Ricepaper Magazine - Interview with Author Zoë S. Roy lyrics

... Q: The h**ne in the book, Nina Huang, is a complex and evolving character. After her escape from Mainland China and subsequent immigration to the U.S. and later to Canada, she experiences romantic and s**ual relationships that are a radical departure from the moral codes that she was brought up in back in China. Nina later studies political science at university, after she becomes a political dissident. How did you develop Nina's character? Was she based on anyone in particular that you knew? Yourself, perhaps? Zoë: Unlike several characters in some of my stories and another novel, Nina isn't modelled after any person nor based on myself. The stories about the escapees that I heard in my youth inspired me to write the short story, “Yearning.” My research about her escape included corresponding with a pen pal in Hong Kong about successful attempts by mainland defectors. My walk across the bridge at the Lo Wu Immigration Control Point between Shenzhen and Hong Kong confirmed to me that my protagonist, Nina, would be able to swim halfway to reach Hong Kong. To make my story real, I read many life stories of youths being sent down to be re-educated plus my own experience of working in the countryside in China as a student or a teacher. I did research on the refugee program in North America and the Vietnam War as well. I also browsed through the records of the graduates at the West Point in the late 1940s and found a couple of Chinese cadets therefore making sure that it's plausible for Nina's father to study there. I've been interested in cross-cultural comparisons, especially about social influence on women so that Nina's romantic and s**ual relationships are to show the cultural differences and conflicts in her life in the different culture. For example, according to the Chinese traditional moral standards, a good woman only loves and marries one man, and premarital s** is immoral. At that time, students and youth under a certain age on the military farm were even forbidden to have love affairs. Growing up under such traditions and restrictions, a Chinese female is certain to experience culture shock, so here goes Nina's story. ... Q: What would you tell a new writer who is interested in writing a novel? What types of advice can you give him or her? Zoë: A new writer could practice plot making and character development in a couple of short stories before writing a novel. Joining a writers' workshop and listening to readers' feedback are a way to improve a man*script. Last but not least, to live and gain life experience to write what needs to be told.