First, the definition of network literature
What is "network literature"? According to Mr. Chen Cun, it is free, casual and utilitarian, and it does not take the publication of papers as its ultimate goal. The so-called "past" sign of its best period is "publishing traditional books online".
In my opinion, the so-called online literature should take the works created, published (launched) and circulated on the Internet as the mainstream, and what has been published by traditional media before it goes online should belong to online information content.
Second, the classification of online literature
According to its purpose, the creation of online literature is as follows:
(1) aims at spreading on the internet, from which they get self-satisfaction and achieve this sense of accomplishment with the appreciation of netizens. In the end, such an author will inevitably seek fame on the Internet.
(2) Although they first appeared on the Internet, they used the network platform as a springboard to enter the traditional media. Such a writer has a clear purpose from the beginning. For example, serializing a novel will eventually stop and wait for the favor of traditional media. Of course, such a writer needs to reach the first level first, because the traditional media will take care of the writer's reputation on the internet while reviewing his works.
(3) Although the ultimate fate of the work is not considered, it is not stupid enough to reject the favor of traditional media. The purpose of this writer's creation is to let nature take its course first, and he is only satisfied with the free publication on the Internet. However, I suspect that this state is unstable. Under the influence of fame, works, netizens and other factors, I either continue to write like this or dream of becoming famous and successful.
(4) Rejecting the traditional media, aiming at expanding the network literature from beginning to end, not asking Wen Da to be appreciated by the traditional media, just writing and pasting on the Internet, and being completely self-sufficient. Is there such a person? Maybe, but I haven't seen it yet.
The above states (1) and (3) are not stable. As long as there is desire, it will eventually deteriorate and take refuge in the banner of traditional media. Writers in the fourth state can probably be classified as "rare animals". They are either enemies of traditional media or paranoid. Therefore, we can clearly see that the ultimate goal of online literature is not the publication of paper media, but we can't refuse it, and we won't refuse it. We can even say that it will eventually face traditional media. The so-called free, casual and non-utilitarian online literature can only be a form of online literature, not the main state of online literature. It can even be said that this form is only the "primary stage" of the development of online literature.
The above classification methods are from the perspective of network writers and carriers, and can also be classified as follows:
(1) The website (forum) is purely for the purpose of publishing and exchanging the author's works, or it will also hold an electronic publication or something, which will only spread on the Internet and will not be in contact with traditional media.
(2) Websites (forums) absorb a large number of writers' works and actively move closer to traditional media, with the purpose of publishing (cooperating with traditional media) writers' works or recommending them to traditional media.
(3) Traditional media look for works suitable for paper media on the Internet and buy (pay) and then publish (publish). Of course, there are also a lot of unpaid jobs.
There is also a kind of website that buys the copyright of traditional media works and downloads (reads) online, which is actually an extension of traditional media in the network and cannot be classified as online literature.
Three. The history of network literature
China's online literature can be traced back to the end of 1990 and the beginning of 199 1. 1990165438+1On October 28th, China officially registered China's top-level domain name CN in SRI-NIC (Network Information Center of Stanford Research Institute), and opened an international e-mail service using China's top-level domain name CN, which took the first step in China's Internet.
199 1 year, Wang Xiaofei founded the Chinese Poetry Network ((Chpoem-1@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu)) overseas. Shao Yun, an online writer from China studying in the United States, published Struggle and Equality on the Internet in April 199 1, which is the earliest known Chinese online novel.
1992, the first Chinese news group alt.chinese.text coded in GB-HZ was established by China students from Indiana University, and China's online literature began to spread on the global Internet.
1in March, 993, Shiyang began to publish a large number of poems by email. Since then, he has published hundreds of poems in China News Group and China Poetry Website on the Internet, and has been recognized as the first online poet in China by academic literature.
1February, 994, Fang et al. founded the first online literary publication "New Threads" in China.
1In March, 995, Shiyang, Minglu and others founded the first online poetry publication "Olive Tree" in China. At the end of 1995, several female authors who were active in the Chinese poetry network founded the first online female literature publication "Tricks". From 65438 to 0995, Internet cafes began to appear in China, but only for a few users.
After 1996, Internet cafes in China began to develop rapidly in major cities. At this time, foreign students' writers, such as Sanyisheng and tuya, had an influence on China's online literature.
1997165438+1In the early morning of October 2, Lao Rong published an article entitled "No Tears in Dalian Golden State +00.3 1" in Sitong Li Fang (the predecessor of Sina) forum, which almost spread throughout the whole network in just 48 hours. This is the first time that online literature has made an influential appearance in traditional media.
From 65438 to 0998, China's first most representative and influential online novel "First Intimate Contact" appeared on BBS, written by Cai Zhiheng. 1998 No.6 Tianya published an anonymous online novel "Live Like a Man". Because this online novel has been repeatedly posted on the bulletin board, it is said that the original author is Xing Yusen. In addition, Huang Yi's The Legend of Tang Dynasty and Mo Ren's Heroes of Star Wars are all the rage, and literary portals such as gold bookstores and various personal online bookstores have mushroomed.
Since 1999, more literature websites have been established, such as blackboard writing and paid literature website Boku.
Since the 20th century, more and more people began to read and write online. After experiencing difficulties and twists and turns such as development, integration and merger, literary websites have matured on the basis of new website building mode and network technology, and network literature itself has also become divided, such as A Farewell to Wei 'an by Anne Baby in 2000, The Story of Wukong by 200 1, Chengdu by Murong in 2002, and Lin Changzhi's. In the following years, the maturity and continuous growth of personal blogs set off a so-called national writing movement.
Four. The Development of Network Literature
From the perspective of website survival, (1) type will be difficult to maintain or even get into trouble unless it is supported by specialized institutions. Such websites (forums) can only be independent and rely on other websites to survive. If you can't afford your own website (forum), let's talk about how to raise the luxury of literature. How other types of websites (forums) contact with traditional media is still a model that can be explored. Domain, but at least there is a glimmer of life. Traditional media looking for manuscript sources from the Internet will greatly stimulate the vitality of online literature. It can be seen that if we define online literature from the perspective of carrier, it is only defined as whether it is first published on the online platform, and it has no direct connection with whether it extends to traditional media or directly targets paper media. It should also be mentioned that some online works are not suitable for traditional media, such as multimedia creation (adding links to poems and attaching pictures and flash to texts), which can really be regarded as pure "online literature".
We can also talk about the prospect of online literature from the well-known fate of "online writers". What about those famous writers now? First of all, they have published books, such as "The God of Wealth" and "Wang Xiaoshan"; And some don't even have "contacts", such as Shang Ailan and others who specialize in writing columns; Others flow into various traditional media departments such as newspapers (of course, some of them were originally traditional media personnel). In short, everyone is going to the traditional media, or walking on the road of traditional media. So how do you define their identity? You can call him a writer, or he can call himself an online writer, but it doesn't matter. What is important is that "publishing traditional books online" seems to be the best ending of online literature in the eyes of many people!
To sum up, "network literature" is a kind of literature. Like "literature", it pursues more free expression and personalized works. It was first defined on the network platform, and gained a broader communication space on the new creation platform of the network. Although paper may not be the ultimate goal, paper media should be the most attractive direction, and close contact with paper media can stimulate the vitality of online literature. In this state, it can also produce classic works and create a large number of freelance writers.