Asian Festival for Children's Content 2013 aka the Great Escape to Singapore!

There is this feeling that the world is closing in on me sometimes when I’m sitting at my desk, typing away on my laptop. Especially when I’m done with the day, and I realize how many hours had passed of me doing the routine thing I’ve done for more than a year now. Isn’t it scary, when you pause for a moment, when you let yourself think of the things you wanted to do, things you’re passionate about – only to realize that, here you are --

On a path you don’t really want after all.

(Dramatic, much?)   

People say that you need to forget about ‘pausing’. Don’t think, just keep doing your work. But I need that pause. Everyone does. And that pause made me write a paragraph; it made me feel connected to the words I write, because these are words that make me myself. I am me when I write, and no one can take that away. I hold those words tightly to my heart because it’s leaves a trace of who I am.  

So I approached my friend Cate, who’s a SCBWI member and she was the one who recommended me to go for Asian Festival for Children’s Content (AFCC). It was a little pricey to go, but at that point of my life I was just like, “Screw it, I’m going to go to this thing, I’m going to learn stuff and meet new people and take a step forward :|”

Warning: Word vomit and #writerfeels ahead. 

Day #1 of AFCC: Afi and I with author
HollyThompson & blogger Tarie Sabido

Even though I was an English major, barely any of my classes had more impact on my heart than the talk given by Susanne Gervay and Wendy Orr’s ‘Challenge, Trauma and Recovery in YA fiction’. Here were two writers who are clearly passionate about their work. They researched, they went deep into the skin of their characters.

When the two authors talked about the ‘silence’ of young adult years, I was able to relate to them.  In Malaysia, we were taught to follow a certain path and rules; school subjects were dry and our main goals were too get as many A’s as we can for PMR and SPM – because if we don’t, then our lives would be ruined. We were told to think critically without knowing what critically meant. Being correct was the most important thing because being correct meant that you would have one extra point in your exams and that one point can determine your grades.

We were spoon fed, and while we ate we weren’t allowed to speak. The world is so big and yet we thought people were either good or bad, nothing in between. In another session ‘YA – A Malaysian Perspective’, a point was made by the speakers about the targeted YA readers: they live in a world of emotions. They need books that are written to tell them that they are a survivor, they can be a hero, that they are a person. It also made me appreciate the wealth of our culture in Malaysia. What it takes is the extra effort for research and observation to understand our surroundings and how people are.

And yet, I was a little saddened by the lack of YA books in Malaysia in English. It’s true, we do prefer our YA lit from the USA, the UK and so forth.  I don’t think that’s an excuse for anyone to stop trying, though. I was even introduced to a few titles while I was at the AFCC, including Golda Mowe’s Iban Dream and Cinthia Koeksal’s Scarlet Omen. More support, publicity and the right marketing strategy would work really well for authors.

After all, how are you going to get people to read if they don't know that you published something? 

Day #2 of AFCC, Afi who is concentrating hard, 

Hidayah Amin, author of The Mango Tree, 

and some freebies!

It’s pretty easy to fangirl Holly Thompson for her talk on Novels Set in Asia: How to Sell Them Overseas. It was helpful and provided hope for those who want to write novels set in Asia, though she didn’t forget to address the challenges the authors would face.  She mentioned having to find a ‘bridge’ that helps readers be able to connect with our lives and our culture. Thinking about it, I think that one way to connect with them through writing is not through factual statements. Instead, we should find a way to get them to understand. Personally, I find the good books I read interesting because the writers actually invite me into their world and make me feel welcomed. Perhaps the same could be done for the books written in Malaysia!

Anyway, the conference allowed the participants to choose which session they want to go to, right? Unfortunately, some of the venues ended up being so full that we were turned away, which is kind of depressing, because well, we paid for it (maybe the organizers should take into consideration of popular talks and slot them in better next time).  Because of this, I ended up attending the Cross Platform Writing talk by Robert Greenberg. IT WAS AWESOME!

I kind of have this perception that I’m best when I’m writing narrative fiction,  but when he talked about jumping from scriptwriting, to lyric writing. Internally I was like “O___O holy crap, how do you do it so easily?!”

He probably read our minds, because he told us that it is possible to think visually and still write prose, as each sort of writing informs the other. (Yes, I’m actually copying this from my notebook).  I think his point is that we have to get over that barrier that we’ve set for ourselves and embrace new platforms for writing. After all, the core essence of writing is the art of storytelling!

(Seriously, though: I wish I could duplicate myself to be in different places at one time so that I could go to all the talks).

If I were to write more about the sessions, this entry would go on forever.  So let me talk about another aspect that made the conference amazing: the people. Being an unpublished author with a lack of ~legitimate~ portfolio, I was wondering if I’d find it daunting to be around those who’re published. But it wasn’t! I think it’s because everyone has a common goal and passion in writing and books, of course.

There we were, listening to potential and published authors talk about their works, and what motivated them to tell their stories. At the same time, I had to do some reflection of my own too. What did I want to write, why do I write, who do I write for? It’s not something that can be easily figured out, but it’s a step forward. They reminded me that the world is big, that there is something beyond the walls of a room. 

With writer Alexander O Smith and illustrator 

Amy Ng

But the industry isn’t just about the writers. It’s about the publishers and editors, too. Profit drives. We learned the realities of getting a book published and what the industry is like. Being blunt here: it’s pretty bleak, because it’s still growing and the readership in Malaysia needs to be increased. There’s also that problem of support for local writers. And readers don’t even know where to look for these writers or know that they exist because their books are overshadowed.

In an ideal world, writing would only be about telling your story, sharing your feelings and thoughts, a part of yourself to the world. But the process that comes after that needs to be taken into consideration too – the steps of getting published, who to sell the rights too, what kind of publishers to look for, etc. Your book is your baby ;), and you have to be responsible for it from A-Z.

From all of this, I just want to tell everyone who wants to be a writer, or love to write – let's just keep going and keep writing to tell our stories. Take that short pause from work to return to yourselves, and maybe you'll find your way on a journey that will open your eyes. 

Us with Bob, Zwan, & Yam, bonus points if you can
guess what our hand gestures mean ;)

A special thanks to Afi, who I bugged a lot about booking our bus tickets to Singapore and everything else, the new friends she introduced me to who I now pester regularly on Twitter, and of course, everyone I met and got to know at AFCC, who shared their experiences with me.

"Writers are great lovers. They fall in love with other writers. That's how they learn to write. They take on a writer, read everything by him or her, read it over again until they understand how the writer moves, pauses and sees. That's what being a lover is: stepping out of yourself, stepping into someone else's skin. Your ability to love another's writing means those capabilities are awakened in you. It will make you bigger, it won't make you a copy cat." -- Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones.