Becoming a Writer

Name: Becoming a Writer
ISBN: 9787530687314

周洁茹Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.5

Word count: 154K words
Chapters: 57
ISBN: 9787530687314

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Summary

In recent years, universities have begun offering creative writing courses, and books on writing technique have grown popular. This book is a collection of essays—the author's writing course for creative writing students and literary enthusiasts. Drawing on over twenty years of writing experience and reflection, it is a collection brimming with "a writer's little secrets." Divided into several parts and grounded in the author's own creative work, it shares those secrets in a warm, natural voice, covering inspiration, creative mindset, structure, and technique. The book should hold value for creative writing students and offer insights for literary researchers and enthusiasts alike.

Editor's review

This is a collection of essays on writing drawn from a writer's own experience. Zhou Jieru builds on more than twenty years of creative practice to discuss inspiration, mindset, structure, and technique. Its strength lies not in a systematic course framework but in the intimate "writer's little secrets" voice: the hesitations, adjustments, and trade-offs in creation that are hard to put into words are made vividly concrete. For creative writing students, it adds an experiential dimension beyond classroom instruction; for literary enthusiasts, it offers a path to understanding how a work comes to be written. There is no need to read it in order—open to any piece and you will find something. One caveat: it leans toward experience sharing and reflection rather than a step-by-step writing manual, so readers expecting template methods should adjust their expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Creative writing students seeking experience beyond the classroom
Literary enthusiasts with a writing practice who hope to break through plateaus
General readers curious about a writer's creative process and mindset
Instructors of Chinese writing courses, as supplementary reading

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking clear, step-by-step, reusable writing templates
Those expecting systematic writing theory or a textbook-style knowledge framework
Readers who only read fiction and have little interest in the essay form

Reading tips

Read through once to absorb the overall tone, then revisit relevant pieces by theme: inspiration, mindset, technique.
After each piece, write down one specific current struggle in your own writing and compare it with the author's experience.
Read alongside your own writing practice and revise an old draft as you go—the effect is more direct.
In a book club, each person can choose one piece and share which line changed their view of writing.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

版权信息
第一辑创作谈
文学观：写作更像是心的图像学
自己的对话
对于写作我还能做点什么
岛上
《岛上蔷薇》：蔷薇是什么花
有时会写超短篇
一个人的朋友圈
我们只写我们想写的
我们的香港
我和我的时空比赛
野心与慈悲
现在的状态
失败小说
《中国娃娃》：大人童话书
花与岛
写与不写
回忆做一个练习生的时代
一个小说家的自我修养
这篇不是创作谈
第二辑发言
写作课
在香港阅读
在香港写小说
我当我是去流浪
在香港
岛屿写作
我们为什么写散文
过去现在未来：世纪末的网络创想与在地写作
向南方
读书会
第三辑刊物、编辑与作家
《大家》与我
《山花》与我
一个文学编辑在香港
编与写的双重视野
给作家于晓威：报朋友书
给作家棉棉：我们为什么写作
第四辑对话
女性
城市
写作之道
诗酒趁年华
身体
第五辑对谈
与王小王对谈：它本来就是一艘飞船
与杨晓帆对谈：我们当然是我们生活的参与者
答伍岭问：我们都是来地球飘泊的
答张莉问：性别观与文学创作
与邵栋对谈：最真切的悲悯应该在最深处
与沙丽对谈：我判断优秀只有一个标准
与吴娱对谈：爱情是一场粒子运动
与戴瑶琴对谈：每一代人都会有自己时代的作家
与魏煜格对谈：玻璃城中的原生态写作
与李昌鹏对谈：未来每个城市都在地球自由漂移
附：周洁茹小说年表（2013—2023 年）

FAQ

Can this book be used as a writing textbook for systematic study?

It is a collection of essays centered on the author's twenty-plus years of creative experience and reflection, covering inspiration, creative mindset, structure, and technique. It is not a systematic textbook that advances chapter by chapter. It works well as supplementary reading outside a course, used alongside practice.

Can someone with no writing background understand it?

Yes. The author's voice is warm and natural, discussing concrete feelings and trade-offs in creation without relying on jargon. However, the experience comes largely from actual creative situations, so beginning readers will find it smoother if they write a little themselves as they read.

The title is "Becoming a Writer"—does it teach people how to become writers?

Based on the material, it gathers the author's twenty-plus years of experience and reflection on writing, organized around inspiration, mindset, structure, and technique. It reads more like a writer's experience sharing than a career-path guide. Readers should approach it as essays on understanding the creative process.

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About the author

周洁茹 Author

Zhou Jieru is a Chinese-language writer known for her essays and miscellaneous prose. Public information about her is limited, and details such as her nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented. Three of her works are held in the collection: No. 98 Qingguo Lane, There Is a Hotpot Restaurant in Tai Wai, and Becoming a Writer. Even from the titles, it is clear that her writing tends to focus on concrete living spaces, everyday food, and the experience of writing. Such subjects are often approached from a personal perspective, linking streets, shops, and reflections on craft into an essay style that stays close to daily life and attends to detail. The title Becoming a Writer points especially to the theme of writing, suggesting that the author also thinks continually about literary creation itself. On the available evidence, her output is modest and the reach of her influence awaits further public information, yet her orientation toward everyday subjects and plain language offers a useful sample for observing contemporary essay writing.