#like the magic system of pact is more or less a stand in for Society so it being different in many ways throughout the world makes sense

[dw-flagler]

it's not offbeat they literally already do it. yeah im into fringe stuff like Journey To The West you've probably never heard of it

[risualto]

So I was talking, like I said, to @bragganhyl earlier about my boy Montgomery, and man...I don't talk enough about the fact that he's bisexual, but especially that he's bisexual in a specific way that makes him probably not very palatable to the internet.

Like. Okay, so here's this boy who was born to a noble house in a society where your worth is determined by magic, and he doesn't have any magic. No natural talent, no trainable skill; he literally cannot do magic no matter how hard he tries. So, because of this, he's become virtually useless to his parents as an heir except maybe as a tool for marriage, which would have to be to a woman (because there are no members of the nobility who are trans in his society--those who are fled for a better life well before feeling safe enough to come out).

Montgomery has one (1) friend growing up. One person in the whole world who is on the level with him in terms of social standing, so not having to navigate systemic power imbalances, and who is around his age, and who still cares about him despite his lack of magic (because the boy doesn't have any, either), and this person is also a boy, named Aesir. They go through everything together--every birthday, every playdate, every outing, every meeting, every lecture from their nursemaids when they get into trouble, even every scolding from their parents because they'll share everything with each other eventually. Montgomery barely has a concept of what romantic love is, but he knows very certainly that Aesir is his person, his best friend, his partner, the person Montgomery always wants at his side.

And then they turn 16, and Aesir commits the ultimate betrayal by making a warlock pact, turning to outside forces to gain magic, without telling Montgomery. He keeps Montgomery completely in the dark, shuts him out, and rips out half the bond they share, because now Aesir can do magic and Montgomery still can't. Because warlock pacts are sacrilege. If Montgomery and Aesir were nothing without magic, now Aesir has made himself the Hells incarnate, and Montgomery doesn't know whether to be in awe of his bravery or to hate him for leaving him behind. So he lashes out and rips what's left of their friendship to shreds as soon as he has the chance, because it'll hurt less than being reminded everyday that now he's not the same as the other half of his soul.

It's not until years later, after Montgomery has met a girl who leans on him as if he could be the pillar of something instead of the dust in the corner, that Montgomery realizes Aesir was his first heartbreak. It's not until he has the words to know that he's falling in love with the woman that girl has become, that he even starts to accept that maybe she's not his first love at all. And in the process of learning to love Lorelei, he learns to love himself enough to accept the place in his heart that belongs to Aesir. Montgomery still asks his friends to help him try to save Aesir from the power that cursed him, when it would be easier and probably safer for the many to simply sacrifice the one. He agonizes over whether he's the one who's betraying his friend by choosing Lorelei, whether it's fair of him to move on from the pain when Aesir is literally being eaten alive by it. He still hides from his friends, and it takes him half a decade to admit that what he felt for Aesir was even in the same vein as what he feels for Lorelei. There is always a part of him ashamed to be as fascinated by the male form as the female one, to know that it wouldn't have mattered at all what Lorelei looked like and he would have fallen for her in the end, regardless.

Montgomery's first love was a boy who he couldn't be with for a dozen reasons that were "more important" than his gender, a boy who broke his heart and who Montgomery moved on from, but ultimately chose to love platonically in the end, and then he married a woman who society would have accepted in the first place for literally all the reasons his first love "shouldn't" have been. He lives most of his life as a symbol of how the old ways of the nobility were wrong, because he becomes their greatest leader without an ounce of magic inside him, but he never brings his sexuality into the public eye. Not once. It definitely keeps him up at night sometimes wondering if he's betrayed his identity by following his heart.

[solomonish]

Solomon Headcanons

I didn’t like my old headcanons for him and I think I have a slightly better feel for him so I’m posting these bad boys. Maybe at this rate I’ll just post Solomon HCs every month 

Also this turned into more of a “I’m going to talk about Solomon in depth and maybe throw in one headcanon about kissing him” and is no longer “lol what kind of dates do you go on? <3″ so uh. do with that what you will. It’s also SUPER LONG (or feels that way) so make sure you have a hot second to read them

you can find my for real headcanons for him here but I don’t necessarily stand by them anymore? They’re just there for fun now lol

Solomon’s Relationship With Relationships

Solomon has been alive for...a long time, and with that naturally comes a lot of experiences, negative and positive. It’s also natural that it would also have him break out of traditional structures regarding...everything, but especially things regarding relationships and specific other people.

