My Free Upcoming Novelette: Progress Report

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

It has been quite a while since I update about my free upcoming novelette, Letters to God. I believe I owe my readers an apology too for not publishing it soon enough. Time is flying and I have to focus more on my PhD studies for the time being. I was an expert at juggling various tasks once but not anymore; at least not in these few months.

Photo credit: SerenaWong

But tonight, I feel compelled to write. I really want to share the current status of this novelette of mine.


Novelette edited but not yet send to beta reader
The editor is a good friend of mine and we lost contact for awhile. Thankfully, I managed to track her down and she finished the work. But the novelette transcript is raw; full of corrections that I haven't been able to address yet. This has caused a major delay for the next stage i.e. sending it to a beta reader to read. But I don't think it will be a long process because my cousin has already agreed to be the beta reader. For your information, the task of a beta reader(s) is to identify whether the story line ties in smoothly. Readers definitely hate haphazard stories.  

Method to attach novelette in subscription email
As is my intention, I would like Letters to God be attach to the confirmation email when a person subscribes to my blog. But as of today, I haven't yet find an application (am I using the right term?) that offers this service. I would appreciate it so much if you can comment some suggestions for me. It will make my task easier :) I thank you in advance!

Don't worry, the novelette is definitely free
There are two reasons for this: (1) recognition and, (2) marketing.

I want people to be able to read my writing and judge whether it is good or bad. If it is bad, at least people won't feel disheartened because they got the novelette for free. Hopefully too, readers will be more willing to give feed backs so that I can improve my writing. I aspire to be a writer of substance where my words can reach the heart of readers and hopefully change their lives for the better.

By making the Letters to God free, I can also gain more followers. When I have followers, there is a high possibility that they will buy the books I sell in the future. You see, I have a dream of retiring early and make an income from being a fiction writer whose words touch lives.

   

My Free Upcoming Novelette: Front Cover of Letters to God

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear avid Bits and Pieces readers,

It's amazing how two months has passed since I updated my blog. And we're in 2016 already! I was under heaps of study and mountains of pressure that when I emerged out of them, I was knocked back down again out of shock. As I was slowly recovering and emerging, I managed to go through the first draft of Letters to God; albeit half way. Now that I've fully surfaced and alert, I hope I can get it done this month (please say ameen).

There is however one aspect of the book that I managed to get done (well it was my husband who did most of the work) out of God's mercy. The front cover of Letters to God has been completed!

My husband was learning Adobe Photoshop and so I enlisted his help to design the front cover. I first told him a general idea that I had in mind. The design I pictured is an ancient mailbox perched on a mysterious snowy area somewhere. Since the main character writes letters of complaint to God, I thought the ancient mailbox would symbolize the perfect place to drop those letters. I also chosen a snowy backdrop because I see snow as pure and mysterious, a place where God could live.

So we sat together in front of his computer and flick through picture by picture at Creative Commons. My husband had also done an independent research of book covers and found that white and black are very common backdrop themes. I thought for a bit and decided to give up the snow setting because I want my front cover to be unique.

By then, we had several selection of mailbox pictures but no design ideas. Disheartened, I shifted my focus to study instead while my husband continued. After a few days of creative drainage, my husband sat still on his chair, his right hand in a frenzy, eyes fixed at his computer. Hours after, he showed me his design.

I looked at it in awe. I love it! Except for one thing. The word "Letters" in "Letters to God" is the same color as the mailbox whereas "to God" are in white. I asked him and my husband showed a few book covers that others had done online. Almost all of them used different colors for their title too. After much thought, I asked him to change "Letters" into white. I don't know, I just think it looks much better. Thus behold, the front cover of my free upcoming novelette!!!


 

What do you think? Does it look good? Do you think it needs improvement? In what way? Please, do tell me in the comments.

