Serein Choo's Blog, page 22
August 22, 2023
Chinese Myth: CowHerd and WEaver Girl
It’s double seven (7th Day of the 7th Month on the Chinese Calendar where Chinese will celebrate Seventh Evening/Qixi Festival (Chinese: “七夕节”, Pinyin: Qī xī jié). A unique Chinese counterpart to Valentine’s Day emerges, albeit with a tinge of melancholy in contrast to the Western narrative of valiant love. Rooted in a distinct tale, as shared by generations past, at least the ones I heard from my parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. Every year they tell how, Niu Lang (Chinese: 牛郎; pinyin: niú láng) and his wife, Zhi Nu (Chinese: 织女/織女; pinyin: zhī nǚ) meet.
Once upon a time, there were seven goddesses who lived in heaven. They were all sisters, daughters of the Heavenly Emperor and Empress. And ZhiNu was one of them. It was forbidden for them to go to the mortal realm but one day, they sneakily took a trip to the mortal world and decided to bathe together in a lake which was located near a cowherd’s home. They laughed and splashed water around and their actions caught a cowherd’s attention, NiuLang who was passing by, saw them and took one of the daughter’s fairy clothing, imbued with special powers, enabled her to fly back/returned to the Heavens.
Without it, she was stranded while all her sister went back to Heavens.
NiuLang proposed a trade: her hand in marriage in exchange for the enchanted fairy clothing. ZhiNu agreed and as promised after their marriage, NiuLang returned her fairy clothing. Over time, ZhiNu’s heart warmed to him, and they bore two beautiful children. Content in the mortal realm, she chose to stay instead of going back to the Heavens.
While she was in the mortal realm, the other sisters became worried about her because it was illegal for a goddess to marry a mortal man. However, no matter how hard they tried to hide it, her absence was noticed by her mother, the Empress of Heavens. She was ordered back to the Heavenly realm to continue her weaving duties.
She didn’t want to part but her duties were important as well. And she was threatened by the Empress that if she didn’t leave, she would punish the moral, NiuLang.
Heavy hearted, ZhiNu left, leaving behind her husband and children.
Saddened by her parting, NiuLang lamented his fate and suddenly his ox started speaking and helped him in his journey to go to the Heavens to reunite with ZhiNu. However, his plans failed as the Empress found out and using her ‘hairpin’ she drew a rift/river and separated the pair from ever meeting again but the cowherd did not give up. Together with ZhiNu’s six other sisters, he begged the Empress to allow them to meet again.
His determination softened her heart and allowed the couple to meet every 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Many magpies came together on this day, to form a bridge for them to see each other. Once they reunite, it starts to rain because both lovers and the magpies are sad as their meeting was both important yet short.
There are many variations to the story but essential the story roughly will go like this.
Designated as the Qixi Festival, this day holds China’s most romantic and traditional essence, now dubbed the Chinese Valentine’s Day. This year, it falls on August 22th in the Gregorian calendar. As NiuLang and ZhiNu reunite around this time, people usually use this day/date to pray/offer prayers for potential connections or a safe reunion. Admirable is NiuLang’s enduring pursuit of ZhiNu despite numerous obstacles. His tenacity teaches us not to falter in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
See you next time.
P.s Picture is drawn personally by me (Serein Choo) Please do not use without permission.
August 21, 2023
Quote of the Day
Do you agree or disagree?
“People who raise their hands deserve to be ahead of people of people who don’t.”
50 Cent (Musician)
Disclaimer: Quote doesn’t belong to me.
August 19, 2023
InfoDump
What is infodump?
If you read about my previous post about exposition, I mentioned about infodump. Infodump according to dictionary, means:
Dictionary.com
“A large quantity of backstory, or background information, supplied at once, often as a narrative at the beginning of a story, film, etc.:The first eight pages are heavy with an infodump about Harry’s childhood in Iceland.“
The trap which a lot of new writers fell into. And even experienced writers (occasionally) as writers worried that not enough information are given to readers for them to connect the dots. It will cause:
Reader Disengagement: Overwhelming readers with excessive information can lead to boredom and detachment from your story.Pacing Interruption: Infodumps disrupt the flow, stalling the narrative’s natural rhythm and momentum.Show vs. Tell Loss: By spoon-feeding details, you rob readers of the joy of discovering information through character actions and interactions.Emotional Disconnect: Readers may struggle to connect emotionally with characters and events if buried under an avalanche of facts.Lost Intrigue: Info overload can prematurely reveal plot twists or mysteries, robbing the story of its captivating allure.Difficulty Retaining: A surplus of details makes it harder for readers to remember and appreciate the story’s vital elements.I know that, infodumping is a hard habit to break, but if it’s not corrected in time, it will make your writing uninteresting to read and slowly readers will dwindle and leave.
