Ikhlas: Sneak Preview #3

When I decided on making 'IKHLAS' early last year, it felt really casual and fun, like a weekend art project. The thought of it came naturally and effortlessly. Now that we're in our final stage, gearing towards editing and later printing, my insides are panicking: "Holy guacamole, this is a goddamn book. We are making A BOOK. My third book will be an illustrated memoir, and NOT a poetry collection as I planned. It will be placed at the Humour section, or the Non-Fiction section, I don't know, but it won't be under the Literature or the Poetry section as usual, for my first time ever. This is new for me. This whole thing is new for me. Why am I only digesting this now? HELP." As a newbie, I realized I can't write a funny, light-hearted book when I'm all stressed out. Tulis puisi boleh lagi. Kalau stress, tulis puisi boleh lagi. Kalau sedih/marah/emo, tulis puisi boleh lagi. Tapi yang ini tak boleh. But how not to stress out at this stage of perfecting everything? Not to mention the memory game. This ain't fiction so I can't make things up out of thin air. I wish it's as easy as copy-and-paste or matching text and visuals but let's face it, I am no Fattah Amin. I've rewrote everything and added a whole lot more. Still it doesn't feel enough. We have one page of illustration for every single story written (and there are like, 80+ stories?!) so just imagine how @kullestfafa is busting her ass right now. If I were her I'd probably cry in front of blank papers. I am so grateful that she's the illustrator, the other half of this book, and she has been patient, bearing the pressure together with me. When this book is out, first thing I'm gonna do is SLEEP! K I need motivational words.