Greetings from Malaysia

The other day someone told me that the horse had been sold, that there had been stables here, but that they had been destroyed a couple months ago to make way for development... that must have been just before I came to Cherating Beach.

Khabar bair. Yes, they ask about if you've eaten. That's important.

Sitting at a computer and talking to people is some kind of company, but it's not the same as in person. I get lonely for the presence of people and face time with them.

Yesterday, a baby bird visited me. It came to me doorstep and flew around my room, clumsily practicing. It was the second day it came to see me. Two cows came by to say hello, lowing outside my door, and looking in, paying a friendly visit. And a tiny puppy was playing at my feet and following me.

I'm moving in a few days back to Kuala Lumpur where I'm going to clean toilets and make beds in exchange for a place to stay until my teaching position begins at UCSI. I love staying at this hostel because I've become friends with some of the staff and long term residents there. Also I can get into a great conversation almost every day in the community kitchen with people from different countries. The last time I stayed there overnight, I got into a political discussion in French with a guy from Uzbekistan. That was special.

Appreciate Encouragement

Thanks, Pete. I can use all the encouragement people here can give me. It's taken me a long time (decades) to develop my voice; I like to think that one characteristic of my writing is intense honesty. Another is a kind of unrealistic idealism.

When I started out writing as a teenager, my goal was to be able to express myself as completely as possible. Now I'm able to do that. I've got an extensive vocabulary, a good grasp of grammar and mechanics from teaching English for over 20 years, and my own style.

What I really need is the discipline to keep writing and editing until I'm ready to market my work. And then actually submitting for publication, instead of just moving on to a new project. I like to write (that's probably pretty obvious by now), but I'm lazy, and it takes a strong desire to express some idea to get me to do my own writing.

I've only written one novel back in 1983-85 (although my vision of myself at this stage of life has me writing a new book every year.) It took me three years to write it, and when I was finally finished, I could see it still needed a lot of editing, and I didn't feel like making the effort. The story was done.

So I figured that it was comparable to learning to sew. You never wear the first dress that you make. And I don't think you should publish your first novel, at least not mine. It would have been an embarrassment. I think starting to write fiction is a learning process. I did, however, experience the excitement of the characters taking on their own existence, and of writing to find out what they're going to do next. I'd like to have that experience again.

So I haven't written any more novels, I had a baby instead and raised my son as a single mother. 9/11 changed our country, and all of my writing was focused on political activism. Now, at age 58, I feel that it's time to pursue my dreams of being a writer. That's why I joined this forum.

PeteDutcher said:

Ariel Ky,

Welcome to the community.

Let me just say...when I read your self-introduction it felt like I was reading the beginning of a novel. Not because of the length, but because of the quality of expression.

If that same quality carries over to your novels then you will be successful. I look forward to reading your work!

Click to expand...

BillTrumpet25,

I've been meaning to get back to you on your question about how I like popcorn. God, I love popcorn. I like a really high grade popcorn like Orville Redenbacher, popped in an air popper, thrown in a brown paper bag, a tasty expensive butter melted and dribbled on the popcorn, some salt shaken in also, and the bag shaken well. That's my favorite. I also like to have a man watching me popping the popcorn when I make it on the stove, and it's important to have a good quality pan so not even one kernel burns. But if there's no man around to get excited by my shaking, I like to mindlessly eat popcorn while lying down on the bed and reading a good book. That's how I got fat, well, it's one of the ways.

Aikigypsy,

I agree with you about the challenges of writing when you're living in a country where the language around you is different from the one you're using. I always felt that my study of Chinese was impeded because I spent so much time writing in English, and it greatly delayed the shift into the new language, as I never really benefited from immersion while I was still writing in English all the time.

(I don't know why this response didn't post next to your message, instead starting a new post.)

Purple Rose, I've just spent some time on your website, My Angels and Giants. What a great concept to create a website like this. I hope that you publish a book based on the stories that people post there. I wrote a short story, My Friend Kathie, and I sent her the URL for it. I felt that it was a nice way to thank her. I have some other people who I want to write about and post on your website also. I've had many angels and giants in my life. I am so pleased to encounter someone like you in this writer's forum. By the way, I followed the link to the hostel in Bali, and saw that it had been sold. What a shame. I was thinking that I would like to go there some day.

Hi Alleycat,
I like your picture of the cat licking its paw. I cannot believe that you have posted over 42,000 messages. Oh my God, how long have you been in this forum? You're on the interstitial level of involvement. Finding someone like you here is just amazing to me; it speaks to your commitment to building community and that this really is a community for writers. How I wish that I had found it sooner.

HannahLovely,

Good luck with raising money to go to Haiti and help out with RandomAct and the work that they're doing there to continue to help people recover from the major earthquake. If I weren't at such a subsistence level myself right now, I'd send you some money. I do have quite a bit of free time right now. If there's any other way that I can help support you, let me know.

HeyJude,

Well, you're right about that; people are very friendly here, and there are amazing people. My life is so slowed down right now that I've decided to go through all these comments on my self-introduction and look at each person's website and blogs, and find out more about them. I love the way the Water Cooler is structured to reward altruism, that you have to make 50 comments before you can post your writing for critique or make comments in most of the forums; restricting newcomers to making comments on the new members forum is a great way to building community. I think this probably attracts a special kind of person. When I come here, I feel as though I'm a kid again, playing in the sprinkler on a hot day. It's such a relief to find this, and it's fun, too.

Nickie, I am so glad to meet you here. I've just visited your website, and it's got me really inspired. A friend of mine has given me a website, and I haven't known where to begin. But this is great. I love how you post interviews on your website. I'm looking forward to reading those. And it's been an idea of mine for a long time to interview people on Skype. There's a way to record your Skype conversations. It's not difficult. I think there's even a way to record the video. I need to find out more about that. So then you can just type up a transcript from the recording. And there are so many people who I would to interview. I look forward to buying your books and reading them when I'm making some real money again after starting a new teaching position this summer at UCSI in Kuala Lumpur. It is such a pleasure to meet another long-time teacher in this forum, someone close to my age (I'm a little older than you at 58.) And it's also been my dream nearly my entire life to become a real author when I was older, someone who wrote a book every year up to the end of their life. I see that you also have the goal of writing a book a year. I know, let's start a club for older writers who intend to write a novel a year. I'm very impressed that you have actually started doing it. I can't wait to read the novel that you spend 20 years writing. It's got to be amazing.