Tuesday October 25, 2005

Fun – the write way

By MICHAEL CHEANG

Last year, I dreamt of becoming a novelist. I set out to write a 50,000-word best-selling novel that will inspire countless other writers, whilst dreaming of Booker Prizes, movie rights, and thousands of fans queuing outside bookstores waiting for me to sign their books.

Unfortunately, I was brought crashing down to earth five days into my first attempt at accomplishing that dream – I could only manage 5,000 words during my shot at writing a 50,000-word novel in a month during last year’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge.

Try as I may, I could not get another 45,000 words out of my pathetic attempt at writing the Great Malaysian Novel, the gist of which involved a handsome hero (imaginatively named Michael) who together with Jasper the Talking Hamster tries to stop an evil wizard who wants to turn the Petronas Twin Towers into a magical TV antennae (don’t ask).

So much for my aspirations of becoming the next Tash Aw, eh?

Erna Mahyuni.

All the same, don’t let my dismal attempt dissuade you. If you’ve always wanted to write a novel, then NaNoWriMo, the “fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing”, is for you.

Every year starting from Nov 1, NaNoWriMo participants from all over the world will attempt to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel from scratch, and complete it by midnight, Nov 30.

According to the official website (http://www.nanowrimo.com), NaNoWriMo values “enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft”, and is a “novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved”.

The challenge may sound impossible, but there are people who have accomplished the feat. Last year, over 42,000 Dan Brown-wannabes participated, with nearly 6,000 participants managing to churn out the required 50,000 words before the deadline.

One successful “Nano-er” is tech writer Erna Mahyuni, 27, who for the past three years has been NaNoWriMo Malaysia’s municipal liaison or ML (a fancy name for co-ordinator).

Erna, who managed to complete her novel Divine Being (a self-admittedly nonsensical satire about a girl meeting the devil in a Kuala Lumpur bar) in 2003’s NaNoWriMo but gave up midway through last year’s challenge, said that trying to write a novel in 30 days is an “act of insanity”.

“You can’t imagine how hard it is (to write a novel). Going through the whole thing is hell, especially when you’ve never written anything more than 1,000 words before,” she said.

She is nevertheless happy that the number of Malaysians taking part has increased over the years. “In 2003, we only had five people. Last year, there were 10, and we expect that number to double this year as well,” she said.

Her co-ML this year, Mabel Teoh, 26, said: “We’ve been getting many of the same faces for the past two years, and I hope there will be more new ones at our gatherings this year,” she said.

Like Erna, this year will be Teoh’s third year at NaNoWriMo (and her first as ML). Although she fell short of the mark in 2003 (“because I was writing about a very depressing character, and I ended up getting depressed myself”), she managed to pull her socks up and complete last year’s challenge, finishing a science fiction novel one week before the deadline.

This year, Teoh, who is a sub-editor at a publishing house, is tackling an unfamiliar genre – fantasy. “I thought it would be a good challenge to write something I’m unfamiliar with,” she explained.

So what can beginners expect from their first Nano experience? “Expect to get a lot of people asking you, ‘What’s in it for you?’ and not understanding when you tell them that you’re just doing it for the heck of it,” she said, laughing. “Also, expect to go crazy, and to worry more and more each day as you get closer and closer to the deadline.”

Teoh has some good advice for first-time Nano-ers, though. “The best way to go about it is to learn not to limit yourself, and just to have fun!”

Considering how hard the whole thing sounds, why then do these Nano-ers put themselves through such torture?

“Because at the end of it all, you can proudly tell people that you have actually written a novel,” said Erna. “Of course, getting it published is another problem altogether.”

Nonetheless, regardless of whether it is published or not, finishing a 50,000-word novel alone would be something to brag about. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for NaNoWriMo now, and take that first step towards becoming the next Great Malaysian Novelist!

Now, excuse me while I try to figure out how to fit Jasper the Talking Hamster into my new novel’s plot...

There will be a gathering for all Malaysian participants of NaNoWriMo at MPH 1-Utama, Petaling Jaya, this Friday (Oct 28), at 7pm. To join this year’s NaNoWriMo, register at the official website at http://www.nanowrimo.com before Oct 31. To get in touch with fellow Malaysian Nano-ers, check out the official Malaysian NaNoWriMo blog at http://nanomy.blogspot.com.

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