When I mentioned to a friend that I was writing a piece about cell-phone novels, she gave me that nonplussed nod and smile which clearly stated she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. “How can someone write a novel on their cell phone?” she asked. “Moreover, why would they want to?” While the idea of writing an entire novel on a cell phone may seem outright preposterous to many, others see it as the dawning of a digital literature revolution.

It All Started With Deep Love

Originating in Japan in 2003, an author under the pseudonym of Yoshi, ‘published’ the first mobile-phone novel ever, entitled Deep Love, a story about a teenage prostitute who finds love through a chance encounter. Though mobile phones only process 1,600 characters per email, Yoshi employed this limitation to his advantage. Using concise dialogue, devoid of words too lengthy or complicated, he blended a rather generic plot with straightforward storytelling, attracting a new generation of readers who did not typically read novels. Serializing chapters, readers could email him their feedback. Incorporating their ideas, the story took on new twists and turns. Deep Love was so successful, it went from mobile to print and eventually hit the big screen.

Three years prior, Yoshi had created a website providing content for mobile phones and added a template called “Let’s Make Novels”. His promotional campaign consisted of passing out business cards to 2,000 high school girls in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station (the center of Tokyo’s youth culture).

For years now, young girls from all over Japan and China have been tapping away at their cell phone keypads, writing stories of young love, lust, unwanted pregnancy, and terminal illness… The writing is simple, the language repetitive. Emoticons are used to economize space; big spaces are used between words when trying to accentuate quiet parts, whereas wordsgetcrammedtogether in the heated scenes. In 2007, five of the best-selling novels in Japan were republished cell phone novels; the top three written by first-time novelists.

The number-five novel, If You, was written by a 21-year-old, known only by her first name, “Rin.” It is common for cell-phone novelists to keep their anonymity, as their stories draw from personal experience and could potentially shame them. Rin completed her novel in six months while on commuter trains to and from school and her part-time job, uploading posts onto a website where readers could comment on the work as it progressed. If You received a number-one ranking based on online readers’ votes, and it was republished in paperback, selling over 400,000 copies. Most writers only dream of numbers like that.

Revolution Tool For Women?

The cell-phone novel has certainly infiltrated Japanese youth culture and is quite groundbreaking in that it is now written mainly by and for young women. In a society which has been rather unfavorable to women, the mobile-phone has opened new doors and possibilities. But while many agree that a channel for girls to express themselves is a positive step forward, many argue that the storylines reveal nothing new and that the art and sophistication of the language is undeniably paying the price.

Here are two excerpts from the New Yorker, which elaborate this point:
Satoko Kan, a professor who specializes in contemporary women’s literature, said, “From a feminist perspective, for women and girls to be able to speak about themselves is very important,” “As a method, it leads to the empowerment of girls. But, in terms of content, I find it quite questionable, because it just reinforces norms that are popular in male-dominated culture.”

Mikio Funayama, the editor of Bungakukai, a monthly literary journal said, “The author’s name is rarely revealed, the titles are very generic, the depiction of individuals, the locations—it’s very comfortable, exceedingly easy to empathize with.” “Any high-school girl can imagine that this experience is just two steps from her own. But this kind of empathy is largely different from the emotive response—the life-changing event—that reading a great novel can bring about. One tells you what you already know. Literature has the power to change the way you think.”

The Cell Phone Novel in North America

Though the market for mobile-phone novels remains nowhere near that of Japan or China, both established and aspiring authors in North America are finding real promise in using tools such as Twitter and Quillpill to get their stories out there, to large audiences, in the matter of minutes.

Cell-phone novels are changing the way people read and write. With 140-character entry limits, authors must learn to choose their words and sentences carefully or run the risk of losing readers. Readers can fish through thousands of posts, perusing through the shelves of a massive cyber library whether they’re on a bus, train or waiting in a line.

The cell phone novel is offering budding writers a new space for their ideas, an easy system for editing entries and getting feedback from readers. Though it may still be in its early stages, it holds huge potential in a not-so-distant future. It is a fast, collaborative, and most of all accessible way for sharing stories. And after all, who really wants to stand in the way of creativity, no matter how absurd the tools may seem at first.

Comments by others(3)

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  By jamie, May 12, 2009 @ 2:03 pm

  …wow
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  By sleman, April 5, 2010 @ 1:19 am

  hi nice girl
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  By Id. fekad, December 13, 2010 @ 10:22 am

  Wow! it’s impressing. I like your technology, but it couldn’t reach here. in our country it would be very expensive.

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