The IT of the Indonesian Literary World

Obi1: I undermine most young writers writing "out of this world" stories

Obi1: because it's too imaginative

Bunny: mungkin bisa di browse di MP sapa tau ada yang bikin previwenya

Bunny: preview

Bunny: yik

Obi1: gak ah, males

Obi1: I stick to the classics

Obi1: give me a hemingway telling a story about an old geezer and his fishing boat anytime

This is absolutely true. I have been facing problems about handling the younger writers who came to klabnulis weekly meeting, wanting to be an instant literary-celebrity. I don’t know how to put it down gently to them:

"First of all dear, it really would help if you really know how to spell in your own mother-tongue."

So they write about their own sick selves (as in: teenagers) trying to break free from the coerced adult world, I don’t mind that. In fact, it’s a good story material. It’s a universal theme. Even J.K. Rowling explores it. And look at the money she's making. But to actually tell a story requires a great deal of work. You just cant type non-stop for a week, and then claim whatever the result, it’s so ready to get published.

I don’t know who’s crazier, the young writers who wrote the inadequate piece, the publishing house editors who did the inadequate editing, or the people who are actually buying the piece fanatically? (the same that would go to the movie to see the ultra sinetron adaptation, and crowded some malls in the meet and greet with the stars) It’s like an endless devilish circle.

I mean, how to break it gently to those young minds without sounding too much bitchy? Not that am not one... I am... but you know, I ‘m not that mean and I sincerelly would love to see a wonderful piece get written by some adolescent writers.

About 6 years ago, I often went fiction hunting on the net. I stumbled upon a virtual writer circle. They wrote fantasies. One of them was a 16 years old girl, writing about her boyfriend, schools, you know, basic teenage stuffs, but used a very advance egyptian mythology as the background setting. She was genuinely 16 years old american average school girl. And the story was mindblowing! Why can't I read something like that written by an Indonesian teenager?

When I was 14, I used to have a classmate who would trade stories with me. We would each wrote some fiction in a book and exchange the books by the weekend, wrote some more, and exchange the books again. Blah. I was more into cheesy love stories (still am), but she was writing cheesy lovestory with (again) egyptian myth as a background element. It was cool. She actually borrowed books on Egypt and read them, and included them in the details, very smoothly. She was a better writer than me. A better story teller. She would’ve made an excellent author. She’s a med doctor now, with a husband and a child. No more fiction writing. Too bad.

What’s the point? The point is, I hardly see this spirit in those teenagers I met. The love to tell a story. They all want to be a celebrity. The one copy of fame. The 64 pt fonts writing their names on the cover. The mundane endorsements by fellow celebrities about their debut. The self picture with the pose carefully chosen to give the aura of “oozing intellectuality and sexuality” in the back cover.

As you can see. I want that too. I want to be the cool old coot who wrote about a chick who drowned in the pool of her own tears and sorrow. Am going to be magnificently depressive. I am going to be so IT in the Indonesian literary world. Make way, for IT! IT’s coming through! No picture please. No comment! IT is so wild!