moonlight
Yin Yueguanghua is a student of the 16th Online Literature Writers Training Class of Lu Xun Literature Institute, a member of the Hunan Provincial Network Writers Association, a member of the Shenyang Writers Association, and a contracted writer of the Seven Cats Chinese Network. He began to create military novels in the army in 2003, and is good at integrating traditional cultural and historical elements such as reality and military into his works, and his representative works include "Xianhe No. 1" (formerly known as "Great Power Heavy Weapon"), "Spring Breeze that Year", "Landing in Gliese", etc., of which "Xianhe No. 1" won the 2021 Liaoning Internet Literature "Golden Mast" Award, "Gansu Province's First Red Theme Online Novel • Era Triumph" Category Outstanding Works Award.
He had shelved his love for 12 years in order to take on the responsibilities of reality and family; he had whispered humble dreams, and the flames of loneliness and wandering had been lit and extinguished. Finally, he decided to confront the desperate, play against the ordinary, with the fighting spirit in the blood, the will to struggle, with his military soul, regrouped, to be the "lone brave" on his own creative road, to write those heroic stories with feelings and righteousness.
Stopped writing for 12 years, can't put down the dream of writing
Yu Jing: You started working earlier and wrote earlier? Can you share your creative story with us?
Yin Yueguanghua: I started working at the age of 18, graduated from the Political Science and Law School, and first interned in the court as a clerk. Since I was a child, I have loved the military, read military books, collect military magazines, and like to make military models, and my dream is to become a soldier. After a year and a half, I couldn't let go of my dreams, and when I was 20 years old, I signed up for conscription, and the new recruits served as clerks not long after they left the company. Five years later, the first-class non-commissioned officer was demobilized and became a salesman.
In general, "write early, pick up late". When I was a child, in addition to loving the military, I also liked to read miscellaneous books, love fantasies, have good language scores, and I was satisfied with my ability to write essays. One day I suddenly thought that if I wrote what I fantasized about, it would be a book, so I started writing, but due to the lack of ability and conditions, what I wrote at that time was not formed. When I was a clerk, I began to try to write novels, but I never published them, Wrote 30,000 words, and now the manuscript is still in my computer, and I occasionally turn it out to find my original intention. The real thing that can be regarded as stepping into the ranks of writers is when he was a soldier in the army.
Yu Jing: Talk about your writing in the army at that time, when did you write it? The life of the army was hard, why was there such interest and perseverance at that time?
Silver Moonlight Hua: When you really become a soldier, you will find that it is much more bitter than you imagined. A lot of suffering, when you are young, you will carry it in the past, such as when you stand guard in winter, there is no windshield in the watchtower, and the wind leaks on all sides of the large wilderness, and you really realize what is called "wind like a knife cut".
Rather than bitterness, what needs to be adjusted and adapted is "boring". Although the life of the army is very fulfilling, but the amateur cultural life is relatively single, I had a convenient condition as a squadron clerk at that time, that is, I could use my spare time to create, at that time, my instructor in the army was very supportive of my creation, gave me a good creative environment, which led to my first novel. At the same time, I also learned how to get along with "boring", standing guard is very lonely, conceiving stories will make life on the post not boring, immediately after layoff, the ideas will be converted into words, high efficiency, but also very happy, sometimes will share their novels with comrades-in-arms, which not only meets everyone's reading needs, but also enriches myself. My first novel, written about future wars, was called "The Edge of The Re-War", and now looking back at some of the plots is more exaggerated, but it is my first complete work, which laid the foundation for my later writing.
Yu Jing: I heard that when this novel was written in 230,000 words, it also attracted media attention and was reported by local daily newspapers.
Silver Moonlight: After the first draft of the first novel was completed, I always wanted to take it out and try my own level. At that time, I used a single computer to operate, burned the content with a 3.5-inch floppy disk, mailed it to a friend for publication, and was favored by the iron-blooded editor at that time and officially signed the contract, which was a bonus. I didn't make money on this novel at that time, but it was an important affirmation. After the novel was finished, it received the attention of the local daily newspaper, and one afternoon the reporter came to the army to interview, and the cadres of the unit at that time were also very happy, thinking that I had won glory for the troops, and after the report was published, I did not expect that the length was actually very large, about a quarter of the page of the half-open newspaper, and the photos were still very clear. My dearest grandmother still pressed the report under the coffee table, which can be seen whenever people come, and after her death, I have kept the report until now.
