How My Innocent Obsession With A Movie and Book Led Me to Write a Book Series: A Tale of Curiosity and Creativity

It all began with a movie and a book of the same name capturing my imagination—The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. As a Vietnamese immigrant growing up in the US, I was surrounded by Western literature, but I had yet to see myself or my culture reflected in the stories I read in school.

Young, impressionable me watching The Joy Luck Club at a theatre

That all changed with Tan’s writings. For the first time, I encountered female Asian characters who spoke and acted like me—their words and actions felt authentic and relatable. The women written by Amy Tan may be Chinese but obviously, there are many cultural and social similarities.

The book deeply moved me. The intricately woven backstories of the mothers, each one a complex tapestry of love, loss, and sacrifice. Their relationships with their daughters, shaped by generations of cultural traditions and personal experiences, left an unshakeable impression on my heart.

The Spark of Curiosity

As an avid consumer of media (not always a good thing, I know), I'm drawn to enchanting movies and tales of ancient dynasties and legendary battles. Much of that admittedly was tied to martial-arts-action, revenge-driven movies. But there were also fantasy tales with dragons and people flying in the skies as they fought with kung fu moves.

Each of these stories, whether it was portrayed on film or read on paper, made me feel a connection to those who lived long ago. The more I explored, the more I realized I needed to share these captivating narratives; my adventure as a storyteller had begun.

As I soon read almost all of Amy Tan's books, I found myself enthralled with Asian history. It is so voluminous and full of war and drama. At the same time, I was drawn to Western fiction and read numerous books by famous authors—Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Lois Lowry, J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Hugh Howey, Tim LaHayes/Jerry Jenkins, and Suzanne Collins among others.

Diving Deeper into Culturally-Diverse Authors

I yearned for more—feeling the strong urge to receive exposure to authors with more culturally diverse backgrounds. I hungrily sought out Vietnamese authors ̣(there weren't too many who wrote in English at the time) and found a wonderful poem/story of life in America from a young girl's perspective.

For another weekend, I stumbled upon a novel by an African female author—though I've since forgotten her name or the book’s title. But the characters have stayed with me to this day. I cried at the tragic end of the protagonist, of course.

One novella portrayed a young girl defying social norms in medieval France (or possibly Denmark?) stood out for its simplicity and authenticity. It didn’t preach and complain about how badly women are treated. Life is not fair, and there is so much injustice everywhere. The protagonist girl persisted at fighting against the odds and achieved her dreams, leaving a lasting impression on me.

Another novel with compelling characters who have taken residence in my mind is The Kite Runner. The author’s characters drew me into the world of Afghanistan during its collapse under the Taliban, making it impossible to forget. The servant boy’s sincere devotion and complexities still linger in my mind—a testament to the power of storytelling to connect us across culture and space.

The Proof Is In the Characters

So, dynamic characters in stories stay with me. If anything, I knew that I wanted to write a book that people don’t easily forget. I was always intrigued by the Trung sisters and how they continue to inspire Vietnamese people with their bravery.

Could I make these historical figures come alive through fiction? Would readers connect with them as I had? With each word, I discovered that storytelling allowed me to connect the past with the present, making history engaging and relatable.

Overcoming Hurdles

What did I get myself into by thinking I can write a novel?

Writing historical fiction isn’t easy for me. I had to balance accuracy with creativity, requiring careful thought and respect for the historical people I depicted. Research is time-consuming of itself; then your mind needs time to process facts and knowledge, weaving them together with story ideas that may resonate with readers.

As I delved deeper into storytelling, I realized that it's not just about gathering facts and having a good story. I had to craft an intricate tapestry of characters, emotions, and experiences — the novel — that captivates readers.

In other words, my writing needed to improve and follow the novel writing "gold standards." I had to study extensively on the craft through the years to improve my writing. I've written quite a bit, but not in novel format. I've written journals, essays, short articles, poetry, and informational papers for school. But I had never written a novel. How hard can that be? I naively thought, as I began to write a novel.

Even though I've read many good books, but that's worlds apart different from writing a good story. That, my friends, is a whole different dragon to slay. Why is there an abundance of books out there on the endeavor if it's all that easy?

The necessary requirement was that I had to study writing books and video tutorials on storytelling techniques. It was like exercising new muscles—mastering elements like character development, dialogue, description, setting, and plotting. I continue every now and then to study storytelling. Once a student, always a student...

Breaking Free from Rules

At first, I followed every dos and don'ts of writing. Eventually, it bogged me down and stifled my creativity—it continues to haunt me, in fact. The rules didn't allow me to find my unique voice, making my writing sound forced and unnatural.

I’m still learning how to trust myself and let go of the fear of making mistakes. You need to make mistakes, I tell myself, so you can learn to become a better writer.

I am a rebel at heart when it comes to many things, sometimes to my detriment but sometimes not. I’ve learned not to follow every expert’s advice. What works for them might not work for me, and I refuse to spend a fortune on marketing and building “buzz.” I’m still learning what works for me and what I still need to do, if I decide to continue to pursue this endeavor. Life is full of changes, after all.

Inevitably, I had to encounter self-publishing. It's an uphill battle of learning many disparate tasks—a process that’s overwhelming and fraught with scams trying to milk writers out of their hard-earned money. As someone who values frugality and prefers to keep my life private, I’m wary of social media and its potential for manipulation. I'm gifted somewhat with artistic ability, but I'm a careful artist (read that as a meticulous artist). So that serves many uses as I go through some of these authorship loops.

Reflections

Sometimes I wish I could go on an all-expenses-paid dream cruise and not have a care in the world

As I look back on my writing experiences, I’m still in the midst of the travels. “Journey” sounds too cliché and corny—a word that I often used in the past to describe my life. I’m still a beginner at authoring. The waves often threaten to crash over and drown me.

At other times, I can swim a good distance—I've gained endurance and strength. Yet there are times when I wish I could ride carefree as a passive passenger on a cruise ship—being mindless and consuming products and services without much thought.

Even as I write, the second installment of my book, Dragon 2, about the Trung sisters will be released in two weeks for all the world for all to see, warts and all.

I don’t know if my writing aspirations would ultimately prove fruitful and rewarding or more a chasing after a passing fancy. I sometimes feel no matter what I do, it will come down to a “for all is vanity” moment—"we all came from dust, we all end up as dust."

For now, I’ll continue to learn and adapt as I make mistakes and grow, staying true to myself and finding my writing voice.