A Writer's Biography

I moved to South Carolina 3 years ago from Singapore. I always wanted to be a writer but never had a chance to seriously pursue the craft. So instead I write a blog – a way of telling (or fooling?) myself that I am a writer, to keep the dream alive; thinking that blogging is a way to practice the way a runner trains for a marathon.

But for years I struggled to complete a novel and some short stories, always blocked from finishing the work. Maybe I procrastinate too much; in between raising kids (both boys now in college), doing my day job, keeping my wife happy and having a decent family life. Trying to become a creative writer felt like a secret life, or a hidden vice like a drug addiction; going to work for a large company, working with computers but surreptitiously reading and enjoying books, practicing writing by blogging and attending short courses.

Now close to middle age, I feel time is running out, realizing late that writing is more about craft than divine inspiration; perhaps misled by writers like Ernest Hemingway who made it look easy; the first author I enjoyed reading, who led me on this path, soon progressing to other novelists like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami, George Orwell, Yasunari Kawabata, John le Carre and Arturo Perez-Reverte among many others. Writers advise us to read widely and broadly as the first step, so I got that right but stayed far too long, neglecting to learn the writing craft; the clinical steps of revising or editing.

Recently I read ‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield, one of many Do It Yourself books I read, as if writing can be learned like assembling furniture or gardening, like reading something like ‘Investing for Dummies’ , but this time it felt different. Inspired to be serious, to be a professional instead of an amateur, I was moved by the work, reading it while on a bus from New York, leaving Chinatown near midnight, travelling south towards rural fields, resolving to be a real writer by attending this course as the first concrete commitment.  

Meaningful Life

‘The Dying Animal’ by Philip Roth reminds me of Yasunuri Kawabata’s ‘The House of Sleeping Beauties’ and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘Memories of my Melancholy Whores.’ The story is about an aging Lothario or womanizer who has an affair with a much younger woman.  The protagonist of Roth’s tale is a professor who has affairs with his students.  It’s interesting that the American tale concerns a teacher who has access to single women in his every day work. Marquez’s protagonist is a journalist who frequents whore houses; similar to Kawabata’ hero although there is less fornication. The American tradition allows for illicit relationship in the workplace unlike the South American and Japanese version where the hero has to resort to frequenting houses of ill repute.  Roth is the more graphic writer as Marquez resorts to flowery language while Kawabata is known for his minimalism. These works are honest explorations on the tragedy of an aging Don Juan. Interestingly, the tale is set in an age before Viagra which throws away any physical decline due to aging.

The openness of a May-December romance is intriguing in Western culture as the alpha male is often the hero. Other cultures are not as permissive perhaps, as one prefers to purchase a service like buying a candy, although the story results in attachment and love which is the tragedy. The American tale is more mercenary where one just allows one’s desires to be fulfilled. The object is the satisfaction of one’s urge despite the consequence to family and mores. Furtive romances are less messy especially if there is a fee involved. In most cultures that are not wealthy, the ‘purchase’ of a mistress is an easier option. The Western tradition is a meeting of equals where one pursues the relationship because of honest desire. Roth’s story describes the hero’s loss of his young lover who he does not pursue because of the realization of his declining vitality. The outcome may have changed if the setting is more recent with Viagra and Cialis ready to buttress any fledging desires.

Age and death is the theme behind these works. The recent death of icon Steve Jobs underscores this theme. His story is the ultimate success story with its twist and turns and eventual victory of Apple although ending with Steve’s death. Much has been written of Job’s impact on technology and multiple industries. It’s incredible that he could have achieved so much before he died – possibly he had an inkling of his fate so his drive and ambition led him to attain multiple achievements before his inevitable end. It is a tragic but heroic story. It was a meaningful life to have changed so much despite its short span. The advanced age of the hero in Roth’s book portray a wasted life of frivolity and indulgence.  Job’s life is an unrelenting journey of struggle, defeat and eventual victory. There is no triviality in the billions the Apple Company has earned and the change that technology has given to the lives of the Apple devotees. The impact to multiple billion dollar companies by one man is an amazing story.

Mortality focuses one to examine his life. The viewpoint of aging Lotharios are self-indulgent unlike that of a technology wizard. Perhaps Jobs has given all that he can and the world is a different place for it. One wonders what a meaningful life is. One has spent too many hours reading books or watching movies that one has lost his goal. It’s an indulgent life without the striving for noble goals. The key is focus or rather a clear decision not to do tasks that do not contribute to one’s main goal. Technology wizards have a clear unrelenting focus that results in their eventual victory. All else is meaningless while the mediocre continue with their petty obsessions and desultory lives. The modern heroes are these computer billionaires who live in Silicon Valley or Seattle. People who have devoted their lives to create a technological product that gains them fame and fortune. It is no longer the self-indulgent every day man living a life filled with normal day angst, sin and mediocrity. Perhaps he is spending too much or buying things in credit. So at least he buys toys to play with that keep his self-esteem alive.