Yu Jing: After retiring from the army and becoming a salesman, are you still writing?
Silver Moonlight Hua: After retiring from the army, because of family and work reasons, I never realized that I could live by full-time writing, so I wasted 12 years of time, not only did I not write novels in those years, but even essays were rarely written, almost wasted, and I just wanted to force myself to deal with the problem of real survival first. But because work is not the love of my heart, my dream of writing has not faded.
A year before I left, I was even discouraged by reality, and accidentally turned to the unpublished novel manuscript I had written before, that is, the 30,000-word article I mentioned earlier, and suddenly ignited the hidden flame in my heart, and a force prompted me to practice this dream without any concern. Although that novel is not an online article, nor is it a realistic theme, and it seems that it is not very well written now, it is the fire in my heart. Then I went back to writing in iron blood, and it was difficult to start over, and I was reluctant to admit that my creative level had declined. The editor at that time, "Sister Hua", in the days when I stopped writing and resumed online literature after 12 years, constantly spurred me on and encouraged me, "ruthlessly" pointed out my various shortcomings in writing, analyzed my personal characteristics, successfully guided me to the path of realistic theme creation, and recommended me to Lu Xun Literature Institute to study, which led to later achievements.
Start again from the realistic theme
Yu Jing: You are a student of the 16th Online Literature Writers Training Course of Lu Xun Literature Institute, can you share with us the insights brought to you by this learning experience? What influence did it have on later creations?
Silver Moonlight Hua: Before going to Luyuan, I opened a novel with realistic themes, which was basically based on my experience in the army. I went to Luyuan to learn how to write a good novel. Honestly, I feel that the starting point of the same class of students is higher than mine, so I ask people for advice on how to write. Fortunately, the students are more generous and basically have a question to answer. At that time, I took every word they said to heart, they were all excellent writers, and the conversations were all dry goods, and in later creations, I often thought about their words, and here I am very grateful to my classmates. I still remember that during the study period, just in time for my birthday, the classmates gave us two cakes, and even the money for the birthday party secretly helped me pay for the meal.
After returning home on the day of graduation, I came out of the train station and passed by the ancient city tower, feeling that the month was like a dream, and I also seemed to be worried, would I return to reality from my dream? Later, I figured it out, I liked what I wanted to chase it, and I didn't starve to death, and I was done. I am really grateful to the China Writers Association for providing such a learning opportunity, so that I have learned a lot of writing skills, gained precious classmate affection, and strengthened a creative heart.
Yu Jing: So how did you join Seven Cats later, also to better write realistic themes?
Silver Moonlight Hua: I joined Seven Cats because I participated in an online writer's hainan trip and met a Seven Cats author. At that time, I had been groping to write realistic novels, and the market's acceptance of realistic themes was not so high, and few websites received it. Suffering from the dilemma of nowhere to vote, this author recommended the editor of Seven Cats to me, and it just so happened that Seven Cats was also looking for a realistic theme author, which was a one-shot deal, so I signed the contract, and I didn't expect that this signing became my new starting point.
In fact, at that time, I was not particularly confident about my novel, and the "Spring Breeze of That Year" that I was writing at that time was not a military field that I was familiar with, and it was the Seven Cats editor who approved my outline. The foundation laid before was fully developed in Seven Cats, and I regained my confidence. In addition, Seven Cats allows authors to create with their own expertise, will not set a lot of limits, have a large space and freedom, and professional editors help adjust, feeling that their state has returned to a virtuous circle of track.
At present, I have successively published works such as "That Year is spring breeze", "First River No. 1", "Landing gliese" (science fiction) and other works in Seven Cats, and now I am trying to write realistic stories about artificial intelligence. I am very grateful to seven cats for their tolerance of the author, they have done a lot in the work of author service support, and the author can just feel at ease to create more often.
