The Making of Melodi Kasih...

Idea buat cerita ni, popped-up bila saya duduk makan dgn dua orang kawan sekolah yg dah lama tak berjumpa. We were catching up with each other’s stories. Seorang rakan saya single parent, seorang lagi masih single dan saya… a married woman. Dan semestinya, ceriter kitorg pun berbeza-beza dan pandangan serta perspective yg berlainan. Dari situ, tetiba saya rasa nak buat ceriter pasal tiga sahabat karib yg berlainan latar belakang, pengalaman and lifestyle.

Lama jugak saya simpan idea ni dlm kepala sebelum bersedia untuk menaip. Setelah saya puas hati dgn apa yg ada di fikiran, baru saya mula menulis. Bila sampai bab 15, saya rasa nak tukar jalan ceriter. I revamped the whole thing... shoot! I was actually writing crap! Tak bestnye ceriter saya ni, tak de arah tujuan… tak de substance! Syukur Alhamdulillah, then the idea just flow spontaneously and continuously.

Tapi ada masanya, saya stuck tengah2 jalan. Sampai seminggu dua tak bergerak-gerak. Writer’s block? That’s one thing. But on top of that, when I have to write about the corporate world. It took me quite some time to do it… to think deeply and to write accurately.

Sehinggalah akhirnya saya berjaya habiskan 62 bab dan berikan kpd kawan2 mintak komen. Masa tu… fuh, berdenyut-denyut kepala saya kerana radiation sbb bergayut berjam2 dgn kengkawan di handphone untuk discuss pasal klimaks dan pengakhiran ceriter ni. Ada yg suggest macam ni, ada yg suruh buat macam tu. Ada yg kurang berpuas hati dan tak kurang juga yg kata “stick to what you are writing… it’s your story!” Akhirnya, saya tukar jugak sikit. Saya terima idea yg baik dan cuba kekalkan originality ceriter ni. Akhirnya, habis jugak setelah bersengkang mata, memerah otak dan melenguhkan tangan selama 6 bulan.

Part yg saya enjoy bila menulis MK… setiap kali buat ceriter pasal my favourite couple; Zaha-Fariq. Kind of tiring at times, sbb diorg berdua ni selalu ada argument masing-masing. But one thing I enjoyed most, is writing about Fariq. Even though I’m the one who ‘created’ him but still, I can get amused and mesmerized by his character! I can imagine his cheeky smile whenever he teases Zaha; the lady with big ego. Not forgetting, his satisfaction laugh everytime he gets even with her. Dan muka Zaha yg selalu blush bila kantoi dengan Fariq tapi masih nak berlagak dan control ‘macho’ (bukan control ayu sbb Zaha sebenarnya bukan ayu sgt pun, mind you! haha).

Dan gambar ni, merely based on my imagination… ketika Zaha-Fariq berjoging. Terima kasih kpd Syukri Sharif… yg tolong visualised kan imaginasi saya ni!

Bila saya menulis tentang EJ-Taj, selalunya lebih dari sehari untuk siapkan satu chapter pasal diorg berdua ni. Saya kena transformed pemikiran utk jadi seorang yang berjiwa lembut tetapi ada masanya tegas spt EJ. Dan Taj yang arrogant, manipulator and not forgetting, pretender! Sbb Taj ni kaki putar belit sikit, jadi saya pun kenalah memutar belitkan setiap dialog dia… which is quite challenging at times, I must admit that (utk penulis baru spt saya!) When it comes to his argument with EJ…that will be a headache!

Iman-Huzir, I consider them as a normal couple. Took me just a few hours to do each chapter about them. Paling senang nak buat pasal diorg ni, sbb saya rasa most of us are like that, whether we realize it or not. Kesederhanaan diorg ni, spt kebanyakan pasangan lain. Sengaja saya potray lifestyle mereka yg serba serbinya sederhana but yet, they can live happily together. Of coz, semua org tak lari dari masalah. But they’ll get over it, somehow. Dan setiap kali saya menulis ttg Iman-Huzir, saya sering membayangkan couple yg tgh hot skrg ni… my best actress friend and her husband; Vee & Shidee!

Hope all of you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it (membaca MK utk enjoy jalan ceritanya. Coz MK is mainly not a sad story... bukan cerita yg akan buat anda meraung bila membacanya! hehe) Well, I wish I could satisfy everybody… but that’s quite impossible though. Maybe my novel is not up to your liking or expectation. Walau apa pun, sudi-sudilah memberi komen. So that I will improve in my next book (if there’s any!)

And Melodi Kasih is dedicated to all my friends; you know who you are! (esp those who consider me as their true friend, yg pernah mndengar keluh kesah saya, yg tergelak mengekek bersama saya, members of G21, suku sakat CBNers yg lainnya… yg masih menganggap saya kawan mereka!)