It's today, guys! Fixi Novo is supposed to announce the winner for the 4th Fixi Novo Malaysian Novel Contest today.
No news of anything so far, but if we're going by the way the shortlist was revealed the last time, I guess we should expect something to be posted on their socials by around 5pm this evening.
It's just a few hours to go. So stick around and let's see what happens.
The idea for Intersection originally came from a Google Photo notification that I had received several times in the past. It read: "Susanna, you have memories waiting."
I don't seem to have any screenshots of this notification. I guess this generic image that I sourced from the Internet will have to suffice:
Somehow, this notification conjured in my mind the image of a butler walking up to a young, wealthy heiress to beckon her to receive a collection of memories that had been meticulously prepared for her.
I originally intended to write a short story based on this angle, and in fact, I did make a few attempts to do so, but it never amounted to anything substantial.
As time went on, I often returned to the theme of memories every now and then. For some reason, this topic seemed to appeal a lot to me.
Along the way, I came across many other prompts and triggers which gave me other ideas for writing stories about memories.
One particular concept that stayed with me was the concept of memories as a commodity. And with that comes the thought: Would we value memories more if there were an economic value attached to it?
Bad habits that I cultivated while writing Intersection:
There's probably more to this than what I listed. I'll update this post if I think of anything more.
Music has always been a big part of my life. I often turn to it for consolation and also for inspiration.
While writing Intersection, I created a playlist on Spotify for it. I'd often listen to that playlist in order to get myself into the right mood and frame of mind for writing this story.
I'd like to share this playlist with you.
Hopefully you will enjoy listening to it as much as I have. At the same time, I hope it will help you catch the sentiments that have inspired and are infused into Intersection.
Right, so where should I begin to talk about this novel? Well, how about we go with a soft start...
Here's the synopsis that I submitted along with my manuscript for the Fixi Novo contest:
Radhesh is perfectly content working abroad, happily leaving his troubled past behind him. However, the death of an old friend brings him back to Malaysia as he is told that the deceased had intended for him to inherit a mysterious box.
Recent losses have hindered Audra from making the most of her life. However, she is determined to move forward and has started a small photography business to motivate herself. But memories continue to cloud her every decision and only time will tell if she can find it in herself to let go of the things that hold her down.
Haunted by endings he cannot comprehend, Chen Hao returns from the dead in hopes of sorting out the Unfinished Business that is preventing him from progressing to the After Life. As he works at becoming the powerful ghost he hopes to be, he learns valuable lessons along the way.
Memories take centre stage in this tale of love, loss and new beginnings where past, present and future intersect.
Does it sound like something you would want to read? You can feel free to weigh in on what you think by dropping off a comment on this post.
In a gist, the main theme surrounding this story is memories. More on that later, but for now, I'll let this fact sink in.
To be honest, I wrote this synopsis in a hurry because I did it at the eleventh hour and needed it done in time for the contest submission. Due to the rush, I felt I didn't really do enough to highlight this point.
But that's not all.
There's actually a whimsical element to this tale and it's not quite mentioned here at all. If you're wondering what I'm getting at, I've basically classified this story under the genre of Magical Realism. You can read more about what that means HERE. Apparently, quite a few Malaysian writers are fond of this genre and I only recently learned this.
Well, this is a very Malaysian tale anyway. As you'll soon see the moment you start reading it.
I'll expand more on these areas in upcoming posts. For now, these are some tidbits I'm leaving for you to chew on till the next time I stop by.
It's a public holiday today. Have fun out there! :)
Hey there. Glad you stopped by.
I created this blog so I could share with you the developments of a novel I recently wrote entitled Intersection.
You're probably here because you either supported me in the initial stages of drafting this story or I had somehow shared with you about this endeavour of mine and you took an interest in it. Or maybe you're just randomly kepoh-ing around here thanks to my recent Facebook post.
No matter the reason that brought you here, I'd like to say a big thank you for your encouragement and support towards this writing project. I hope you'll stick around to see what becomes of it.
As you probably already know, Intersection was submitted for the 4th Fixi Novo Malaysian Novel Contest and was one amongst a total of 19 entries.
On the 1st of June, the organisers of the contest announced 6 shortlisted entries on their social media channels and I'm extremely grateful to note that Intersection made the list.
Regardless of the outcome of this contest (the winner will be announced at the end of this month), I have plans in mind for this novel and I guess we'll talk about that when the time comes.
For now, I hope you'll drop in now and then as I share with you more about Intersection.
Things that I'll be discussing on this blog will include:
