Session 4 Assignment
"This novel, set in southeast Asia in the 21st century, is a masterpiece of both simple storytelling and creative symbolism. Though it was written by a member of Generation Z, there's plenty here to inspire readers from any generation and from any country around the world. It is a tale about a nation in the throes of change and a family navigating its way through these times. One is left feeling inspired and full of hope. It is astonishing that this is only the first novel by this brilliant new talent from Indonesia. Bravo!"
~ The Times Literary Supplement, London.
_______________
That was a book review that you had a dream about last night and, in that dream, you were the novelist the reviewer was talking about.
The next morning, by coincidence, you see this mysterious job offer in The Jakarta Post:
You are inspired by your dream to apply but the deadline in this evening at 7.30 pm.
The story is about a small and dying country. This country is located far north above the Hawaiian Island. The main character is Kai. Kai is an orphan but he is a young, strong and very diligent. Once the country was very rich because they have the best tobacco in the world. One day, the tobacco field got so dry. The president got so confused and they don’t know what to do. This is the part when Kai comes and save the whole nation. Kai had a dream about an old lady that can save the country. In the dream Kai was showed that the old lady has powers to evict all darkness. He started the journey to find the old lady with his best friends; Kona and Ailani. Kona is the eldest of the three and Ailani is a little younger than Kai. The journey begins! First, they don’t know where to go because nobody in their village knew the old lady but when they were just about to give up, Kai had a vision about a tunnel and a black stallion. He immediately run to the forest because he knows where the tunnel is. There they found a big black stallion and suddenly the stallion transforms into a beautiful lady that looks just like his mother that passed away long time ago. They followed the beautiful lady and ended up in an old and dry well. Somehow Ailani jumped into the well. Kai and Kona never heard the sound of Ailani reaching the ground. They finally make up their minds and jumped too. They were very surprised because when they open their eyes, they were not dead but they were in the other side of the island. Ailani is seating there waiting for them. They saw a huge mansion not far from there, and they decided to spent the night there. When they arrived to the mansion, they were very surprised because the old lady that Kai dreamt about is inside the mansion. After telling the old lady what they want, they fainted. They woke up the next morning in their own houses. They were very surprised that the tobacco field was not dry anymore. When they asked their neighbor about the tobacco field, nobody said nothing. Like nothing happened. They all were confused but thankfully everything is back to normal. One thing that bothers Kai is who is that old lady and how come only Kai that got the dream. So the moral value about this novel is to remember that not all hero wear capes.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: An old lady, first in a dream and then in real life, helps Kai to save his island nation in the Pacific Ocean in a magical and somewhat mysterious tale. I like the fact that your summary goes from the start to the end of your story, as it should. However, it does sound like a plot outline for a short story; I am not convinced that the narration of these events will stretch to a novel. It is, though, an interesting premise and setting.
DeleteCompare yours… “They were very surprised because when they open their eyes, they were not dead but they were in the other side of the island. Ailani is seating there waiting for them. They saw a huge mansion not far from there, and they decided to spent the night there. When they arrived to the mansion, they were very surprised because the old lady that Kai had dreamt inside it.”
…to mine: “They were very surprised because when they open their eyes, they were not dead and they were on the other side of the island. Ailani was sitting there waiting for them. They saw a huge mansion not far from away, and they decided to spend the night there. When they arrived at the mansion, they were very surprised to find the old lady that Kai dreamt about is inside the mansion.”