My Free Upcoming Novelette: Tackling the First Draft

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I had accepted my naive past thus achieving my first milestone. Now, I am proud to announce that I had overcome the second milestone:

The first draft of my free upcoming novelette, Letters to God is done! 

To be honest, it was quite a challenge for me to complete it; what with my studies, motivation swings, and the laziness in between. Still, I prayed for effort and reminded myself why I wrote it in the first place. In the end, I was able to cajole my hands to finish writing the story.

However joyous I may be, several milestones have yet pass. The destination is still far. And to get to the third milestone, I need to tackle a few hurdles on the road.

1) Self Edit
Ali Luke says that it is very important to self edit and I believe so too. Self edit allows me to rewrite, edit, and proofread my work so that it comes close to perfection. I want to make sure that what I write is of quality and conveys what I intend to write clearly. In order to become a successful author, I also want readers to be moved by my writing.    

2) Asking for beta readers to read my work
Next, I intend to ask my beta readers to read the novelette. I strongly believe that this is a MUST step; other authors would agree with me as well. I especially want beta readers to identify any illogical story flow, confusing characters' personality, and other aspects that disappoint them as readers. Based on their comments and critics, I will again repair the story. 

3) Send out for professional editing
This will be a bit of a pinch because it could be more than what I can afford. Besides, this novelette will be free hence there will be absolutely no profit; not in terms of money. Still I understand, a professional editor can bring my work to the next level.  

4) Cover design
This is the most exciting hurdle! One at which I've already tackled and will soon be releasing, actually. But just like the story, the cover design is a first draft. Designed by my husband, I intend to share it online to gather comments and see if I should improve the design further. I will talk about this more in other post. 

All in all, I need months to take up these hurdles. I also need courage, confidence, effort, and patience. Please pray for my success.

My Free Upcoming Novelette: The Origin of Letters to God

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

We bound to feel intense emotion at some point in our life. The feeling of elation when we get married, outrage when we experience betrayal, or anguish when our most beloved pass away. These feelings lead to two extremes which is either intoxication or death. And Letters to God is mostly born from the latter extreme.

I sat quietly in my room one day, pondering on the gloomy events of my life. I'd imagine how much more severe things can turn out; and the choices I have if they indeed become reality. One of the few options that I have is to give up. But giving up itself has many definitions; walk away, sink into depression, ignore reality, or taking ones own life. However in my religion Islam, giving up is abhorred. And this is where ALLAH gave me an idea for a story.

      
Thus I began to ponder further. What pushes a person to the point where suicide was the only option left? For a religious person, how come s(he) was able to defy God by not valuing life and be thankful of it?

I come to realise that I'm stepping into the realm of psychology which I have zero knowledge in. Despite the fact that info dumping is taboo in the realm of fiction writing, adequate knowledge is still needed to make a story appear realistic. With almost all efforts used to finish my Doctoral degree on time, I am certain that I can't spare time for another research area. On top of that, studying all religions in existence can be overwhelming (in fact I have much to learn about Islam). Also to be honest, the story can be a bore if not written artfully.

I almost gave up on the story before ALLAH inspired me again. Instead of a novel, why not a novelette? This way, I can create a fast pace story and a surface knowledge of psychology is all that I need. Since I'm more familiar with the major religions in Malaysia, I decide to focus on that. One downfall is that the study of religions can take years. Therefore I must admit that Letters to God won't do justice to some religions.

I refuse to take that as a setback though. Besides, my story is fiction and no story is perfect. So I switched on my laptop and started writing. Now and then, I would pause and browse the internet for real suicide stories and religious talks on the issue.

At present however, Letters to God is at a stand still. I'm suffering from writer's block and due to my P.h.D requirements, I am forced to take a short break from writing fiction. But be sure, I am never going to give up...ever!

My Free Upcoming Novelette: The Main Characters in Letters to God (Part 2)

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I have introduced Sarah, Wafi, Rahman, Rahmah and Rahim. So today, I am going to introduce you to the non-human character and the Indian family.

