Jointly reported by:
Hwang Victoria Jr3S(3)
Soon Yu Xuan Sr3ScB
Photography by:
Kuen Cheng Photography Club
On the 22nd of July 2023, the students of Kuen Cheng High School were given the opportunity to listen to a literature talk. Prose was the selected literary genre. Our distinguished host for the day was none other than Mr King Ban Hui, a talented writer, notable with many years of great writing experience.
Moments before the Talk
Mr King elaborated that academic writing and literary writing can be very different. Academic writing can be more “virtual”, and the writer themselves do not necessarily have to experience everything written by themselves, said our speaker. Literary writing, however, can be written from a personal perspective or standpoint. It is more real, as it is written from the bottom of a writer’s heart, and it has no limit to creativity.
Mr King shared that to unfold a story, writers have to pay special attention to the interaction between people and things, as well as the dialogue, actions, and feelings between the characters. As for the setting, Mr King suggested that writers describe the location as a place to store memories. Knowing each and every miniscule detail of a setting such as what decoration there is, the windows, and how clean the room is can be crucial to provide a wonderful reading experience.
Mr King Explaining Descriptive Writing
How do we write out the key details in a piece of writing however? Mr King started off by saying how everyone can see unique details. By using our five senses, we should see, hear and feel everything in our surroundings. Through this method, we can describe a person doing daily tasks such as thinking or even eating with vibrant vocabulary and give readers an experience to fully imagine the scenario themselves. “Text should be seen in the form of a lens,” Mr King states as he uses Lu Xun’s “Autumn Night” as an example.
On how to shape a character, Mr King recommends that writers observe and describe a character’s clothing, actions, and mannerisms. He also said that adding more adjectives to describe a character could accentuate the character’s image. Mr King listed one of Chinese writer Zhu Ziqing’s famous works, “My Father’s Back” as an example of how a character’s image could be shaped.
And with that, Mr King had completed his talk. The event was without a doubt a very interesting and well-thought out experience for all to enjoy. On behalf of Kuen Cheng High School, we would like to thank Mr King for sharing his literary writing experience and kind thoughts.