Chapter 324 Call from Xiangjiang
In November, the sixth issue of "Contemporary" this year, "Special Issue on Shanxi Writers", was published and caused a great response in the domestic literary circles and among readers.
It is not easy for a publication these days to produce one or two decent young authors a year.
But "Contemporary" is different. It can always pick out piles of talented young people from corners that are invisible to the public, and push them to the literary world and in front of the general readers like a Bole.
After the launch of this special issue, the writers and works introduced in the publication have certainly received great attention and praise.
At the same time, more and more readers and critics praise Contemporary's spirit of innovation.
The praise for Contemporary Magazine from readers and critics has greatly benefited the entire editorial department, and even the publishing house has praised Contemporary Magazine.
In recent years, with the continuous expansion of sales and influence of "Contemporary", the status of the "Contemporary" editorial department within the company has also risen.
Lin Weimin sometimes wondered that apart from his seniority, the most important thing about Lao Meng was that he made Contemporary magazine a success, making it stand out among the crowd in the publishing house.
The publication of the last issue of this year does not mean that the editorial work has come to an end.
On the contrary, everyone is busier than before.
Because everyone was not only busy with the content of the first issue in 1985, but also with the series of selected novels arranged by Lin Weimin.
The closer it gets to the end of the year, the busier it gets, which makes everyone very resentful, but this is only because of the monthly bonus.
Compared with everyone else, Lin Weimin's life is not easy either. To be precise, he should be busier.
In addition to the review and manuscript collection of the editorial department, and the administrative affairs of the publishing house and the editorial department, the most important thing is that he has started writing his new work. All his spare time every day is spent on collecting information and writing. He is almost spending his whole life reading various historical materials and documents.
Although he and Lao Meng brag a lot, they still maintain a serious and responsible attitude when it comes to creation.
He had watched the TV series more than once before he traveled through time, and he roughly remembered the plot, but if he wanted to fully portray the style and political intrigues of that era, it would be impossible to do so without a large amount of historical data to support it.
The last time he was in this state was when he was writing "The Horse Catcher".
A weekend afternoon at the National Library.
Lin Weimin raised his head with difficulty from a pile of history books and ancient volumes. He had kept his head down for the whole day, and when he suddenly raised his head, his cervical vertebrae made a series of moans.
It's so difficult to look up information these days.
Lin Weimin deeply misses the ease with which future generations could obtain countless information by just moving their fingers in front of a computer.
"Teacher Lin, please have some water." Tong Zhonggui pushed the cup in front of Lin Weimin.
He has been taught by Lin Weimin since he joined the Chinese Literature Society. According to the saying of that era, he should call Lin Weimin "Master".
In the Chinese Literature Society, everyone generally calls him "teacher". Although Tong Zhonggui calls everyone "teacher" in the Chinese Literature Society, he calls Lin Weimin "teacher" with a special kind of gratitude.
Lin Weimin took a sip of water and asked, "How is your novel going?"
Recently, Tong Zhonggui is trying to write the first novella in his life.
A while ago, Lin Weimin started writing a new book. Tong Zhonggui volunteered to help when he learned that he needed to consult a lot of information.
Tong Zhonggui was very curious about how a great writer like Teacher Lin wrote a novel. Being able to have such personal experience not only satisfied his curiosity, but also was a valuable learning experience.
"I just wrote a few thousand words, but I feel like I can't go on." Tong Zhonggui said bitterly.
Lin Weimin sipped his tea and said, "Why do you feel like you can't continue writing? Tell me."
"This novel I intend to write is about a family's escape caused by a famine. I have a lot of fragments in my mind, but when I connect them together, they feel a bit fragmented and can't be connected at all. It feels too scattered."
After Tong Zhonggui finished speaking, he looked at Lin Weimin with some expectation. He believed that Teacher Lin would be able to solve his problem.
Lin Weimin pondered for a moment and said, "What we call 'inspiration' is usually presented in the form of a sentence or a picture. Therefore, it is normal for many ideas in your mind to be fragmented.
There are two fundamental reasons why it is difficult to connect them together.
First, you think too little. If you want to create the image of a mother, you can't just consider that she is a mother. She was once young, a young girl, or even a girl. You have to understand her growth context and environment to determine the character's personality and her possible reactions to things.
The same is true for plotting. You have a picture in your mind. For example, if two people are fighting, you will definitely think of the cause and effect of the fight, but what about a little bit before that?
In addition to the starting point of the conflict, their respective experiences and personalities will affect your creation.
The more details you have, the more vivid your content will be.”
When Lin Weimin was speaking, Tong Zhonggui unconsciously bowed slightly and spoke in a respectful manner.
After hearing these words, he couldn't help but feel secretly impressed.
"The second problem is to know how to make choices. You have to think clearly that there can only be one theme for a piece of work. All details must serve the theme and cannot go off topic, nor can they be too complicated or even top-heavy.
