Tuesday August 25, 2009

Living out a fantasy

By ALLAN KOAY

Having her short story published is a promising start for this young fantasy writer who is working on her first novel.

MOST people don’t realise that there is something called a “slush pile” in every publisher’s office. It’s the dreaded “black hole” feared by all aspiring authors, a bunch of unsolicited manuscripts sitting there waiting to be read and discovered by busy editors or their assistants. Most of the manuscripts would just disappear into the abyss, others would be returned with a rejection slip.

Just ask fantasy writer Ika Vanderkoeck. She has gone through her fair share of rejection slips. But it’s not putting her off writing anytime soon.

Meeting Ika for the first time, one can’t help but be prone to fantasy cliches in trying to describe her. “Elfin” comes to mind immediately – she is petite, soft-spoken, waif-like, almost like a character straight out of a fantasy novel.

Despite having a short story published in an international anthology, Ages Of Wonder, Ika is still on a tough journey towards getting her first novel published. But she has found a lot of good help along the way, and getting her short story published has helped put her in touch with some good editors.

Focused: ‘People have this misconception that because it’s fantasy, you can write anything you want,’ says Ika Vanderkoeck.

“I never thought of writing short stories until recently,” says Ika, 25, whose full name is Zulaikha Nurain Mudzar, but took on Vanderkoeck as her pen name to honour her mother’s Dutch parentage.

“My mentor, Janny Wurts, who is already an established author, introduced me to (editors) Julie E. Czerneda and Rob St Martin. They were then having a competition to find new writers. I decided to give it a go.”

It took her two weeks to come up with the first draft, after which Wurts sent it back to her for another two weeks of rewriting.

Her story, Crossing The Waters, is about an ancient tribe that has to make an important decision about foreign travellers encroaching upon its land.

“People have this misconception that because it’s fantasy, you can write anything you want,” says Ika. “My story is based on the Age Of Sail. In the first draft, the details were all wrong. My mentor is an expert in ships and all that, and she said, ‘Do you know that during the 16th century, they didn’t have wheels on a ship? Go back and do your research!’ Even then she was really encouraging. She thought it was a good first draft, and got me to try again and get the details right.”

Ika, whose mother is Dutch-Indonesian and father is Malaysian, is a corporate affairs executive by day. She writes “corporate materials” during her day job, but sits at her personal computer at night creating worlds of magic and wonder. She completed her first novel when she was only 16, churning it out “in between school and work.”

Being young and ambitious, she initially thought all she had to do after completing her novel was to get it published. It wasn’t long before reality kicked in hard – finishing a novel is just the first small step in a long, arduous journey.

But then she met Wurts through the author’s website. Wurts is a renowned fantasy writer and illustrator who has written the War of Light And Shadows series, the Cycle Of Fire trilogy, and the hugely popular Empire Trilogy which she co-wrote with Raymond E. Feist.

“I was surprised because I didn’t think that authors could be illustrators as well,” says Ika. “So I went to her website and saw her work. I e-mailed her, and she replied. She invited me to join her website’s forum. We continued to exchange e-mail and have been keeping in touch this way for the last nine years.”

Her Ages Of Wonder editors too, have continued to groom her and keep her updated on competitions and calls for submissions. It was her mentor and her editors who made her realise that she has to put aside her first novel and work on the next one. That’s simply the best advice anyone could give an aspiring writer – don’t stop writing.

The first draft of her novel took two years to complete. She says it is a story about how people always fear what they don’t understand. The lead character possesses magical powers that he cannot understand, but which makes him the best mercenary in his army.

“But as the months go by, he becomes sicker and sicker, and he doesn’t understand why,” Ika explains. “He gradually discovers more about his powers. This is actually the first in a whole series I have planned.”

The second of three siblings, Ika already had a love for words when she was a child, and according to her mother, she carried a dictionary everywhere she went when she was only four.

“I really don’t remember that!” she says, laughing. “During my childhood I used to write short stories about practically anything. When I was 12, I wrote articles for a website. People used to tell me, ‘You’re pretty good at this. You should do this for a living.’ I thought, sure, why not? It wasn’t really my interest. At that age, I wanted to be a ‘dinosaur digger,’ an archaeologist.”

Then, when she was 14, her mother brought home a book that would change her life forever – David Eddings’ Polgara The Sorceress. Ika remembers being completely awed by the book. Her current favourites include Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, and of course, Janny Wurts.

“These writers don’t just write about good versus evil, and prophecies and all that,” says Ika. “Jenny’s work is so in-depth when exploring the characters. And Patrick and Scott write about anti-heroes.”

But fantasy isn’t all that Ika reads. She understands that even though she writes fantasy, she needs to be knowledgeable in other areas too. “I try to read as widely as I can. I read a lot of history books,” she adds.

But what does her mother think of her becoming a fantasy author?

“When my mum found out that I was writing fantasy, she was like, ‘What are you doing? I had to prove her wrong right from the beginning. She constantly told me that I still needed to study. So I became the best student in school while writing fantasy, to show her that I could do both. Now, she’s my greatest supporter.”

With a diploma in mass communications in hand, Ika plans to obtain her degree next year, perhaps majoring in English, she says. But writing isn’t something she is ready to give up on.

“It’s a passion, I can’t stop doing it. I can’t cry over a rejection and then not write anymore. I learned the hard way. The rejections were disheartening but you learn to do it again.”

■ Ages Of Wonder is available at all bookstores.