Thank you for your trust. There are too many places in Taiwan Province Province to invite speeches this time. Every time I am invited, I ask the inviter what I want to say. The most frequently asked topic by inviters is how to write. After listening, I always try to avoid it and try to change other topics. Inviters often wonder why a writer is so afraid to talk about writing. I think most writers can understand my feelings.

If you are talking about writing methods, then any decent writer will tell you that writing is impermanent. There are some basic methods, but it's a pity that Chinese teachers in middle schools have all talked about them.

If you talk about writing motivation, then the specific motivation of writing every time is very accidental, and it makes no sense to talk about it; As for the overall motivation, there is no way to talk about it.

Some people in the United States have sent questionnaires to many famous writers. The most common question and answer is:

Why are you writing?

Because I want to write.

If we are talking about writing content, then the work itself is content. If you have to say it outside the work, it can only show that the work itself is not clearly expressed. Then modify the work, why talk about it?

If you are talking about the gains and losses of writing, then Du Fu has long said: "The article is eternal, and the gains and losses are well known." Obviously, the mystery that can only be felt by the heart is openly talked about by Kan Kan. Not only do others find it funny, but they dare not agree to their own one-inch mind.

Besides, what can we talk about? I don't think so.

But I have no right to refuse. A writer can refuse to keep an appointment, can refuse to open the door, but can't refuse the reader's questions. People find your book in the vast sea of books and read it so carefully that they always want to ask something after reading it. Many authors are dead, and you happen to be alive.

Wanted to think, there are two aspects can barely answer-

The first aspect is some superficial rules that people who pick up a pen to write should pay attention to. I call these rules the psychological bottom line of writing.

On the other hand, it is my personal writing experience. This only belongs to individuals and has no universal significance. Readers know: oh, there is a person who wrote it like this.

Two aspects, psychological bottom line six points, personal feelings four points, add up to ten.

0 1

You didn't sign a contract with the reader.

Readers are not obliged to read the works of any writer with great interest. Most beginners understand this, but when he is a little famous, he is often confused and thinks that he has a stable readership, and his name is contract. That was not the case.

I used to like Chekhov and Zweig's short stories very much, and I was happy to mention their names, but their complete works are far from finished. Their names established a psychological contract for me in principle, but they gave up what they didn't like after reading a chapter. That kind of contract does not exist.

There are several world-class literary masters whose works I have read through, and I often have the desire to reread them. But every time they take the book off the shelf, when they are ready to read, they often put it down after a few pages. Why is it so dull? Maybe the rhythm of a hundred years ago? ..... and so on, I can easily become a heartless person.

Writers themselves are readers, so they should always understand from their own reading psychology. There are no eternal loyal readers and no imaginary contracts.

In other words, there is no reason to indulge yourself and relax yourself at any time, so that readers can listen to your casual chat and repetitive nagging. Every article is a new beginning, and every sentence needs new sincerity. Zeng Guofan said that in this world, we care about respect and sincerity, and writers should always face their readers with respect and sincerity. No matter how much momentum the previous article gives you, you can't bully others; No matter how many readers the previous articles have gathered for you, you can't spoil them.

Respect and sincerity are very infectious. People can understand it from the first sentence and the first look, so it is often the starting point of a good conversation. On the contrary, without respect and sincerity, even if words are full of wit and humor, even if people nod and laugh frequently, there is always a gap in their hearts.

Then, please don't rush to write. Clean up the desk first, and then clean up your mood. Sit quietly for a while and spit out the residual polluted air. The soul is ethereal, and there is a lofty background in the ethereal. In this lofty background, please search carefully again, how many impulses were left just now. If it still exists, it is a good sign.

With this impulse, you must have accumulated all kinds of dribs and drabs, many sparks of inspiration and many beautiful sentences, but these can't lead directly to the article. As romain rolland said, don't just walk into the ceremony, just be quiet in your room for a while. You need this time to clear your mind, because you are facing a grand dialogue. The convener of the conversation is you, and the protagonist of the conversation is also you.

