How to understand Tie Ning's novel The Guy Who Can't Write Short Messages?

"Today, short stories are sometimes mistaken for the foil of writers' cooperative practice. Today, everyone feels that time is short and time flies. But many people read novels in this short time, ignoring those short stories that don't seem to need much reading time. This reminds me of a writer who said in a letter to relatives, "Please forgive me for writing such a long letter, because I don't have time to write so briefly. "Yes, it takes time to write shorthand, and it takes time to be calm and quiet to read short words. This is the challenge of short stories.

In a sense, life is really not a long story, but a series of short stories. A long story has its visible ultimate, while a series of short stories have its unpredictable infinity. This is the temptation of short stories: there is no one-stop life in the world, and the others and ourselves we see are actually fragments of ourselves and others. These fragments are either secret or trivial, and one of them often comes and goes quickly. They are often caught off guard and have no time to watch ... "

This preface can be regarded as a call for the revival of short stories.

The first paragraph discusses the art of writing short words. It is aimed at the misconception that the longer the article, the more valuable it is. Many of China's traditional masterpieces are often concise, and these words can enable thousands of China people in Qian Qian to study them from ancient times to the present. It can be seen that "concentration is the essence." Some things can be told in words, but they are not completely conveyed in words. This is probably the fun of reading. You can cross the back of the paper, travel through time and space, and communicate with the Great Sage. How exciting!

The analogy between the second life and the novel is also very clever. According to my understanding, Tie Ning intends to emphasize that short stories are caught off guard, just like the unpredictability of life, which can't be imitated by long stories. This is the essence of short stories: grasping fleeting but typical fragments of life and showing them. Her metaphor is very subtle, but there is a misunderstanding, that is, we can't make a long story short. It should be difficult to write a good novel, and it is difficult for non-literary masters to grasp its overall coordination. Tie Ning is undoubtedly good at short stories, perhaps because of his own limitations or his usual way of thinking. I have no intention of denying her achievements, just as no one can deny Mo Bosang's classics.

Put it mildly, read long stories with patience, and read short stories carefully. Otherwise, you will definitely miss some wonderful scenery.