KPA Honorar & Belege—United Archives GmbH/Alamy
Creak Creak
I got my first graphic book about Pinocchio when I was three. Obviously, it was designed for teaching young children to read with huge Chinese characters and their corresponding phonetic symbols on top. I was so into it because of the exciting plot and exquisite pictures within. Every time I read, I tried to also copy the illustrations myself using the simplest colors and poorest techniques. I could sit on the floor for hours just to draw a picture of Pinocchio while sitting in front of the piano for ten minutes was already torture for me.
My mom liked everything in her house organized, so all my graphic books were placed neatly on the shelf that was too tall for a 37-inch little girl to reach. Thus, I had to climb up this wooden squeaky little ladder every time I wanted to read, and this “creak creak” sound from the ladder was so fulfilling because it meant that I got to read something new.
As my collection of facsimiles piled up, I became better at drawing, and of course, at reading. These capabilities brought me the idea of creating my own stories. My first original work was called The Blue Rabbit and its Secret Tree Hole, which talked about a rabbit protecting its treasure from falling into the hands of an evil fox. The entire process was definitely not easy. When I couldn’t find the right wording, I drew to complement my texts, and I wrote when drawing was too hard for me. There was this magical bond between the visuals and the written words that I, as a little girl, did not understand yet knew it subconsciously. Through combining texts and images, I successfully created many stories throughout my childhood, until the “creak creak” was no longer heard…
Tac Tac
This peak of my creativity was brought to an abrupt end when I entered middle school. Reading without images became tedious and daunting. Writing, on the other hand, was constrained by the required structures and topics written on the blackboard. There was no room for creativity. Whenever I felt like letting my thoughts fly away, they always ended up hitting the walls of rules they built.
“Tac tac”
This was the sound of me pressing my delete key.
“Tac tac”
I was trying to write something new.
“Tac tac”
I was deleting it again.
I can still recall those late nights when I watched the cursor blinking and ticking on my screen like the countdown of a time bomb.
This never-ending “tac tac” cycle, however, made me a better writer when finishing middle school. I learned to write with better word choice and in a clearer structure. It also inspired me to change the way I read. I no longer fear large blocks of texts since I know how to break them down into sections. In this way, I can catch up with the writer’s pace and my thoughts stay clear. That was when I broke free from the narrow world of graphic books and immersed myself in novels like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Moon and Sixpence.
Swoosh
Entering high school, time was smashed into pieces by stressful schoolwork, and reading a thick book became a luxury. For us, reading short articles on WeChat was the only feasible option. Discovering this new platform, I started to edit my posts by inserting explanatory images in texts and published them online for more people to read. Every time I click on the “publish” button, a “swoosh” sound will carry my post to the public, bringing me the excitement of making an influence. I remember how my review on a romantic film got people commenting “Oh I will definitely go check it out”, and the article ranking the top 10 weirdest college mascots made them laugh. I clearly remember that my analysis of the Disney film Up caused a sensational discussion. Some agreed with me that early Disney movies implanted the ideas of consumerism and male dominance. Some argued that I over-interpreted the film. Either way, it surprised me how my words and pictures brought so many people I knew or didn’t know together to share their thoughts on the same issue, and the discussion triggered my reflection as both a writer and a reader.
When I climbed up that ladder, all I knew was that I started as a visual learner and would stay as one. But then through “tac tac,” my door to the narrative world was opened. When I strained every one of my nerves trying to write an academic essay, I thought there was nothing duller than this. But then “swoosh” showed me the incredible power of words and images coming together to bring our thoughts to the world, and I realized I had known this power all along as early as I made the “creak creak” sound.
Joyce Xu 