Serein Choo's Blog, page 2

When the City Grew Verdant (2025) PT3

Book Cover Reveal!

Save the place, time and date.

Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest [KLAB]
Pesta Buku Alternatif Kuala Lumpur 2025
29 Januari – 2 Februari 2025
Central Market Kuala Lumpur

My slot is on Sunday 12-1pm, if you have the time, I would be very much delighted by your presence.

When the City Grew Verdant (2025) PT2

Launching soon at KLAB 2025 (Malaysia) from 29th Jan to 2nd Feb!

Save the place, time and date.

Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest [KLAB]
Pesta Buku Alternatif Kuala Lumpur 2025
29 Januari – 2 Februari 2025
Central Market Kuala Lumpur

My slot is on Sunday 12-1pm, if you have the time, I would be very much delighted by your presence.

When the City Grew Verdant (2025) PT1

Sometimes I think life is really interesting, with all the twists and turns (both good and bad) that make each of our lives so individual and special.

I once read a story (I forget where) that described how they tried to recreate a famous dancer by replicating the DNA and creating copies of the dancer. Yet none of the copies became famous dancers. Instead, an unknown boy who had watched the copies dance (or the original dancing and) was inspired to become one himself. And he did.

Point is, no one, can imitate another’s person life nor live the same way so, our life is our own.

One prompt but this prompt had changed my life.

Prompt 52: “And that is how that world was lost and a new one, our world, was born.”

Based on this prompt, I started writing a story (this is also the first time I’ve written a story set in my home country, Malaysia). Then, by chance, I was given the phone number of the publisher (through another author friend). I submitted my draft (which was missing the ending at the time, as I was still working on it).

After about a month, I assumed it had been rejected (since it had been quiet the entire month). But then, one day, I received a reply from the editor I had submitted the draft to, and she told me that my story had been accepted.

I was beyond delighted.

After that, I poured everything into completing the story, spending countless nights burning the midnight oil to finish the ending and then doing edits after receiving feedback. Fast forward to today, 24 January 2025, and I am expecting my book to be published soon.

Save the place, time and date.

Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest [KLAB]
Pesta Buku Alternatif Kuala Lumpur 2025
29 Januari – 2 Februari 2025
Central Market Kuala Lumpur

My slot is on Sunday 12-1pm, if you have the time, I would be very much delighted by your presence.

Battle between Conflict vs Tension

At the heart of every engaging story lies conflict and tension. It’s the clash of personalities, a battle of external forces, or an internal struggle that injects drama and suspense into a narrative, keeping readers on edge.

However, with just conflict, it is not enough to sustain a story. It’s the tension that sews everything together, the points in between that drive the narrative from mundane to mesmerizing. So instead of framing it as a battle between conflict and tension,

Their relationship complements each other.

How?

Imagine a rollercoaster,

The Climb: Explains what is happening (information/situation) (the conflict)

The Peak: The goal

The Plunge : The consequences

The Valley: The change (was it resolved or a new conflict is created?)

Example :

(The Climb) A young girl wants to befriend the new student at school, but her friends warn her that the new student is strange and unpopular.

(The Peak) As the girl approaches the new student, she feels a mix of excitement and apprehension. The tension builds as she navigates the social dynamics of the schoolyard, unsure of how her actions will be perceived.

Despite her friends’ warnings, (The Plunge) the girl strikes up a conversation with the new student and discovers they share common interests. (The Valley) The tension dissipates as they bond over shared experiences, resolving the conflict between the girl’s desire for friendship and her friends’ skepticism.

Tension is apparent throughout the whole story as the roller coaster ascends from the climb toward the peak and releases it when the girl takes the plunge and arrives at the valley.

Understanding Tension

What exactly is tension? If conflict represents the problem, then tension embodies our (and the characters’) emotional reaction to it. Imagine it as conflict being the cause and tension is the effect (cause and effect).

Tension: Returning home late one evening, she discovers scattered underwear strewn across the floor.

Conflict: She confronts her boyfriend, accusing him of infidelity.

Essentially, tension tantalizes the reader with the prospect of change, engaging them in the narrative’s unfolding drama.

There’s two type of tension – negative and positive.

Negative
It’s associated with negative emotions—sadness, anger, anxiety—a profound sense of unease. Picture being pursued by a monster in a shadowy forest or encountering an eerie envelope on the table. Opening an unknown door which might leads to death/Hell.

Positive
It leans toward positive emotions and feelings—happiness, cheerfulness—anticipating something wonderful: a kiss, joyful news (like a pregnancy announcement), or a lover waiting behind the door.

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Using the previous example,

Negative Tension: Returning home late one evening, she discovers scattered underwear strewn across the floor, sparking suspicions of infidelity.

Leads to Conflict: Confronting her boyfriend, she accuses him of cheating, escalating the tension.

Positive Tension: However, he surprises her by explaining that the underwear (he wanted to make it special) and flowers are actually for her, dispelling her doubts and transforming the tension into a moment of warmth and understanding.

Leads to Resolution: She accepts his proposal.

