skillful writing

I have heard Mr. Wu Mingyi talk about writing. He said that writers need to practice writing every day. I agree, pianists practice for hours a day, athletes practice their bodies every day and the events they participate in. If you don't practice for a few days, you'll know it's a lot worse.

But how does a writer practice writing?

I listened to a lecture on a Saturday morning, and one of the speakers introduced a book by the French writer Raymond. "Exercise in Style" by Raymond Quencau, interested in it and bought it immediately.

The whole book revolves around a most common little episode: "I" met a rude person in the carriage, and he got angry with the passengers beside him. Two hours later, "I" met him again in the Roman Forum, and his friend pointed out that there was a problem with his collar.

Mr. Geno used 99 methods to write this little snippet. Some of these 99 ways are quite normal, such as notes, flashbacks, formal letters, theatrical version, interrogation version, etc. There are also some more peculiar ones, such as prejudice: that is, the whole article is full of dissatisfaction with "him"; another example is the wind of plants, he put various plants into the short text:

After waiting there with a pestle like a leek for a long time under the blooming sunflowers, I grafted a pumpkin carriage to Perry Field... (Style Exercises, p. 142)

Then there are some that I call "extreme", such as Hellénismes, the author writes new words from ancient Greek roots and philosophical and cultural allusions. Another lipogramme, the author missing the most common letter "e".

When reading this book, it is the translator who feels the hardest. Those normal, peculiar essays are okay. But some are more difficult, such as the past simple tense and the past imperfect tense, which are derived from the French tense writing, but Chinese does not have this tense, so the translators separately embedded the dynamic words and "Zhi" to come expressions, and add comments to explain the translation. Some I think are going to the level of madness, such as the Hellénismes written in the ancient Greek way mentioned above. The translator uses Han Dynasty vocabulary and Confucian allusions, and refers to the prose sentence pattern instead:

Feiji's public transport is full of envoys from Feixuan. Before the end of the day, the guest got this spectacle: the boy who surpassed the weak crown, the neck is like a hundred-foot pillar; the square collar and the round crown are tied with flowing ropes. The nameless mayfly, which lives and dies, is cursed for stepping on its feet. However, seeing the empty seat, like a strong arrow from summer clothes, it catapulted into the seat.

When the time was shifted, I visited the St. Laza Station, and I was in touch with the people. I was discussing with my fellow debaters. The wind was almost zero. (Style Exercises pp. 106, 107)

Another "forced mad" translator is the old-style poem Alexandrins. The original is a twelve-syllable poem, and the translation is rewritten as a seven-character rhythm poem:

Pupus car chases the shadow of the sun,
The youth giraffe crown is odd.
Undoubtedly the traveler stands shoulder to shoulder,
But the neighbors deliberately deceived.
The ghosts cry and the gods screeching resentment,
The wolf ran the mouse without a trace.
The same window clothes button Dusk Post,
Then sigh the world away. (Style Exercises pp. 52, 53)

All I can say is: "What a translator!" (that is, the translator is a madman). Translators have gone beyond ordinary translations and are "translations" that enter into creation. When I read it, I really admire the translator's ability, and I also imagine the situation where he kept going crazy while translating.

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Coincidentally, I bought a book at Qifenyi Bookstore @Integrated before, which is similar to "Style Exercise", that is "Da Copycat! 100 writing methods of instant fried noodles by writers: Osamu Dazai, Haruki Murakami, Gen Hoshino, 100 consecutive imitations of ancient and modern masters of style and style! " (referred to as "big imitation writing").

This one is simpler, the content is to describe the steps of soaking instant fried noodles, that is, lift the lid, pour the seasoning packet, heat the water, drain the water, pour the sauce packet, stir, and finish. However, the author imitated the writing style of famous writers from ancient and modern to write 100 articles, including imitating famous Japanese writers such as Haruki Murakami, Yukio Mishima, Osamu Dazai, and Soseki Natsume, as well as foreign writers such as the Brothers Grimm and Shakespeare, as well as playboy magazine articles and newspaper columns. "Editing handbooks", etc., is another crazy thing.