Yu Jing: "Pioneer No. 1" is an industrial novel based on the research and development and manufacture of shield machines, how did you pay attention to this theme? What aspects of the EPB you mainly chose as the background and theme of the novel?
Silver Moonlight Hua: The EPB machine was accidentally turned over when I was watching the news, and I browsed a lot of articles about the EPB machine, and I learned that this equipment is very powerful, so I became interested. Shield machine is a kind of tunnel boring machine using the shield method, the basic working principle is a cylinder steel component along the axis of the tunnel to advance forward while excavating the soil, is a collection of excavation, soil drainage, lining in one of the engineering operation equipment. Shield tunneling is widely used in engineering projects such as mountain penetration, underwater, subway, and water transmission. Shield machines need to be customized according to different engineering and soil quality, the cost is expensive, the mainland was first mainly imported from Germany, and now it can be produced and exported in large quantities.
At the beginning of the first realistic theme essay contest of the Seven Cats Chinese Network, I read the selected topic, and the first thing that came out of my mind was the shield machine, so I made up my mind to write it out. In order to better understand this king of industry, I went to the library to read a large number of professional books, and also watched a number of documentaries about shield machines, and the story of shield pioneers deeply touched me. "Pioneer One" writes the dream of a big country shield of the new and old generations of the mainland, and the story of a big country such a heavy weapon such as a shield machine has broken through one technical difficulty after another under the efforts of two generations to complete independent research and development and construction, and go to the world.
Yu Jing: In the novel, the leader of the "Dream Team" of the Chinese shield is Yan Kaiming, what do you think is the most distinctive personality trait in him?
Yin Yueguanghua: Yan Kaiming this person gathers the most distinctive characteristics of the first generation of shield people, patriotic, persistent, responsible, not because they are a small person do not think about big things, the biggest feature is that they can give in life, but in the research and development of shield machines, do not give in, put all their energy into the cause of China's shield machine. When opening the Tianshan Tunnel, the officers and men of the railway corps paid a painful price, and Yan Kaiming's lover was also killed, which made him more courageous and resolute in the shield tunneling cause.
Yu Jing: Every literary work has its own "soul", what do you think is the "soul" of "Pioneer No. 1"?
Silver Moonlight: Military Soul. I am a soldier, the protagonist of the book is a soldier or a descendant of a soldier, while writing the military soul of the railway soldiers, but also for the rail transit builders who inherit the military soul, this "soul" runs through the whole work.
Until the end of the book, I also think that the real story is more touching than the book. At the beginning of its birth, the shield machine had military blood, and it should be traced back from the establishment of the railway soldiers. Yingxia, Chengkun, Sichuan-Tibet, Xinjiang, the motherland is buried everywhere with the remains of railway soldiers, they sacrificed their lives for the cause of China's rail transit, the former railway soldiers, the pioneers of China's shield machine sacrificed their youth and blood, and their names are not known, these people are the backbone of China, should let more people know. The process of creating stories is also a baptism for the authors, and my admiration for them is far higher than the creation itself.
Yu Jing: What is your greatest satisfaction with the writing of "Pioneer River No. 1"? Looking back now, do you think there is anything you can improve?
Silver Moonlight Hua: When the novel was just finished, I was not very satisfied with it myself, but at that time I wrote another book, and then re-read "Pioneer No. 1" after coming out of another book, I found that although there were shortcomings, the main line was very clear, so I gave up the plan to make a large revision. If you say that there are two main points to improve, one is the basic writing problem, and the expression of some sentences is not in place. Second, there is no field style, which gives a lot of discounts to the effect presented by the work.
Works with realistic themes not only require a lot of information, but also better with personal experience and fieldwork. When describing the tunnel environment, I once interviewed the tunnel engineers of the Ninth Bureau of China Railway, and I had a certain understanding of the environment and the basic common sense that needed to be mastered in the tunnel environment and operation. But I feel that more can be done, and when I do this kind of creation later, I would rather let the pace be slower and more realistic.
