Writing As Therapy: Suchen Christine Lim

Writing is not just for the “arty”, it is also a great way to develop self-awareness and appreciation for the life you have and the world around you. Singaporean novelist Suchen Christine Lim, winner of the first Singapore Literature Prize in 1992 with her book, Fistful of Colours, shares her insights into the healing power of writing with Nanz Inc readers. She is also a tutor with the Arvon Foundation , an organization in the United Kingdom that runs residential creative writing courses.

By: Melanie Lee

How has writing changed your life?
Writing has engaged my intellect and empathy, and taught me to see life from the perspectives of others. It has opened many doors to me. Because I wrote 10 children’s Big Books for the Ministry of Education, I had had wonderful encounters with children in school. And because I wrote novels, I was invited to take up writing residencies in Scotland, the US, Western Australia and most recently in South Korea. I’ve had many wonderful opportunities to read my work, discuss and teach writing, live a writer’s life for a few months in a foreign land and re-invent myself. All of these experiences were rejuvenating.

As someone who sometimes teaches creative writing, how do you think this craft has changed your students’ lives?
One winter, when I was writer-in-residence in Iowa City, in midwest America, I was invited to conduct a writing class at a centre for senior citizens. There were eight women and two men in their 70s. All of them declared that they had never written before. One woman in a pink gym outfit even said, “Suchen, don’t mind me if I fall asleep.” She was a farmer’s wife. Among them were a nurse, a gardener, housewives and farmers.

When they started writing in earnest, they found that they could tap into their memories and recalled experiences they thought they had forgotten. The woman in the pink gym outfit did not fall asleep. She wrote a story of her wedding night and difficult life on an Iowa farm in winter in the 1920s, and the group voted it as the best story. This made her so happy that she said she would copy out the story on handmade paper and make it into a book and give it to her granddaughter on her wedding day. Her writing had created such a beautiful gift that would link grandmother and granddaughter forever.

Writing unlocks memories and forgotten experiences so that the mature
adult, through the process of writing. can heal the wounded child in the
past, and reshape the story of his or her life.

Why is writing important for the busy women?
Writing is like spending quiet time with yourself. It is the act of closing the door upon the world or your noisy family. Just for a while, you enter an interior space where you are safe, a place where you can calm yourself down if you are angry or flustered. And you need not stay in this space for very long. Just 10-15 minutes every day or every other day. It is a treat.

Writing “for fun” seems hard for a lot of people. What are some ways one can get started on writing?
Writing does not mean having to write pages. Just write 1 -3 sentences or phrases into a book. For a start – jot down 3-5 things that you feel are blessings for that day. For example: “Last night, my baby slept through the night and I had 6 hours of sleep.” Or “I have 3 friends I can safely confide in.”

Other people like write 2- 3 lines about their feelings or observations or
simply make a record of what happened that day. “Joan brought chicken
stew for me so I don’t have to cook this evening. Yay!”

Don’t sniff at the smallness of the experience or the short sentence. As the saying goes, “Little drops of water, little grains of sand; build a mighty ocean and a pleasant land.” The accumulation of your sentences over 3-6 months will give you a collection of things you might have forgotten, and a picture of your feelings. Personal writing is therapy without having to pay a bomb for it.

Suchen Christine Lim’s latest work, The Lies That Build a Marriage: Stories Of The Unsung, Unsaid & Uncelebrated In Singapore can be found in major bookstores or be purchased online at Monsoon Books