Q: Can you please describe how you started writing? Why do you think you have to write?
A: I first started writing poetry for children. Then I tried writing fiction and found it to be my most favorite literary genre. It is like casting a net in the ocean and bringing back a silver fish with shining scales — which is exciting! “Silver fish” symbolizes a desire for the unknown, while “shining scales” represent the necessity to explore the intangible. While the silver fish serves as our reason to pursue, it is the shining scales that are our prey!
Q: Among the world’s writers, who do you think have most influenced you?
A: Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair, Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and Kenzaburo Oe’s Shizuka na seikatsu [A Quiet Life]. These books have left considerable impressions on me. Somehow I feel there are similarities among them.
Q: You have published three Chinese ebooks with eBook Dynasty so far — Central Station and Tell Him a Secret are short stories, while The Star of Bethleham is a stage play for children. What do you try to convey in these writings?
A: Stories are souvenirs from specific times and spaces. We collect them, tidy them up, and gradually rebuild the original scenes with words.
Q: In terms of short stories, what do you think a writer should be aware of when constructing plots, creating characters and managing the overall themes?
A: Short stories are the most diversifying form of writing. Characters, plots and themes — each can serve as the major player in this game that is the story. If one chooses “characters”, then the story becomes a portrayal of heroes. If one chooses “plots”, then the story evolves to reveal various secrets. If one chooses “themes”, then the story will shock and thrill.
Q: Have you ever encountered problems while writing? How to you conquer them?
A: Leave them alone and keep going! Come back to them when you have completely forgotten them!
Q: If someone asks you how to write a short story or compose a stage play for children, what will you say?
A: Any ordinary thing you see in your daily life — if you establish a link to it, then it will have a new meaning. Keep expanding this link, then eventually it will grow into a tree of stories!
Q: Among all the publications out there in the market, which sorts of books do you think should be further developed and promoted? Do you think your view is shared by other readers as well?
A: Many of the current publications in the market are of a “brimming” style of writing, trying to stuff everything into their plots. Lacking a sense of security in their cores, these stories make it hard for readers to get a glimpse of the treasures buried deep inside. In comparison, books of a “non-greedy” writing style are often very enjoyable as their treasures slowly emerge in the process of reading.
Q: As a writer, in your view, what are the advantages and disadvantages of publishing your writings as ebooks?
A: Books in electronic format can be easily updated, expanded and/or re-formatted. This is their advantage. However, a writer should still concentrate on writing a good book.
Joel Lloyd welcomes writing-related questions from all readers. Please post your questions below, and Joel will do her best to answer them.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 