(Not to get sociological or philosophical about society or whatever, but the way we view everything is accented heavily by the end. With exceptions, and this certainly varies from culture to culture, but as a general idea, we view things expecting them to take place over the span of 70-100 years. Certain positions in politics or business or something try to look at things generationally, but how capable of that are we and how far ahead can we truly see?)

(What I mean to say is that immortality naturally shifts the entire context in which you would view things that were expected to be “lifelong.” What once existed to enrich a life is now a tether to a system that doesn’t necessarily suit his existence.)

Psychologically, however.....I don’t think Solomon has tried to (or even can) rewire himself entirely to the point where he doesn’t feel love. He’s already got a fondness for Simeon and Luke (always crying about him calling them “dear friends” in the circus event i don’t know if he says anything in the lessons because i’m only on like 21 LOL) so he’s clearly capable of fondness and affection.

Not that those should equate exactly to romantic feelings (because they shouldn’t), but there’s undeniable similarities between platonic and romantic affection and, for the purposes of speculating about an immortal’s capability to still feel both, I think they can be equated in this regard.

There are a lot of assumptions I’m making about him to make this post, namely the following: that there is still reconciling to be done internally between his immortality and humanity, that Solomon’s composed and confident nature is a bit of a front (only a bit - I’ll explain more later), and, related to these two, that he even cares about humanity and that he still wants to preserve his humanity.

While this might be my perspective as a regular human, I really don’t believe that the desire to be human and fully encompass what that means has left. If anything, I think his intrinsic desire for knowledge and power stems from it, and he’s just suppressed the “mushier” emotional parts of that as a sort of....defense mechanism, if you will.

SO the tl;dr of this is that you know how alloromantic people just like feel in love and they get their romantic crushes and it’s natural and they can’t control it? Solomon gets that! He just isn’t the type to swoon over someone or really make it known.

He also as a person is big on being manipulative shady and in control, so if he were to just be super obvious about having a crush on someone and not being able to do anything about it, that would sort of tarnish his whole image.

So yeah, I think Solomon just has his emotions on a tight leash when they probe to be out of control. Clearly, he doesn’t have every part of him under this sort of watchful eye (whether that’s because he still wants to feel genuine happiness or he knows if he came across as emotionless and calculated people would trust him even less, I haven’t decided), but those that cause trouble stay behind locked doors.

Additionally, I don’t think Solomon is opposed to falling in love. I’d bet he’s had lots of different partners over the years and remembers them fondly (you know, assuming they ended well)

I also think his immortal status makes dating different? I feel like doesn’t really date to find a life partner because. well. (gestures).

That’s not to say that he doesn’t date casually sometimes or something. In the terms of a serious romantic partnership, though, it’s rare that it happens because he knows that it’ll die with them (and stay within him for probably forever, even if/when there comes a day he can no longer remember their name or their face).

Another assumption I’m making that I forgot to mention: I think it’s rare that Solomon’s serious, long-term partners know the true extent of the magic he dabbles in. Maybe he lets them know it’s real magic, or he pretends it’s all show magic and parlor tricks. Sometimes he pretends his pact marks are tattoos, sometimes he tells the truth. If ever these confessions are laughed off, he laughs them off too and creates a cover story.

He doesn’t intend to lie, but it’s very difficult to meet someone and explain........all of THAT. On which date to you mention that you can control 72 demons? Do you send a card explaining how you’ve been alive since Biblical times and you’re not even sure if you birthday is your real birthday anymore, let alone how old you are? And should that card be store bought or homemade?

So while it’s rare for Solomon to have a serious romantic partnership, it’s even more rare for him to be entirely understood or accepted for EVERYTHING that he is because he can’t get into it. Arguably, that hasn’t happened since his “death” in his original timeline.

A crush for Solomon isn’t a hopeless affair, either. Should you choose someone else, he’ll allow himself the disappointment and move on.

