Blind massage therapists, part-time ride hailing drivers... When they become the male protagonists in novels, reality | Online literature | Part time website

"The story of 'Wandering in the Vast Daylight' attempts to depict a person's transformation, sinking, and struggle in the city. If we pursue it, it is the truth or the reality I imagine." Zhang Mei told reporters that her starting point for writing is "human fireworks". "Not everyone can stand in the 'C position' and become a person with a halo. On the contrary, more ordinary people are supporting this city and society."

On the afternoon of June 26th, the 7th Reality themed Online Literature Essay Competition, supported by the Shanghai Municipal Press and Publication Bureau and organized by the Reading Group, held an award ceremony at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. This competition attracted a total of 36696 participants, a year-on-year increase of 26%; 38092 entries set a new historical record. Zhang Mei's online novel "Wandering in the Vast Day" published under the pen name "Mei Shi Niang" won first prize.

Tell the story of a blind masseur

Zhang Mei is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Semiotics at the University of Bologna in Italy, and this is not her first time standing out in real-life online literature creation; His previous work "The Age of Pentium - Towards South and North" won the special prize in the 5th Reality themed Online Literature Essay Competition.

"Wandering in the Vast Day" tells the story of a young man with normal vision who becomes a blind masseur. The protagonist Sheng Chuncheng wanders around the city with a blind cane every day, navigating between various characters and feeling everyone's joys and sorrows. "I really like two books, one is Nabokov's" Laughter in the Dark ", and the other is Alan Rob Grier's" Jealousy ". Both of these books are about sight and angle, which used to be very ordinary life, because looking at it from different angles and perspectives will present different appearances." Wandering in the Daylight "is also trying this kind of thing."

It is interesting that after the completion of "Wandering in the Vast Day", Zhang Mei is writing a new novel "Wandering in the Vast Night", with the protagonist being a part-time ride hailing driver. Her love for creating realistic themes is related to her habit of sketching from life. "I am someone who likes to sit on the roadside, whether in China or abroad. I enjoy sitting on the roadside and staring blankly at the people walking past me. These people may only be seen in the present in your lifetime, but after a chance encounter, there is infinite room for imagination."

To some extent, this is the writer's way of "sketching", and "sketching" is her basic skill training. "After you 'sketch' too much, you become stuck in reality and can't get rid of it." It is not difficult to see that her real-life themed online literature and stories all take place in Hangzhou, which is Zhang Mei's hometown. "I attended primary and secondary schools in Hangzhou, and then went to university abroad. After leaving Hangzhou, it was no longer the background of my life, but the background I imagined."

In Zhang Mei's eyes, the West Lake, Qiantang River, Grand Canal, Zhonghe River, Tiesha River, as well as the canal tributaries that often appear unintentionally on the streets and alleys, constitute the temperament of Hangzhou. "When I place the characters in such a background, the urban temperament will also permeate the work and become the temperament of the work."

Over 70% of award-winning works on real-life themes have been authorized for development

The theme of this year's realistic themed online literature competition is "Good Stories Illuminate the Fireworks of the World", attracting writers from all walks of life to participate.

Among them, the award-winning work "One Hand Star Picking" presents the historical process of China's satellite navigation industry from introduction, cooperation to independent research and development. The author "Sweeping Three Emperors" graduated from Wuhan University with a major in aerial surveying and is one of the earliest practitioners of satellite navigation in China. This is also his first novel work. "Hot Moonlight" and "Binjiang Police" won the second prize in this competition. The former takes the Southern lion dance culture as the storyline, depicting the self redemption path of contemporary women facing life difficulties; The latter takes a different approach in the theme of police affairs, portraying the vivid stories of contemporary police workers through the growth of small figures like water police officers. In addition, 10 works including "Double edged Blade", a social suspense work that criticizes online violence, "Yi Yi's Choice", which focuses on entrepreneurship in the "metaverse" and women's issues, and "Port", which reflects the achievements of maritime military industry through individual stories, won the award for excellence.

"Realistic themed online literature is entering the golden age," said Hou Xiaonan, CEO of Yuewen Group and Vice President of Tencent's Platform and Content Business Group. The magnificent development of the times has provided an unprecedented broad stage for online literature. Data shows that in 2022, the year-on-year growth rate of writers and works with realistic reading themes exceeded 20%, with "struggle", "entrepreneurship", "workplace", "family background", and "love" becoming the top 5 keywords in creative rankings. The broader background of creators has made the focus and themes of the work more diverse, professional, and three-dimensional, and has also attracted more and more attention and resonance from young readers. Last year, among the newly added readers with real-life themes, the post-00s accounted for 58%.

It is worth noting that real-life themes are one of the main themes in the adaptation of online literature. According to the latest data from Yuewen, over 70% of the award-winning works in a total of seven competitions have been authorized for IP development, with audio, publishing, and film and television ranking among the top three forms of IP development.

The TV series of the same name, adapted from the real-life online work "Surgical Live Room", has been completed

"Realistic themes are the greatest common divisor between online literature and traditional literary creation, and are an essential element for the refinement of online literature." Cai Xin, Deputy Editor in Chief of CITIC Publishing Group and General Manager of CITIC Publishing · Dafang, believes that participating in the full chain and series development of online literature IP can provide strong support for high-quality works to enrich readers' spiritual and cultural life, which is also the responsibility of the publishing house. In July of this year, CITIC Publishing Group will soon list the book "Heading South and North", which is the first physical publication of Zhang Mei's works.

At the same time, nearly 20 works such as "Big Country Heavy Industry" and "The Road to Investment Banking" have been authorized for film and television development, covering multiple dimensions such as paying tribute to the times, the industry workplace, and youth growth. In April of this year, the TV drama of the same name, adapted from the reality themed online article "Surgical Live Room", has been completed. Yang Qiuxi, the producer of Dunqi Studio at Alibaba Pictures and the producer, said that the creation of reality themed TV dramas establishes the theme based on the pain points of people's livelihood, obtains materials from real events, focuses on social hotspots, daily life, and human life, and narrates social phenomena from the perspective of ordinary people, which better resonates with the audience and also embodies their pursuit of truth, goodness, beauty, brightness, and the future.

The 8th Reality themed Online Literature Essay Competition was launched on the same day.