NEKO

Personality:
Neko is an intelligent male cat. He has the highest EQ and IQ among fellow domestic cats. Ever since Rahmah's passing, Neko has been especially close to Rahim. It is as though he can sense that Rahim needs love and guidance that Rahman rarely provides. Being a cat, he is also playful and annoys Rahim from time to time.
On a side note, Neko is my favourite character in this novelette. He makes the story move and provides an opportunity for readers to relax after tense scenes.

Origin:
Neko means cat in Japanese. I got this character idea from Rurouni Kenshin movie trilogy. There's a cat scene in each of those movies, and I'd say, "The cat is so cute!". After that, serious scenes came in. Aoshi tried to kill Okina before getting to Kenshin, and Kaoru was almost killed by an impostor of Hitokiri Battousai. Then I realise that two of the cat's function is to give more impact on unexpected scenes and to provide flow to the story.
Incidentally, I got stuck between scenes and I don't know what I should put in between. Plus my story was quite dry. All thanks to God, I was inspired to put Neko in and Letters to God started to flow smoothly.

MANIDHAR

Personality:
Manidhar is a serious and charming man. He has a wife, Devi, and a daughter, Aasha. Manidhar is Sarah's friend and one of her employees too. Not many can guess that he harbors evil motives.

Origin:
In the Indian language, Manidhar means mythical snake with jewel in its hood. And when a man is called a snake, that usually means he's a backstabber and sneaky. Thus the name suits this character perfectly.

DEVI

Personality:
Devi is beautiful and naive. So in some ways, Devi matches Sarah's personality. She also pretends to be strong when she's really not.

Origin:
Devi means goddess in the Sanskrit language. This meaning matches with her beauty which had attracted Manidhar to marry her in the first place.

AASHA

Personality:
Aasha is a smart and strong will girl. She's also not your average teenager. She finds talking about boys boring and that is not because she's a lesbian. It's simply that she's maturer than people her age.
Albeit these qualities, Aasha can be quite disrespectful to her mother.

Origin:
Aasha means hope, aspiration, righteousness, and also life. Without realising this herself, Aasha gives hope to the people around her. This is also the main reason I need Aasha in Letters to God. 


Now that you've met all of my main characters, do you like any of them? Do tell me in the comment section!

My Free Upcoming Novelette: The Main Characters in Letters to God (Part 1)

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

In today's post, I would like to introduce you the main characters in my upcoming free novelette, Letters to God.

I've given a lot of thought on how many characters that my novelette should have; more so their personalities. To make them more profound, I try my best to pick out names that match their personalities. Although most of my potential readers probably wouldn't care what the names meant, I feel a sense of satisfaction in picking them.

As can be seen in the picture below, the main characters come from two groups of families, one is a Malay family and the other is an Indian family. And yes, there's a non-human there too! So Wafi, Sarah, Rahman, Rahmah, Rahim, Neko, Manidhar, Devi, and Aasha, meet Bits and Pieces readers. Bits and Pieces readers, meet Wafi, Sarah, Rahman, Rahmah, Rahim, Neko, Manidhar, Devi, and Aasha. I hope you, Bits and Pieces readers, will find them fascinating! Just like they find you :)        

SARAH

Personality:
Sarah is the lead character. She is a beautiful, fashionable, and successful Muslim woman. She owns a successful bakery cafe that has chains throughout Peninsular Malaysia. These pointers of hers also make her stubborn, refusing to heed to his husband's advice at times. This closed mind of hers causes her to be naive.

Origin:
This novelette is about a woman who has been inflicted with many tragedies in her life. Just like my childhood neighbour Sarah. She's a Filipino who married a Pakistani and converted to Islam. I remember she'd asked me and another neighbour to teach her how to pray. During Ramadhan, the fasting month for Muslims, she'd give my family pancakes for break fast. She have two daughters. She was happy leaving in our neighbourhood. But a tragic incident occurred. Her husband was beaten to death by a group of unknown men on his way back from work. Then my father said she went and lived with her in-laws in Pakistan. After awhile, she came back to our residential area for a short visit. I can't entirely remember what happen back then. What I can remember is she was clad in white and she was hugging me and crying. It is as though her life has been miserable in Pakistan.

