 |
| Pamela Hsieh Rehhab Revolution |
Last weekend (13-15 April) I packed up too many things and boarded a Megabus (for $1.50!) up to Madison to attend my first writing conference. Bad news was, I felt completely intimidated by all the other writers there who had either recently (or not so much) published books or at least had something finished and polished up to pitch the real, live agents that were there to give advice and/or take on some new, promising talent.
It’s been my dream for at least — how old am I? Oh dear, I find myself cringing at the number (that’s currently twenty-eight, for anyone who doesn’t know) — nearly two decades! What? Yes, I did pick up the pen at the ripe old age of ten, and while I knew nothing of the competitive nature of publication at the time, I was at the time totally obsessed with Roald Dahl’s Matilda, whose first chapter I could recite from memory. (To this day, I still remember the first sentence: “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers.” Right?! It’s been a while.)
 |
Obviously, not me, but I figured a young
writer would suit this post quite well.
|
Anyway, I ended up writing a sequel to Matilda — my first and only piece of fanfiction, I’ll have you know — that ended up somewhere around 80 looseleaf pages, including hand-drawn illustrations in the same style as Dahl’s illustrator, Quentin Blake. I have no idea where this crude novel ended up, regretfully, but in a similar fashion, I wrote an actual novel when I was sixteen, one I slaved over like clockwork every day after I got home from school, that I was terribly proud of. Even to this day, I keep it (I self-published it, also crudely, in a white binder with inserts where I slid in cover art I designed from magazine pictures I’d probably stolen from Seventeen), not because I think it’s any good, but because it serves as a reminder: I can write a novel. I haven’t done it since, but if I was able to do it more than ten years ago, I sure as hell should be able to do it now.
So the good news about this conference — it was inspiring! Being in the presence of all these other writers who do far more with their craft than I generally do on any given day really helped give me the push I needed. And I know, I always say, don’t compare yourself to others, but at the same time I’ve always believed in using others as examples to motivate you. (This is, after all, what I strive to do in this blog for any of you looking for a reason to go on with your therapy and rehab.) Maybe I’m just in a weird “Tiger” mindset (ever heard of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother? It was kind of a mega bestselling book very recently) because I just stumbled upon her daughter Sophia’s “New Tiger in Town” blog (well written and engaging — what did we really expect? — and of course built in with a zillion followers mostly thanks to the fans and haters of her mother’s book) and spent my entire afternoon reading it in its entirety. (Don’t interpret my comment on her audience as a petty stab stemmed by envy, by the way; of course I wish I had at least even half her following at this point, but on the Internet, anything is truly possible. And I think that by my own admission that this young lady is a talented writer/blogger I don’t by any means think she doesn’t deserve it.)
Anyway, I was about to say . . . I didn’t really grow up with vicious and ferocious tiger parents; both of my parents come from Taiwan and can admittedly differ significantly from me in lifestyle and philosophy, but one very Asian thing they consistently reminded me of as they raised me was, “Don’t compare down; always look up.”
This is one of their lessons that has always stuck with me, because I think it has taught me to never use other people as a way to forgive myself of my downfalls — to look up is to identify others and their achievements as a source of inspiration and example. If they did it, you certainly could too.
And I’m not just talking about writing, here. Many of you may not be writers, but certainly you have your own goals that you believe you struggle to reach. I decided, from this weekend, to allot myself six months to a year to complete and tweak my memoir, the one I’ve been working on since 2008 (which incidentally inspired this blog), so that it will be ready to present to an agent and/or publisher by April 2013 at latest.
Part of my memoir project will involve upping my regular posting on this blog, too, which is why I thought it relevant to post on the decision today. You’ll see me posting more frequently and becoming more active on social media (on Twitter and Facebook, also throughout the blogosphere). I joined the Chicago Writers Association yesterday and plan to volunteer at industry events (like the annual Chicago Tribune Printers Row Literary Fair) and start guest writing at other blogs (and possibly, hopefully, public speaking) to get my writing out there. You can help me out, too, by spreading word of this blog if you’d like to support my cause to spread awareness and inspiration — by liking my Facebook page, following me on Twitter, or commenting on any or all blog posts.
Don’t be shy — the mission of this blog was always to create community, and not monologue. I’m also making a point to get those other guest posts in ASAP so I can make them more regular occurrences for you, perhaps weekly or biweekly “guest article Thursdays” or something. Just brainstorming a bit out loud — so if you’ve got anything to say, please do. With that, I’ll see you soon!
To our healing,
See the original article:
in
No comments:
Post a Comment