Learn new things from the pages

Starting to write novels at the age of nine, the interesting thing for Cao Viet Quynh is that every time he holds a pen, he can create his own world, lead characters and control everything...

Young writer Cao Viet Quynh. (Photo: NVCC)

Born in 2008 in Hanoi, writer Cao Viet Quynh is currently living and studying in grade 11 in Ho Chi Minh City, famous for his novel series called "The Comet", the first volume of which was released in 2020.

Not only was it displayed and introduced at the 20th Bangkok International Copyright Book Fair, the 50th Thailand National Book Fair, the 30th Beijing International Book Fair, etc., the three-volume work helped him receive the 2022 Vietnam National Book Award and become the youngest Vietnamese author to win this prestigious award.

Power of imagination

Science fiction novels are a rare genre in Vietnam, but when writing about this field, Cao Viet Quynh does not find it complicated or too esoteric.

He shared: “Everyone has the ability to create their own world, different from reality. I get inspiration from all the sources I have, foreign action movies, Vietnamese legends, or from science, history, society… combining them together to create a new story.”

In the world of "Comet Man" by Cao Viet Quynh, there are aliens, superheroes, gods, witches with magic... With the freedom of a child, he does not try to be stereotyped in any character but freely imagines.

Sometimes he focuses on the magical land with magic, the dangers that threaten the world, but other times he focuses on the inner feelings of the characters, on the many conflicts and darkness they must overcome. With each page, he learns something new about writing, adding new techniques to continue to develop.

Affirming that imagination is a natural attribute of human beings, Cao Viet Quynh said: “No one can force the brain to come up with an idea or create a story. It will appear from deep within the author at the most unexpected moments. Everyone has the ability to create within themselves. The important thing is to learn how to use it.”

According to him, to have new ideas, we often build characters from what happens in life outside. Inspiration comes from observation, creating associations that no one else has. This is especially prominent in Vietnamese poetry: The same stream, river, mountain, each author describes in a unique way, so that readers can see the scene through countless different lenses.

The young writer shared: “The Vietnamese people, since the early days of the country’s founding, have had a strong imagination. From there, they created an extremely detailed and meticulous mythological system, with countless characters possessing magical powers. Each region has a new story, a new version.”

He believes that: “When pursuing a writing career, each person should set a strict schedule, simply from how many words to write each day, at what time. That way, we can keep up with progress, so that we cannot procrastinate because of the achievements we have. However, we must understand that we cannot force words onto paper, they must come from the heart.”

The novel series “Dragon Continent” has just been released in Vietnam. (Photo: NVCC)

Constantly creating

With that serious spirit, after the success of "The Comet", Cao Viet Quynh started writing five volumes of the novel series "Dragon Continent" and completed it in 2023, when he was 15 years old.

Still maintaining the writing style that combines two elements of fantasy and science fiction, the young writer brings a modern atmosphere and youthful spirit into the new novel.

Turning each chapter of the novel, readers can meet characters from Greek, Roman, Northern European, Egyptian mythology... along with very familiar characters from Vietnamese legends and folklore such as Son Tinh, Thuy Tinh, Au Lac people... but with a modern, emotional, even sincere demeanor.

With hundreds of characters, mainly depicting action scenes and dialogue, Cao Viet Quynh shows writing techniques and artistic thinking that are mature beyond his age.

It is not easy to build a plot, structure, develop, create the shape, unique features, and personality of each character, but the author has handled it gently and breathed new life into the existing models, mixing magic with science, technology, and engineering.

With a fast pace and many unexpected details, "Dragon Continent" shows the maturity in Cao Viet Quynh's writing and also shows a positive sign of a purely Vietnamese fantasy story.

Not only for children, the novel also targets readers who are interested in, support, and encourage new creative trends, creating conditions for access to contemporary world literature, meeting the expectations of Vietnamese literature to go far and reach high.

Cao Viet Quynh's debut work. (Photo: NVCC)

Good news

Talking about his new work, Cao Viet Quynh said that the novel is more systematic, the story is told coherently with a more reasonable development, but he does not lose the creativity and innovation of his previous writing time.

Writer Ha Thanh Van believes that "Dragon Continent" goes further than the novel "The Comet" in both content and art, and is more unique in meaning and creative literary thinking.

She emphasized that it is very difficult for the older generation of writers who have become famous to write differently from their familiar style.

Therefore, in order for Vietnamese literature to be richer and more diverse, to meet the reading needs of many readers of many ages, many classes, many components and to have access to contemporary literature of the world, expectations are mostly placed on young authors. Author Cao Viet Quynh with his fantasy/sci-fi literary universe has initially met some of those expectations.

“His works show the strength of fictional and imaginative elements, which are rarely seen in Vietnamese literature. Of course, recently there have been many young authors writing in the fantasy direction and that is a good sign for Vietnamese literature,” writer Ha Thanh Van emphasized.

Having a very early awareness of the creative theme he was pursuing, along with diligence and creativity, Cao Viet Quynh still ensured to complete his studies every day of his student life.

Having just released a new novel, he has been nurturing and is in the process of writing a novel tentatively titled “Merlin's Taxi Driver”.

At the age of 16, the young writer affirms that he is still in the process of learning, gaining experience and trying to improve with each book.

He confided: “Each book is written with all the effort and dedication, to create the best work within my ability. Each novel is a different experience. For each story, I experiment with different genres, voices, plots and plots, to learn how to create unexpected twists, develop characters, build worlds…”.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cay-but-tre-cao-viet-quynh-hoc-dieu-moi-tu-nhung-trang-giay-292915.html