With Solomon, romantic love sparks naturally, but genuine true love isn’t some all-powerful, unstoppable force. He falls more in line with the people who believe it’s a choice and a decision, somewhere between “it’s purely a biological impulse we just gave a fancy name” and “it’s the magic that makes life more enjoyable”

With MC

In the case of MC, however, I think he might initially see it as bothersome or a hinderance to whatever his plan is with being down there for the exchange program. Maybe he convinces himself he’s just naturally attracted to you because you’re human like him. Once he comes to terms with his feelings and gets to know MC a bit more, he might even see it as a lost cause seeing as you already have several of the brothers vying for your affections.

For Solomon to act on a crush that he’s already decided is hopeless, it’ll be up to the MC to show that THEY are interested in HIM

He finds no particular pleasure in being someone who is chased after or “playing hard to get,” but he already has a complicated relationship with complicated relationships. He’s gonna need a down payment of affection a sign that there’s anything even there to pursue 

Traditional flirting, while he’ll have his fun with it (and probably enjoy it at least a little - who doesn’t like feeling desirable?), doesn’t really work for him. Lots of people and creatures have used it to try and charm him, plus he has a pact with Asmo, so at this point he really sees it as more casual fun then an indication of true interest.

Honestly, to get him to realize “oh shit I actually have a chance,” you’re going to have to do two main things: 1) make him feel chosen over the others, and 2) respond to his displays of affection

Making Him Feel Chosen

This isn’t really a competition thing, or some selfish hoarding of your time. The thing is, Solomon knows he isn’t the only one in the running and he knows that anything he has to offer, somebody else could give you a portion of it.

(You won’t get the same experience or combination of traits with somebody else obvi, but with 11 suitors and an added chihuahua, there tends to be a little bit of overlap with everyone)

A crush for Solomon is a romantic interest, but if he intends on pursuing a serious relationship (which, I feel, is what he intends to be the final goal of his crushes as opposed to more casual affairs), he needs to see SOME reciprocation

Being with him is an ordeal, maybe a lifelong one for you, so he needs that assurance that it’ll be worth it and there aren’t better avenues

Basically, this means that ✨ quality time ✨ is of the utmost importance

At first, it doesn’t have to be anything big. Sit with him at lunch when you see him in the cafeteria, meet him in the library while you wait for your demon escort to be finished with their extracurriculars, chat him up in the one class you have together (and then ask him to help you study what you missed in class by talking. it’s a required transfer class but you already know everything about it, right, Solomon? 🥺)

As your relationship progresses, that’s when things start to get harder. Invite him out to things that you think he’ll enjoy, and say yes to as many excursions with him as you can. Bonus points for making it clear that you want to go when you’re unable to attend. 

(He finds himself a little embarrassed how happy it makes him when instead of just a “no” or a “sorry, not today” he gets something like “I’m on dinner duty so I have to spend that time preparing :( but we should definitely make a date so you can tell me about it later!” It makes him feel like a priority.)

It isn’t until you find yourself comfortable enough to ask him to accompany you to something you want to do that he starts to realize you’re hanging out with him for him and not because he’s just offering up a bunch of fun new experiences for you to try.

You don’t even have to say “hey, i’m pretty sure you know all about the birds in the Devildom aviary but I haven’t had a chance to go and would really like to spend the day with you. Wanna come with?” If it’s something that he knows you know isn’t in his wheelhouse, he’ll be able to figure out that OH.....you’re inviting him for HIM.....oh

Make him feel like a priority, like he’s the one that you want, even out of all your choices. You can be as enthralled by the birds in that aviary as you want, just as long as you make it clear that your enthusiasm to be with him is on the same level and he’ll finally kick himself into gear.

Responding to His Affections

Now, you don’t have to do anything you don’t like. I hear in his dame card devilgram he’s a consent king, and he stands by that every day of the week

He also isn’t the type to need an exact equal to everything he does. Yes a relationship is a two way street, but this isn’t saying that if he gets you a gift you need to present him something with equal or greater value within the next 24 hours. he’s not mammon haha i’m so FUNNY

Just...let him know that he’s doing things right. His serious relationships are few and far between and people change as often as the times do, so make sure that he knows what he’s doing is landing. He’s not insecure per se, but he would like to know that he isn’t making a fool of himself entirely, you know?

