NaNoWriMo
I did another uncharacteristic thing today. Woke up before noon to attend the NaNoWriMo meeting in MPH 1 Utama. The event only commences at the stroke of midnight on October 31st (looks like I’ll have to end my annual Halloween party a little earlier this year!) but some wonderful soul decided it would be a good idea to form a ‘support system’ even before it began. I was thrilled to bits!
The turnout was better than expected with about 40 plus people turning up. And who should the wonderful soul who initiated this be but Sharon Bakar! By the end of the morning emotions had run from I-think-I’m-going-to-try-this to oh-my-god-who-am-I-kidding and finally to I’m-damned-well-going-to-do-this! It was fantastic to see aspiring writers of diverse ages and backgrounds with one thing in common – a scorching desire to get their inner story on paper. I took part in NaNoWriMo a couple of years back but didn’t make the cut. Well things are going to be different this year!! Fingers crossed.
Have also finally addressed the yearning to do ‘something’ for the Malaysian literature scene. Will be meeting Sharon this Thursday to thrash out my half-baked ideas on how to help local English fiction writers make a mark in the international scene. The Tash Aws and Rani Manickas of the world are great but I don’t want aspiring writers thinking you can only make it if you cross the ocean to sell an exotic Asian story to a Western publisher. Then again, many local writers are also suffering from acute sour-grapes-syndrome, attributing Tash and Rani’s success to location rather than effort. Trust me, I’ve the whining.
So what’s my goal? To clear the misconception that a few published letters-to-the-editor and celebrating your 40th birthday isn’t enough to warrant a book. And also to help aspiring writers understand that while writing is like a fun-filled trip, a certain amount of effort is still necessary to get to the destination.
The turnout was better than expected with about 40 plus people turning up. And who should the wonderful soul who initiated this be but Sharon Bakar! By the end of the morning emotions had run from I-think-I’m-going-to-try-this to oh-my-god-who-am-I-kidding and finally to I’m-damned-well-going-to-do-this! It was fantastic to see aspiring writers of diverse ages and backgrounds with one thing in common – a scorching desire to get their inner story on paper. I took part in NaNoWriMo a couple of years back but didn’t make the cut. Well things are going to be different this year!! Fingers crossed.
Have also finally addressed the yearning to do ‘something’ for the Malaysian literature scene. Will be meeting Sharon this Thursday to thrash out my half-baked ideas on how to help local English fiction writers make a mark in the international scene. The Tash Aws and Rani Manickas of the world are great but I don’t want aspiring writers thinking you can only make it if you cross the ocean to sell an exotic Asian story to a Western publisher. Then again, many local writers are also suffering from acute sour-grapes-syndrome, attributing Tash and Rani’s success to location rather than effort. Trust me, I’ve the whining.
So what’s my goal? To clear the misconception that a few published letters-to-the-editor and celebrating your 40th birthday isn’t enough to warrant a book. And also to help aspiring writers understand that while writing is like a fun-filled trip, a certain amount of effort is still necessary to get to the destination.
posted by starlight at 3:37 PM
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