My novel will be titled “Belief Imprisonment”. This novel will have a main character named Brandon Darrius who is a practitioner of an old martial arts known as kutendo. The fighting style has been proven to be effective in many cases, and it also has various techniques that can be applied in many situations. His master, Takeshi Muramoto, believes that no other martial arts or fighting method can surpass kutendo. Then, Brandon watches his master get defeated fair and square by another martial arts practitioner. The martial art that has been used to defeat Takeshi, is one of the modern ones, known as MFS (Mixed Fighting Styles). The defeat of kutendo style causes Brandon to feel challenged and swayed. The belief that his master taught him about the unbeatable style of kutendo has been proven to be false. He then breaks free from the “belief imprisonment” and studies more about the MFS. Of course, he receives backlash from his old master. Takeshi Muramoto then developed the fighting style and thus defeated the strongest MFS fighter. The rivalry of both styles made Brandon feel more and more challenged. At the end of the story, he reached the conclusion that: every fighting style can be proven to be inferior by the right people.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: Great. Nobody else has come with the idea of writing a novel about martial arts. This could have broad appeal because there is a lot of interest in combat sports even among people who do not participate themselves. As with Farell, I appreciate the fact that your outline takes me from the start to the end of your story. However, it does sound a bit like a summary of a short story – or perhaps a film – rather than an entire novel.
DeleteCompare yours… “The fighting style has been proven to be effective in many cases, and it also has various techniques that can be applied in many situations. His master, Takeshi Muramoto, believes that no other martial arts or fighting method can surpass kutendo. Then, Brandon watches his master get defeated fair and square by another martial arts practitioner. The martial art that has been used to defeat Takeshi, is one of the modern ones, known as MFS”
…to mine: “The fighting style has been proven to be effective because it has various techniques that can be applied in many situations. His master, Takeshi Muramoto, believes that no other martial art or fighting method can surpass it. Then, Brandon watches his master get defeated fair and square by another martial arts practitioner using a modern fprm called MFS.”
This story is set in the year 2021 where a 20 meter tsunami has hit the south coast of Jawa, this tsunami leaves our protagonist, a 15 year old boy whose mother is missing (presumably dead) and his little sister of 10 in shock. The boy and his sister set out on a journey across Indonesia to try and find his Father in Singapore. During the journey the siblings meet many nice people willing to help them as well as many bad people wanting to harm them . After the tsunami the siblings end up with their uncle who is abusive and an alcoholic, after an event where the uncle hits the boy’s little sister, he decides to take his little sister to try and find his father. The boy believes his father is in singapore because a few years ago he got a letter from his father telling him to emigrate to Singapore. Before running the boy decides to take 13 million rupiahs from his uncle, with this limited budget he has to try and hitchhike across Indonesia and eventually into Singapore. The siblings start off by hitchhiking some truckers who sympathize with their story, eventually after a recommendation from one of the truckers they try to hitchhike on a train. One night the siblings get robbed of their 13 million rupiah and need to find money. The boy knows that him and his sister won't survive without money so he eventually tries to rob some rich people, when he tries robbing this one man he gets caught. Fortunately the man understands their situation and offers them a place to stay while trying to contact their father. After a few months of searching online there was a reply from a woman who used to work with their father, but as soon as they were about to leave the boy’s uncle showed up with the police saying that the rich man kidnaped the kids. The rich man tells the kids to take the bag he prepared and run as far as they can. With the money the man prepared for them they travel until they eventually reach Batam with the help of many more people. They encounter a problem when trying to cross into Singapore, the kids don't have passports and are barred entry. After a while they kids get into contact with some shady people in Batam willing to smuggle them across in a container, the smuggling process will take a week where they will stay in a small container with other illegal immigrants. After a week they finally get to Singapore where they find their father dead, eventually they trek back to the rich man’s house where he wants to adopt the siblings. The moral of the story is not all plans go as expected and there still are good people in this world (shown by the good people the siblings meet along the journey)
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: A story about the aftermath of a natural disaster: in this case, a tsunami. It’s also about a complicated family. They also seem to undergo a range of challenges of problems and setbacks. This has the potential to be an exciting story with interesting characters. I like the moral of the tale that you state at the end. That could be a constant theme throughout all the adventures that you describe.
DeleteCompare yours… “They encounter a problem when trying to cross into Singapore, the kids don't have passports and are barred entry. After a while they kids get into contact with some shady people in Batam willing to smuggle them across in a container, the smuggling process will take a week where they will stay in a small container with other illegal immigrants.”
