Meet Tze Lin: Yup, That’s Me!
Nice to meet you!
A few weeks ago, Shereen Bingham suggested that maybe I could write about my writing journey on Medium. Previously, Yana Bostongirl had tagged me in a challenge which I didn’t do because that challenge was so hard! You’re supposed to take the letters from your first name and form a word from each letter to describe yourself. I was / am stuck at the letter “Z”. As you might already know, my first name is Tze Lin, with a space in between the two syllables. I’ve removed the space for my Medium display name because other writers kept calling me Tze, and frankly, that sounds really strange to me! In the virtual world, I usually go by Lin which is easier for foreigners to pronounce instead of Tze Lin.
Anyway, back to Yana’s challenge (which I will link at the bottom of this article), I have decided to skip the name game and go straight to the questions about writing. As usual, please expect a lot of rambling. I can’t seem to get straight to the point with these Q&A type of writing challenges. I’ve also combined a couple of questions in which my answers seem to overlap so I don’t repeat myself repeat myself (yes, this is intentional).
What genre(s) do you focus on? How do you create? Explain your creation process.
While I don’t have a specific niche, I tend to write satirical articles (with plenty of rambling), narrative poems, and the occasional thought-provoking opinion pieces. Usually, my writing ideas come from discussions with friends (both real-life and online friends).
I am not fond of writing personal stories or past experiences as I use my real name on Medium. Therefore, most, if not all, of the examples in my satirical articles and the stories in my poetry are fictional. So if you read a piece that seems very realistic, most of the time, it’s not. If I label it as creative writing, it is indeed fiction. I don’t misuse tags.
I also prefer to be a little bit mysterious on Medium. Perhaps some of you might think I am not being authentic in my writing, and that’s okay. I think of myself as a stage performer when I write. I see myself as different characters in self-created worlds to escape from the often mundane and sometimes harsh reality. Am I being cryptic enough about my life? Are you intrigued yet?
Of course, there are exceptions such as Q&A writing challenges (like this one!) and opinion pieces. During those times, I am completely authentic in my writing. I tend to favour unpopular opinions, not because I’m a rebel, but because I don’t like to follow the crowd. Valuable opinions are often silenced by herd mentality, and I vow not to subject my writing to it. I am opinionated when I feel strongly about a subject, and I just write what I believe. I can be blunt, but I don’t think I’m ever rude in my writing. At least I hope it doesn’t come across that way. Apologies if I’ve ever offended any one of you with my unpopular opinions.
When did you start writing?
In 2021.
Where are you located in the real world?
<looks around suspiciously> Are you sending me a gift? If you are, send me a private note, and I’ll give you my address. It helps if you are hot, just kidding! Maybe. ;)
Why did you choose to write on Medium? Why did you continue to write on this platform?
I first heard about Medium from a friend in early 2021 but didn’t think much about it as I was not really into writing at that time. I was (and still am) really into social media though. I love talking to people from different cultures and I have quite a few online friends from around the world. One day, an online friend from Switzerland sent me a copy of his summarised version of a self-help book, and I wrote a 3000-word email reply to him. I guess I scared him because he took two weeks to reply, and since then he hasn’t sent me any more reading material. We only exchange songs these days. I try not to write him lengthy song reviews too.
At the risk of sounding conceited, it felt like such a waste to have it read by only one person, although I was (and still am) very fond of this online friend. So, I decided to shorten and edit the content of the email and voila, that was my very first article on Medium. I had initially assumed that nobody would read it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the support of the community, and something clicked in my mind that maybe I could actually be a writer.
I still think of myself more as a content creator than a writer but I get such a thrill when other writers refer to me as a “writer”. I have also gotten to know many writers on Medium and honestly, I love this community. I love every single one of you reading this because if I’m being really honest, if I had not received the support that I have been receiving all these years, I would have quit Medium. Sure, I love writing but I could write and not publish it anywhere. After all, Malaysia was not eligible for the MPP until earlier this month. It’s the social aspect of Medium that I love, and I have really enjoyed reading your stories and engaging with each of you in the comments. I may put on a persona when I write some of my stories, but I am always 100% truthful in my interactions with you in the comments or social media DMs. Let me know if you feel the same way about Medium as I do.
Here is the link to my very first article on Medium. The writing might not be the best (it was part of an email to my online friend, after all) but I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Here is the link to Yana Bostongirl’s article that I mentioned earlier.
P.S. Tagging Scott-Ryan Abt — We talked about this yesterday. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Thanks!
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