I began my writing project by doing research and, at the same time, by jotting down a story structure. She always seemed larger than life - a true role model in a profoundly patriarchal culture. Stories were re-hashed endlessly in my family about this formidable woman who, despite being uneducated, started a business at a time when few women in Malaya ran businesses. I never met Great Grandma, I only heard about her. Not long afterwards, I recalled a dream I'd once had, of writing a novel loosely inspired by my great-grandmother's life. I showed the story to a friend who is a professional editor, and she encouraged me to continue writing. I really did not know what I was doing, except that putting words onto a page made me feel better. I took her advice, and began a short story about my grandfather's favourite chair. When I still found no equilibrium, a counsellor at the cancer charity Macmillan suggested a bout of creative writing. I had no idea what was wrong, only that the ground beneath me seemed to have collapsed. While recovering from breast cancer, I went into a chemo-induced depression without realising it. I began writing out of desperation and a cherished dream. Recovering from illness, Selina Siak Chin Yoke began turning the history of her Malaysian family into fiction
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |