Beijing’s wordsmiths(2)

Lacking self-discipline, Xia focuses on writing short stories as the longer pieces she started a while ago lost momentum after she got to about 20,000 words.

Xia is a capricious writer. It takes her a while to get in the right mood.

"I get anxious and then engage in doing something else. By the time I get into the mood, hours would have passed by," she said. But once she does get into writing mode, she ignores all other tasks, including her meals.

"When you have a figure for you story, you need to carefully pair it up with related plots or actions for the character. If not, you would easily turn out stories that are similar to what other writers have written," she said.

Most of Xia's inspirations come from the books she has been reading, be they sci-fi novels or books on social science.

"I used to read books for their plots, but now I read with a critical attitude and often ask myself what the author's intentions are," she said.

Xia prefers quiet places when she writes, such as the study rooms in her university. Yet the place she feels at most ease is her bed.

"When you are in bed with your computer, no one can see your screen or know you are writing stories," said Xia.

The sci-fi scene in China started about in the early 1990s and there are only a few full-time sci-fi writers, as it is difficult to make a living from the small market and readership. More readers are becoming writers now. However, writing to her is a great way to unwind while keeping her imagination working.

Stay-at-home author

Sheng Keyi, 39, is a full-time fiction writer. Her 2004 book Northern Girls: Life Goes On, about the struggles of young migrant women in China's South, was translated into English and published by Penguin in 2012. She spoke at the Bookworm Literary Festival last year.

Referring to herself as the indoor type, Sheng works from home most of the time at her current apartment in the Yayuncun neighborhood in Chaoyang district where she can stay undisturbed and at ease. A morning person, she usually gets up between 6 and 7 am and starts working after a light breakfast. She spends most of her evenings reading, watching films or posting on Weibo to relax. Working late into the night causes her insomnia.

Sheng has no strict word limit to pen down each day, but she carefully structures her time when working on longer pieces.

"If I'm working on short stories, I just write when I feel right about it. If it's a full-length, I try to produce 1,500 words each day," said Sheng, adding that it takes her most of the day to produce.

However, staying at home does have its downsides.

"You can be easily distracted by some trivial things such as chores in the house or cellphones," she said.

Currently working on an epic story about the ups and downs of a big Chinese family set a century in the future, Sheng said she's not really a social writer.

"Meet-ups are more for screenwriters than novelists," said Sheng. "Each writer has his or her own preference for developing plots and some prefer not to discuss and step on each other's works."

Being in conversation with her readers is more important to her, and she said literary festivals are a great way to do that. Sheng spent half of last year in and outside China promoting Northern Girls.

Although Sheng is mostly confined to her home, that doesn't curb her inspiration.

"Some authors get inspired by things they see or experience, but I get more inspiration from my reading," she noted. "It is more like indirect life experience. As long as you are sensitive inside, you can transform others' stories into your own in your writing, and sometimes they are more profound."

Sheng's favorite place to write is at the Demaotang Villa at the foot of Huangshan Mountain in eastern China's Anhui Province. It's special to her because it sits in an area with few other people. She can be alone, and write.