Among the guests you invited, there are some old friends and more strangers. If it's too casual, why do you invite them?

In fact, our guests' disappointment often exceeds their surprise.

Even if you write all your life and write the last one, don't expect the reader's trust inertia. It is very likely that the last article was poorly written, and then I can only realize once again that I have not signed a contract with the reader.

02

No attraction is no writing.

To respect readers, we must first attract readers.

There are several books in my life that can't attract readers, and these books have been written in vain; There are several articles in a book that can't attract readers, and these articles are written in vain; A few words of an article can't attract readers, which is tantamount to writing in vain.

Pretending to be lofty without considering attraction is also an attitude towards life, and sometimes it is an attitude worth looking up to. People with this attitude towards life can do many things, but they are not suitable for writing articles.

Of course, the articles I am talking about here are limited to literature, not including academic papers. But as a person who has been engaged in academic research for a long time, I need to add that even academic papers should have a minimum attraction, but the scope and methods of attraction are different.

Attracting readers is not the same as angering readers. The internal basis of attraction is the tension of the article itself. Nervousness is often caused by problems. If there is no desire to pursue, show, explain and solve problems at all, the article will have no power to open the bow. How can it be shot out?

The problem is generalized. For scripts, problems often appear in the form of crisis and conflict; For prose, poetry and novels, problems are often manifested as confusion, annoyance, curiosity and surprise. As long as these problems exist, there will be tension.

Passion adds to the tension. There are countless problems in the world, but few can arouse your passion. Therefore, the so-called passion is a sincere investment in your life. Cold articles can't talk about tension, but in some masters' works, there is heat hidden under the cold appearance, which is different from tension because of the contrast between cold and hot.

Besides the internal tension, the attraction of the article also depends on some technical measures. We should pay attention to the arrangement of suspense, the adjustment of rhythm and the collocation of cadence. There are also a few veterans who have turned these pressures into instinctive habits, which are suitable everywhere without much consideration. Just like an ancient poet, a casual intonation is like a flat tone and a master performer. You can see the color step by step by relaxing your performance, so some people conclude that the highest skill is to give up the skill. However, how many people can reach this level? In most cases, more exercise is needed.

In addition, we need to have an inspection mechanism to see where the boring factors appear. Once found, clear it immediately. The doctor needs an electrocardiogram to examine the patient, and we are all doing it when we are writing the revision. It is not only the ECG of the article, but also the ECG of the reader. Once there is a flat straight line in the ECG, there is a message of death, and measures must be taken immediately to reactivate life.

When I revise articles, I often turn myself into a doctor, and check the "electrocardiogram" of each paragraph with the strictest eyes possible to see which flat lines appear and which lumps that annoy readers need to be removed. Unfortunately, when it is published, I will still find a lot of lumps escaping from my eyes. I'm really sorry for the readers.

In short, unattractive articles have no readers, and articles without readers are meaningless.

03

Language sense comes from eyes and ears.

Articles are made up of language, while the language of literature is made up of feelings. A small feeling constitutes a big feeling, and a specific feeling constitutes a whole feeling. The world of literature, in the final analysis, is a world where language creates feelings.

But many writers often make mistakes and think that the feeling of literature is only their own. So I directly expressed my feelings in the article: I am angry, I am excited, I am surprised, I sigh ... In an ironic sentence, this situation is "I feel too good about myself".

In fact, expressing feelings directly often ruins feelings.

What does a writer have to do with his readers when he feels this way or that? It feels like everyone has it. Why should others pay attention to the feelings of those who make a living by writing?

This is unfair.

What a writer should do is to arouse the feelings of readers. Their real skill is to mobilize the sensory system of many readers who don't know each other and let everyone feel the same.

So, how can we arouse readers' emotions? Countless facts have proved that, first of all, through intuition. It is necessary for readers to seem to hear and see, so that their originally indifferent perception system can gradually creep up.

