網路歸鄉──洛心訪問錄

Homecoming on the Internet: An Interview with Luo Xin

此篇訪問稿採訪了旅居加拿大的青年網路作家洛心。洛心自高中時期，因為鄉愁，開始在網路發表小說，至今集結出版作品包含《槓上嗔怒美人》（鮮鮮出版社，2002年）、《小雛菊》（商周出版社，2003年）、《夏飄雪》（商周出版社，2004年）、《人之初》（商周出版社，2005年）等書，另有數篇短篇作品收入商周出版社所編的幾本短篇集內。《小雛菊》被改編為電視劇《鬥魚》I&II（商周出版社，2004年），成為網路小說改編成電視劇之濫觴。訪問者就其寫作的發展過程、家庭及移民背景、電腦和網路的使用，和網路文學的功能四方面進行訪談。此訪談除了深入洛心寫作的發展及心路歷程，並探究網路文學和台灣留學生文學發展的錯綜關聯。訪問者就其寫作的發展過程、家庭及移民背景，和電腦和網路的使用三方面進行訪談。

Lorita Yonglin Chiu (邱雍麟), who writes under the pen name of LuoXin (洛心), is a young internet writer. She emigrated from Taiwan to Canadaand she received a Master’s degree from the University of British Columbia.She began publishing novels on the internet when she was in high school. Tothis point, she has compiled the following publications: Gangshang chennu meiren槓上嗔怒美人(The beauty on the pole spurting anger) (Xianxian PublishingCo. 鮮鮮出版社, 2002), Xiao chuju小雛菊(The small chrysanthemum)(Shangzhou Publishing Co. 商周出版社, 2003), Xia piaoxue夏飄雪(Summer’sSnow) (Shangzhou Publishing Co. 商周出版社, 2004), and Ren zhi chu人之初(Youthful years) (Shangzhou Publishing Co. 商周出版社, 2005). Several of hershort stories have also been collected in volumes of short fiction publishedby Shangzhou Publishing Co. The Small Chrysanthemum was adapted intoa two-part television drama Dou yu 鬥魚 I and II (Rumble fish) (ShangzhouPublishing Co. 商周出版社, 2004).By 1997 when Luo Xin arrived alone to study junior high school in Vancouver, Canada, she had developed a strong interest in fiction. Hernostalgia for home led her to progress from a reader to a writer of theliterature that was flourishing on the internet at the time. Her first internetnovel The Small Chrysanthemum was highly sought after by publishers, butultimately this prize fell to Shangzhou Publishing Co. As it happened the“Idol” television series programs had become very popular, leading to The SmallChrysanthemum being adapted for television and renamed Rumble Fish. In fact,this was the beginning of internet novels being adapted for television.The Luo Xin phenomenon deserves special attention from theperspectives of diasporic literature in general, and Taiwan study-abroadliterature and internet literature in particular, due to the fact that herpublication template is designed for the internet. Taiwan study-abroadliterature and diasporic literature in the three decades from the1960sthrough the 1980s was published mainly in the literary supplements (副刊)of newspapers or in literary journals. When computer technology and theinternet became available in the 1990s, the temporal, even psychological gapsbetween the writers of diasporic literature and their readers were narrowedmuch. There are now two, instead of one, channels of communicationbetween the writer and the reader. The first is the literary works the writerproduces. The communication is in one direction, from the writer to thereader. The second is in two directions: by means of the “chat room” or othere-space on the internet, the writer and the reader can participate in a dialogue.It is in this second channel that the communication between the writer andthe reader becomes influential on the writing process. For instance, the writerreceives encouragement from the reader; the writer may design a plot based ona reader’s opinion; even a writer’s private domain could be revealed, perhapsfor the purpose of increasing his or her popularity.Whereas Luo Xin is remarkably talented and has a distinctive writing style, which explain well the success of her writing, the development of herwriting career reflects experiences shared by many internet writers, especiallyyoung writers who appeared on the scene (or on the screen) in the late 1990sand at the beginning of the twenty-first century. These experiences werevery different from those experienced by the diasporic writers of previousgenerations.This interview aims at revealing Luo Xin’s development as an internetand diasporic writer; the role of the communication template (i.e., computertechnology and internet communication) in her, as well as other internet and/or diasporic writers’ development; the process of writing an internet literarywork; and the process of publishing of internet literature. This interviewconsists of four parts: the development of Luo Xin’s writing, her family andimmigration background, her use of the computer and the internet, andher thoughts on internet writing. The interview was conducted in Chinesein writing, mostly between March and September, 2009. Luo Xin reviewedthe text of the interview; however, any inadequacies in the content are thecomplete responsibility of the interviewer Shu-ning Sciban. The interviewfollows.