Mood:  chatty

My book, Through The Storm, was born on 23rd Jan 2005, on a direct flight from Singapore to LA, enroute to Orlando. With fifteen hours and having finished a book I've bought, I penned my first two chapters and the flight turned out to be a breeze.

I finished Through The Storm in four months. It took me another twenty to get it to print. Hence lies the first of my learning points.

Writing is all about rewriting. How much rewriting depends on how skilled you are in writing. It is inversely correlated.  The more you know how to write, the less rewriting you need to do. In my case, I wrote using what I later learned as an omniscient POV (point of view). After such nudges from reviewers, I rewrote using third-party POV. The reading experience is more involved and intense if the third-party POV is well-handled. To know more about this, grab a good book on writing and learn what it is. It can save you some time in rewriting.

Among other things, you'll learn to 'show', not 'tell'. Again, this was learned after some kind reviewers pointed out the weakness in 'telling'.  If you study your own reaction when you read a book, you will find that you feel more satisfied when you arrive at a conclusion 'yourself'. You don't like to be spoonfed i.e. told that this man is sad. You want to 'see' his face, his body and his actions and conclude for yourself that he is sad.  eg. Sighing. Head bowed. Shoulders slumped etc.

Okay, second learning point.

Join a writing site to get objective reviews.  If you write in isolation, you will never know how your story is received by readers. Friends can be your reviewers. But, they are often too kind to be good for you. So, join a site for writers and over time, cultivate writing buddies who will be able to help you and you return the favor likewise.

Third learning point

Get plugged in to the writers' circle. It is good exposure. You never know who you will meet. It is good exposure. I met someone who does audio stories for children as a result of posting something on a writers' forum. If you have not done so, join BookCouncil as a member. Their website is http://www.bookcouncil.sg  A lot of useful information is there, including printers and publishers and bookshops. They also organize book readings, writers' meetings and writing classes. Very good for aspiring writers.

Finally, read a lot. Read books with a view to learning their writing styles, what works and what doesn't.

Posted by gentlecloud at 2:25 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 1 April 2007 9:28 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Sunday Times today had a very cute article written by Janadas Devan. Titled "Bada-bing! Looky-loo, it's in the dictionary", it introduces new words which I've never heard before. Here are two cute neologisms i.e. newly coined words, worth mentioning:

bouncebackability - able to come back after a setback. Thought to be first coined by a football club manager

bada-bing - an American slang suggesting something happening suddenly, emphatically,or easily and predictably, 'just like that', 'Presto!'.  Example from the movie 'Godfather', "You've gotta get up close like this and bada-bing! you blow their brains all over your nice shirt." LOL

bling-bling - diamonds, of course

The above is just for fun. On a more serious note, I feel that grasping not just the rudiments of English but mastering it differentiate the good authors from the rest.

When I met successful local writers like Catherine Lim and Shirley Geok-Lin, I felt so inadequate and exposed. Not just were they teachers or professors of Literature, their ability to speak eloguently helps them sell themselves and their work. How would non-entities in the literary world like me ever be like them? They're a different breed. They had too much of a headstart with their Arts doctorate and more compared to a mere Business Admin graduate like me!

After mentally wringing my hands at first, I now psyched myself to believe that what is lacking in form can be offset with substance. That's the part which all passionate writers can lean to if we are dreamers. For what feed dreams are our imagination and that is inborn and not nurtured. I've read books which are written beautifully with a normal storyline and others which are more minimalistic, spartan and yet have storylines that 'knocks your socks off'.

Anyway, I make it a practice nowadays to apply new words which I've come across in books. I challenge myself to use the new word in the latest chapter I'm writing. It works to increase my vocabulary and adds to the arsenal of words to tell a good story. Words like ichor, cathartic and flotsam are but a few of the new words I've added to my vocabulary this way. Try it.

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:52 PM EST

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Last night, I attended a Book Club meeting at Earshot. They were covering Colin Cheong's book titled "Stolen Child".

His first book was published at the tender age of twenty-four, eight years after he started. Imagine. He began writing at sweet sixteen. Gee, the feeling this piece of information evoked is similar to that when I first stepped into a cyber-games joint, totally intrigued with this new fangled world and wanting to play but wishing I could unwind my own internal clock twenty years.

Before I wallow in regret and drag anyone under in the process, let it be said also that many start much later. The writers' site I haunt has many writers who are in their sixties. Wouldn't they be even more desolate in the knowledge that they have started so late? No. Definitely not. They will tell you this. There is a time and place for everything. Life's experiences do count for quite a lot and these senior folks have the luxury of time on their hands to pen down their own legacy.

Anyway, back to the tips from the guru, Colin Cheong, who has twenty books, both fiction and non-fiction, to his name:

1) Deep emotions, be it anger, despair, lust, love, regret, are the best drivers for writing, its outpour onto paper rendered more powerful and arresting even as it is cathartic to the soul.

2) When to stop writing the next page of the novel? When you know what is ahead. Strange though it sounded, the rationale is that it actually builds up that burning desire to go back and write and hence, fuel the drive and passion.

3) To help build characters in the story, use real people to act in the movie in your mind. That way, you only transcribe what you see and the characters are more believable and alive because of it.  

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 7:34 AM EST

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Mood:  not sure

I've done a few things over the two weeks.

First, I had a flash of inspiration and created a marketing e-flyer, nicely embellished with photos and color. I thought the endeavour to be quite professional, if I might say so myself :) 

Then, in a blaze of pride and glory, I sent it to the forum for Writers' Guild ... and had my first lesson... Ouch! Never, never assume that everyone has broadband. Keep the file small to avoid unpleasant reminders. Gun for the pictures, for they are the main culprit, hogging the most mega'bites'. LOL. Prune these by recreating them in lower resolution. The effect is still good and blessedly, the file size cut down, in my first marketing pitch that became a hiccup, from 1 MB to a decent 0.4 MB.

