Like all literary works, the first step is to find what you want to write about. Many modern cell phone novels deal with themes of ambivalence, love, or depression/grief, each author taking its own approach. This does not necessarily mean you, as a new writer, are bound by these themes! A great many CPN authors over the years have shown us you can write about nearly anything. We will cover some examples later on.
There are a few important things to keep in mind before prematurely choosing a theme. The most important thing is its life expectancy. What does this mean?
Life expectancy of your topic is referring to how viable it is to write about that specific subject. Does it move you to write about it? Does it excite you? Hurt you? Fascinate you? Inspire you? Those are good questions to ask yourself before choosing what to write about. This is probably the biggest issue when it comes to story consistency. You will notice often times CPNs go long times without updating. Asides from the possibility of the author having other important things to tend to, it’s the fact that it becomes difficult to continue. This happens to everyone so don’t worry!
After you have found a topic, now comes the method of updating. Unlike a book that is posted or submitted after it is COMPLETELY finished, cell phone novels are updated chapter by chapter. There are a couple of ways you can go about this:
※ Conventional - Write the content before posting. This can either mean fully edited chapters, or simply just a large mass of story that has not been properly polished. This may help with beginners as they are still adapting to the stylistic difficulties of a CPN and not forgoing story. However, this method is arguably “less authentic” as it does not honor the supposed spontaneous creativity of writing new content on the fly.
※ Traditional - This would be writing and updating with no prior drafting. Although this may be looked down upon by more traditional (unrelated to CPN) writers, this method strikes more true to the original CPN design. Chapters are written in the here and now. I would consider this advanced. Even for the most skilled writers, being able to put all of what you want to express within your story without any prior drafting into words will be difficult. I recommend that if you are a beginner to refrain from this method.
Often times people use a combination of both. As mentioned, finding a good mix is the key.
YOU ARE READING
Cell Phone Novel: A Guide
RandomEverything to know about writing a cell phone novel. Learn about the structures and styles of one of the biggest literary movement from Japan. An in-depth guides on how to write your own cell phone novels - with the contribution of some veteran CPN...