…to mine: “They encounter a problem when trying to cross into Singapore. The kids don't have passports and are barred from entering the country. After a while, they make contact with some shady people in Batam willing to smuggle them across the Singapore Strait in a container, a process that would take a week during which time they would stay in a small container with other illegal immigrants.”
The novel is set in an alternate universe where Indonesia never gained independence back in the year 1945. It is a timeline where the Dutch still reigns over the country. The Netherlands are split into two parts, one is still in Europe and the other in Southeast Asia. The year is 2019 and the native Indonesians are in revolt stating that they want the right to form their own country. To put into perspective what the situation is like, imagine the combination/mixture of what is going on in Hong Kong and Syria (it’s somewhere in between the two).
ReplyDeleteThe story revolves around a group of close friends who happen to be cousins. They are the direct descendants of Soekarno who in this case failed to gain independence. This group of friends who are in their late-20s fight to continue what their ancestors failed to achieve. It will showcase how they gained the support of the citizens and their brilliant plans which they use to also hide from the government. The novel is going to include genres such as thriller, politics, drama, action, and so on. It is a whole new take on what might’ve happened differently if Indonesia gained independence in the 21st century rather than the 20th.
Adrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: This is an interesting premise: an alternate or alternative history (as it is called). The idea of a story where the 1945-49 independence struggle is happening now would not only be exciting but I think it would appeal to a wide audience as it would symbolize people resisting or rising up against the powers they feel are oppressing them. It reminds me of The Man in the High Castle (German and Japanese occupation of the USA after WW2), Fatherland (Germany occupies the whole of Europe in a post-WW2 peacetime), The Guns of The South (the CSA beats the USA in the American Civil War). What I would also be interested in is what living under a Netherlands government would be like in the 21st century and what life had been like between 1945 and the time that the revolution in 2019 occurs. I think this is a very interesting idea for a novel.
DeleteCompare yours… “The story revolves around a group of close friends who happen to be cousins. They are the direct descendants of Soekarno who in this case failed to gain independence. This group of friends who are in their late-20s fight to continue what their ancestors failed to achieve. It will showcase how they gained the support of the citizens and their brilliant plans which they use to also hide from the government.”
…to mine: “The story revolves around a group of close friends in their late-20s who happen to be cousins. They are the direct descendants of Soekarno who had failed to gain independence in 1945. They fight to continue what their ancestors had failed to achieve. The story will showcase how they gain the support of the citizens and their brilliant plans and also how they hide from the Dutch government forces.”
“I really hate everything about school,” mutter a boy named Jo. His school life is very horrible. Bullied by most of his classmates and always get the worst score in exam are common things for him. He thinks that he deserves a better life. One day, he has a weird dream. It is basically just a duplicate of his real life. The difference is that he has full control over everything. He can get perfect score or even make his friends get into accident just by saying. The power to grant every wish makes him so reckless in that dream world. However, he didn’t know that using it will give negative effect toward his family. His father suddenly gets fired from his job and his mom wants a divorce. He feels shocked and frustrated because he thinks that this life looks perfectly like what he dreamed about before those things happened. Eventually, he realizes that bad things happened in real life is also his fault. He likes to spend the leisure time alone rather than trying to mingle with new friends. He neither studied before test nor finished his homework. He wants to go back, but it seems that he is trapped here. Can he escape and wake up from that nightmare or he has to live in alternate world?
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: This sounds like the text one might find on the back cover of the novel in a bookshop; a sample of the beginning of the story – its premise - designed only to make people want to buy it and not to tell me, the publisher, where your story goes and what its enfding will be. Your protagonist is trapped in a dream where, in one way, things are perfect, but in other ways, it becomes a prison from which he wants to escape. This is a good plot device – and symbol – to explore the things we wish for and what we actually have to do in order to achieve what we want to achieve. This novel, I think, could have broad appeal, especially to teenagers. Add to that. Maybe, the parents of teenagers who could read the novel and think hard about what is going on inside their children’s minds.