Just like in life, you have to tell your friends something. If it is complicated and you want to convince the other party in the complexity, then it is best not to rush to take out your judgment and emotions too early, but to calmly describe the specific process of the matter, describe the scene at that time, and even the important details. These descriptions can make friends have the effect of hearing and seeing. As you can imagine, it won't be long before friends will follow your ideas. And they are very voluntary and don't think they are influenced by your judgment and emotions.

With a few exceptions, good articles in the world always start by mobilizing readers' eyes and ears. Even modernist and post-modernist articles, although the feeling level is divorced from the traditional logic and freely combined, those feeling levels often have a stronger impact on the eyes and ears.

To evaluate whether a memoir is well written and literary, we should first look at how many eyes and ears it retains. Unfortunately, many memoirs only have memorabilia, as well as their own participation and inner judgment on these major events. Such a memoir, for readers, is really too distant. Occasionally read a specific description, a rain is like a long drought. However, such rain often passes in the blink of an eye and soon enters the dry season of words.

If a writer writes a memoir for a retired politician, this may be the biggest entanglement between the two sides. Writers repeatedly ask for details, even the temperature of the day, the clothes of the parties and the layout of the rooms, while politicians are puzzled: why write these things? He cares about meetings and speeches. But almost all readers know that the author is right.

Looking back at literature from this, we can know what is wrong with many works.

Keeping the eyes and ears intuitive in writing may make the works have a watery and furry texture, which also maintains the basic advantages of literature. Literature is most afraid of air drying and refining into chemicals. In this regard, belinsky, a Russian literary critic in the19th century, warned the writer in the simplest sentence: saccharin is not sugar.

Isn't everyone paying great attention to ecological protection now? Then, the literary garden is the green base of human beings in the spiritual field.

Of course, the writer's intuition about eyes and ears can't be spread out without restraint. To write a few hundred words on a cloud, a tree and an old dress is to show off writing in the name of description. I wanted to arouse the reader's feelings, but it became a deprivation of the reader's feelings. Arousing feelings is a respect for readers' initiative; Deprivation of feeling is contempt and harassment to readers.

Touch the reader's feelings with the most refined pen and ink. Everything he wants to say is quietly hidden in this feeling before it is in place. When lifting weights easily, let readers accept that you are the master not in concept but in feeling.

04

Try not to flatter yourself.

For many writers, it is often not thoughts, but feelings that tear the emotional level and jump out stiffly.

However, we must be wary of feelings.

Some writers said with grievances: I express my true feelings in my heart. Even the true feelings can't impress the readers?

Susan Langer, an American female scholar, puts forward a boundary that individual feelings and overall feelings must be distinguished in literary and artistic creation. By overall feelings, she means the part of personal feelings that has human value. This feeling is hidden in everyone's heart and can be felt with a wave.

Compared with the intuition of eyes and ears mentioned above, the emotional stimulation of readers is much more difficult and stingy.

The emotional world of human beings is an unfathomable maze, in which there are many defensive devices, and there are many obstacles to enter it.

I remember a psychologist in Europe said that if a writer throws a pot of feelings at the reader from the beginning, the reader's heart will immediately be emotionally rejected.

The basic key for writers to deal with emotions is convergence and calmness. Because what we need is the voluntary input of readers' feelings, only convergence can give readers space; Only when you are calm can you give readers trust. Dig a ditch, and the reader's emotional torrent will flow over sooner or later. If you just roll around by yourself, where is the room for readers to flow?

These principles are not writing principles, but are more caused by the world. An American communicator said that young couples who have just had children always like to write long letters to their friends, describing how naughty, clever and lovely their precious son is. Even their best friends will always turn over these pages when they see them.

Young couples are undoubtedly writing true feelings, and friends have not betrayed their friendship. The only problem is that they write too much.

Our relationship with readers is far less than that between young couples and their friends. Then, you have written so many true feelings in your article, how can you ensure that readers will not be in a hurry to read it?

05

Grasp common sense and avoid common sense.

