If you hadn’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a modest ’50s rockabilly revival (again). The highest profile of these new-school revivalists is probably one-man phenom Dirty Beaches. However, if Madison’s Lonesome Savages have anything to say about it, uneasy should lie the head that wears the crown. Consisting of Dead Luke and ex-members of Zola Jesus, the Lonesome Savages play a poorly recorded, menacing brand of garage rock. While Dirty Beaches may sound like ’50s Suicide, the Lonesome Savages seem to gravitate more towards Cramps-esque rockabilly punk (though they do happen to cover a Suicide song as well). Have a listen to their single “All Outta Love” below and decide for yourself whether its rock n’ roll pulled up by its dirty roots, or derivative, tired nostalgia. Personally I have a weakness for this sort of thing, so when it comes to the genre, I’m not all that reliable. You can pick up the rest of the band’s 7″ here.
Wordsmiths slug it out
New Straits Times November 27, 2002 | Sadna Saifuddin Sadna Saifuddin New Straits Times 11-27-2002 Wordsmiths slug it out Byline: Sadna Saifuddin Edition: The City Advertiser; 2* Section: Focus
THE aim? To write an entire novel over a span of one month.
The game? The New Straits Times – WordUp! National Novel Writing Month which kicked off on Nov 1.
Assuming a novel is at least 50,000 words long, this means writing at least 1,666 words a day.
Every Wednesday, the NST’s Literary pages will provide updates – grouses, encouragement, lessons learned – from the writers participating in this project.
You can also submit your work-in-progress to be discussed in the forum section of WordUp’s! website at www.mywordup.com
This project is organised by the New Straits Times and the established writers’ e-group WordUp! and is affiliated to the US- based National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
This week’s updates:
1. Ainul Khairil Ezral Mohamad Khalid, project executive, Kuala Lumpur.
Ezral got so fired up with the internet-writing challenge that he joined both the New Straits Times – WordUp! National Novel Writing Month and the US-based NaNoWriMo. “I often look at WordUp! and NanoWriMo postings and the various local writers who have made it and thought that it would be interesting to be involved in such a circle. site online word count
“These first few days have been quite easy for me. It’s a matter of putting the many previous ideas I had into words. A few times, I had to strike off a number of ideas and start new ones, basically trying to choose the easiest idea to write.
“My immediate goal is, of course, the 50,000 words but I am also hoping to self-publish a book once all that is done.”
At the moment, Ezral has between 6,000 and 7,000 words.
2. Vijay Ananth, 29, civil engineer, Kajang.
Vijay describes his first day of novel writing as “a day of complete loss.”
“Initially, I was confused – I didn’t know how to start, let alone write a story. But by the second day, I began to see some hope in it. By the third day, I sort of had a better idea of writing. Of course, there are dry days but so far it has been good.
“I see this project as a mere exercise. A lot of people worry when they write but this project is not about perfection. So when I first knew about it, I thought I had to do it.
3. Georgette Tan, 25, web developer, Kuching.
Georgette Tan is a web developer by profession. She joined the NST- WordUp! National Novel Writing Month with several of her friends. To her, the motivation to write has a lot do with the fact that they have each other to keep the ball rolling. “I joined with some of my friends and we motivate and support each other all the time.
“So far, I think I have made good progress. I am at 6,000 words now. I’ve been writing every spare minute I’ve had over the last weekend and I hope to continue doing so.
“I have never actually finished writing anything before so I hope by the end of this, I’ll be able to finish writing a book!”
This week saw another participant backing out from the writing challenge (pushing the total drop-out number to three) but the rest moves on:
1. Ng Aik Soon, 47, architect, Kuala Lumpur.
Word-count: 30,000
“The worst (occasion) was when I ended up not writing anything for a three-day stretch because I was helping with Actors Studio’s cultural concert. So I made it up by doubling the speed and effort, doing about 2,500 nightly. I’ve given up my beauty sleep and dinner with my wife but that is the sacrifice I am willing to make. I got only four hours of sleep (each day) for November.”
2. Ka Liang Phang, 29, accounting manager, Kuala Lumpur. see here online word count
Word-count: Approximately 40,000
“Everyday after I get home from work, I will quickly write down something before I get bogged down. So far my social life hasn’t changed much. My partner and friends usually leave me alone if I need to finish the story. Sometimes I ask my boyfriend to go out but he will ask me whether I am done with my writing and if I say `I haven’t’, he’ll be like, `You write first, then we go out.'”
3. Wing Hooi, 20, marine technology student, Petaling Jaya.
Word-count: 10,000-plus
“My PC broke down for a week so now I am racing against time, doubling up the speed of my writing but I don’t work well under pressure. Overall my schedule hasn’t changed much. It is almost like before where I spend most of my time in the library. The only difference is that before it was about accumulating stuff but now it’s lapping them down.”
4. Stephanie Sta Maria. Personal details not provided.
Word-count: Approximately 40,000
“At some point you develop a passion for your story and the writing automatically becomes ingrained in your daily routine. At this stage, I find it more difficult turning off the computer than anything else! It also helps if you break it down i.e. write 555 words in the morning, afternoon and night. You have to keep in touch with the story. I’ve deleted two pages of utter rubbish once or twice, but it helped get the story moving. My worst day so far was when the PC conked out and I had to write longhand.”
5. Abd Latiff Bidin, 51, translator, Port Klang.
Word-count: 41,000-plus (Not counting the completely written ending, which counts for 2,600 words. He is only left with 7,000- plus words to finish the novel)
“Hit my first `bump’ in this novel’s flow. Not only was my Muse stingy, she was tardy too – appearing only when I was too weary to write, having spent the last of my energy meeting my clients’ demand for high quality translations delivered promptly. I often tell my friends that for me work is like a wife while writing is a mistress, a diversion from the wife, albeit a sometimes terribly expensive diversion or relief. But when the mistress has her PMS-influenced moods or when she demands the master divorce the wife, that’s when I have second thoughts about the mistress.”
Sadna Saifuddin