DeleteCompare yours… “He can get perfect score or even make his friends get into accident just by saying. The power to grant every wish makes him so reckless in that dream world. However, he didn’t know that using it will give negative effect toward his family. His father suddenly gets fired from his job and his mom wants a divorce. He feels shocked and frustrated because he thinks that this life looks perfectly like what he dreamed about before those things happened”
…to mine: “He can get perfect scores or even cause his friends have accidents just by willing it. The power to grant every wish makes him very reckless in his dream world. However, he doesn’t realizing that using it has negative effects on his family. His father suddenly gets fired from his job and his mom wants a divorce. He feels shocked and frustrated because he thinks that this life looks perfect, like what he had dreamed about before those things happened”
I'm your perfect choice! I'm a young Indonesian and I have a great idea for a novel. It tells the story of a janitor. Yes, a simple hardworking janitor. He is in his late thirties and working a simple job. Everyone knows him as the friendly school janitor. Little did they know, he had a life full of excitement as a young man. He was an agent for the government. Some sort of a spy deployed in the middle of enemy teritory. He was famous among the people in his line of work. He was also credited for taking part, discreetly of course, in a few important events in history. So with all those achivement, surely he is paid a good amount for all the things he did. So why did he becomes a janitor? He got enough money to live comfortably, he got the skills too if its necessary to find a better job. Well the reason is that he doesnt have any kids and is simply bored. He wants to hangout with the young generations and feel the experience that he didn’t had the chance to. So with a group of mischievous kids doing whatever they like and a spy with all the skills and tools at his disposal. It sure will be fun ride for all of them. The novel genre will be adventure, comedy, and mystery. Its story will be light hearted and full of jokes but it also have key moments where the story gets serious as a way to keep the readers attention.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: Your cheerful, direct style at the start of your proposal is different from most other students. Trying to set oneself apart in ways like this is a valid marketing approach. I like your idea of having an ordinary working person at the core of your story: a janitor. I’d be interested to see how your proposed “adventure, comedy, and mystery” genre mix works out. If you get it right, it would potentially have broad appeal.
DeleteCompare yours… “He got enough money to live comfortably, he got the skills too if its necessary to find a better job. Well the reason is that he doesnt have any kids and is simply bored. He wants to hangout with the young generations and feel the experience that he didn’t had the chance to. So with a group of mischievous kids doing whatever they like and a spy with all the skills and tools at his disposal.”
…to mine: “He is paid enough money to live comfortably, and he also has the skills if it’s necessary to find a better job. Well, the reason is that he doesn’t have any kids and is simply bored. He wants to hang out [hangout is a noun, hang out is the verb] with the younger generation and experience things that he didn’t have the chance to. So, he’s with a group of mischievous kids doing whatever they like and a spy with all the skills and tools at his disposal.”
In a world where water and dirt are no longer wet and dirty, no more blazing fire heat nor freezing cold ice. That is how it's like breathing the air of a global lockdown. The year 2030, a decade of catastrophe since its beginning shocks, have progressed no good to society. Extinction of human activities have lost its hopes of ever coming back again.
ReplyDeleteThe lockdown restrictions forced digital technology to develop overnight, innovations made every day. Social media has progressed being a necessity in keeping sane to interact. This is where Bayu sees the gap in technology’s void, a 19 year-old jaded out of his daily life. He simply does not see the point of socializing, working, and doing everything relying on digital technology. Him spending days sitting in his own little room, but nobody to interact with. Even his family rarely see each other on the fact that they live under one roof, each to their own personal little bubble.
Other than the fact that it drives Bayu out of his mind, it has also driven him to expand out of it. With his basic background on programming and willingness to get out of his comfort zone, he was able to get in the digital world. Yes, literally getting inside one’s program, some sort of “virtual reality” with more than just a reality. Bayu had lots of fun and made the most out of it. From hopping in the internet’s photos, to getting in an online shop and taking things for his own, all that you could imagine. It was not so good to be true, when a group of people with bad intentions caught up to him. Bayu is trapped in their alibi, and everything spirals down from there. Being stuck in a foreign world with maximum recreation, was Bayu’s intention after all.
Adrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: This appears to be a story about technological changes in the wake of some sort of climate change disaster on a hug scale. Your proposal to write about the digital world, and a “virtual reality” linked to it, has not been suggested by any other EWS students as far as I recall. This topic – and the themes you could explore through it – has the potential to attract a quite wide audience of all ages. Also, the ‘catastrophe’ context seems appropriate when we think of the state of the world in 2020 and the rapid developments in the digital and technological world.
DeleteCompare yours… “Other than the fact that it drives Bayu out of his mind, it has also driven him to expand out of it. With his basic background on programming and willingness to get out of his comfort zone, he was able to get in the digital world. Yes, literally getting inside one’s program, some sort of “virtual reality” with more than just a reality.”
…to mine: “Aside from driving Bayu out of his mind, it also drives him to expand and get out of it. With his basic background on programming and willingness to get out of his comfort zone, he is able to get into the digital world. Yes, literally getting inside a program – some sort of “virtual reality” with more than just a little reality.”
The Hans family resides in a south-asian country where society has no power and timings/schedules are set by the government. The country portrays an ultimate definition of a dystopian world; books and gadgets are outlawed, doctrines are implemented every now and then, and death alarms are set on the palm of each individual. In the midst of all this chaos, Alyssa, Hans family’s youngest daughter, undergoes a sudden transformation and is the only person who questions the government’s insanity. She is only six, yet she knows that her home state of Laos is half underwater and that unmanned drones that fill her skies are not there for her protection. Out of all the millions of people residing in that country, she is the only one in her family, and society, to go through a realisation. When she tries to find the absolute truth and the answer to her curiosities, her family finally goes through the process of realisation one by one. She then tries to make alterations in society’s mindset and introduce a new chapter to them, but then again, she and her family fail to do so. Therefore, the han’s family has been alienated and government’s censorship has constantly been strengthened. Along their path of acquiring knowledge and a couple of identity crises, they befriended a mysterious man who introduces them to a plant -- medicine-- that claims to open society’s eyes to the injustices around them. Everything that they have longed for. However, instead, it has turned everything upside down, turning them into a deadly monster that yearns for human flesh. Even worse than they were before. Rippling through several obstacles, their actions possess tremendous consequences to the people as well as the country.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: Ah yes, a novel about a dystopia – and a very grim one by the sounds of it – in this case modern technology (along with books) have been banned and there is a mortal threat to those who transgress. Along with other female EWS students, I like how your central character is a young woman and she struggles against the injustice at the core of the novel’s plot. Hardly surprising, of course, and it also makes sense that a debut novel by a new, young writer would draw heavily on his or her perspective. I think the mysterious plant – a medicine, you call it – that can “open society’s eyes to the injustices around them” makes for a very interesting symbol of enlightenment. But to see that it makes the dystopia even worse is a great twist. In other words, there is no quick fix.
DeleteCompare yours… “Out of all the millions of people residing in that country, she is the only one in her family, and society, to go through a realisation. When she tries to find the absolute truth and the answer to her curiosities, her family finally goes through the process of realisation one by one. She then tries to make alterations in society’s mindset and introduce a new chapter to them, but then again, she and her family fail to do so.”
…to mine: “Out of all the millions of people in the country, she is the only one who has this realisation. When she tries to find the truth and to answer her questions, her family finally also goes through the process of realisation one by one. Then, together, they try to alter society’s mindset and introduce a new chapter to them but, once again, she and her family fail.”
