Many paths to becoming a writer - Ng Yi-Sheng
NG YI-SHENG reflects on what he's learnt from talking to fellow writers.
Last year, the editors of What's Up asked me to create a series of articles about writers in Singapore and other Asian countries. This series was named "The Writing Life", and it's been published in this newspaper every month since October 2010.
Altogether, I've interviewed seven writers for this series, including myself. We're a very mixed bunch. Some of us are young and some of us are old. Some of us love to make jokes, and some of us are more serious.
We write about different things, from fantasy to politics. We use different forms of writing, such as poetry, fiction, drama, comics and songs. Some of us even write in languages other than English.
And, as you might have expected, we have very different stories about how we started writing.
Starting young or not so young
Most of us began writing back when we were still kids. For example, Filipino playwright Francis Tanglao- Aguas wrote his first play when he was just ten years old. I treated all my primary school English compositions as excuses to write fantasy stories.
However, a few of us didn't begin until much later in life. Look at Malaysian novelist Shamini Flint. She only began writing her books after her daughter was born.
Some of us weren't confident about our early writing. When Singaporean writer Catherine Lim finished her first short story collection, Little Ironies, she didn’t show it to anyone else. Instead, she hid the stories in her drawer for four long years.
Some of us actually had to be forced to write. Korean novelist Hyejin Kim says she hated writing in her school journal in Primary One. Singaporean comics writer Troy Chin didn't start drawing until his doctor ordered him to do it.
But, there are also writers like Singaporean songwriter Bani Haykal. He took up writing of his own free will, while he was learning how to play the guitar. He also had the courage to perform his songs live in front of audiences. Even when he was nervous, he was able to transform this feeling into positive energy to make his performances even better.
It's also true that people have very different reasons for writing. Mrs Flint started writing because she wanted to teach kids about today’s Asia. Mr Chin does it as a way of dealing with his depression. Ms Kim, meanwhile, writes simply to express herself.
Work at it
The truth is, there is no one path into writing. The diversity of these writers' experiences proves that. This makes me believe that almost anyone can become a successful writer, provided that you're willing to work at it.
If you'd like to be a writer yourself, you might want to look back at some of our past articles. Do the exercises we've suggested, and consider the advice our writers have given.
Ms Lim says you should read as much as you can so that your language skills will improve. Mr Tanglao-Aguas says you should begin writing straight away, recording your feelings and thoughts, so that you can refer to these notes when you're older. My own advice is to be patient. Writing can be a joyful activity, but it can also be very hard work.
This is the last article of "The Writing Life". But, of course, there are many other important and interesting writers in Singapore and the rest of the world that we haven't interviewed.
Find out more about these writers. Read their books, and write to us about them. And who knows? Maybe someday, one of these important writers might be you.
About Ng Yi-Sheng
Ng Yi-Sheng is a full-time writer and journalist. He was the youngest ever winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, which he received for his first poetry collection titled last boy.
He has written a novelisation of the movie, Eating Air, and a non-fiction book, On His Wings, Soaring: 20 Years On, about his old school, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). One of his early plays, "Hungry", is published in the drama collection 5 Under 25.
Besides being a regular writer for What's Up, he also writes articles about theatre and dance for The Flying Inkpot and the Straits Times.
Last year, the editors of What's Up asked me to create a series of articles about writers in Singapore and other Asian countries. This series was named "The Writing Life", and it's been published in this newspaper every month since October 2010.
Altogether, I've interviewed seven writers for this series, including myself. We're a very mixed bunch. Some of us are young and some of us are old. Some of us love to make jokes, and some of us are more serious.
We write about different things, from fantasy to politics. We use different forms of writing, such as poetry, fiction, drama, comics and songs. Some of us even write in languages other than English.
And, as you might have expected, we have very different stories about how we started writing.
Starting young or not so young
Most of us began writing back when we were still kids. For example, Filipino playwright Francis Tanglao- Aguas wrote his first play when he was just ten years old. I treated all my primary school English compositions as excuses to write fantasy stories.
However, a few of us didn't begin until much later in life. Look at Malaysian novelist Shamini Flint. She only began writing her books after her daughter was born.
Some of us weren't confident about our early writing. When Singaporean writer Catherine Lim finished her first short story collection, Little Ironies, she didn’t show it to anyone else. Instead, she hid the stories in her drawer for four long years.
Some of us actually had to be forced to write. Korean novelist Hyejin Kim says she hated writing in her school journal in Primary One. Singaporean comics writer Troy Chin didn't start drawing until his doctor ordered him to do it.
But, there are also writers like Singaporean songwriter Bani Haykal. He took up writing of his own free will, while he was learning how to play the guitar. He also had the courage to perform his songs live in front of audiences. Even when he was nervous, he was able to transform this feeling into positive energy to make his performances even better.
It's also true that people have very different reasons for writing. Mrs Flint started writing because she wanted to teach kids about today’s Asia. Mr Chin does it as a way of dealing with his depression. Ms Kim, meanwhile, writes simply to express herself.
Work at it
The truth is, there is no one path into writing. The diversity of these writers' experiences proves that. This makes me believe that almost anyone can become a successful writer, provided that you're willing to work at it.
If you'd like to be a writer yourself, you might want to look back at some of our past articles. Do the exercises we've suggested, and consider the advice our writers have given.
Ms Lim says you should read as much as you can so that your language skills will improve. Mr Tanglao-Aguas says you should begin writing straight away, recording your feelings and thoughts, so that you can refer to these notes when you're older. My own advice is to be patient. Writing can be a joyful activity, but it can also be very hard work.
This is the last article of "The Writing Life". But, of course, there are many other important and interesting writers in Singapore and the rest of the world that we haven't interviewed.
Find out more about these writers. Read their books, and write to us about them. And who knows? Maybe someday, one of these important writers might be you.
About Ng Yi-Sheng
Ng Yi-Sheng is a full-time writer and journalist. He was the youngest ever winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, which he received for his first poetry collection titled last boy.
He has written a novelisation of the movie, Eating Air, and a non-fiction book, On His Wings, Soaring: 20 Years On, about his old school, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). One of his early plays, "Hungry", is published in the drama collection 5 Under 25.
Besides being a regular writer for What's Up, he also writes articles about theatre and dance for The Flying Inkpot and the Straits Times.
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