For example, if you say that you have too many images in your mind, then you have to ask yourself, are these images necessary to serve the main plot?
If so, keep them. If not, don’t be stingy and let them go. If they are really something on a line, it must not be difficult for you to connect these images and ideas.
Therefore, appropriate choices must be made. Only by clarifying the most important main line and then adding branches and leaves on this basis can a qualified work be created. "
After Lin Weimin said this, he took another sip of tea, and Tong Zhonggui nodded in satisfaction.
Teacher Lin's words were like opening a window in his mind. Many things that he had been unable to understand suddenly became clear to him. He felt an urgency in his heart to apply these valuable advice he had heard to his creation.
“You said it very well!”
"It's just some experience, and it's best if you can use it. If you have a better way, you can use your own. Everyone has their own unique way of thinking, so there's no need to be superstitious." Lin Weimin said calmly.
Tong Zhonggui thought to himself: Teacher Lin is good in every way, except that he is too modest.
The two talked for a while, and Lin Weimin looked at the time.
"Oh, the museum is about to close." He stood up and packed his things.
Tong Zhonggui also helped to clean up. Some of the ancient books on the table could not be borrowed and could only be read here. The two packed the remaining books into their bags and left the library.
Lin Weimin wanted to treat Tong Zhonggui to a meal, but Tong Zhonggui refused.
"You help me, I'll treat you, don't be shy."
Lin Weimin drove Tong Zhonggui to Donglaishun. During the meal, Lin Weimin asked a few questions about Tong Zhonggui's life.
He now lives in a single dormitory assigned by his unit, in a bungalow in Housun Park Hutong, with an area of only ten square meters.
"I am a single person, and a bed is enough for me. But many old comrades have too many people in their families, with five or six people crowded in a house of 20 to 30 square meters, like a pigeon cage." Tong Zhonggui said this with some emotion unconsciously.
Lin Weimin was also aware of this situation. It was not just the Guowen Society. In fact, for most urban workers, real housing improvement had to wait until after 1985 when the tide of unit-built housing and commercial housing emerged.
These past few years should be the most difficult times for everyone.
Talking about the topic of houses, Tong Zhonggui became even more envious of Lin Weimin.
The income from his articles alone is more than an ordinary person could earn in ten lifetimes, but when it comes to welfare benefits that need to be distributed, he never fights for them and is always aloof.
This kind of life without the daily necessities and trivialities is the life of a literati that he longs for!
The busy life continued in an orderly manner. Due to the limitation of materials, the creation of the new novel was much slower than Lin Weimin's previous creation speed.
It is also for this reason that I have a better understanding of the relevant history. With time, it is not impossible to become a semi-expert.
Suddenly it was December, and China and Britain signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration in Yanjing, announcing to the world that Hong Kong would return to the embrace of the motherland in 1997.
For a time, the whole world was paying attention to the event, the country was in an uproar, and everyone was excited and excited.
Under such circumstances, Lin Weimin received a call from Hong Kong.
Liu Yichang first informed Lin Weimin about the serialization of his two novels, The Lover and Farewell My Concubine, in the Sing Tao Evening News. Communications were poor in those days and Lin Weimin could hardly receive any news from Hong Kong in China, so naturally he had no idea about the two works after they were serialized.
According to Liu Yichang, "The Lover" was published before "Farewell My Concubine" and caused a great response among readers at the beginning.
What Liu Yichang didn’t say is that the response to “The Lover” was largely due to the novel’s degree of color. This type of work has always been popular in Hong Kong.
When Farewell My Concubine was published later, Sing Tao Evening News specifically emphasized in its introduction that the novel was published and sold well in the United States. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so popular inside the country, but it has received rave reviews since it was serialized.
Originally, the serialization of these two novels had been completed in the first half of the year, and Sing Tao Newspaper was planning to contact Lin Weimin to discuss publishing matters.
As a result, starting from the middle of the year, due to the negotiations between China and Britain, public opinion in Hong Kong was turbulent and Sing Tao Newspaper Group had to sit on the sidelines.
In the second half of the year, Liu Yichang resigned to concentrate on the preparations for the launch of "Hong Kong Literature", and the matter was never heard of again.
Recently, "Hong Kong Literature", which Liu Yichang has been planning for nearly two years, will finally be published next month, which is January 1996. Lin Weimin's "Let's Talk It Out Nicely" will also meet Hong Kong readers in the first issue of "Hong Kong Literature".
The volume of "Hong Kong Literature" is about 100 pages in 16-page format. The works published are mainly short and medium-length novels, essays, and poems. Novels can only be published in serial form. Liu Yichang told Lin Weimin on the phone that "Let's Talk It Out" will be published in the magazine in three issues, followed by "The Horse Catcher" and "Chasing the Murderer".
According to Liu Yichang's plan, the serialization of these three novels will occupy a large part of the space in "Hong Kong Literature" in the next year.
(End of this chapter)
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