At present, creative writing is booming in a number of colleges and universities in China, and cultivating and expanding literary newcomers has become a topic of concern in the industry. Among them, Shanghai has always been an important town for the practice and exploration of the discipline of "creative writing", and Shanghai University, Fudan University, Tongji University, East China Normal University, etc. have all established creative writing majors. With the development of publishing, film and television, games, animation and other industries, the increasingly large cultural market has become more and more demanding for creative writing talents. But at the same time, the huge gap in creative writing talents has also become a "short board" in the development of the current cultural and creative industry.
How can I activate the vitality of more creative writers? Today, the "He Jianming China Creative Writing Award" was established in Shanghai, and He Jianming, vice chairman of the China Writers Association and a famous writer, observed that Chinese literary writing has faced great changes in recent years, including changes in style, which are reflected in novels, poetry and documentary creations. "Documentary creation alone has branched out new forms such as reportage, non-fiction, and biography, and many writers are also adjusting their writing forms." This change and the diversification and new development of the genre boil down to the fact that writers are exploring new creative methods and are all engaged in creative writing. ”
With the emergence of new literary styles and new forms, the updating and iteration of reading forms and new media media have made creative writing different from traditional literary writing and gradually stand out. Based on strong practical concern, the "He Jianming China Creative Writing Award" is facing the changes and challenges of current Chinese literary writing, and is an important practice for the development and creative exploration of Chinese creative writing disciplines in the new era to a new stage.
Many writers have also begun to consciously or unconsciously throw themselves into the trend of "creative writing" practice. He Jianming noticed that the new works of novelists such as Zhang Wei and Liu Xinglong, from the material to the form of expression, are very different from the traditional novel, and they are moving closer to creative writing. "It can be seen that the practice of creative writing has been reflected in the creative process of writers, and the development of creative writing in China is in the ascendant." He said.
Although as early as 1897, the University of Iowa opened a professional course on creative writing, and cultivated a group of writers who were "born in science classes", the topic of "writing can not be taught" in China has been hotly discussed. But it is undeniable that in the more than ten years that creative writing has taken root in Chinese universities, from being lonely and unheard of to hundreds of colleges and universities today establishing relevant discipline systems, the concept of writing is being reactivated and more room for development. For example, in 2009, the first creative writing research center in China was established at Shanghai University, which not only trains writers, but also focuses on creating a "talent reservoir" for film and television production, publishing and distribution, advertising, exhibitions, digital content and animation. Ge Hongbing, president of the World Chinese Creative Writing Association and leader of the creative writing discipline of Shanghai University, said that the establishment of professional awards will help Shanghai University and He Jianming Shanghai Literature Research Institute absorb high-quality resources from all sides, carry out cross-border development, and give full play to the maximum effect of the platform.
Contemporary literature is not only the personal career of writers, but also part of the cultural industry, and has even become a precursor to other cultural and artistic styles such as film and television. Putting "creativity" before "writing" is trying to "write" in more ways, and perhaps there will be more ways to tell stories in the future. Creative writing creates composite and creative writers, which just meets the needs and trends of the development of literature and art and cultural and creative industries.
Over the past 40 years, He Jianming has created more than 50 reportage works such as "Pudong Epic", "First Time", "Revolutionary", "Shanghai Expression", "Lovely RepublicMan" and so on. Looking back at the trajectory of creation, "a city, a model, a history... There are endless ways to tell. How to write in place, write color, write new ideas? This is also a new challenge that I need to face as a veteran of documentary literature. He hopes that in the future, more writers, especially college students and social youth, will join the ranks of creative writing and vividly tell Chinese stories for the times and the world.
Author/Photo: Xu Yang
Editor: Wang Xiaoli