WAFI

Personality:
Wafi is Sarah's husband. He is a loving father towards his son, Rahman. Although Sarah doesn't respect his opinion and is stubborn most of the time, he remains loving, patient, and loyal to her. However, he is that type of person who forgives and never forgets. He's the type who bottles up all his emotions inside.

Origin:
Wafi is in Arabic and its meaning is loyal; a characteristic that Sarah's husband possess. I wanted to put Sabur, meaning patience but I never heard a Malay man named after that.
On a side note, it is normal in Malaysia and the rest of the Muslim countries to have Arabic names. This is because Islam was revealed in the Arabic language.

RAHMAN

Personality:
Rahman is the son of Sarah and Wafi. He's loved unconditionally by his parents. He's energetic, playful, and talkative. But due to the death of his father later in the story, he becomes cold and distant towards Sarah ever since. Rahman blames his mother for the death of his father. As a result of this tragedy, he's incapable of showing love even when he becomes an adult.

Origin:
The name Rahman is an Arabic term meaning mercy and compassion.

RAHMAH

Personality:
The adult Rahman is married to Rahmah. To Rahman, she is the most loving and caring human being. She understands Rahman the most.

Origin:
The term Rahmah has a similar meaning to Rahman.

RAHIM   

Personality:
The only son of Rahman and Rahmah is a rebellious teenager. He appears tough on the outside but inside, he inherits Rahmah's sensitivity.

Origin:
The term Rahim also has a similar meaning to Rahman.

The reason I pick the name Rahman, Rahmah, and Rahim is because the meaning of these names closely relate to love. Since Rahman is distant from his mother, Sarah, and his father had long ago died, he is in desperate need of love. So there comes Rahmah whose name incidentally meant compassion.
In an effort to show his love, Rahman also name their son Rahim. On top of that, Rahman dreams of a family that is full of love. The kind that he momentarily had when his father was alive.

I think we should continue the rest of the introductions in my next post. Or the one after next. Until then...do take care!

My Free Upcoming Novelette: How I Defeated Writer's Block

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers.

My upcoming free novelette, Letters to God was a sudden burst of inspiration from God himself. Just like an artist, my fingers wouldn't stop dancing on the keyboards. Intermittently, I searched for names that best describe my characters and their personality, facts of life that will make my story more realistic, the perfect setup for my scenes, and writing skills that will satisfy my readers. I could see my career as an author shining brightly like the sun.

But suddenly, the sun was taken hostage by the dark sky. Thunderstorms then came to punish it. All my ideas for the middle of my story were dull. When I wrote those ideas down, the story sagged. My writing enthusiasm all gone.

At least I knew my diagnosis. I was suffering from writer's block.    

Unwillingly, I retreated. Procrastination may have won but I haven't lost my story. I backed away from my laptop, closed my eyes and emptied my mind. After some time, God made me remember an advice from my Corporate Finance lecturer. He said that whenever you don't understand something, you go back to the basics. So I went back to the structure of my story. And that's when I realised that I didn't have one.

Thus I summoned my notebook and visited K.M Weiland's The Secrets of Story Structure. Following K.M. Weiland's advice, I break my stories into three sections; first act, second act, and third act. Writing all of it down, I came to see that my first act is 70% completed, my second act is 40% done while my third act is 60% finished. I now understand that I already did the hook of my story, the first plot point, the inciting event and key event, the midpoint, the climax, and the resolution. All I need to do now is to focus on other aspects.

The thunderstorms release the sun. Although the dark sky is still here, the moon and the stars are too.