The nation is facing great threat of economical downfall. The government are trying day by day to help with the shifting needs of the nation although some thinks the actions done are not enough. To add oil to the fire, there is a new law imposed that threatened people of the lower economy who are struggling to get their heads above the water. In this situation one girl decided to change the tide. She is the only daughter from a family of three. Both of her parents are politically active and are prominent figures in policy management. Although she is born with wealth, she often let her mind wander around the thought of others living in a different life from hers. Her curiosity leads her to a strange street, only a few blocks away from her home, where she meets with a unique community of family and strong bonds. Something she has never seen in her parents as both are always too busy in their work. The meeting makes her realize what is important and awakens her desire to fight for the stranger she has just met. A clever girl, she uses her privilege to gain her goal and along the way she shakes up others who are in the same shoe as she is. Even though her actions are opposed by her parents, they have come to realize how headstrong she is and realize her growth. She learns new truths about herself and finds great strength. With her friends, she finds joy and works together to find a way out of the economic struggles her friends face.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: A political thriller with the fight against poverty as it central theme and a young activist as its central character. This story can be used to symbolize the concern with inequality which is widespread around the world how, early in the 21st century. Like I have said to others, it does sound rather like the plot outline for a short story; I am not sure that the narration of these events will stretch to a novel. This may be because you have described a premise rather than a summary of the whole story. I like the conflict she has with her parents. That would create a nice tension at the heart of the storytelling and many of the readers will identify with this kind of conflict in their own lives, especially readers in the same generation as the main protagonist.
DeleteCompare yours… “She is the only daughter from a family of three. Both of her parents are politically active and are prominent figures in policy management. Although she is born with wealth, she often let her mind wander around the thought of others living in a different life from hers.”
…to mine: “She is the only child of parents who are politically active and are prominent figures in policy management. Although she was born into this wealthy family, she often let thought about the plight of others living a different life from her due to poverty.”
Les Cinq Piliers. That's what it was called, a mysterious huge mansion on Pierre Ave Lane. The site of the villa itself jutted deeply into the trees. There is no information that can be obtained from this household other than a busy owner and the house title. Even, this sparks the curiosity of some people about the person who resides in such a luxurious layer. Nevertheless, they are always afraid to find out about the owner's face. Even though an official has already confirmed that the house is owned by good people, there is still some doubt about it. Rumor said it was owned by a gang leader, a drug lord, or even a heretic cult. Suspected to conceal their criminal activity, they select a secret place like this building. At least that's what Frida had heard from the fuss around her college.
ReplyDeleteFrida, a hard-working college student, seeking to live her life by working for three jobs. Growing up as an orphan since the age of five, Frida chose to start living on her own to lessen the burden on the orphanage household. It's just a coincidence that she ran out of money when a weird letter of invitation came to her with a credit card and an address written in the letter. Shocked, she promptly reported the card to the nearest police station, only to be dragged and greeted by the owner of Les Cinq Piliers. Here is where the road to the reality has begun. Frida began to crack the origin story of her past life, between the conflict and the challenge she faced as she followed the little crumbs around the mansion that left a trace. One by one, the truth emerged until the end of the track, she discovered her true self, a daughter of a pivotal figure in the history of politics.
Adrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: Your proposal for what seems is going to be a mystery novel is, indeed, somewhat mysterious. It’s tantalizing: the “weird letter of invitation” and the thing about “the road to the reality” beginning. It all sounds very promising but, like I said to Laras, a summary or outline of a novel needs to describe what that story is, right up to its finale. Your writing above sounds more like what one might find on the back cover of the novel in a shop; a teasing sample of the story – its premise - that is designed to make people want to buy it.
DeleteCompare yours… “There is no information that can be obtained from this household other than a busy owner and the house title. Even, this sparks the curiosity of some people about the person who resides in such a luxurious layer. Nevertheless, they are always afraid to find out about the owner's face. Even though an official has already confirmed that the house is owned by good people, there is still some doubt about it.”
…to mine: “There is no information that can be obtained from this household other than names of the busy owner and the house. This sparks the curiosity of some people about the person who resides in such luxury. Nevertheless, they are always afraid to see the owner's face. Even though an official has already confirmed that the house is owned by good people, there is still some doubt about them.”