Don’t brush him off in front of the brothers or he’ll think he’s read the situation all wrong and you’re back to square one. If you do it because you don’t like touching and he put an arm around your shoulder or something, that’s fine, but if he thinks you’re uncomfortable being with him in front of the brothers he’ll wonder if you even liked him at all.

To him, a secret relationship isn’t really feasible. First of all, those brothers are ALWAYS in your business so bold of you to think you’ll have ANY secrets by the time the exchange program is done, and secondly, don’t you both have enough on your plate that you shouldn’t make something that makes you happy needlessly complicated?

He is an odd case and knows there’s a lot that comes with him, so if you’re uncomfortable simply showing that you’re in a relationship and reciprocating, he’ll think you aren’t equipped to handle.....All That.

In case you haven’t noticed, he’s weird. He’s a weirdo. He doesn’t fit in. And he doesn’t want to fit in. Have you ever seen him without that stupid cape on? That's weird.

If you respond to his affections in a similar way, such as putting you arm around his waist or a hand on his back when he puts an arm around your shoulder or reaching up to fix his hair when he reaches to mess with yours, it’ll make him happy for sure. He doesn’t have any specific expectations for you but he’ll like to feel like you’re on the same wavelength.

A lot of his affections are morphed into specific and targeted teasing (but not like *gently bullies u* teasing). It’s a lot of inside jokes at your expense (and the more inside jokes he has, the more he probably likes you)

It’s also a lot of messing up your hair, sharp pokes and frustrating games like “guess what?” “i don’t know, what?” “i told you to guess, MC.” “ugh...you won the lottery” “guess better” “please don’t do this to me Solomon”

He probably responds best to Acts of Service and Quality Time (though at any stage in the relationship he’s a flexible man). While he’s trying to woo you to solidify his spot in first place against everyone else, if you continue to make the effort to be around him or like. recognize he’s taking time out of his day to romance you and do something for him in return he’ll cement the fact that oh yeah, this is happening between the two of you

(not to say that romancing you is a chore, because it’s not, but man if it doesn’t make him happy that you’re wanting to make his life easier on him so he can pursue the other things he enjoys, too.)

What a Relationship with Solomon is Like

He isn’t the biggest person on PDA, or at least not on purpose. He won’t see you and immediately be like ‘oh there they are i need to kiss them kiss kiss kiss’ or whatever, but he’s not averse to it?

He doesn’t want physical affection to be a big deal, or at least not in public. unless that’s what you’re into ;) If the two of you are out and about and you kiss his hand, or you’re a generally physically affectionate person he’ll smile and respond and be generally unbothered by it, but don’t expect him to ever really have the desire to like make out in public or something. Really, you probably won’t get much more than a quick kiss because he DOES always have other things on his mind.

You will NOT be able to get out of him messing with you. If you need him to tone it down that’s fine, but the more you let him get away with, the less energy he’ll have to redirect into other troublemaking activities

Has a weird thing with licking too probably? like he’s not gross about it and it’s not like a NSFW fixation but he’ll do that mom thing where he licks his thumb because “you’ve got something on your cheek” and then reveal that he’s a LIAR

or he’ll put his face really close to yours and stick his tongue out when you turn your head so it hits your cheek

it just gets such a DRAMATIC reaction out of you so that’s why he does it? if you ask him genuinely to stop he will but if you comment on it he’ll just give you a small smile and not say anything then continue to do it

when he messes with you, it’s ok if you say he’s doing something weird but don’t make him feel childish. setting boundaries (and making regular observations - he is kinda weird) is more than alright but admonishing him just feels......off and will turn him sour for a bit

VERY appreciative of someone who supports his adventurous side. Also fond of someone who’s happy to tag along but knows that some things he has to do on his own.

Even if you don’t want to go, he’ll appreciate the support or the interest you show in what he does. Ask him where he’s going and what he’s doing there, but ask him because you’re interested and not because you’re overly worried.

Please be there for him when he gets back to talk about it. He really likes feeling important or cool when he tells his tales, even if all he did was go and catch a few magic salamanders or something.

