Jerome Bouchaud, who translated Lovers and Strangers Revisited,
now Trois autres Malaisie, interviewed me
for Lettres-de-Malaisie. Here is the English version.
First, about your writing habits: Long-hand or computer? What is your
daily writing routine?
I started
out writing the first draft of my fiction in long hand, including most of the
stories in Lovers and Strangers Revisited
and several novels. Now I use a computer—it’s
easier to work with, cleaner, faster, too.
In looking back, some of my best stories began in long hand. There’s a special connection that you make
with the page. Working with a computer
the writing is faster but not necessarily better. It’s also
rife with distractions a click away.
Perhaps for my next novel, I should seriously look at writing the first
draft in long hand. Many writers swear
by it.
I like to
write first thing in the morning, after my children go to school, before I get
distracted with email requests or attention grabbing headlines—the writer’s worst
enemy; it steals your time and kills your momentum. If I get my work locked in early, my whole
day goes smoother. If not, it’s all catch-up
and I kick myself for not sticking to my plans and letting my limited writing time
get away.
When did you realize you wanted to become a
writer?
While
backpacking through Europe after college, I met several people writing books
and that fascinated me. Then I met a
writer copying his manuscript about India, and thought, perhaps, I could write
about my own travelling experiences. Later,
I married a lady from Malaysia and while travelling there to meet her family, I
knew I had to write this story, which became “Mat Salleh” from Lovers and Strangers Revisited, my first
published short story.
Lovers & Strangers was first released in 1993 (Heinemann), then revised a first and a
second time, to be re-published in 2008 with the title Lovers & Strangers Revisited (MPH). What changes did you bring
to your stories? Why did you feel the need to revisit them?
The book
was going to be taught in a course on Malaysia and Singapore Literature; since
I had been revising the stories to sell them as individual stories, I didn’t want
to republish that old version. So I saw
an opportunity to revisit my stories. I
went back to the original inspiration, even revisited several of the
settings. I also worked with an American
editor familiar with my stories and asked her to “rip them apart” from an
international perspective (what may make sense to Malaysians may not make sense
to Americans unfamiliar with Malaysia—I experienced this again with the French translation.)
It was a
humbling process, since all of the stories except one had been published;
several, several times. But I had grown
as a writer, thanks to all the writing I had done, all the teaching as a
creative writing instructor, and all the line editing of my students’ works
(and exchanging stories with other writers).
Some
stories doubled in length, having whole new endings added on or back-story
added in. Mostly the writing style, the
descriptions and the details became more precise, more vivid. The challenge was to make these stories
resonate with readers around the world.
So far the 17 stories have been published 81 times in 12 countries (18
countries when I include the French translation). The MPH version won the 2009 Popular-Star Reader’s Choice Award, validating my efforts, as did the French translation.
On your blog, you write about the story behind each
story of Lovers & Strangers. Does
it help you reflect on the challenges writers need to overcome when putting
together a story?
Sometimes
we forget that our published story may have been rewritten numerous times, and
that our first draft barely resembles the finished product, so it‘s easy to
become frustrated with poor uninspiring writing. When I began the Story Behind the Story blog series,
I compared the first published versions of my stories to the Heinemann Asia (1993)
version and then the Lovers and Strangers
Revisited version. It was the same
“story” but the contrast was quite stark.
The writing and the story itself had undergone a major transformation,
so I began to document the significant changes that led to publication, first
locally in Malaysia/Singapore and then overseas in the US or Europe.
I thought other writers could learn about the
writing process by comparing each story to the story behind the story. The blogs are now being taught in
universities and private colleges alongside the stories as a teaching aid and
for the student’s benefit.
Your stories have been praised by Malaysians
themselves for truly reflecting the Malaysian way of life. Some are told from a
foreigner’s point of view, some others through the voice of a local. Was it
difficult to achieve authenticity when speaking as a young Indian girl, an old
Chinese man or a blind Malay lady? How did you go about it? Is there a lot of research
involved, or mostly personal experience and imagination?
Being
married into a Malay family, when I first moved here, gave me a unique perspective,
especially on kampong life. Most of the
Malay characters were based on my relatives, including my late mother-in-law. She didn’t speak English, so I had to imagine
myself being her and get inside her head based on my observations, talking with
my ex-wife, and doing some research. Also
my Chinese and Indian friends and neighbors served as models as to how my
characters should act, talk, think. It’s
important as a writer to be really observant when writing about others. You can’t make assumptions based on your own
culture—that will quickly get you into trouble!
Basically, you got to ask a lot of questions and follow it up with some
research.
How would you describe the writing scene in
Malaysia? As a writing facilitator, do you sometimes come across truly talented
youths? Do you see potential in the new generation?
In KL, all
kinds of readings, book launches, and workshops take place on a weekly or
monthly basis. Penang has some,
too. Plus there are plenty of local
writers and expat writers who come and go.
I used to exchange novels with two expat novelists, one of whom had her
novel published in the US this year.
