Why OLD MEN DON’T CRY will be my last tearjerker?
All of my eight books that I wrote before 2015 are completely different than the books I wrote afterward. By then, I was a writer of my own, completely unaware and untouched by outside world and all I did was just writing. It was pure free flow writing, unhindered and unaffected by any outside force and flowing through its own course as an untamed river. All in all, it was a raw but genuine writing albeit with flaws and excesses which needed a heavy trimming before it could be presented to the world. And that’s when my editor came in and took a heck lot of time to make it readable.
I jumped into the literary world with 6 books in 2015. I had neither any experience on books, nor did I come with the background, and it would be an understatement if I say I was surprised. I was in a total shock and overwhelmed by the experience. I didn’t know being a self-published writer was such a hard task, I was not only mocked but also insulted repeatedly, and being Asian didn’t help at all. But what surprised me the most was this – all the sneering and cynical views and insinuation came from no one but the fellow writers and that really disgusted me to the core.
But I didn’t become a self-published writer by necessity, I chose to become one by choice and I still haven’t yet contacted a single agent or publisher hitherto and have no intention of doing so anytime soon. I have time, passion and determination to make it my own and I will never stop being one no matter what future has in store for me. Most importantly, I don’t write for money or fame, and I can afford to become one as long as I want it.
Having said that I am a fast learner and being self-taught and self-made man, I have a tendency of doing my best on whatever I do in life, and writing was no exception. If I have decided to become a writer, I will do my utmost best to become at least a decent writer, if not one of the best ones. This is what keeps me going and I never leave things unfinished.
We all have ups and downs in life, some have money problem, the other have personal problem and life is not all about a smooth sailing. My humble beginning provided more than enough share of my own travails in life. Initially, it was financial, social and family issues; discrimination and humiliation were norm of the day while living in a foreign land; and as an outsider, I had to work almost double hard than my peers if I were to get similar credit. I had family members who were involved on illegal activities and my self-conscience and righteousness didn’t allow me to accept it as normality. In addition, I also suffered from a humiliation that took me more than fifteen years to heal and it still hurts sometime.
People only see our success but not our struggle and nobody gets successful without struggles in life. My life was no exception.
Writing provides a platform for me that I couldn’t get anywhere else and it is where I share my feeling, pain as well as dream. In a way, writing is the catharsis of my own sorrow. I get solace from my writing, and it helps make me a better person. That’s why I mostly write for my own happiness and if my writing helps others, which is a bonus. All of my books are based on serious global and social issues, they are not only heavy and serious but also sad reading and I have depicted them as I have seen the world through my own eyes. Needless to say, no matter how hard we try, a poor and struggling man’s life cannot be a happy one. So are my books.
OLD MEN DON’T CRY, my 7th epic novel about Hong Kong, was the book that I chose to make it the saddest of them all. Not because I like sad stories but because I just wanted to write a book where I can pour all the pain, sorrow and anguish of my life, clear my heavy heart, and free my burdened soul. I wanted to clear everything inside of me so I can start smiling again and write about happy stories. After OLD MEN DON’T CRY, I promised myself never to write such a sad book again and decided to see the world with different views. I intentionally wrote OLD MEN DON’T CRY that way and I wanted to make it a tearjerker. So much so that I even wrote it in first person so that I can feel the pain of the story by myself. If you have read this book and felt sorry for the main character, I will take it as a compliment and my job here is done. But at the same time, I can also promise you one more thing that OLD MEN DON’T CRY will be my last book with sad story and I will do my best to avoid it in my future book.
Like in every Disney story, my future books will have a happy ending and that is a promise I will do my utmost best to keep for as long as I write. Happy reading!
A gentle reminder, prepare a tissue box while reading OLD MEN DON’T CRY. I tell you, it will become handy for sure. Keep reading!
TIM I GURUNG/AUTHOR AT ISSLCARE – http://www.timigurung.com
I jumped into the literary world with 6 books in 2015. I had neither any experience on books, nor did I come with the background, and it would be an understatement if I say I was surprised. I was in a total shock and overwhelmed by the experience. I didn’t know being a self-published writer was such a hard task, I was not only mocked but also insulted repeatedly, and being Asian didn’t help at all. But what surprised me the most was this – all the sneering and cynical views and insinuation came from no one but the fellow writers and that really disgusted me to the core.
But I didn’t become a self-published writer by necessity, I chose to become one by choice and I still haven’t yet contacted a single agent or publisher hitherto and have no intention of doing so anytime soon. I have time, passion and determination to make it my own and I will never stop being one no matter what future has in store for me. Most importantly, I don’t write for money or fame, and I can afford to become one as long as I want it.
Having said that I am a fast learner and being self-taught and self-made man, I have a tendency of doing my best on whatever I do in life, and writing was no exception. If I have decided to become a writer, I will do my utmost best to become at least a decent writer, if not one of the best ones. This is what keeps me going and I never leave things unfinished.
We all have ups and downs in life, some have money problem, the other have personal problem and life is not all about a smooth sailing. My humble beginning provided more than enough share of my own travails in life. Initially, it was financial, social and family issues; discrimination and humiliation were norm of the day while living in a foreign land; and as an outsider, I had to work almost double hard than my peers if I were to get similar credit. I had family members who were involved on illegal activities and my self-conscience and righteousness didn’t allow me to accept it as normality. In addition, I also suffered from a humiliation that took me more than fifteen years to heal and it still hurts sometime.
People only see our success but not our struggle and nobody gets successful without struggles in life. My life was no exception.
Writing provides a platform for me that I couldn’t get anywhere else and it is where I share my feeling, pain as well as dream. In a way, writing is the catharsis of my own sorrow. I get solace from my writing, and it helps make me a better person. That’s why I mostly write for my own happiness and if my writing helps others, which is a bonus. All of my books are based on serious global and social issues, they are not only heavy and serious but also sad reading and I have depicted them as I have seen the world through my own eyes. Needless to say, no matter how hard we try, a poor and struggling man’s life cannot be a happy one. So are my books.
OLD MEN DON’T CRY, my 7th epic novel about Hong Kong, was the book that I chose to make it the saddest of them all. Not because I like sad stories but because I just wanted to write a book where I can pour all the pain, sorrow and anguish of my life, clear my heavy heart, and free my burdened soul. I wanted to clear everything inside of me so I can start smiling again and write about happy stories. After OLD MEN DON’T CRY, I promised myself never to write such a sad book again and decided to see the world with different views. I intentionally wrote OLD MEN DON’T CRY that way and I wanted to make it a tearjerker. So much so that I even wrote it in first person so that I can feel the pain of the story by myself. If you have read this book and felt sorry for the main character, I will take it as a compliment and my job here is done. But at the same time, I can also promise you one more thing that OLD MEN DON’T CRY will be my last book with sad story and I will do my best to avoid it in my future book.
Like in every Disney story, my future books will have a happy ending and that is a promise I will do my utmost best to keep for as long as I write. Happy reading!
A gentle reminder, prepare a tissue box while reading OLD MEN DON’T CRY. I tell you, it will become handy for sure. Keep reading!
TIM I GURUNG/AUTHOR AT ISSLCARE – http://www.timigurung.com
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