What David's Been Doing

I hadn't heard from It's a Long Way to the Floor Author David Byck in quite a while, and the fatwa ruling nudged me into getting in touch with him again, as his book is the most powerful account of the benefits physical and mental of yoga you could hope to find. Not that he managed to tempt me to take it up (despite the gift of the yoga mat still hanging on a peg in my bedroom) - my toes still have to send an email to my fingers when they want to meet, and the only position I've really mastered is the corpse pose!

You may remember that David turned his energies to writing fiction, and read an extract for us from a novel in progress at Seksan's last year.

As anyone who's read Long Way can attest, David's enthusiasm and energy is catching, and I loved the Facebook message he sent me in reply to What are you up to? so much that I decided to post it here, with David's permission, to inspire those of you (make that, those of us!) who are less than fully committed to our writing. (Links added by me.)

Dear Sharon,

Thanks for asking what I’m up to. I know I’ve been quiet lately; not attending local readings and so on. Maybe when I tell you how I’ve been spending my time you’ll understand.

First off, I’ve decided I want to write for a living. Actually, I want to write novels. Yeah, I know, having these thoughts is one thing but seeing the words on my screen does give me pause.

Of course I’ve outlined a path that will hopefully lead to my attaining this lofty goal of novelist. Firstly, I’ve taken several creative writing courses here in Malaysia. They were very good and covered the basics of writing structure and storytelling but as I continued to write I realized I needed to master the finer details of the craft.

I picked up several books on the topic and digested as much of what the international experts had to say on the subject. Again, good, but it lacked the human factor. I think for some subjects one must participate in open discussions and debates and be able to ask questions and receive feedback. Reading, How To books can only go so far.

By chance, I heard of a New York literary agent, Donald Maass, who, in addition to his normal duties, also assists his clients in becoming better writers. Donald, a writer himself, has authored several books on writing and holds intensive workshops throughout the year.

In 2007 I flew to Oregon to attend his workshop, Writing the Breakout Novel. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed every minute of it. We began in the early morning, essentially worked through lunch and finished before dinner. The evening was spent on assignments that were due the following day.

One of the topics he covered was how to weave tension into our manuscripts. I thought the hour or so he spent on this subject was not enough. Several likeminded students approached him afterward and he promised to develop a workshop specifically on adding tension to every page. True to his word he did just that.

This past May I flew back to America specifically for this four-day workshop. On the way home I stopped by Gotham Writers’ in New York and had a one-on-one evaluation of my writing style - a reality check, I guess. It was a good way to end the trip. In addition to pointing out my weaknesses they suggested ways for improvement.

Another step I’ve taken is to increase the amount of time I spend reading. Although I read as much as the next person, I was reminded by you, Sharon, that writers need to read as much as they write. Maybe even more.

Once I admitted you were correct, I rearranged my schedule, cut out all or most of the unnecessary activities I did and diverted that extra time to additional reading. To what extreme have I gone? Well, in addition to reading instead of vegging out in front of the television at night, as often as I can I take the KTM or LRT to my office or meetings and use the time I would normally spend driving, reading. Okay, okay, the other reason I take public transport is an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint.

Of course I’ve been writing on a daily basis. I’ve just completed a political thriller and am beginning the first, self edit. As you know, writing is the easy part. Also, I now have a column in YogaLife Magazine. The column is actually the sequel to my book, It’s A Long Way To The Floor. Since each chapter is a stand-alone essay, I’m releasing the entire book, one chapter at a time. It’s an interesting project.

As for my goal of becoming a novelist, I’ll share with you why my confidence level is so high. I believe writing talent, along with most things in life is not something we necessarily have to be born with. I believe the key to success is to practice, practice, practice.

Gary Player, the South African PGA golfer once chipped the ball in the hole from quite a distance off the green. As he approached the flag he heard someone in the gallery shout out, “Lucky stroke.” Mr. Player turned around and replied, “It’s amazing, the more I practice the luckier I get.”

I have adopted and applied this same theory to many things in my life … my writing being one of them. My recently completed manuscript is my fourth. Holding it up against my first I believe the quality of writing and storytelling has vastly improved. Well enough to hit the New York Best Sellers List? I’m not sure about that. But I do believe if it is not this one it will be the next.

Or maybe the one after that.

Thanks again for asking about me Sharon. Take care and great job you’re doing with the blog.

Spread the peace,

david byck

Grandparents and Political Prose ... an Afternoon at Seksan's

And some time later that same afternoon, in another beautiful gallery ... and this time among the paintings of Aswad Ameir.

David Byck kicked things off. David, the author of the successful It's a Long Way to the Floor, is also writing fiction. He read a section from the first novel he attempted, based very much on his own life and featuring his grandmother. It sounded pretty damn good! Maybe it's time to dust the cobwebs off it, David and let it see light of day.

Ted Mahsun relaxes during the break. He read a short piece in Malay which he said was written by a friend of his who had passed away. Pretty naughty and had the audience laughing.

Gary Ooi Yinn Hee only began writing seriously a year ago when he penned a play of The Oral Stage's 59 minutes called Fruitcake, and another called M for Magenta for their 2007 production, Screwed. Gary also attended Malika Booker's poetry workshop a few months ago. he read several poems, some of them very short. I particularly liked one about his great-aunty. He read Fruitcake, a very edgy little play, with Sharanya.

I'd wanted to get Liyana Yusof to read at Seksan's since hearing her at the Food Foundry performance of work for Jacob Sam-La Rose's workshop. She read my favourite poem Grand Parents (a lot of elderly relatives appearing in work today!) and other short poems including one I really liked called billy jeans. I really liked a longer prose piece, no questions asked (a portrait of loneliness) addressing an absent lover. Liyana has put together a collection of her writings in a chapbook called Paper Trails for Strangers.

