Blogger Indonesia of the Week (44): A0z0ra
fanny surjanaEep Saifullah Fatah, an Indonesian columnist and husband of Sandrina Malakiano once wrote in an Indonesian mailing list that to be a good and prolific writer, you need to free yourself from any pressures and rules of writing. Just write what you want to write. Well, more often than not, it’s easier said than done.
The thing is when you start writing a piece with an intention to publish it in certain media, pressure start crippling in. And that’s what happen to many rookie writers. Many of them just feel that the pressures are too much to bear so much so that many of them just giving up in the middle of the road.Still, writing is important: not only to spread your thoughts, your ideals, your hopes and expecting recognition of some sorts; it also serves the purpose of “immortalization” of them. If no body or few of people appreciate our thoughts now, our children, grandchildren and grand grand children might understand more later. Just like many of our forgone great thinkers did, many of whom only got due appreciation after several decades even centuries their books being published.
So, again, how to be a writer with write-as-you-want concept? Conventional media is still not giving a space for that. It’s understandable given the fact of space limitation with many supplies of good and “in-order” pieces coming over their editorial desk everyday.For those who wants to be a thoughtful writer, be a thoughtful blogger first. In blog, you don’t have to stick to conventional media rules. Like for example, how many minimum and maximum words in an op-ed piece, what topics you should and should not write, what kind of commentaries certain media like or dislike, etc.
A good example of a thoughtful blog content can be seen in Auzora blog: concise, light yet thoughtful. Here are few examples:
What makes a people being ostracized?
– Being different, low tolerance of anything out of the ordinary
– Hatred, the person might be a troublemaker
– Plain jealousy (Remember Joseph & his brothers?)
On why people tend to line up before rich people:
Why look up to rich people?
I’m sure many respect rich people because richness is one easy, visible measure of success.
We link richness by other traits: hardworking, clever, wise, brave, passionate. Down-to-earth would be a big plus.
How if we see rich people not having those traits? Would I respect rich people who are: lazy, stupid, unwise, coward & plain ignorant? On top of it.. treat other people as lower being?
Not at all. I don’t believe any decent human being will.
His thoughts on Amazingly Simple Rules and Teasing War = Where’s Love? are aslo interesting to read.
A thoughtful or insightful blogging does not necessarily have to consist of an academical kind of writing; but certainly it should be a writing that benefit many readers and offers a new idea towards a better future within or without yourself; academical or column-like writing notwithstanding.
So for those who have many thoughtful new ideas and cannot express them in a long orderly way, don’t worry. Just write as plain and concise as it get. Quality idea will still be identified in whatever form it might be.