PLEASE be a soundboard for all of his ideas. He knows that sometimes he’ll talk about things that are way over your head that he hasn’t learned yet, but he really does want your undivided attention. It doesn’t matter if you’re encouraging him, debating with him, telling him the idea is stupid (though don’t pull this one too often unless you intend to ask to be let in to the fun) or just watching in confusion. It’s important to him that you value what he has to say, and he hopes one day that he’ll be able to tell you anything and you’ll have a response to it all. (Even if you don’t learn magic to the degree he knows it, he hopes you’ll get to a point where you understand what he wants, even if you don’t know what magical elements he’s talking about or something.)

A relationship with Solomon is one where you’re both independent, but also can’t imagine not going to the other at the end of the day. It’s startling how quickly you become constant in the other’s life despite being in COMPLETELY different stages of magical development and learning about the demon world.

The relationship will be lots of fun, but there will be many serious moments, too. 

They’ll happen randomly. Maybe something from a class or a spell reminds him of something from his past, or maybe he’s reminded that he can’t remember so many things that he knows were important to him.

Sometimes, his Tuesday night blues will feel like a life-changing existential crises for you, but please, do what you can to be there for him in these moments. It worries him how much love and happiness he’s lost, especially when he knows he promised to remember it.

Once you get him to think aloud, he’ll say super heavy stuff life “What if I’ve forgotten who I really am and now I’m just something other people and magic have morphed me into?” or “When will the human race evolve or go extinct and leave me behind?” and it fucks you up, really. It fucks him up too

But please be patient with him, because there’s something important he has to get off his chest eventually. He’s worried already that he’ll forget you the way he’s probably forgotten so many others, but he doesn’t want to offend you and know that saying it would come off as uncaring.

You won’t have an answer for these moments, and he knows it. It’ll be best if you just hold him tight, stroke his hair if you’re laying down, and reassure him that you don’t care.

With how long he’s been alive, you’ll have to get past caring if you’re his “one true love” because he doesn’t have that. He gave up the right to having a one true love in exchange for never-ending life. But he still loves and he does love deeply, it just has a lot to cut through to properly be articulated.

So tell him. Tell him you know he’s had other loves, that you know you might not even be the best partner suited to him that he’s had. Tell him that you know when your time has come, he’ll find someone else eventually.

Tell him that what matters to you is that he loves you now, that he’s making things work with you now, and that he isn’t secretly yearning for some lover that’s come to pass or yet to come when he’s with you.

You can’t control what happened in the past or what happens in the future, but right now he’s yours and you’re his and he needs to learn to take things one lifetime at a time. Right now is YOUR Solomon time, and what happens after is just a consequence of time and you’ve already forgiven him for it.

instead of “mom says it’s my turn on the xbox” it’s “god says it’s MY turn on the Solomon”

send that to him for real and he’ll probably never forget you lol

How to Make a Relationship with Solomon Work

With all this in mind, the key to a good relationship with Solomon is keeping his head on his shoulders.

He’s ambitious, powerful, scary smart, and capable of so much more than you can even guess and he knows it. It’ll be good for him to have somebody to keep him on the ground.

Now, don’t be overbearing. If you try to stop him from going places or try to hinder his pursuit of knowledge out of fear for his safety, that’ll cause unbelievable strain on him. You will have to learn to let him work his things out the way he wants to, and it won’t always be the safest or most responsible way either.

He doesn’t mind a gentle scolding if he gets hurt. He won’t say it, but he kinda likes to be reminded how important he is to you.

Also be down to have fun and be a little reckless. Your safety will always be a priority to him, but nobody ever got anywhere without a little struggle, right? Sometimes adventuring with him and following him into the darkest magical corners of the world will require multiple (sometime literal) leaps of faith, but he’ll always be there to catch you.

Let Solomon work for you and the relationship, and you work to keep him sane and remind him that he can belong somewhere, even when he’s been himself for who knows how long and nowhere ever really stays the same.

You’ll always have to remind Solomon that not everything revolves around magic and power. He’s not been mortal for some time, so he gets caught up in the heady and lofty topics and ideas. 

Remind him about the simple joys of just having fun and goofing off, that not every moment not spent on homework has to be spent on potions. Remind him (in the human world) how cool a sunset is, or convince him to go through a museum and pretend he’s seeing everything for the first time. 

As much as he lives for understanding the grand topics most people can only dream of beginning to grasp, remind him of the little things. Remind him of human indulgences that he’s abandoned. Get him back in touch with that part of himself.

