Skip to main content

The Blog in Bangsar.

The Bloke in Bangsar has started a blog, or that is to say, he started three blogs.

Raman of Silverfish has started using Blogger as his "content management system" and now, thanks to its amazing aggregating powers he will post news items more "frequently" because "because some news have very short shelf lives".

(Of course, one wonders why he didn't go with a better CMS, like, say, cough cough, Wordpress.)

The three blogs actually power three categories on the Silverfishbooks website: Literary News, Writers's News, and the probably the most interesting of all, the Silverfish Writer's Circle.

Quoth the Bloke:
It is not infrequently that I receive request feedback on a short story or a manuscript. It is difficult to say no, but at the same time it is diffcult to say yes, lest it starts an avalance. Take for example the stories submitted to the Silverfish New Writing series. We typically recieve about 200 stories each time. It would be humanly impossible for us to go through each one of them and give them individual comments. Most understand our dilemma, but many don't and, hence, the flaming in some blogs. Frankly, I think they should pay reviewers for their time, but I also understand that writers are generally a poor lot. And unlike some other countries, we don't have anything like a writers' support group. Even writer-groups are few.
And so, Raman, with the powers vested in he, set out to create what he calls "a community of writers and a forum for comments and feedback. A writer's support group, as it were."

I think this is a good idea. I'm sure there will be some sceptical and cynical comments about this, but I'll be cautiously optimistic about this.
Labels:

Comments

  1. bibliobibuli11/10/06 1:53 pm

    it's a good thing. the most discussion the better - provided that the comments don't squash a newbie writer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Artemis Hunt11/10/06 7:51 pm

    Well, the reservation I have about it is that it's posted on the Net, for all to read, which might get the writer some problems in getting it published with SOME publishers later. Of course, it might also not be a problem, but you never know.

    I'd rather do it my way, the way I do it with you guys, Ted. Post the story to a circle of literary friends for their comments.

    And if the newbie writer is as thick-skinned as me in taking and acting on comments, as you have experienced yourself, he/she will do fine.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ted Mahsun12/10/06 6:01 am

    Sharon: Well, everyone seems to be supportive so far, so I guess that's good.

    Xeus: Yes, most publishers demand first publication rights which can be a problem. nvm lah, at least it's a good thing for new writers to hone their craft by posting their stuff up for critiques.

    The problem with posting stories around to literary friends is that... well, you have to have literary friends... and they have to be good critiquers. I don't think most new writers would be lucky enough to have that. But having said that, I prefer that way too :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ted Mahsun15/10/06 2:25 am

    Ooh! Alrighties... that might be fun to write.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lesson: Commemorative Covers are Lame.

Well, I got the first day cover that commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Except that it's not a first day cover, it's a commemorative cover, which is a slightly different beast. I guess I should read the news article properly next time! The difference between the two is that first day covers are specially-designed envelopes stuck on with specially-designed stamps, and marked with a specially-designed postmark. A commemorative cover is a specially-designed envelope... and that's it. All in all, it's an unremarkable affair, especially if you're used to well-designed first day covers (not that Malaysian first day covers are well-designed... but I digress). Oh sure, a commemorative cover has a stamp printed right on to it but that's just like an overglorified aerogramme. Lame. On the whole, what a disappointment. I haven't been collecting first day cover...
5 comments
Read more

Review the Dark City TV Series!

According to Swifty , the Dark City TV series that Xeus mentioned some time back has apparently already started showing on Astro RIA. I don't own a TV and I certainly don't own a satellite dish to connect to the TV that I don't own, so I wouldn't know if the show is really based on the book of the same name. I highly doubt it. Seems the ratings have been low because there hasn't been any marketing to promote the show. So the filmmakers have taken things into their hands and plunged their film-making selves into the tubes of the dangerous internets to bring you the following message: NICHE FILMS present DARK CITY, a local 13-episode series playing on Astro RIA every Wednesday at 10:30pm (followed by repeats throughout the week). In the tradition of omnibus shows like ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and THE TWILIGHT ZONE, DARK CITY brings you various tales of the macabre with a distinctly Malaysian flavor ... ranging from supernatural horror to psychological thrillers, an...
18 comments
Read more

REVIEW: Confessions of an Old Boy by Kam Raslan

Kam Raslan's right. In the preface for his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures he writes that we've known Dato' Hamid all our lives. Seeing as my own dad is an old boy of MCKK, the people I get to meet when he drags me to an Old Boy function and the people he tells me of, reflect the characters found in Kam's book. It really does feel like I've known Dato' Hamid all my life. Dato' Hamid is a civil servant of the Tunku Abdul Rahman generation. He is the sort of person you rarely see nowadays, a fine example of the anachronistic Malay. This generation, groomed in the ways of the colonial British would be out of place not just in 21st century Malaysia, but in Britain too. And yet, Dato' Hamid, in all his snobbishness and patronising ways, is essentially a Malaysian. Without people like him, our country would probably never exist at all. At least not like we know it now. I'm glad that Kam Raslan decided to capture this ...
5 comments
Read more