Web Novel Makes Splash
Posted on by Jason Li
Teenager drops out of high school. He pursues writing. He enters Sina’s online writing competition. He wins. He receives high praise from the judges. He is to be published by Zhaohua Publishing House.
Is this a one off phenomenon, or is the internet providing alternate gateways for expression (for those who don’t follow the traditional path of school)?
Source: Danwei.
It’s such an unthinkable scenario in the tightly scripted Chinese educational trajectory. Is this a Chinese version of the dotcom reinvention of careers for young people? Another example is the “Asian Backstreet Boys,” who I think have been hired to do advertising, based on the worldwide popularity of their DIY video.
They have!? Wow.
Well, if we’re thinking about the same thing, dotcom careers were based around money funneling directly into dotcoms. Here, the internet is merely the stepping-stone for the end goal (a novel in physical form & an offline movie).
Another lens to view this with is one of artistic expression of someone who may be traditionally ignored / did not have access. The caveat here is whether the young author is “just a teenager” or if the press has not mentioned some elucidatory background info.