Compare below.
Example, long paragraphs explaining about how the character wakes up and began his day; padding into the bathroom, he reached for his toothbrush and squeezed minty toothpaste onto its bristles. The rhythmic swish of water filled the room as he brushed away the remnants of sleep, using XX brand of hair gel to fix his hair. He then proceed to choose a yellow shirt to start his day.
Does it sounds boring?
Without meaning then it will become something of an infodump. Thus, instead of describing what he does, it would be better to give meaning into his actions.
How he selects color of this clothes – his personality through his choice of clothing. Eg. he wears yellow or bright colors all the time, to showcase his cheerful character or he wears a badge that represent his perfect attendance at school, always fixing his collar – show that he neat, tidy or a control freak and etc. Input some character history, background into the mix, e.g. he likes to part his hair to the side, like how his deceased mother used to do it for him. Then it wouldn’t be so bland while giving sufficient information of how the characters starts his day while still keeping it interesting.
Use different expositions to relay information more naturally without giving away too much.
Flag out length episodes. You know something is wrong when your paragraphs are too long.
Use show instead of tell and those exposition methods to try to reduce infodumping.
Ask questions whether;
Is this necessary for the plot/character progression?Will the readers able to understand without this?Is this information essential at this moment?Is this too long? Should you cut it down into smaller portions?Will it disrupt the pace?Source:
https://thewritepractice.com/what-is-infodumping-and-how-can-you-avoid-it/
August 18, 2023
Exposition
What is exposition?
It refers to the process or skill where the author provide important background information to the audience or readers. In simpler terms, inserting important information within the story. It is a way of presenting essential details about characters (eg. characters history, personalities, hobbies, feelings or opinion of another), settings (world background/story introduction) or past/future events in a story which allows the more context and give more insight to the plot/world building (which might be relevant or irrelevant information).
As such the challenge is to how you use/insert it (without interrupting the flow of the story/keep the story going as well). This task needs to deliberately planned, to avoid ‘infodump’ (a writing practice where a large amount of information is presented to the reader all at once, often in a dense and overwhelming manner. This can lead to a break in the narrative flow and disengage readers. Instead of integrating information naturally, it is unloaded in a way that feels forced and unnatural. Too often, it would draw attention away from important clues and the story.
Hence, it’s vital to provide essential information in a balanced and organic manner, ensuring reader engagement doesn’t wane.
There are a few ways to go about it (with examples):
Dialogue – Characters talking about a past event, relationship, or situations which convey important information to the audience. This is a common method of exposition as it feel natural in the context of the story.Narration – The author directly provides information to the readers through the narrative voice, describing the setting, characters, and events in detail.Flashbacks – Scene that depict events that occurred before the main storyline.Descriptive Language – Uses descriptive language to paint a vivid picture of the world, characters, and situations in the story, indirectly conveying important details.Prologues and Introductions – Separate sections at the beginning of the story to set out the essential background information before diving Monologues or Inner Dialogue – Character’s inner thoughts and reflections which reveals their motivations, history, or emotions.Dialogue – “Kathy just got married recently. Did you know?”Narration – Amid city lights, Sarah, an aspiring pianist, faced her fears at the prestigious concert, her heart pounding with anticipation.Flashbacks – Rain-soaked roads, screeching tires, shattered glass—a haunting flashback unveiled the tragic collision, forever etched in my memory. The cold rain pouring down, soaked from head to toe yet the car still burning; feet rooted to the ground. I remembered the cry of sister, calling out to me but still I didn’t move. Not because I can’t, but because I couldn’t.Descriptive Language – On that hospital bed, Clara was looking up at the plain white ceiling with its miniscule cracks that might have been missed out by many but not her since she was stuck on this bed, staring at this particular spot recovering from her car accident which robs all movement other than her eyelids.Prologues and Introductions – Nestled among towering peaks, a distant village thrived, its secrets guarded by nature’s grandeur, a sanctuary untouched by time. (Longer than this, usually would take up few hundred/thousands words, in around one chapter, to set the tone of the story and give a the story a background or explain the world which the character lives in).Monologues or Inner Dialogue – “Watching as my father died in that fire was heartbreaking,” thought Peter as he stared at the picture of his father in his blue shirt which he wore on that day of the accident.Just remember, to ask yourself this, when writing.
