In my MBTI personality type, I’m an “N”, which stands for “INtuitive”. It means that if I purchased an unassembled table from IKEA, I would rely on my intuition to put it together, rather than use the manual. Most of the time, it would end badly.
Courageously, I approached my first memoir in the same intuitive manner - by adopting what I loved most in these 4 books:
“Hell Yeah Or No” by Derek Sivers
First and foremost, I was heavily influenced by Derek Sivers’ series of memoirs, especially “Hell Yeah Or No” presented in the form of short essays. Long before I was sick, I had this deeply buried secret thought that maybe one day, I could write a book like his. When I jumped into writing my first drafts, Derek’s writing style and presentation were my singular role model. Short, straight to the point, accessible to the reader, especially those of us with short attention spans.
“Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop” by Hwang Bo-reum
My second source of influence was a Korean novel translated into English – “Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop”, by Hwang Bo-reum and translated by Singapore’s very own Shanna Tan. The language was simple, yet able to carry the depth of emotions. It was like drinking plain water, and tasting the subtle sweetness from within.
“Things Become Other Things” by Craig Mod
My third source of influence was Craig Mod’s memoir called “Things Become Other Things”. Black and white photos were interspersed through the book. I had no information about the photos, but my eyes were drawn to the subject of interest, cleverly highlighted through shades of grey. I was intrigued that the reader was given the liberty to interpret the photos as fit.
“I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki” by Baek Se-hee
My final source of influence was another memoir translated from Korean to English - “I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki”. I loved the quirkiness of the illustrated cover, where a dishevelled woman slumped across the sofa, eating tteokbokki. I was attracted to the book entirely by its cover, and made the purchase without paying much attention to the content. So, you can tell that the cover did its job.
Have I done justice to these OG sources of inspiration?
Frankly, that’s not my concern.
These sources of inspiration gave me a clear vision of what I wanted to create, and kept me focused all the way. They were the ladder that brought me to where I am.
Will I use the same ladder for my second adventure, or a different one?
That will be the test of the next adventure.
This 10-part series captures my reflections on publishing my memoir How I Lost My Eyebrows and Found Myself. It’s a mix of visual essays and text-based reflections. See below for link to Amazon.
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