To be honest, I don’t know much about the writing style of those great Japanese writers, so I have a very general feeling about the imitation of those imitated writers. Let me quote the imitation of Haruki Murakami to write instant fried noodles, let's see if it is very "Murakami":

Instant Fried Noodles in 1973

I'm not interested in the fact that you plan to make instant fried noodles, and I don't have the right to say anything. At this moment, I was like staring at the flashing floor numbers of the elevator, watching silently.
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Feel free to remove the sauce and seasoning packets, heat the water in a container, and wait five minutes. During this time, you can do whatever you want, as long as you are happy. In any case, do nothing, and time still passes, whether you like it or not.
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Whether it's a book you've read halfway through, or a record you just bought. Or, there's nothing wrong with listening to your co-habitant whine. In short, five minutes is right, no more, no less.
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However, one thing I can tell you for sure:
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There is no perfect drain hole, just as there is no perfect despair. ("Big Imitation" pp. 16, 17)

Better, but those playboy magazine articles, business articles, newspaper reports. Of course I'd love to have everyone read the playboy magazine article, because it's accompanied by great graphics. However, I’ll let everyone buy it and read it for themselves (OS: I’m here to whet your appetite again?!)

Rather than this, I will give a Grimm Brothers text to make everyone smile:

face girl

Once upon a time, a girl from a wealthy family was abused by her stepmother and two sisters. She is busy cooking, washing and cleaning the house every day from morning to night.
One day, the stepmother and sisters are going to a dance held by the king.
"Look at you dirty, we can't take you. Just stay home." Hearing her stepmother say this, the girl had to stay at home. However, at night she was too hungry to bear, so she went out into the yard.
"Little bird, little bird, please help me." As a result, a golden bird flew over and gave her a box of instant fried noodles.
"Hazel, hazel, please swing your body and bring me hot water." As a result, the golden bird flew again and dropped a kettle with hot water. The girl poured hot water into the container, waited for five minutes, poured out the hot water, mixed with the sauce, and then started to eat the fried noodles. The prince who happened to be passing by saw the girl eating noodles, and he was attracted to her and proposed to her. The girl married into the palace, and her stepmother and sisters could never bully her again. ("Big Imitation", p. 97)

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If you want to compare, "Style Exercise" is "exploiting" the possibility of different writing styles, such as those to remove omissions (Lipogramme), past simple, past imperfect, etc. It is an experimental nature. As for "Da Imitation Writing", it is an attempt to substitute for the writer's writing, or to adapt it.

But both serve one purpose, which is to keep readers engaged:

...a reader who engages in writing without guilt, like the narrator in the "Clumsy Writer" exercise, finally looks at his own work and finds to himself, "Writing is still full of joy. !” (Style Exercises, p. 248)

Yes, when I read the two books, I had the urge to participate, so I also wrote an article "Instant Fried Noodles by a Clumsy Writer" with the topic of instant fried noodles:

You were suddenly hungry that night, and you found a box of instant fried noodles at home. You're too hungry to tear open that package, that tightly wrapped package. "It's okay, I'll come. You go to boil the water first." I tore open the package, lifted the sticky surface, and opened the seasoning package.
"The water is boiling!" you say. "Wait for me to pour the water in. Then bake for 5 minutes."
"Baking for 5 minutes will make the noodles too soft, will it be shorter?"
"Okay, that's 4 minutes!"
I hit the phone's timer. 4 minutes later, yum, it's time. You pour out the hot water carefully, fearing that it will be poured out together. And I help you open the tight sauce packet, mix it, and it's ready to eat.
"I'm welcome!"
Looking at it, I feel hungry too.
"Speak early, I can compare to you! Counting by family?"
"Don't worry about it," I said, taking out a box of instant fried noodles from my backpack.
"What the heck? Please solve your bag of instant fried noodles!?"
Yes? Why do I have a package of instant fried noodles?
You should be well aware that I am very hungry.
Also, I'm an idiot.

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Extended information:

"Style Exercise" (Elite)
https://www.eslite.com/product/1001243382477189

"Big imitation! 100 writing methods of instant fried noodles by writers: Osamu Dazai, Haruki Murakami, Gen Hoshino, 100 consecutive imitations of ancient and modern masters of style and style! 》(from blog)
https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010777858?loc=P_br_r0vq68ygz_D_2aabd0_C_1

Press: I saw that there was a sequel: "One more bowl! 120 ways to write instant fried noodles by famous writers: the Japanese version has sold 150,000 copies, if "they" wrote the instructions for instant fried noodles ... 》
https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010827613?loc=P_br_r0vq68ygz_D_2aabd0_C_1