Dingin November
Jaket berwarna ungu
Langkah diatur
I have been very bad at updating this blog but about a month ago, I signed up for NaNoWriMo. I thought by signing-up I would be more motivated to write. However, since I am not very creative and had never learned creative writing properly (back in May, I started a free online course on Futurelearn but didn’t complete it – yeah, nothing new there), in the end my idea for the novel was not really concrete. I am just not good at writing descriptions be it of people, weather or anything. As for poetry, the only forms that I like are Japanese Haiku and Malay pantun. I will try to write a Haiku in Malay as part of my blog entries.
I read some novels to get ideas. I borrowed books from the library, even the classic Pulitzer Prize Winner Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. I also bought Meg Cabot’s Size 14 Is Not Fat Either for 300 yen from a second-hand bookstore. I am entertained by the way Meg Cabot wrote. I tried to motivate myself by reading Gina Yap Lai Yoong’s A Writer’s Journey. As for To Kill A Mockingbird, it dealt with a heavy issue which is still relevant until now, however I couldn’t finish it even after a month. It is a heavy reading, not meant as something one reads to wind down. I had to return it to the library after receiving a reminder through the phone and also by post. I feel really terrible about it. How could I commit myself to writing a novel when I could not even complete a novel that had been written by someone else?
When the first of November came, I tried to start the novel. However, I could not even feel good with the first sentence. I typed and then deleted it, several times. It was frustrating. Then on the second day, after returning the unfinished books to the library, I made a declaration on Instagram. I announced that I am going to blog this month, instead of writing a novel.
To reach 50,000 words a month, will require 30 very long daily entries or what is more realistic is to have shorter but many entries a day. As of now, I have managed only about 430 words. If I want to succeed, by the end of the 3rd day, I should have reached 5,000 words already. Can I really do this? I believe I can, with a lot of efforts, Insya-Allah. We will find out by the end of this month.
Fragrance in My Garden 
Assalaamu’alaikum wr.wb, Aiharun….
Didoakan sihat bersama keluarga di Jepun sana. Memang menulis novel itu tidak semudah yang kita sangka. Akak semasa di sekolah menengah dahulu suka menulis cerpen pendek dan pernah beberapa kali memenangi hadiah pertama. Ia bukan penulisan yang mudah. Apa tah lagi kalau mahu menulis novel yang memberi makna dan pahala kepada yang membaca. Perlukan kosentrasi yang tinggi dan khayalan yang baik.
Tidak perlu Aiharun mengikut cara penulis lain. Menulislah ikut gaya sendiri, santai dan mempunyai plot yang dikehendaki. Menurut guru penulisan akak, jika mahu menulis novel, perlulah membahagikan watak, cerita dan plotnya dalam setiap helaian kertas yang berlainan untuk draf cerita. Perlu tahu apa yang dimahukan.
Akak tidak suka menulis novel kerana perlu banyak berkhayal yang lebih menjurus kepada cerita bukan realiti dan tidak realistik. Ini bukan membunuh semangat Aiharun. Ini pendapat akak sendiri untuk akak sahaja. Kerana itu bagi akak, novel paling hebat dan mujarab adalah pengalaman hidup kita sendiri kerana ia adalah realiti yang tidak kita mampu dustai dan tak perlu khayalan panjang.
Akak harap Aiharun terus berusaha menulis novel yang bermanfaat agar pahalanya nanti sampai ke akhirat dan ada manusia yang membacanya dapat mengubah hidup ke arah kebaikan.
Salam manis dari Sarikei, Sarawak. 🙂
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Waalaikumsalam. Terima kasih banyak Kak kerana berkongsi pandangan. Betul, memang bukan mudah kerana segala apa yang kita tulis akan dipersoal di akhirat nanti.
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