Why I Write
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 08:11
Written by JFK Miller

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In this new series of Web exclusives we talk to authors writing in or about the Middle Kingdom about their literary habits, preferences and peculiarities and examine the question at the heart of being an author – why they write

Lijia Zhang's bestselling factory memoir, Socialism is Great!, set during the early 1980s at the dawn of China's reform and opening up, was a triumph of the sheer force of personality over the oppressive conformity of the state. The writer-journalist is currently working on a new memoir about relationships and is also rewriting her first novel, Lotus.

Why I write
Because I am an ego-maniac – I often joke when people ask me this question. I am actually half-joking. Writing a book is such a huge undertaking it requires certain drive and of course ego. For example, when I wrote my memoir about my life at the missile factory, I needed to have the confidence that people out there would want to hear this story. I started writing my diary during long years of being stuck at my rocket factory. Writing has become a way to make sense of my life and express myself.

Do you write every day? If so, how many hours?
Yes every day. When in the middle of completing a book, I try to complete 500 words every day. If I don’t write creatively, I write my journal. I live an interesting and eventful life. I keep a record as it is something I can draw from; and I need a place that I can be totally honest with myself.

Worst source of distraction?
My own addiction to excitement. I can never say no to a chance of going to a good party, meeting interesting people, flirting and dating, attending a good opera, participating in some literature festival, visiting an unknown place, giving lectures at universities, and trying new jobs. I’ve long decided that it is far more important to me to live a full and interesting life than to achieve highly.

WHY I WRITE
Rachel Dewoskin
Catherine Sampson
Paul French
Jeff Wasserstrom
Lynn Pan
Zhang Lijia
Adam Williams
Frances Wood
Sarah Brennan
Linda Jaivin
Charles Cumming
Graham Earnshaw
Mishi Saran

Best source of inspiration?
A memorable character, an interesting experience or a story that moves me.

How often do you get writers' block/doubt your own ability?
Like most writers in the world, I get writer’s block and I often question myself my ability as a writer. That’s not a bad thing. In this way, we have to try harder. I’ve revising my first novel. I am less confident as a fiction writer. But I want to give it a good go.
 
Contemporary writer in any medium who you never miss?
Good friends who write about China – Ian Johnson, Peter Hessler and my ex-husband Calum MacLeod.
 
Favorite Chinese writer?
Aileen Chang
 
Best book about China?
A Dream of Red Mansions
 
Favorite book?
Resurrection
 
Favorite writer?
Michael Ondaatje
 
The book you know you should have read but haven't?
I read many classics when I was young when I couldn’t really appreciate the beauty and music in literature. Anna Karenina is just such a book. I bought a copy already in English. Have not got around to reading it yet. I am reading Lolita. Again, I read it years ago in Chinese, which didn’t count. Lolita was Nabokov’s love affair with the English language.
 
You look back at the first thing you had published and think...
My first printed article was a little essay published in my factory’s newspaper on some little while blue flowers blossoming in the factory compound – naïve but quite sweet.
 
What are you working on now and when is it out?
I’ve just started to write a new memoir about my break-up experience with a positive message: there’s life after being dumped. And like my factory memoir, it is going to be very funny. No publishing date yet. Will have to finish it first.

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