And then, I had my second brain-wave *grin*  Why not try a new model of channel e-marketing. So, I created one and announced it to selected parties. One publisher responded in candid terms saying that the idea is actually some sort of an affiliate program which needs to be automated. The positive side of things was that he committed to getting an affiliate program running in two months. I'll definitely link up with him then. I've yet to hear from two others that I've approached. Needless to say, my friends just took it in good faith and became channels to publicise my book. Bless them!

With the pilots behind me, I have now announced the book to a slightly wider audience, including friends from a writers' class, SWCO, BookCouncil and also a fan forum. Keeping fingers and toes crossed :) 

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 9:56 PM EST

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:18 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

I finally met my church pastor today, three weeks after I left a copy of the book for her. She was standing there, waiting to greet the congregation filing out after the service. Having not heard from her, I was unsure what to expect when I shook her hand, thinking to step aside for others coming her way.

But, bless her, Rev Wendy held my hand tight, surprising me by not letting go for a long while! We just stood there, her smile and energy overwhelming me to the point that I felt both shy and elated at the same time. My goodness, this is my pastor and she is clasping my hand like ... like she wants to talk to me!

After my tongue became untied, I asked whether she had received and read the book, to which she answered yes! Then, in her own special way of speaking with that bottled energy of hers, she asked whether she could quote some parts of it in her sermon and then point to me as the author.

Whoa!! That caught me by surprise. I was both touched and bowled over by the thought. The first question that popped in my mind was what she was going to quote. But I didn't get to ask it, for I was so overwhelmed you see. I laughed - a little uncontrolled - and said she is welcome to quote anything from there so long if I do not get to be identified. It would be too embarrassing.  On hindsight, I think that perhaps, just perhaps, she was trying in her own way to publicise my work for me. Manna from Heaven which I did not pick up, right? Well, if God is willing, there will be more manna tomorrow...

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:22 PM EST

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Just came back from a self-publishing talk at YWCA. I am amazed by the turnout in spite of the lack of expensive advertisement. There must be a lot of aspiring writers even in a small city-state like Singapore, from this sampling alone.

I've been meaning to write a book on my experience at penning my first book. I think it would certainly cater to this segment of the market. Now, to find time to do it, besides gobbling up the stack of lovely novels I've recently acquired from MPH warehouse sale, writing the next chapter to my second book and finishing the final touches to "Storm". 

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com 

Posted by gentlecloud at 10:55 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:19 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

I learned something new today. I've found out that the weight of the paper matters to the shipping charges. The POD book I had weighed 253 g because I used 80 gsm paper whereas another normal paperback I'm reading (with roughly the same number of  pages) weighed only 187 g. It amounted to a savings of about US$1 for shipping charges. I'll make sure the printer uses lighter weight paper, not necessarily thin but lighter.

My website is now ready to take orders. I've added the pricing info, shipping charges and even a low-res snapshot of my book to make the access faster. Things are certainly moving.

I've chosen to offer payment mode via email Paypal. The online Paypal is sleeker but from what I've read, if not properly orchestrated, you may not be able to trace which customers have paid and their email addresses for confirmation. Hence, I've chosen the more manual route for now and see how.

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:24 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:20 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

Today, at church, I prayed to God for guidance on my book. I have a quotation from a printer for 1,000 copies to be printed. I was wondering whether to take the plunge. That's a lot of trees and a lot of money :)

For the past three weeks, I've brought my book to church hoping to pass it to Rev Wendy in person. She is a wonderful pastor, a bit radical, but her heart is in the right place. And she had agreed to review my book. But she was not around. So, finally, I handed it to the information counter to pass to her. I was a bit disappointed, for I want to hand-deliver that first copy to her.

That night, I received a Seal of Quality confirmation from a writing site I frequent. My prayer was answered. I will place the printing order!

Su Yin

http://gentlecloud.tripod.com

Posted by gentlecloud at 8:04 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 18 November 2006 8:21 AM EST

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Mood:  happy

The spirit is moving!

I've received my first 10 copies of the book today and lo and behold, someone out of the blue pinged me from an old writing site to ask about the story. She's a young girl, 18 years old, a Singaporean studying in Perth.

And one email exchange later, I have my first order! Call it coincidence but I believe it is a sign from God to say ... press on! You're going the right way. 

Posted by gentlecloud at 9:53 PM EDT

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Mood:  happy

I have to chronicle what happened today.

I had to rush out my book to pass to someone this evening. I thought I had everything figured out. I've printed my manuscript in A5 paper. I've got my book cover designed at Bras Basah Complex. All I needed was to have it printed in art paper, and the book bound.

It turned out to be quite a disaster... at first. The girl printed the bookcover not in the right size and stupid me, I went ahead to ask that the A5 printed copy to be cut to fit the cover. That first copy ended up with its head shaved bald. And it was already 4!

Desperate but still shooting for the deadline, I rushed back home armed with an A5 sized bookcover instead and started printing another copy. Then and there, I used wood glue and page by page, painted a thin line of glue on the side to be bound. My sweat was dripping somewhere around the 50th page. It was then that my hubby and little girl popped in. To cut the whole thing short, they took pity on me ... and in no time, we created an assembly line. I put the glue, hubby position the page and my kid banged her hand on the page to make it stick. This is cottage industry at its best.

We managed to bind the book, raw and still wet with glue, just in time to pass to the guy, with a gold ribbon wrapped around it. Boy, did I love my family then. I've so blessed, everyone. I really am. This day will remain in my memory forever.

Posted by gentlecloud at 11:04 PM EDT

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