"Prazna, the driver's here!", her mum called her out as Prazna rushed outside the house, carrying her brown bag and a white mug. As soon as she reaches the front porch, she hands out her mug to her maid Kinasih and enters her black limousine. The year is 2060 in Indonesia, where the underprivileged becomes the privileged. Three years after Prazna Suhendah was born, a radical political change flipped the country's system as a response to discriminations and oppression towards minorities. As Papuan atheist women who initially came from a low-income family, both Prazna and her mother are now at the top of the hierarchy. Big houses, limousines, and tall buildings are what we see in Sector Privilege 7. "You are a lucky child, Prazna", her mother never seems to be sapped from reminding her that everyday, "back in the days, discrimination and segregration were all I experienced". Having to become one of the advocates who initiated the change, Prazna's mother never fails to carry that proud feeling everywhere. Prazna knows it by heart that she deserves the ground where she's standing right now, but she can't help but to wonder about other sectors. Her Javanese maid Kinasih now lives in Sector Privilege 3 where a four-walls house sounds like a myth. "My grandparents were conglomerates, did you know that?", she once told Prazna. As days go by, Prazna feels the feeling of resentment growing inside her as she closes her eyes and refuses to face the cruel reality others are going through in lower sectors. Now, Prazna is faced with two dilemmas; her current utopia or equality. Will she fight to maintain her position or restore the system where her idyll no longer exists?
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: Well, this is an interesting vision of the future, “where the underprivileged becomes the privileged” and “a radical political change flipped the country's system”. Creating these alternative realities allows you, as the author, to examine all the implications, both good and bad, that such a change to normality that your scenario would entail. Having said that, I am not quite sure how this “flipped system” would have come into existence or, indeed, how it would work. I suppose that depends on how you tell the story. A plot summary or outline needs to say what that story is, right up to the end. Your writing sounds like what one might find on the back cover of the book that is designed to make people want to buy it!
DeleteCompare yours… “Three years after Prazna Suhendah was born, a radical political change flipped the country's system as a response to discriminations and oppression towards minorities. As Papuan atheist women who initially came from a low-income family, both Prazna and her mother are now at the top of the hierarchy. Big houses, limousines, and tall buildings are what we see in Sector Privilege 7. "You are a lucky child, Prazna", her mother never seems to be sapped from reminding her that everyday, "back in the days, discrimination and segregration were all I experienced".”
…to mine: “Three years after Prazna Suhendah was born, a radical political change flipped the country's system as a reaction to discrimination against, and oppression of, minorities. As atheist, Papuan women who came from a low-income family, both Prazna and her mother are now at the top of the hierarchy: big houses, limousines, and tall buildings are what we see in Sector Privilege 7. "You are a lucky child, Prazna", said her mother whose energy for reminding her of that every day never seemed to wane. "Back in the days, discrimination and segregration were all I experienced," she continued”
My novel will tell about stories of children in a poor country who live under the line of poverty. As we know, money is one important aspect to give children education so they can achieve what they dreaming. But in reality, there are many cases of children that come from developing country or poor country but at the end, with great hard work, dedication, and favor from other, they can achieve their dreams. Pelé’s story from Brazil, a journey of a kid to become a legendary world-class footballer, maybe is the best role model to write this novel. Inspired by these stories, I will write a series of a novel that tells about a journey of children on achieving their dream. I will make this novel on a series of different dreams, so the readers can choose on which series of a novel that is more related to them. This novel will consist of a series of children dreaming to become a basketball player, a scientist, an inventor, an entrepreneur, a politician. It is important for the author not only to satisfy the readers by writing a good story but also important to make people inspired on achieving their dreams. Where there is a difficulty, there must be ease, as long as we do not give up on what we dreaming.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: This is an interesting idea for a novel: a series of children’s dreams. It could be inspiring and would probably have wide appeal interms of readership because it would resonate with [1] children, [2] parents, and [3] poor people. However, dreaming of becoming a basketball player, a scientist, an inventor, an entrepreneur, or a politician might be unrealistic goals for 90% of children. You say that the underlying theme is the need for education (and the funding to provide it). An education for most normal people is about literacy and numeracy – being employable, in other words – plus understanding money, being aware of health issues, know one’s rights, having a solid moral compass, and other lifeskills. The success of education for poor people in a poor country should be measured by how successful the country is in providing these things for ordinary folk who can then go about their lives. Producing basketball players, scientists, inventors, and politicians is admirable and a book about these deams is sure to be interesting, but such relatively rare individuals must not distract from more realistic dreams and more ordinary role models.
