Chinese writer and Nobel laureate Mo Yan received an honorary degree from the City University of New York and delivered a speech entitled My Story on Nov 10. He also talked about his writing process in an interview after the speech.

When asked about how he sets up the themes of his novels and lays out the stories, he said writing has nothing to do with being audacious or reserved; it doesn't require any special wisdom to write a novel. "There is nothing I cannot write about." Talking about the current writing environment, he said: "Social reality could also be involved in my works. But every writer has his own way."

According to him, his writing has close relationship with the social changes, and it has progressed as China developed in the past three decades since the reform and opening up. His writing features two points: first, never shy away from the reality; second, focus on not only the seamy side but also the bright side of real life, such as the social progress that drastically changes people's values.

Mo Yan stressed the importance of depicting the unjust phenomenon in real life. He also mentioned that when he writes a story, his focus is not on the story itself but on the people in the story. He wants to have in-depth description of people's emotions and feelings, and create impressive characters

"Writing is a hard job; it could also be much fun, though," Mo Yan said. "Sometimes I really enjoy the hardship since I have an obsession with the art of novel. I always have the feeling that the next work will be all the better. Besides, the fascinating stories in real life give me a great impulse. I just can't stop writing."

As far as his next novel is concerned, Mo Yan expressed his preference for a novel that has human characters as the focus. He hasn't yet decided the theme, but it will touch upon both reality and history, and involve objective and surreal descriptions.

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