Saturday, November 19, 2005

Inky Little Fingers

Learned from The Book Review Blog that plans are afoot to start up
an online Malaysian litmag which features fiction and creative non-fiction writing, and 'hopes to showcase the best that Malaysian writers (of ages 14-24) has* to offer.'
The new online publication is to be dubbed inkyhands magazine and you can submit your entries here.

Such intitiatives make me very glad at heart. Here are folks who are not sitting around waiting for someone to wave a magic wand over them and say Thou Shalt Be A Writer. Just claim a space for yourselves and fill it with words. Doing so will make you happy, and from little seeds greater writing grows.

(*But says the English teacher in me ... just make sure that you proofread your contributions carefully to prevent the ouches ...)

9 comments:

savante said...

What a cool idea!! Definitely subscribing

paul

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

why only ages 14 to 24? thats a bit dumb isnt it?

Elizabeth said...

it's only for ages 14 to 24 (but that age limit is pretty flexible) because we want to encourage youth to write. we figured that as one grows older, there would be more opportunities for one to publish... and anyway, an older person's writing (especially someone that has been through university education, or life in general) would definitely overshadow a just-starting-out-in-life person's writing.

liz of inkyhands

bibliobibuli said...

thanks elizabeth - it's your right to set whatever age limit you want ... and i wish you all the best with your venture

visitor - we just need more more more of this kind of intiative

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

i really don't think there is any truth to that statement that the older one is, the more chances one has of getting published.

i do agree one's writing reflects how one has lived life, or if one has lived at all. but then again, i've read stuff by younger people that puts to shame the writings of us older folk. therefore we cannot simply categorise matters in such black and white terms.

recently, at the Kelab Seni Filem's regular Malaysian Shorts screening, there was a film directed by a five-year-old boy. it was screened among films by other much older and more experienced filmmakers. in fact, it was much better than some of the other films.

opening up the playing field means the younger folk have a higher level to aspire to. it doesnt necessarily have to be discouraging.

bibliobibuli said...

*cough splutter* a five-year old????

how did he get that opportunity?

Chet said...

Yup, "opportunity" is the key word here. He probably has connections with the film world (maybe his father or mother). :)

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

with digital technology, almost everyone has an "opportunity". you just buy even a Handicam and you're off. and you can even edit your movie at home on your PC.

it's not so with publishing though. everyone can be a writer with blogging now so prominent. but there's no "blogging festival" to send your works to. wish there was. :D

Anonymous said...

Most blogs are tripe, to put it bluntly :) even with the best blogs I've read, most of it is very humdrum. Some of them are very clearly commercial ventures. A lot of blogs carry advertising now, so they have to pander to readers in order to keep the money coming in.

You don't need to have "connections." All you need is a camera. And some other people.