Solomon as a character feels like he’d be really aloof, but he’s honestly extremely devoted to what he invests his time in. He shows this devotion in small ways that feel more like riddles sometimes, in the way he always comes back after a rather dangerous magical excursion, in the way he shortens his time away so he can get back to you, in the way he learns to quiet his mind so he can properly take care of you and what you need and strengthen your relationship.

One thing that I think is a hallmark of a relationship with him is that Solomon loves things that can teach him more about what he doesn’t know. You don’t need to be the smartest person on the planet, or have a specialized and thorough education in some bizarre topic, or come from somewhere entirely different than what he knows to keep his interest.

You are uniquely human, and you help teach him about himself, the one thing that he can never seem to properly grasp and understand the way he wants to.

More importantly, you are you, the one who made pacts with all seven demon lords, the one captured his heart and promised to take care of it when you could throw it away for anybody else.

And you are the only one who could say those words that he believes. Hopefully, you’ll believe him when he says them, too.

[zedecksiew]

“No Expectation, No Fear”: Gina Yap Lai Yoong on writing novels

(In 2017, I plan to read, look at, and talk to more Malaysian creators.)

~

It was 2012 when I first met novelist, writing coach, and community organiser Gina Yap Lai Yoong.

It was a 24-hour communal novel-writing exercise, organised by the British Council. Both Gina and I were participants. I was your typical agonised writer, sighing and groaning; I got very little done.

Gina was quiet. Sitting at her desk, she wrote and wrote and wrote.

Today, Gina has six books under her belt. She has a long-term live-storytelling project that takes her across the country. She is also one of the founders of the Malaysian Writers Society.

In this post - part one of a three-part interview - I get Gina to school me on what it takes to be a writer:

~

You are known as a writer in Bahasa Melayu, of non-Malay ethnicity. Which is unusual! Can you talk about your history with BM?

I was a bookworm and read a book a week. I enjoyed reading English novels.

I fell in love with reading Malay books in Form 4, when we had to read “Konserto Terakhir” as study text for the Malay language. It was a thick love story that my classmates dreaded reading, and I felt the same. But once I started reading “Konserto Terakhir”, it was surprisingly enjoyable. It wasn't as hard to comprehend or even to read as I thought it would be.

From then on, I was smitten by the storytelling power drawn from our national language and have been reading Malay novels ever since. My parents were amused that I owned more Malay books than English ones on my shelves during my schooling days.

You wrote your first novel, “Eksperimen Cinta”, under a pseudonym. Why?

I remember that email from my publisher; it said something along the lines of: “Editor's remark: The writer must be a non-Malay because the way she writes shows her train of thoughts is in English, though her command of the Malay language is excellent.”

They said they were not confident that publishing a Malay novel with a Chinese name would help book sales. So I was told to use a pseudonym.

This idea didn't really work. I went to my first autograph session and found my fans walking right across me multiple times, searching for Geena Edora. They were probably expecting a Malay girl with a tudung.

Clearly a writer has to stand up for who he/she is, because when a reader loves the stories, they want to know the person who wrote them. When Fixi published “Ngeri”, my second novel, I insisted on using my real name in full.

Gotta own our creations and stand up for them, yah!

The Ngeri trilogy of crime novels is perhaps your best-known work. How did the series come about?

The Ngeri trilogy was not meant to be. “Ngeri” was initially written as a screenplay, but the producer took too long to get it produced, so I converted it into a manuscript for novel publishing. The main plot changed but the core concept remained the same. And the ending, if I may say so myself, was ingenious! But that was it. “Ngeri” ended, there.

I am a pantser – meaning I write with the characters in mind, without knowing the main plot, so that my characters can tell me their stories and surprise me.

When I was working on my next novel, “Mangsa”, I felt a character from “Ngeri” forcing himself into the story. So I let him in. When my publisher read the story, he suggested it be a sequel. And so it became.

When we were launching “Mangsa” at the Georgetown Literary Festival, my publisher announced to the audience: “Gina is working on the third book, it's a trilogy.” If you saw my face then, I had my jaw dropped; the idea of a trilogy was never in my mind. 

I was working on other things, but I knew it would confuse readers if I released other stories before the third book. I went back to “Ngeri” and “Mangsa”, studied my characters inside out, willed them to come out and play, and that’s how “Obsesi” was written.