Being around other writers who are doing what you’re doing is extremely
helpful and encouraging.
The talent
is here, but not necessarily the discipline; too many young writers seem to
hate rewriting, not appreciating that this is a necessary step to improve the
story, especially when writing fiction.
They seem to feel that’s the editor’s job after it gets accepted for publication. They’ll do two or three drafts, enter it into
a contest and then move onto the next story.
When I tell new writers that some of my published stories have been
rewritten about twenty times, they look at me with horror!
Writers who have studied writing overseas get
it. They see the potential and that
it’s going to involve a lot of work. They
are willing to work with and even hire editors so they can improve their writing ability.
Do you read any of the local writers? Which one(s)
would you recommend?
When I first moved here, I met writers like KS Maniam, Lee Kok Liang, Kee Thuan Chye
and Rehman Rashid, and read their work, which I strongly recommend. I have also met and worked with many upcoming
writers when I was the Editor for Silverfish
New Writing 4, a judge for some short story competitions, and through my
workshops.
Now I see a trend of writers rushing
their work into print both here and in Singapore, especially fiction, without
having any of their stories previously published. Suddenly they’re having book launches and
being paraded around as published authors, some still in their teens! But where is the quality of their work; okay,
it might be acceptable on a local level in a small publication, but on a national
or international level?
I attended
a book launch of one young writer who had received heaps of praise from the
press and good reviews, too, but then it was discovered that she had
plagiarized at least one of the stories from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul!
She was coy about doing it! For
me, all of her stories are now (and forever) suspect. Ideally, writers should have a publishing
track record or are winning contests before they publish a collection of short
stories like Shih-Li Kow’s Ripples and
Other Stories, which was short-listed for the 2009 Frank O’Connor
International Short Story Award.
For
novels, it’s different, and Malaysia is producing some fine writers that are
making an international splash, such as Tash Aw, Tan Twan Eng, and Preeta
Samarasan. Tan Twan Eng’s The Garden of Evening Mists being shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize (with a chance to win) speaks volumes. These three, by the way, live abroad as
expats. Their own expectations as
writers are much higher and Malaysia is richer for it.
Can you tell us more about your ongoing
projects?
I’ve spend
most of 2012 rewriting two Penang novels, both finalist in the 2012Faulkner-Wisdom Award, A Perfect Day for
an Expat Exit, for novel, and The
Girl in the Bathtub, for novel-in-progress.
This gives me hope. Both novels
are part of a series; I have plans for novels set in Sarawak, Singapore and
Thailand. I had a chance to publish the
first one in Singapore many years ago, but novels published locally rarely get
out of this region, so I backed out. I’m glad since the novel has evolved.
I also have
a third novel, set in the US that was a short-list finalist for the 2012 Faulkner-Wisdom
Award for the second year in a row (also a Quarterfinalist in 2012 Amazon
Breakthrough Novel Award). A fourth
novel was a short-list finalist in 2009 Faulkner-Wisdom. I am considering the e-book option to see if
I can develop a track record that will interest a mainstream publisher. The rules to publishing is in a huge state of
flux; creating new opportunities for writers.
I’m excited
that “Home for Hari Raya” from Lovers and
Strangers Revisited is being filmed by Ohio University by Frederick Lewis, professor of film/video, who will
lead a team of 13 students to Malaysia in December 2012. I find it fascinating that a short story I
wrote twenty years ago about three Malay sisters has attracted a film maker in
the US. It’s not Hollywood calling, but
it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
The story that initially grabbed his attention was “Mat Salleh.” Maybe it’s time for me to dig out my
screenplays and see what I can do with them.
You just never know unless you try.
20 over years have passed since you first
settled down in Malaysia. Do you feel like you finally belong here after so
long?
As an expat
who has spend half of his life in Malaysia, I’m not so sure where I belong,
especially after recently spending five weeks in the US following the death of
my father. I felt pretty comfortable
there; there’s a lot that I miss, like people going out of their way to be polite
and helpful. Cars actually waited for
you to cross the street or back out of a parking spot. But then I don’t miss winter.
A piece of advice for aspiring writers?
Believe in
your story and never compare your writing with others. Every writer began full of doubts about their
abilities, yet they stuck with their story and completed it. That’s the key, complete your work. Then keep going over it to make it better. The writing is in the rewriting, so finish
the first draft! Later, when you’re done
the best you can, get some perspective on your writing by working with an
editor with lots of writing experience.
This is what I did at two critical junctures in my writing career. Then learn from it so you’re not repeating
the same stylistic or grammar mistakes over and over. If you do that, your writing will go to the
next level. That’s what we all want—get
to the next level and get your work published.
Here are links to some
of my author-to-author interviews of first novelists:
Ivy
Ngeow author of Cry
of the Flying Rhino, winner
of the 2016 Proverse Prize.
Plus:
Beheaded on
Road to Nationhood: Sarawak Reclaimed—Part
I
