Chapter 23: The New Concept Cup Composition Competition

The number of people who signed up for the literature forum was much more than Fang Yuan had imagined.

Literature and art were the eternal pursuit of people’s hearts.

Soon, everyone took their places and sat at their desks, listening to the lectures by the literature masters in their respective areas and groups.

In the Genre literature section’s Fantasy Novel Group, a boy with a buzz cut named Zhu Hongzhi sat in the first row of the podium, listening to the three teachers on the podium.

The three teachers each had their own strengths.

In the first class, Tolkien first described the world view of fantasy fiction.

He used his own work, the Lord of the rings, as an example.

He explained that if fantasy were to be released, the story could not be restricted to the human world, and in the world of middle-earth, there might be elves, dwarves, dwarves, and other creatures.

These creatures may have their own language.

Even different from the human world science of alchemy.

Tolkien, in order, to create his own works, even invented a special foreign language.

This was an eye opener for Zhu Hongzhi who was only 16 years old,

…

Next was the lesson by George R.R. Martin as a teacher.

He was talking about the problem of perspective switching in fantasy novels.

There were first-person and third-person novels, but each had their limitations.

Either there was a lack of empathy, or there was a lack of information.

Just like in a relationship, the same thing happens in the hearts of the male and female protagonists, creating a completely different response.

So, Martin revolutionized the creation of “Point of view” writing.

With this method, the narrative could freely choose the richest angle, greatly enhancing the narrative flexibility.

At the same time, the author could adjust the order of the point of view at any time, and in the full text of the later revision, one could plot to add or delete what was not needed.

This was how his work, A Song of Ice and fire, in which there were series of court battles, battles on the battlefields, Adventures and Magic Resistance stories, was created.

Zhu Hongzhi listened with rapt attention, feeling as if he had opened the door to a new world.

…

The third lesson was from J. K. Rowling. She was unexpectedly a very gentle teacher.

Ms. Rowling first shared her story of being rejected by 21 publishing houses.

She encouraged people to work hard and not be afraid of rejection.

Then she explained the problem of character creation in fantasy novels.

In her Harry Potter series, she created very vivid characters such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape, and so on.

This tells Zhu Hongzhi that in the story, not only must he design a delicate plot but also, in the development of the plot, through putting the characters in different circumstances of choice, he had to create a vivid three-dimensional character.

…

After listening to the three lectures in the literary forum, it was almost time for the dormitory to close.

But on the way back to the dormitory, Zhu Hongzhi was still recalling the lectures of Tolkien, Martin, and Rowling.

He was inspired.

As he sat at his table in his dorm room, something seemed to come out of his heart. It was a strong urge to write.

He stared at the white paper on the table.

Zhu Hongzhi had never written a novel, and he had never felt this urge.

So, he was also afraid of the white paper.

‘How should I write? Can I really write well?’ He thought. Like all new authors, he was also hesitant.

“Oh Zhu, what are you still doing down there? The lights in the dormitory will be out soon. Eat something and go to sleep. I have brought back a few freshly washed tomatoes from the canteen. Here!”

His roommate sat on the bed and kindly reminded him.

Then a bright red tomato was thrown down from above and landed steadily in Zhu Hongzhi’s palm.

He took a big bite.

The sweet and sour juice filled his mouth.

Lightning-like inspiration poured into his calm mind.

At that moment, Zhu Hongzhi was not alone. He seemed to be held tightly by his muse.

Although he had not thought of the plot, he had decided on the title of the book and his own pen name.

He picked up his pen and started writing rapidly on a piece of white paper.

‘Coiling Dragon’

‘I Eat Tomatoes’

…

Authors like ‘I Eat Tomatoes’ also appeared in other literary groups in the genre literature section.

The nine students in the romantic fiction group, inspired by Fitzgerald, began writing a manuscript titled “The Girls We Fell in Love with All Those Years Ago.”.

Cixin Liu of the science fiction group, guided by Arthur Clarke, was working on a trilogy called ‘The Three Bodies’.

The thriller group, all under heaven, decided, in the words of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, to write a book called ‘A Ghost Blows Out the Light’, based on a legend they had heard in the countryside.

Every student at Yun Ding High School who had the potential to write, had blossomed in the Museum Literature building out of their own talent.

But these were just by-products of the literary forum.

Genre literature was good, but it was not necessarily suitable for the upcoming New Concept Cup Essay Competition.

After all, writing novels was not allowed in the college entrance examination essays.

So, for the New Concept Cup Essay Competition.

The selection was beautifully written narratives, or sharp-tongued argumentative essays.

Principal Fang Yuan was aware of this.

He had placed the focus of the competition in the serious literary district.

Here was the guidance of two literary masters, Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

It had produced two young writers with very different personalities and styles.

They were Guo Jingming and Han Han.