I met Andre Vltchek through Amir Muhammad and he is really is a fascinating guy, and I was thrilled when he agreed to do a reading for us. (He is also reading at the event Bernice is organising tonight at No Black Tie, so you have a chance to catch him there.)

Andre is a novelist, journalist and filmmaker and the co-founder of Mainstay Press which publishes. He has written a book of political essays Western Terror: From Potosi to Baghdad, and wrote Exile with Rossie Indira based on his interviews with the great Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

Today though he read a chapter set in East Timor from his novel Point of No Return. The blurb on the back of the novel* says that the book is written from the point of view of a war correspondent:

... visiting places that are rarely covered by the mainstream media, offering provocative points of view about the pitiful state of today's world, its disparities and scandalous post-colonial arrangement - including global market fundamentalism and neo-conservative culture that are overthrowing democratic principals that humanity has fought for over the centuries. The narrator of Point of No Return struggles to document many of these crises and scandals, all the while trying to sort out his complicated life - including his love for a possibly unreachable woman, and the level of his personal involvement in the stories he covers. By the end of the novel, he has gone all the way, in his personal, professional, and political life as well. This global novel vividly describes reality, the state of the world, and the grievances and hopes of people the world over.

The prose was hard hitting and Andre was a tough act to follow.

Because CEan couldn't make it today, as her mum is seriously sick, I had decided to fill that last-minute gap on the programme myself. ('Cos how can you call yourself a writer if you don't put your work out?)

The piece I feel pleased with is a short-short story called Homunculus written in just two sentences (an Oulipo-type constrained writing technique - try it!). I also read a piece about the Walter Mitty type character I live with (don't tell him, folks!), and a couple of slightly older pieces.

Very many thanks to Seksan for the beautiful space, to La Bodega for the wine, to all who came, to all who read, to all who helped set things up and clear up afterwards.

I am planning for the next "Readings" to happen on July 28th and already have a good list of readers lined up, including acclaimed Malaysian-American author Tinling Choong.

Postscript:

Sufian captured the event so well in his photos. The one below really shows the artwork (and the audience!) off to advantage. Lots more here.


*Andre's novel is published locally by Strategic Information and Research development centre, Malaysia.

David Byck and Lee Su Kim on Toast

This coming Saturday you can meet authors David Byck and Lee Su Kim at MPH's Breakfast for Litbloggers. (Click poster to read the details.)

Sadly, I won't be able to make this one!

Attend and be Enlightened

I received a message from Ng He Xiang (Hex) of 95% (The Writing Academy) is holding a free talk entitled About Writing in Malaysia and featuring authors Dina Zaman and David Byck this coming Monday 14th May from 8pm to 10pm.

The address is, 80A Wisma Dicklin, Jalan Bangsar. (Map below, click to enlarge.)

I'm not sure if you need to reserve a place or not, but you can call up Hex at 03-22876095/7095 or email hex@95percent.com.my

By the way, I never did find out why the organisation calls itself 95% ...

Byck Ride

Joan Lau interviews It's a Long Way to the Floor author, the eternally ebullient yoga-convert David Byck in the New Straits Times.

Thought it gave me a nice excuse to nick this very nice picture of David and wife Alina with Ashtanga Yoga founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Joan makes this very interesting observation:

Many of the literary glitterati in the country will be focusing on the Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival which takes place later this month. ... David Byck will not be a part of that ...

Not sure if I qualify as a glitterati but it is sad how many local authors have been bypassed as presumably not 'literary' enough or not 'in' with the organisers.

A Journey Through Yoga

Some months ago I got a phone call out of the blue from an American guy called David Byck who said he needed some editorial help with a book.

Now I'm not the world's most enthusiastic editor (I hasten to add before you all start sending manuscripts my way!) and when I heard that the book was about yoga, a subject I know next to nothing about (apart from some embarassing attempts in classes where everyone else seems to be made of India rubber and me of precast concrete), I wasn't at all sure I was the person for the job.

I tried to pass him on to Starlight, who is both editor and advanced yoga practitioner (and by some strange synchronicity they bumped into each other a few days later and she also ended up helping with the book!) but in the end I agreed to at least read the manuscript and scribble down some notes.

I'm glad I did because I found It's a Long Way to the Floor a very enjoyable and engaging read, which feels like a conversation with a friend. (I had very few changes to suggest.)

Yes, it's about yoga and I don't do yoga ... for much the same reasons David rejected yoga in the beginning. I feel stupid and inadequate trying to bend myself into the easiest positions. David struggled with every pose too. He was in his forties, couldn't even touch his toes when he began and suffering from stress related illness which played havoc with his metabolism. And he was initially sceptical about what yoga could do for him. There were points of identification for sure!

Yet, week by week as he struggled with the classes, he found that not only was his body becoming increasingly flexible, and his health improving, but yoga was changing his whole outlook on life, teaching him patience and humility and increasing his spiritual awareness (to his great surprise since this wasn't a benefit that he had looked for in the first place!).

Anyway, today there was a package waiting for me, and inside a copy of the book, which looks beautiful. There's David's smiling face on the cover (which Starlight had a hand in) and both of us are acknowledged inside, which is great! It isn't a how-to book, so there aren't photos of yoga poses, but I love the creative use of watermarks showing the various positions, behind the text.

The book has an American publisher and was printed in India, and it's available at Amazon.

Much more about it on David's website, and read what Starlight said about the book when she first read it back in March.

I may ... you know I may just ....

... because David has demolished every excuse I'd put in place for not persevering with yoga!