Is this necessary for the plot/character progression?Will the readers able to understand without this?Is this information essential at this moment?Is this too long? Should you cut it down into smaller portions?Pace?Too much is a no no and remember to show not tell.
Do not give up dear author
Just writing out some thoughts here today.
I have been an avid reader, which in turn leads to myself writing my own stories. I want to see more books in the genre I write in, Chinese Fantasy but part of me, knew that my story is not the best fit either romance/enough adventure or action. It’s too much of a mix of so many things. Therefore, I know that my book will not be chosen or able to be published traditionally, so instead of keeping waiting forever for that one day; I took things into my own hands. I decided to go on the journey of self-publishing.
If you have read my previous post, then you should know that self-published market is growing and expected to have a hopeful future.
Although according to the survey, so be prepared to face some challenges. Not everything is a rainbow and sunshine once you cross that meadow.
33% of self-published authors make less than $500 per year.90% of self-published books sell less than 100 copies.20% of self-published authors report making no income from their books.However, up till now I think self publish is the easiest way to get a part of yourself (i.e your story/book) out there. It’s actually what comes after self-publishing is the hardest part, marketing to get book sales, make people interested in your book. Begging to have a look, read if possible. If I have to go down to that level, then yes, so that more people would know of my book. However, the main problem is that, I don’t even have that audience for me to beg to. In this era, if you aren’t popular on social media, without a large following, it’s going to be extremely hard (especially so when you don’t have a traditional publishing house backing you up-one of the reason why authors alike tries so hard to get a contract with them).
But hey, you gotta start somewhere especially you decide to go down on the path of a self-published author.
Start a social media account (share writings, pre published thoughts, editing, try to hype your book, cover reveals, etc), do tik toks (become a bookstagrammer etc), post longer videos on YouTube about writing.
After doing this for around a year (not the Youtube part I am just too shy to start one), my following is still small, like tiny.
Will my book flop again once it’s published?
Most likely. I am already expecting it.
However, writing is my passion. Even if no one buying it, no one appreciating it.
I just glad to know that I have done my best and published my story to the world.
Whether the world will like, hate it, or ignore it.
It’s up to the world to decide.
All I need to remember : My passion is writing and my dream is that I hope my books can bring to other who shares the same love. It’s like a way to spread some myself to others.
So, a note, an encouragement, if you may,
“DO NOT GIVE UP DEAR AUTHOR”
to myself & to others authors alike.
August 13, 2023
Princess : More tears to Cry
This book follow Princess Sultana’s journey, an update of her life, her culture, and her country. I am glad that the Princess, her husband, children and grandchildren are all doing well.
And the efforts she continued to put in, for the betterment of women and her country was inspiring.
The world seems to have grown slightly better but the absurd laws and illogical thinking are still rampant where they are still continued to be oppressed by their, fathers and husbands, denied of their freedom and young women are still forced into marriage (there were many stories told and mentioned throughout the book, other than those about Princess Sultana’s life). The world was still too cruel for the lives of women. And it is also the women who will help other woman.
How a Mother help her daughter.
How a Sister support her sister.
How girlfriends motivate each other.
“I am a princess who can never be a queen.”
Princess (2014)
I swallowed this book whole.
August 11, 2023
Market VS ME
I was thinking and researching about self publishing my own book and saw this post from WordsRated regarding self publishing.
The market for self-published books300 million self-published books are sold each year.The number of self-published books has increased by 264% in the last five years.$1.25 billion worth of self-published books is sold each year.The average self-published book sells for $4.16.The market for self publishing seems so fancy and developing with great growth. So why am I not getting the sales that I wanted? Since publishing, I’ve been struggling with book sales. Maybe my genre isn’t popular enough? But achieving popularity isn’t guaranteed; it’s about riding trends and focusing effort effectively (which, for me, is the toughest part). Everyone’s putting in the work and there’s no magic way to do this. We just have to keep going at it until we are able to find something that works.
