The Local Writer

 [Watch a Video Version of this post.] Have you ever tried explaining to a foreigner how good durian is? Or about the mouth-watering smell of salted fish frying in a pan? Even as I say this, I know that it is easy for you to imagine someone wrinkling their nose as you brought out these delicacies for them to try. Every culture has a dish that could only be described as an acquired taste. The Europeans have their blue cheese, we in Malaysia have our cencaluk and a wide variety of delicious fermented food. Even between generations we have our differences. The modern idea of beautiful teeth is pearly white. Once upon a time betel-stained teeth was considered good, even cultured. Iban lovers used to help each other stain their teeth black with soot and resin. Find Common Ground Via Emotions You have an idea for a historical fiction, or historical fantasy that is just absolutely romantic. Except that the lifestyle, food and ritual practices are just a tad shocking. It does not feel ri...

[Watch a video version of this post] You have a story that excites you, one that keeps you awake at night. But the story is based in your culture and you do not feel native enough to write it. Why? Because your family migrated out of the village when you were little or before you were born. You only got to experience village life during the holidays.  Or maybe you were sent to a boarding school, and you did so well that you just kept being placed in one school after another, taking you farther and farther away from your village. I Found a Magical World In my case, I grew up in town with holiday visits to the longhouse or my grandparents' farm. Town life was dull, but my grandparents' life was magical. I love that magic. I wanted to capture it in my story. In the beginning, imagining the story I wanted to tell was fun. But as I started to get more and more serious about putting it down in writing, I began to wonder if I was good enough to write an Iban story. You see, I am no s...

[Watch a video version of this post.]  You are itching to write a ghoulish story. Against your best judgment, you tell your friends about it. They get excited too and tell you to write something like Bram Stoker's Dracula or Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire . A few minutes into the conversation, you begin to feel that your great idea is not so great after all. There are hundreds of vampire stories out there, with every plot imaginable. Does your new idea even have a chance among all these other stories? Know the Monster in your Backyard Remember, there is nothing new under the sun. All horror stories run along a similar line: A monster terrorizes a group of people, or an individual. Regardless of the theme of your story, whether it is historical, romantic, dramatic, or pure horror; a scary monster is the reason why you have the story in the first place. So before you give up, ask yourself: What kind of monster do I need? Consider the vampire - something that looks beautif...

[ See a video version of this post ] A brilliant idea will not always become a great story. Nobody can really see one or two years ahead and know how their story will turn out. For an idea to come to full fruition, it must be strong enough to set the tone, theme, and setting of the story. This is particularly important for indigenous and local writers who plan to write in English. You don't have to plan too much around details when you are writing in your own dialect, because those who can read in the language will know your customs well enough to fill in the blanks. Readers who read in English, on the other hand, may not know your culture, so you must have a clear theme and setting to help them along. Below is a trick I often use to decide if I am willing to see a story through to the end, and if I decide to do so, how to add sub-plots to it. Write a 200-500 word ‘Once Upon a time’ story This short fairy-tale will help you see if you have a strong Beginning, Middle, and Ending. Le...