Dreams may be late, but they will not be absent
Yu Jing: I have seen a lot of reader comments on the Seven Cats Novel Reading APP, many of whom are practitioners or family members in this industry, and the novel has entered the spiritual world of industrial people, and there are many replies you have replied to. Seeing their comments, what do you experience, are there any impressive comments, or sharper criticisms?
Silver Moonlight Hua: I am very touched by the recognition given to me by these practitioners, because the authors are not confident when they are creating, and they are happier to hear their voices than to win the award. As for the sharp criticism, I must accept it with an open mind, unprofessional is unprofessional, and the fictional part of the novel should be particularly careful whether it is going to be "false".
Yu Jing: In recent years, realist creation has become a common practice in mainland online literature, and many excellent works on industrial themes have emerged.
Silver Moonlight Hua: In terms of writing, I still prefer traditional literature, and I like detective novels in terms of personal preferences, which is more logical, which is suitable for an author like me who must have a main line to create. In order to avoid too much imitation when creating, so when creating, I basically do not look at the same kind of subject matter, so as to avoid the influence of ideas, but it does not prevent me from paying attention afterwards.
Yu Jing: Will you still create realistic works in the future, or will you try something else? How do you understand the creation of realistic themes?
Silver Moonlight Hua: Realistic themes are my main creative direction in the future. My understanding of the realistic theme is derived from the study of Lu Yuan, the real, infinitely close to the real to create, the work has tension. In the second Seven Cats Chinese Network Reality Theme Competition, I chose the science fiction theme, and this creative field has always been what I want to try. My Landing glee was well received by readers and some authors, which planted a seed for me to continue to create science fiction. At present, the novel "Big Country Heavy Weapon 2: The Age of Intelligence", which has won the key creation project of the Shanghai Writers Association's realistic theme, is connected to the "Landing Gliese" to some extent, and I hope that this "reality + science fiction" creative mode can continue to be reflected in my future works.
Yu Jing: Online novels often use "goldfinger" to resolve contradictions and crises, and many industrial novels will also integrate various literary genres such as science fiction, crossing and magic, so that industrial elements and imagination can interact. Have you used this technique in First River One or any other work? Can you give us an example?
Silver Moonlight Hua: There will be some similar techniques, such as the "face punching" plot commonly used in online novels, which is reflected in the protagonist. As for the "gold finger", the protagonist is also there, three generations of grandchildren engaged in rail transit, which is considered to be the "gold finger" on the setting, the number of appearances of the grandfather is not much, but every time the protagonist wants to retreat, the old man will appear in the right time, playing the role of the town field.
Yu Jing: Many authors are thinking about how realistic themes can be "cool", or more "interesting" and more attractive. What do you think?
Silver Moonlight Hua: "Cool" is a way of writing, not the core, according to the needs of the realistic theme, can be properly integrated into the plot of "cool", but do not give up the end. When I was studying in Luyuan, I once discussed with my classmates the problem of whether "shuang" literature and traditional literature can be integrated, and at that time, the conclusion was that it was easy to be unflattering at both ends, and the readers of "shuang" text would dislike the slow pace, and the readers of traditional texts would feel improper, in fact, this combination was not impossible, but it was difficult to control, just like putting salt in the dish, putting more salt, putting less tasteless.
Yu Jing: From your youth to the present, you have dreamed of being a soldier and a dream of writing. Looking back now, do you think that writing and being a soldier have anything in common with this article?
Silver Moonlight Hua: The two are not contradictory, before the Eastern Jin Dynasty, most of the warriors were able to fight on horseback and write articles on horseback, and many articles have been circulated for thousands of years, and it is impossible to see that the person who wrote the article was still a leading general. The two complement each other, and what they have in common is that they must have perseverance. Soldiers must endure that dullness and loneliness, and writing is the same, which is not done on a whim.
My early experience as a soldier and my work brought me a lot of grinding, experience and way of thinking, but more importantly, it made me understand what I really couldn't give up. Insisting on writing has made me strong inside, made the most correct choice in the face of difficulties, and also walked out of the trough of life. Dreams may be late, but as long as you persist, you will not be absent.
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