What did you learn, going through this process? Sounds like a lot of risk, letting your characters dictate how you write.

If I knew I was writing a trilogy, there would be certain things I would have included/excluded in the first two books. But I loved the experience because it’s reality: in life, we are dealt the cards, and it’s what we do with them that determines the story. I relied a lot on my characters to draw out the story for me to write, and “Obsesi” is a result of that process.

After “Obsesi”, other characters from the trilogy started screaming for my attention. So I wrote a short novella entitled “CULIK1.0” and published it on Wattpad as a freebie for fans.

One thing about fiction writing that I strongly believe in: Fictional characters have a life of their own. If you sit down to listen to them, they will tell you stories that surprise you – which in turn will surprise your readers. That's the magic of fiction writing.

You offer one-on-one mentorship programmes in the form of "Writing Pacts". Can you talk about that?

The Writing Pact is a one-year programme with writers (aspiring, published and established writers) that I've been running for many years now. I've journeyed closely with at least 40 writers to date.

It began when I realised people talk about writing more than they actually write. So why aren't they writing? Two common reasons: Lack of discipline and lack of guidance.

When I started writing my first novel, I had many questions about writing but no one to ask. So I just wrote. Of course, I procrastinated. Why so? Because there was no one there to be accountable to.

How many writers set a deadline for themselves, miss it, smile / cry and say: “no one knows anyway” – and then repeat the cycle over and over again? Accountability stops that from happening. 

So how does it work? How do you help writers be accountable?

The Writing Pact provides a personal space for people to ask questions about writing, without feeling embarrassed or silly.

From how to write to what they should write; the writing process to the publishing process; the challenges a writer faces; whether to choose commercial, indie or self-publishing – ask away, and I'll share whatever I know.

Whatever I don't know, we discover and learn together. When we know more about something, it becomes less scary which will lead us to be more determined to do it. That determination, when coupled with accountability, is when things happen.

In my Writing Pact, the writers I take on are accountable to me. In return, I must want to make it happen more than they do. There’s power in that; power in not giving up. We set deadlines together, manage challenges together, face the fears together. We complete their writing journey together – that’s the whole idea. I journey with writers so that they can and will reach “the end”.

You've mentioned elsewhere that you don't experience writer’s block, because you don't write with expectations. Can you talk about this?

I don't believe in writer's block. Wrote a whole chapter on that in my writing memoir, “A Writer’s Journey”, but I can summarise it into one sentence: Writer’s block is an excuse we give ourselves when we refuse to face our writing fears.

Let me illustrate:

Me: Why aren’t you writing? A Writer: I have no ideas what to write about. (Excuse One) Me: Something you are interested about. What do you like? AW: I like this, this and that. *goes on about it for hours* Me: Then write about it. AW: I can’t. Words are not coming.  Me: Why not? AW: I don't know. Me: But you can talk with me hours long about it, why can’t you write what you just told me? AW: It doesn’t read right. (Excuse Two) Me: No one gets it right or perfect the first time. Just write. Aim for completion, not perfection. AW: But what if I am stuck, in the story? (Excuse Three) Me: Then we chat about it again till you get un-stuck. It’s all about getting into it, you know. AW: What if people don’t like it? (Excuse Four) Me: Write it first. People will always like or not like something. Don’t take it personally. Just write it first and who knows, you might find a community that thinks and feels like you about this story.

So where does your confidence to face these fears come from?

We all have different purposes, when we write. If we focus on our purpose, writing becomes easier. If you’re writing to tell a story, then who cares if anyone likes or dislikes the story? It’s your story.

This is me. I write in abandonment. No expectation, no fear.

When I embark on a writing project, I begin with the purpose: Why am I writing this? I don’t write to be published, neither do I write to be read. I write because I need to get the story out of my system.

That’s why I can write in abandonment, with minimal expectations – because it's all about me having fun in my fictional world. If you ask me, the most important thing is to know your writing purpose and make decisions based on it, then you won't go wrong.

My first novel was a lonely writing journey, but I managed to pull through each time – because once I start writing a story, I can't stop. The characters drive me nuts by keeping me awake at night!

~

Thanks, Gina!