If a writer wants to impress many people, he must be inseparable from nature. Susan Langer's universal feelings are close to what China people call natural feelings.

Basic human feelings cannot be created. Because it is this basic feeling that provides readers with the ultimate possibility of understanding and induction. Without this ultimate possibility, all ideas are like building towers on the beach; With this ultimate possibility, any whimsy can be established. Journey to the West is about ghosts and gods, but the mentoring relationship among Tang Priest, the Monkey King, Pig Bajie and Friar Sand is so natural that it can be found in almost any blacksmith shop and carpenter shop. Because of this, no matter how strange their stories are, readers can feel them affectionately. Similarly, Superman and Star Wars in science fiction works, no matter how strange the ecology is, interpersonal care, joys and sorrows still belong to the natural category.

Modernist writers often deliberately deviate from nature, but this deviation still takes nature as the coordinate. They proved nature from the side.

However, many writers who are not modernists often ignore nature. For an inhuman idea, for a self-pity that others can't feel, and even for a fanatical slogan, a narrow policy and a paranoid belief, I easily gave up my natural feeling. However, if you give up nature, you also give up literature.

The best writers in the world can always tell wonderful stories with the eyes and feelings of ordinary people, so their works have the value of all mankind and their readers are all over the world. This is really the opposite of ordinary and great.

Literature and art pay attention to innovation, but there is nothing new in the world. Only by being conservative can we innovate. What is most worth keeping is not concept, form or style, but common sense. Only by grasping it can we give the greatest commitment to innovation.

You must be careful here, because common sense is often confused with common sense in some writers. In particular, many social common sense and life common sense are easily confused because they are difficult to be strictly distinguished from nature.

In a society with developed economy and universal education, there are always a large number of informative and enlightening books, which are competing for a wide range of social needs and becoming more and more beautiful because of competition. This is a good thing, but it is also easy to produce a negative effect, that is, such works squeeze the already narrow literary world. It is through these books that many young people knock on the door of literature and misunderstand. To this end, all young people holding up the pen of literature should avoid common sense and write something in life. Literary writing is a profession devoted to making up for the lack of social common sense. In this case, how can we "make up for the loss"?

06

Length is more important than topic.

Writers often think most about what to write. In fact, it doesn't matter what you write, what matters is how you write.

It's like a relaxed conversation between friends. You can talk about anything freely, but whether you are happy or not depends on the expression and charm of the conversation.

For most writers, good topics are easy to get, but good looks and charm are hard to find.

Why is this happening? One of the reasons is that I have developed the habit of finding topics for a long time, and I don't know what the expression and charm are; The second reason is that topics can be obtained by wit, while expression and charm can only be sought from personality, which is much more difficult.

But don't be scared away by the word personality, there will be bright spots in anyone's personality structure. We must have such a memory, even once or twice: because of our arrival, friends' parties became lively. Everyone can spark charm in generate, but like a match, it is not on the side that can catch fire.

There will always be topics, but it is not up to you to decide whether to explode or not. It is said that two literary masters in the19th century made a bet that as long as someone told the beginning of a story, it would soon become the framework of a novel. I believe them, because sometimes a few friends chat and a decent plot can be connected in an instant. However, this series of plots are not literary works after all. The reason why those two masters became masters is that they have irreplaceable appearance and charm when dealing with every story. Stories can be copied by others, but not by others; Topics can be repeated by others, but charm cannot be repeated. It can be seen that it is not stories and topics that determine who is who, but expressions and charm.

Therefore, novices should spend more energy to check their expression style and language emotion. Get rid of those similarities with others, remember those sparks that once made others shine, ponder carefully and expand slowly. It won't be long before your overall taste will stand out.

Many writers have been writing for many years and can't find themselves. You can't even find yourself. How can others find you?

The above is a passage from On Taiwan Province Province-The Mystery of Writing.

On the Study of Taiwan Province Province

Publication date: 2065438+July 2008

Press: China Publishing Group Oriental Publishing Center