When the writer ventures into a difficult genre

(GLO)- In recent years, many members of the Literature Branch of the Gia Lai Province Literature and Arts Association have proactively broken out of their comfort zone, switching to writing in difficult genres, promising to bring fresh, diverse colors to the province's literary picture.

Confident with historical stories and memoirs

Since the 80s of the last century, the name Pham Huu Hoang has been known to literature lovers in the land of Nau with his first short stories that explored a variety of life colors and gradually affirmed his position in the hearts of readers when he switched to writing about historical topics, a direction that not every author is willing to commit to experimenting. To date, he has published 4 collections of short stories including: Vuong Phap, Dem Ao Huyen, Nguyet Cam, Bong Hoa .

Writer Pham Huu Hoang believes that historical short stories pose many challenges that require writers to invest time and effort, especially in finding and researching every small detail related to history.

My Tien, Tran Quoc Toan, Thuy Trang (from left to right) are young, prolific authors in many different genres. Photo: Phi Nguyen

From historical events, characters, cultural life, customs to costumes, language, behavior… must be appropriate to the context of the dynasty recreated in the story. “Writing a good historical short story is also a connection between the past and the present, helping readers gain more understanding and have a deep love for the nation’s history,” writer Pham Huu Hoang shared.

Similarly, author Van Phi, after publishing two poetry collections (Stranded Day, Wandering Pottery), has also renewed himself with... memoirs. Currently, he is completing the manuscript of the memoir Men Tram . According to Van Phi, writing memoirs was initially a job requirement, but the more he writes, the more he finds himself in tune with this genre. It allows the writer to both observe and record life, and express his own feelings and thoughts. Men Tram not only preserves professional memories, but is also an effort to retain traces of time, stories about identity, history, and culture in a context of rapidly changing society.

“I think that venturing into a new genre is a challenge, but also a motivation, especially for young authors. When choosing a more difficult field, writers are forced to read more, observe more carefully, feel more deeply, and enrich their own expressive repertoire. That is also a way to improve and renew themselves and keep the writing journey from becoming monotonous,” he confided.

According to author Van Phi, in recent years, many writers have been expanding their creative scope. For example, writer Le Hoai Luong, formerly famous for his short stories, is currently completing a novel manuscript. Authors such as Duyen An, Tran Quoc Toan, Truong Cong Tuong, Thuy Trang, My Tien... are all writing in many different genres.

"Falling in love" with epic poems and novels

Poet Dao An Duyen said that she has been planning to write a long poem for a long time. In addition to her practical experience, she has also read many books and documents about the culture of the Central Highlands, built an outline... And the opportunity that urged her to start implementing her plan was when she participated in the writing camp of the People's Army Publishing House in Nha Trang in August 2025.

Poet Dao An Duyen hopes to nurture emotions and maintain the flow of writing to complete the epic poem. Photo: TH

According to her, if poetry is a slice of emotion that suddenly flashes at a moment, then a long poem is an extension of emotion, interwoven with narrative elements to create a story. Telling a story, but still maintaining the emotion, is much more difficult than composing poetry.

“The name The Ripe Mist Season probably evokes a misty region of the Central Highlands, the main setting of the epic poem. A little "secret" is that the Central Highlands cultural space will occupy most of the work's content. The main character is a child born in the basalt land. Following the main character will open up the vast space of the land with extremely unique cultural features. I hope I will nurture my emotions and maintain the flow of the text to complete the work,” poet Dao An Duyen expressed.

Literature always requires writers to have new ideas, especially for difficult genres like novels. It is known that nowadays, many young authors do not hesitate to venture into this genre. For example, poet Le Vi Thuy plans to complete the novel manuscript this year. In particular, young author Vo Dinh Duy has just released his first work, the novel Mountain on Flat Land .

According to poet Pham Duc Long, The Mountain on the Flat Land has a fresh, youthful writing style; it does not elaborately construct the plot, does not have dramatic situations, and does not have thrilling details. Based on a number of imaginary images, the writer's thoughts flow with each word. Thereby, it expresses the author's concerns about life and the environment...

“The fact that some poets like Vo Dinh Duy and Le Vi Thuy have switched to writing novels, Dao An Duyen writing long poems... is a good thing, affirming a new generation of young authors in Gia Lai land,” poet Pham Duc Long emphasized.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/khi-nguoi-viet-dan-than-vao-the-loai-kho-post563209.html