DeleteCompare yours… “Pelé’s story from Brazil, a journey of a kid to become a legendary world-class footballer, maybe is the best role model to write this novel. Inspired by these stories, I will write a series of a novel that tells about a journey of children on achieving their dream. I will make this novel on a series of different dreams, so the readers can choose on which series of a novel that is more related to them.”
…to mine: “Pelé’s story from Brazil is the journey of a kid as he becomes a legendary world-class footballer. Maybe he is the best role model for this novel. Inspired by these stories, I would write a series of novels [NOTE: this is not what the job advert asked you to propose] that tells stories about the journeys of children who achieved their dreams. I would turn these novels into a series of stories about different dreams, so the readers could choose which novel was more relevant to them.”
As we have known, we are now still struggling with the coronavirus. And we are still wondering why was the virus can emerge and spread to the whole part of the world. Maybe some of us will think that it is an artificial virus, so they argue the virus was made by humans. But, some of us may consider this pandemic was made by nature. However, in the novel, I will not tell about whether I choose the first opinion or the second one. In my thought, it is not important to debate about the subject that has made this virus. So, in my novel, I will tell the readers about how if we look in the mirror and reflect on what have we made against the earth. The first thing that I want to tell, is about the earth's age, which is not young anymore. Based on the google search, the earth's age is 4.543 billion years, and it will not regenerate itself as if human. So I will broaden the readers about the age of the place that we live in, and also about how our early precedents lived. After that in the second chapter, I will tell the readers about what are the changes that have implied to the earth, start from the industrial revolution. What have the industrial revolution affect the earth, especially nature, because there was also pollution that could make a physical, biological, or chemical nature changes. So I will start from the first industrial revolution, which marked by the use of steam power and mechanization of production, until the fourth industrial revolution that characterized by the application of information and communication. After that, I will explain what have we earned from the earth, on the natural resources that we have exploited. Do we have an obligation to be responsible for the impact that we have made in exploiting nature? And in the end, I will tell my arguments, that this pandemic is (maybe) made by ourself as the major inhabitant of this earth, and by this pandemic, the earth is telling us that we have to pay more attention to nature, earth, animals that also live together with us, etc. And as a closing, I will persuade the readers to be more earth-friendly and harmonize our life together with nature.
ReplyDeleteAdrian’s wise and thoughtful reaction: I like your friend-of-the-Earth type philosophy and I think it would make an excellent theme for a novel. And all the information you provide (and questions you ask) indicate that you are sufficiemtly thoughtful and motivated to write a novel with this issue at its core. However, your proposal sounds like advocacy or a kind of polemic and does not sound like a summary or plot outline for a story. Who will be the characters in your book? What will each one seek? How will they interact? And how will this deliver the message that you want your book to address?
DeleteCompare yours… “So I will broaden the readers about the age of the place that we live in, and also about how our early precedents lived. After that in the second chapter, I will tell the readers about what are the changes that have implied to the earth, start from the industrial revolution. What have the industrial revolution affect the earth, especially nature, because there was also pollution that could make a physical, biological, or chemical nature changes.”
…to mine: “So I will broaden the readers’ perspective about the age of the planet that we live on, and also about how our prehistoric predecessors lived. After that, in the second chapter, I will tell the readers about the changes that have happened to the Earth starting from the industrial revolution. I will talek about how the industrial revolution has affected the Earth, especially nature, because there has been pollution that has caused a physical, biological, and chemical changes to the environment.”