When writers venture into difficult genres

Confident with historical stories and memoirs

Since the 80s of the last century, the name Pham Huu Hoang has been known to literature lovers in the land of Nau with his first short stories that exploited a variety of colors of life and gradually affirmed his position in the hearts of readers when he switched to writing about historical topics, a direction that not every author is willing to commit to experimenting. To date, he has published 4 collections of short stories including: Vuong Phap, Dem Ao Huyen, Nguyet Cam, Bong Hoa .

Writer Pham Huu Hoang believes that historical short stories pose many challenges that require writers to invest time and effort, especially in researching every small detail related to history.

From historical events, characters, cultural life, customs to costumes, language, behavior… must be appropriate to the context of the dynasty recreated in the story. “Writing a good historical short story is also a connection between the past and the present, helping readers gain more understanding and have a deep love for the history of the nation,” writer Pham Huu Hoang shared.

Similarly, author Van Phi, after publishing two poetry collections (Day stranded, Gom luu lang), has also renewed himself with... memoirs. Currently, he is completing the manuscript of the memoir Men tram . According to Van Phi, writing memoirs was initially a job requirement, but the more he writes, the more he finds himself in tune with this genre. It allows the writer to both observe and record life, and express his own feelings and thoughts. Men tram not only preserves professional memories, but is also an effort to preserve traces of time, stories about identity, history, and culture in a rapidly changing social context.

“I think that venturing into a new genre is a challenge, but also a motivation, especially for young authors. When choosing a more difficult field, writers are forced to read more, observe more carefully, feel more deeply, and enrich their own expressive repertoire. That is also a way to cultivate and renew oneself and keep the writing journey from becoming monotonous,” he confided.

According to author Van Phi, in recent years, many writers have been expanding their scope of writing. For example, writer Le Hoai Luong, previously famous for his short stories, is currently completing a novel manuscript. Authors such as Duyen An, Tran Quoc Toan, Truong Cong Tuong, Thuy Trang, My Tien... are all writing in many different genres.

"Falling in love" with epic poems and novels

Poet Dao An Duyen said that she has cherished the plan to write a long poem for a long time. In addition to practical experience, she also read many books and documents about the culture of the Central Highlands, built an outline... And the opportunity that urged her to start implementing the plan was when she participated in the writing camp of the People's Army Publishing House in Nha Trang in August 2025.

According to her, if poetry is a slice of emotion that suddenly flashes at a moment, then a long poem is an extension of emotion, interwoven with narrative elements to create a story. Telling a story, but still maintaining the emotion, is much more difficult than composing poetry.

“The name Muong Dem Chin Ngau probably evokes a misty area of the Central Highlands, the main setting in the epic. A little "reveal" is that the Central Highlands cultural space will occupy most of the work's content. The main character is a child born in the basalt land. Following the main character will open up the vast space of the land with extremely unique cultural features. I hope I will nurture my emotions and maintain the flow of the text to complete the work", poet Dao An Duyen expressed.

Literature always requires writers to have new ideas, especially for difficult genres like novels. It is known that nowadays, many young authors do not hesitate to embark on this genre. For example, poet Le Vi Thuy plans to complete the novel manuscript this year. In particular, young author Vo Dinh Duy has just released his first work, the novel Mountain on Flat Land .

According to poet Pham Duc Long, Nui Tren Dat Bang has a fresh, youthful writing style; it does not elaborately construct the plot, does not have dramatic situations, and does not have thrilling details. Based on a number of imaginary images, the writer's thoughts flow with each word. Thereby, it expresses the author's concerns about life, about the environment...

“The fact that some poets like Vo Dinh Duy and Le Vi Thuy have switched to writing novels, Dao An Duyen has written long poems... is a good thing, affirming a new generation of young authors in Gia Lai ,” poet Pham Duc Long emphasized.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/khi-nguoi-viet-dan-than-vao-the-loai-kho-post563209.html