Bakuman
After Zhao Youyue searched for information related to “Ya Jing” on the internet, she was shocked by her talent. If Han Leng was a genius writer among high school students, then Lin Shiya was quite possibly one of the most talented university students around. She was the pride, the face of Zhang Wanjun’s famous university. Busybodies flattered her, calling her the campus flower.
But unfortunately, this school flower already belonged to someone. But no one knew who she actually belonged to, as her boyfriend was doing a good job at laying low.
No one knew that her boyfriend had a great deal of influence. Apart from several book signing events, she never participated in the rest of the promotional events. She seldom accepted interviews as well. She had given the readers the impression that she was the kind of writer that focused on writing, having little concern for fame and gain. This only gave her books more appeal.
The readers considered her works to have some sort of purity which other writers did not have. Her university teacher was also a big boss in traditional literature. Therefore, she was easily recognized by the traditional literature community. It was why her books racked in awards like no tomorrow.
The notebook that Zhao Youyue held in her hands at that moment was undoubted “Ya Jing’s” new work. What kind of “POV Writing Method” novel would it be?
If this novel was excellent, it would be worth for her to travel into it via the “Two Dimensional Gate.”
After all, this “Ya Jing” piece was not on the market yet, but her fans were waiting with bated breath. If she manages to live up the hype, it would easily grow popular. In addition to her connections in literary, along with her great track and sales record, this latest work could be eligible for more weighty literary awards. In that case, its probability of becoming an iconic work would drastically increase.
Zhao Youyue decided to look further. She soon saw the name of the novel —— “Bakuman.”
Zhao Youyue was stunned. If she had not misremembered, “Bakuman” was supposed to be a manga in theother world, which also known as “Bakuman.” It was a shonen manga full of positive energy. It also gave a refreshing, realistic insight of the manga industry. “Shonen Jump” was the center stage. The mangakas and editors in the magazine drew heavy reference from real-life counterparts.
Perhaps this novel was the novel version of the manga “Bakuman?”
Was Lin Shiya the legendary main character who plagiarized the articles of others?
Zhao Youyue continued reading. She realized that this novel “Bakuman” by “Ya Jing” had nothing to do with “Bakuman” of the other world. Yet, it spoke of a world with the writers as the main characters. It explained the traditional writer industry of this world in general.
Undoubtedly, becoming a professional writer, or a traditional writer was not an easy matter. In this era where online literature took the shore by waves, how many writers would be able to adhere to their original literary dreams?
This novel “Bakuman” sought to give those traditional writers a voice to shout. Presumably, readers who had the same literary dreams would be able to relate closely!
Could powerful dreams give birth to “Bakuman”? However, becoming a professional writer was also a gamble in itself. Once traditional writers choose to self-publish their works, they would often end up spending all their little savings
Zhao Youyue considered it to be truly interesting. The “Bakuman” manga of the other world gave a general explanation of the manga industry. The protagonist’s dream was to become a super popular mangaka, and to marry a beauty VA. The “Bakuman” by “Ya Jing” in this world gave a general explanation of the literary world. Apparently, online literature would be involved in the future, as well. There would even be a battle between traditional literature and online literature
There were all sorts of writers within, just like it was in reality. Some managed to sell a book or two in bulk. Some adhered to writing unswervingly while working part-time to sustain their living. The cruel fact for these writers is that they might never be able to write something famous, even if they persisted in doing so for a lifetime.
Although there were no protagonists in this “Bakuman” by “Ya Jing,” there were not so subtle hints on the existence of a main character. The story started off from the viewpoint of an editor of a small literary magazine. The story jumped straight into an in-depth description of the state of traditional literature this world was currently in. Undoubtedly, it was a dying breed.
In this era where entertainment was gradually being diversified, high-end, grand, upper-grade literature have been left far behind mass literary works and had grown irrelevant to daily life. Sales were plummeting. Companies were going bankrupt, one after another. The remaining ones were on their last legs. They even needed state subsidies
However, this young editor still had dreams keeping his heart alight. He hoped to one day discover a true genius writer, and guide him onto the right path. Then, this genius writer would write an immortal iconic work, and receive the two greatest literary awards in this world —— The Oriental Literature Award and Saint Laurent Literature Award.
The awards were as impressive as their names suggested. The Oriental Literature Award was the highest literature award within the China sphere of influence, which was one of the two poles. The Saint Laurent Literature Award was the highest literature award within the European and American sphere of influence. Unfortunately, the famous Nobel Prize did not exist in this world anymore.
At that moment, only three writers have received both the Oriental Literature Award and Saint Laurent Literature Award. All three of them have passed away. The bipolar structure had resulted in everyone playing with their own toys. Why should the Oriental Literature Award be awarded to foreign writers? The judges of Saint Laurent Literature Award thought the same as well
In the other world, China had once been very persistent in claiming the Nobel Prize. This was due to insufficient cultural influence. It had no domestic awards that were comparable to the Nobel Prize. As for the China in this world, which was the Eastern overlord, it ruled over much, even Australia. Its cultural influence had to be significant. China had its own series of awards that the world held in great esteem. Therefore, China could not be bothered with the awards within the Western sphere of influence.
Even if the polarization of this world did not give rise to big confrontations, they would still fiercely compete on a cultural level. In the simulation game “Sid Meiers Civilization,” everyone’s military strength was comparable to each other. Every country had their own nuclear firepower as well. If a war truly started, Earth would definitely be damned. Therefore, they could only pursue victory in terms of culture and territories in outer space.
This novel “Bakuman” obviously used the current literary world as the backdrop, containing many Chinese and Western writers as characters. The plan was to write a depiction of the great collision between cultures. It would be a grand, global series of events, not leaving out each and every writer’s philosophies, along with the trends through the passage of time, etc.
This was entirely on a different level compared to “Bakuman,” of another world, regarding intention…