Entries from February 2008
On my last trip back to KL, I was pleasantly surprised to see several softback copies of my dad’s biography in MPH.
He never intended for me to write it (perhaps because I was too close to the subject matter) but rather had engaged a journalist to the task. Unfortunately for my dad (yet fortunately for me), after 12 months she had only managed a few chapters. So I said to my father “I’ll write it!” Three months later I had a first draft and the rest is history . . .
Well, history in the sense that writing the biography gave me an interest in Malaysian history. I needed to research my own family’s migration from West Sumatra and to also set my father’s life at the relevant point in time, ie. World War 2, Colonial rule, Independence, May 13th etc.
So from the biography there followed A Children’s History of Malaysia which I’m glad to say is in its 3rd printing. And for the last several years I’ve been working on my children’s historical encyclopedia. So, like so much in life, one leads to another.
Back to my dad’s biography. It was published in hardback in . . . oh heck, I’ve just realised . . . 10 years ago. (The launch at the Istana Negara seems like only yesterday) The softback came out 2 or 3 years later.
The blurb begins with: This is the biography of the prince who visited Israel and caused a storm in Malaysia – and with many marriages, girlfriends and numerous romantic encounters, Tunku Abdullah has led an unorthodox, if not fascinating life . . .
If you’d like to READ MORE ABOUT IT, I’ve put up several chapters on the web.
And if you’d then like to read on, the book should be in the shops (but probably hard to find, so you might have to ask them to order). It’s being distributed by Pelanduk Publications.
Categories: Uncategorized
Suddenly I wake up. Rain upon the roof. It’s warm under the quilt. It’s unseasonally cold outside though. The clock says its 3.40am. I can’t go back to sleep. There’s no use lying in bed. So I get up, make some tea and read.
It’s not my habit to wake up at this hour, so I treat these early risings as a bonus. A sort of gift. It’s so unearthly quiet, you can only hear the clock ticking. You only have yourself and your books for company. You’re alone with your thoughts. You have to be so very quiet, for the family still slumbers. This is a good time to write. This is a good time to think. A good time to just be.
It seems that in our daily rush, in the non-stop activities that make up our lives, we forget to simply be. I think the Dalai Lama once said that we should spend part of every day alone with ourselves. It’s a sort of centering. A kind of grounding. He talks about meditation too. I keep telling myself I should do it.
I can still hear the clock ticking. It has turned a boy into a young man, a young man into a middle age man and in time, barring any health issues or accidents, a middle age man into an old one. It goes so fast.
One can be very philosophical in the early hours of morning. I think it’s time to make another cup of tea and maybe watch the sunrise. It’ll be hidden behind a blanket of grey clouds. But it will rise. There is much to look forward to . . .
What would you do at such an unearthly hour?
Categories: General
At my creative writing course last month, because of time constraints, I only briefly mentioned being economical with words in our writing. A pity, because here stands a vital concept which all writers should know about and practise.
Why take 20 words to get across an idea, when 12 will do? By using more words than necessary, you’re in danger of not only boring the reader but also taking the vitality and immediacy out of your work.
In A Novel in a Year, successful novelist Louise Doughty advises writers, no matter of what calibre or experience, to pick a section of their own writing, do a word count, then cut down the number of words by one quarter. To begin with she suggests deleting adverbs, then adjectives. And of course, you’re not allowed to delete whole paragraphs.
I’d also suggest looking for redundant words or phrases and reviewing the structure of the entire sentence. But of course, as I said in my course (pun very much intended), you would as with grammar, spelling, editing etc, apply this concept only when you’ve written a first draft to your short story or novel. Not before. Otherwise, you’ll impede your creative flow.
Well, with this in mind, I wish you all happy writing!
Perhaps jut “Happy Writing!” would do? 
Categories: The Craft of Writing
I’ve just realised that the 1st anniversary of this blog has come and gone quite unnoticed by yours truly. That forgotten date was 20 December 2007, a year after I began my blog.
It really has been fun and continues to be so. Putting up posts and getting feedback. Visiting other blogs. Getting to read other fellow writers and bloggers. Getting to know them and then meeting them in person!
Blogging is pretty time consuming though. (And the best excuse not to write!) Sometimes I have to think hard about what posts to put up. Mostly it hasn’t been too difficult though as I reckon I’ve got a lot to say. Often I feel that I’ve got to put more stuff on the craft of writing for after all this blog is entitled: Write Lah! Writing for Malaysians. But I appease myself by saying “I will, I will . . . all in good time!”
Really, for me, the greatest thing about blogging is getting in touch with my readers. Writing is a pretty lonely experience. You write stuff and send it out into the world. You meet a few people who’ve read your stuff. But no more. And so I wonder who actually reads my work. But with blogging I’ve gotten to meet so many many more of my readers. I’ve made real contact. Suddenly, writing isn’t such a lonely endeavour anymore.
That’s why, other than CNY, this first anniversary, for me anyway, is something to really celebrate.
Categories: General
When I was a boy growing up in KL, we used to visit lots of open houses every Chinese New Year. I received lots of Ang Pows and the greeting was always “Kong Hei Fat Choy”!
Somewhere along the line it has become “Gong Xi Fa Cai” as Cantonese gave way to Mandarin. But I still prefer to old greeting . . . that’s because it reminds me of my fleeting childhood. We visited my friend Siew Keong’s house every year and played around his big garden with our bellies swollen with cakes and soft drinks.
Chinese New Year is once again upon us. Most of KL is closing down for a week or so. But in Australia there is no holiday. Strangely enough, the first day of school for us begins tomorrow!
To all my Chinese friends . . . Kong Hei Fat Choy!
Categories: General