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Depending on how you write, it can be:

Conflict > Tension > Resolution

Tension > Conflict > Tension > Resolution

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Hope that this article is easy to understand. Happy Writing!

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Understanding Conflict

Conflict or tension is a must in any story, book or movie. Whether that’s overthrowing an evil lord, defeating an enemy, or even your inner demon. It’s the crux of the story, the result of interaction between the protagonists goal vs the obstacles that’s blocking him/her to reach the goal.

Conflict can be internal or external.

External

From it’s surrounding.

Whatever the hero, protagonist, or main lead is attempting to accomplish, external forces obstruct their path—whether by a single individual/person, a group, or the situation. For instance, a detective searching for a missing person may encounter interference from their superior (who orders them to halt the investigation) (person), face opposition from a gang attempting to abduct a friend or lover (a group), or simply hit a dead end in their search (situation).

Internal

From the protagonists’ life themselves.

It refers to their internal conflict— their mental state, self-image, or beliefs about themselves. For example, they may constantly feel undeserving of love, making it difficult for them to accept genuine affection from others. Stories of this nature showcase the protagonists’ progress in overcoming their internal struggles along the story.

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All stories would surely carry a mix of internal and external in them (where the ratio would be heavy on a certain side).

Heavy on external and light on internal would be found in most fantasy (sci-fi/mystery/thriller/paranormal) stories where you joined a hero on his quest to defeat the evil boss (main external conflict) and discover his strength and weaknesses (scared of love) (or the responsibility of being a hero) (side internal conflict).

Heavy on internal and light on external leaned more towards in romance (young adult/coming-of-age) stories, very often internal-conflict driven and the interactions between the romantic leads serve to advance as the characters grows and change over the course of their relationship.

For example, two childhood friends who were separated were reunited again and discovered the importance of each other’s presence in their lives. They slowly fall in love with each other as they resolve their mothers’ arguments and issues, which had caused them to hate each other (side external conflict), while dealing with their main internal conflicts, such as her being a coward and him experiencing a traumatic event, which she helps him overcome by opening his eyes to appreciate what he has now instead of worrying.

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Hope that this article give a clearer understanding of conflict.

Will be posting another about tension.

So don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss the next update.

Q&A : Empty Crown

Questions collected from my social media and readers alike?

What do you think you’ve learned the most from publishing your first novel?That publishing is a lot of hard work. I never thought much when reading a book but after going through the whole process, I feel more appreciative of indie authors and their works.When you self-publish, you wear many hats: you’re not just the author, but also the proofreader, editor (though thankfully, friends lent a helping hand), the marketing manager, and the social media specialist.What inspired your book the most?The song Yas – Empty Crown by MrSuicideSheepLyrics: There’s a war inside my head. And I’m drowning in regret. When the lights come down. Got an empty crown.The song that spun the whole story if I must say.I want to explore the theme of, how effort doesn’t mean results. Thus the title, Empty Crown. What do you think was the hardest part to write? And why?The road leading to the climax was arguably the most challenging part to write. This portion need to balance while giving out enough information but not too much to create suspension and tension. Building and leading up to the climax. How long did it take to write? It took me a whole year to write the story (includes editing). Why Mimosa Tree? HeHuan or Mimosa Tree, symbolizes the sun and I really like yellow blossoms of the tree.

Do you have any other questions?

I’m eager for people and readers alike to ask me questions about my book

Day 30. A word for another

Write the story that you want to tell.

What does this story mean to you? What are you trying to say? What is the theme of the story? It can be tempting to discount our voices and writing, especially when your writing isn’t intended to be ‘serious’ or ‘literary,’ but not every writer focuses on ‘serious’ themes or styles (all the time). Maybe it’s to bring fun, centers around comedy so the writing would be more light-hearted, simple.

(You are a writer and the things you write matter.)

Writing is made up of thousands of little decision making, every word that we write is after an evaluations of sorts in our mind. Why we choose to use ‘He’s Mark’ instead of ‘My name is Mark’ (i.e someone is introducing to another instead of Mark is introducing himself to someone).

(You are the only one who can write, the story inside.)

Be clear of your practice, of your work, of your intention.

Go forth now, and author your own narrative—shape your destiny with every word penned!

Day 29. A Lesson in Writing

Writing is a skill and like any other skill there are ways to improve it. Read other people works, identify what they are doing well, what they are lacking and do that it better.

Incorporate the strengths into your works, add a bit more of your own spice. Own your work. Make it better, go beyond.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.

Day 28. Writing Productivity Hack

One hack that I would recommend, is using the ‘Pomodoro Technique’, which involves working in short bursts of focused activity (typically 25 minutes) followed by a short break.

Focus.

Break.

Focus.

Break.

Focus.

You will get a lot of writing done.

I find it helpful since I get distracted easily. Using this technique, I can get into the writing state and then maybe take a toilet/water break before continuing again. Stepping away for a bit helps my mind to refocus on the idea. Maybe on the way to the toilet, I would think about what I had written previously and rethink whether it makes sense. It resets my mind and prevents burnout.

Have you tried it before? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.