I like to think the market’s thriving; it’s just that we authors might be targeting the wrong audience, causing us to miss out on potential book sales.
Good/Bad combinations:
Great book – wrong audience = Bad sales
Wrong book – wrong audience = Bad sales
Great book – Right audience = Good sales
Even if you have several books, one might not work for another book. Each book, has their own target customer or niche. Finding that niche is the author’s/self publish author’s job.
I care about book sales but me versus the market, currently its 0 – 1 so, what about you?
Have you discovered a foolproof strategy to market your books? If not, does it matter to you whether your books achieve good sales?
July 20, 2023
Ads or No ads
Ads or no ads? That is the question.
In my opinion, you should do ads.
No ads – means you are at an disadvantage against your competitors and you don’t want that. Unless you have a big following then I don’t think you need to put in ads but at the same time, even with a following, ads for me are never a waste to reach for a larger audience. By using ads, you might expand into other areas, discover/target different audiences, different niches that might increase your reach and turned that as well into potential readers/fans/customers. Do not just eat the pie in front of you. Expand your pie. Try other flavors.
Other than that, its also about increasing product potential – without ads you are selling maybe at 70% but with ads, you are increasing your capacity to 100% and above of your book sales potential.
Drive organic sales – more sales means the higher your product/book will climb up the ranking and Amazon will reward you when you have more sales.
Once you have everything rolling, don’t forget to reinvest your profits into ads – to drive more even higher sales.
But whatever I am writing right now. The tips that I am mentioned in this post. If your product/book – if it’s bad then doing ads is just wasting your money. Burning money in a sense. How to know if your product is good or bad? Do a test ad trial. You can based on your product reach, performance of your ad campaign, conversion rate from views to customer. The more it’s shown and how it converts into sales – it’s showing how well your product is doing. If there’s only view, no conversions, I think you might want to revise your product or do a different group niche targeting.
In conclusion, I felt that doing ads does more good than harm.
July 19, 2023
The Right Thing
I read somewhere – to be a successful author, you need to be send out the right message to the right audience using the right words.
It translated to my understanding as having the:
Right message – GenreRight words – Your compelling story (which differentiates from others) (Style, story, etc)Right audienceCombining the first and second point together – you create the best book you could possibly write. Simple but then, I think everyone have the hiccup on point three – ‘Right Audience’.
This is also the point which I am most stumped. I wanted to reach out to readers. Not just growing on a certain platform.
I read books on Marketing but it’s hard to implement those concepts into book marketing. Feels same yet at the same time felt so alien.
Funneling, a process of increasing awareness, raise interest, consideration/evaluation of your product, and action, customer placing an order of your product.
I was told to use this – use social media, create Twitter, IG, Tik Toks, YouTube to increase awareness and drive them to your website/sales location (eg. Amazon if you had one). Doing this would boost reads or sales (depending on what you intend to do with your book/writing). I followed the same concept (didn’t do YouTube but I tried Twitter, IG, Booktok ,etc.) but it didn’t drive anything. I only able to sell one book (my self publish children book). That was all I got in June.
Am I doing something wrong? I have no idea. That’s one of the frustrating thing. Yeah they provided analytics but what inference did you get from it? How could you improve on it?
Do I do ads? Will that help? I tried some ads on IG before but they didn’t drive anything either.
But I do watch a lot of YouTube on other authors and found that ads on Amazon does help to drive sales.
July 16, 2023
Princess
The true story of life inside Saudi Arabia’s Royal Family, Now updated (2004) By Jean Sasson
This is a book I randomly picked up when I went to a book fair. I was always quite curious about Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the woman who lived in it. Growing up, I heard stories but never thought much of it until I picked up this book and read it.
It’s from a standpoint of royalty/royal family.
I suppose when I took it up, I wanted to read about a princess who was, in such a rich country, would have been very happy. Her occasional unhappiness might be due to the lack of material items but I was proven wrong.
The more I read, the more I pitied the fate of the women and the vividness and the descriptions inside the book was quite engaging. You learn a lot from the book — cultures, customs and the fate of the woman living there and also the power of the patriarchy system.
No memories are left to me of my first four years. I suppose I laughed and played as all young children do, blissfully unaware that my value, owing to the absence of a male organ, was of no significance in the land of my birth.
Princess (2004)
I really recommend someone to pick up this book. It’s a very insightful read and something which I really love.
