A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

December 21st, Wednesday.

Lin Shubai arrived at room 204 of the administration building ten minutes early. The activity room had already been tidied up, with a long table set up and six chairs arranged in a circle. He wrote the names of four sections on the blackboard: Campus Stories, Book Review, Poetry and Youth, and Starry Night.

Old Chen pushed the door open and pulled up a chair in the corner to sit down.

"Let's begin. I'll be listening in."

Lin Shubai nodded, placed the sign-in sheet on the table, and then sat down on one side of the long table.

The first person to arrive was a tall, thin boy wearing glasses and carrying a military green shoulder bag. He peeked inside cautiously as he pushed open the door.

"Excuse me... is this a literary club meet-and-greet?"

"Yes, come in and sit down."

The boy walked in, wrote his name on the sign-in sheet, and then sat down by the window. Lin Shubai glanced at the sign-in sheet—"Grade 11 (Class 1), Zhao Lei".

After Zhao Lei sat down, he took out a copy of "Science Fiction World" from his bag and placed it on the table. Lin Shubai recognized it; it was the December issue, the version with two of his articles in it.

The second person to arrive was a girl with a ponytail, wearing a gray sweatshirt and holding a rolled-up copy of "Mengya" magazine. She walked in at a moderate pace, paused at the door, glanced at the people inside, and then walked to the sign-in sheet.

"Zhao Lin, Class 1, Grade 11."

Zhao Lin's handwriting was very neat, each stroke carefully written, as if she were practicing calligraphy. After she finished writing her name, she sat down next to Zhao Lei. The two looked at each other but didn't say anything.

Seven or eight more people arrived one after another. Chen Hao peeked in from the doorway, smiled when he saw Lin Shubai, quickly walked in to sign in, and then found a seat. Shen Yue followed Zhao Lin in, carrying a bag of milk. After signing her name, she sat down next to Zhao Lin and whispered, "There are quite a lot of people."

Lin Shubai stood up and walked to the front of the blackboard.

"Everyone's almost here," he said, glancing around the room. "This isn't an interview, it's a meet-and-greet. Please introduce yourselves first: your name, class, what you usually like to read or write, and why you want to come."

He returned to his seat, picked up his pen, and prepared to take notes.

The first to speak was Zhao Lei. He took out the copy of "Science Fiction World" from the back of the table and placed it in front of him. "Zhao Lei, Class 1, Grade 11. I usually like to read science fiction. I have never written any myself, I just like to read it. I came here because the announcement mentioned the 'Starry Night' column and I wanted to see if I could help with anything."

After Zhao Lei finished speaking, Zhao Lin, who was standing next to him, spoke up.

"Zhao Lin, Class 1, Grade 11, likes to read novels and writes a little bit herself, but has never submitted any manuscripts."

Shen Yue picked up the conversation, "I'm from Class 1, Grade 11. I'm Zhao Lin's deskmate. I'm not as cultured as her. I usually just read magazines like Reader and Youth Digest. I came here to keep her company. She said she was coming, so I came."

Zhao Lin turned her head and glanced at Shen Yue, her lips twitching slightly.

Chen Hao's self-introduction was very simple: "Chen Hao, Class 3, Grade 11. I like to read history and also write. I came here because I want to learn how to write from Lin Shubai."

Next up were Su Wan and her classmates. A short-haired girl from Class 4 of Grade 11 said she liked writing poetry. Another boy from Grade 11 said he usually wrote short stories but never showed them to anyone. Two other girls said they just wanted to see "what the person who writes the book looks like".

Lin Shubai wrote down everyone's name and characteristics in his notebook.

He only spoke after everyone else had finished.

"Four sections, as you can see." He drew a line under each section name with chalk: "Campus Stories (novels and essays), Book and Film Review (book and film reviews), Poetry and Youth (poetry), and Starry Sky (science fiction and fantasy)."

"Now, let's discuss in groups. Each person chooses a column that interests them, sit together, and each group selects a temporary group leader to discuss three questions: What kind of articles should this column accept? How many articles are needed per issue? Where should we solicit articles from? Each group will come up and speak in fifteen minutes."

Chairs began to be moved around in the activity room. Zhao Lei was the first to stand up and walk over to the "Hoshino" group. Chen Hao hesitated for a moment and then walked over as well. The other two boys followed, and the Hoshino group made up four people.

Zhao Lin walked over to the "Book and Film Gathering" area and sat down. Shen Yue sat down next to her. A girl wearing glasses walked over, holding a notebook, and sat down with them.

There were three people sitting over there, two girls and one boy, who all seemed to be the quiet type.

The "Campus Stories" room was the most crowded, with five people seated, including Su Wan.

Lin Shubai walked around between the groups and listened to a few discussions.

Hoshino Group: Zhao Lei is speaking, "The manuscripts don't necessarily have to be hard science fiction, soft science fiction is fine too. For the first issue, we don't need to solicit too many manuscripts. Let's ask the students in a few classes who usually write first."

Book and Film Review Group: Zhao Lin wrote a few words on a piece of paper, then looked up and said, "Book reviews shouldn't be too long, preferably under a thousand words. As for film reviews, you can write about movies that are currently showing."

Poetry and Youth Group: The short-haired girl was saying to the classmate next to her, "A lot of people actually write poetry, but they're just too embarrassed to show it off."

The campus story group was the most lively. "I think the first issue could have a theme, like 'My First Time,' such as my first exam, my first long trip, my first time..."

Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and Lin Shubai tapped the blackboard.

"Each group, please come up and speak."

Zhao Lei from the Hoshino group came up first. He placed a piece of paper on the table, "Our discussion has resulted in accepting two types of manuscripts for this column—hard science fiction and science fiction fables. Three to five articles per issue, each one thousand to three thousand words. We will first look for sources within our own school, and then post a call for submissions on the bulletin board."

Zhao Lin from the Book and Film Review group came up, holding a folded piece of paper in her hand. "Two to three book reviews and one film review per issue, with a word count of 800 to 1,500. You can ask your Chinese teacher for recommendations or collect submissions from each class."

The representative of poetry and youth is the short-haired girl named Zhou Yutong. She was a little nervous when she stood up. "Our group's discussion resulted in five to eight poems per issue of the poetry column, with no restrictions on the subject matter. The way to solicit submissions is to post a call for submissions on the bulletin board, or we accept recommendations from teachers."

The Campus Stories group also had a girl come up, with long hair, named Yu Xingzhi, who looked quiet and gentle. "Our group's discussion result is that this column will be the main body of the magazine, with six to eight articles per issue, each article being one thousand to three thousand words. There are no restrictions on the subject matter, but it must be related to campus life. The way to solicit articles is to collect them from each class, and we can also accept submissions from other schools."

Lin Shubai wrote down all the information in his notebook.

"As you just decided, the temporary group leaders should submit a complete column plan by the end of the month, in written form, with no word limit. The plan should include the column's positioning, the number of articles per issue, the word count requirement, and the channels for soliciting articles."

He glanced at the clock on the wall; there were five minutes left.

"One more thing, the magazine's cover and illustrations need design. Who has an interest in or experience in art?"

The activity room was quiet for a few seconds.

Shen Yue raised her hand, "I can give it a try, I've studied painting for a few years."

Lin Shubai wrote it down in his notebook, "Okay."

That's all for today. Everyone go back and think about your program plans. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.