Milk pursues her passion
By Thanakrit Charoenphon
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
Did you know
Milk is fan of the German national football team.
When a book becomes a TV series, it always makes the book more popular. Pretty (Pity) Girl is one of four romantic comedies from Jamsai Publishing which were selected to be produced for the Ugly Duckling TV series on GMM Channel 25. Based on the book written by Nattwadee Sirripanurak (Milk), better known as Milk Plus, the show Pity Girl is the story of a forgetful girl named Alice Ho who suffers from a short memory. Her boyfriend breaks up with her because he’s sick of her being so absent-minded. Her life changes when a handsome new student, Aston, offers to remember things for her.
The 26-year-old novelist kicked off her writing career when her first story Dream Delivery won the top prize in the fiction competition, Nak Khian Na Sai Pi 1 (New Gen Writer Year 1) in 2007. Since then, Milk has released 11 books and her popular story Pretty (Pity) Girl has been republished due to high demand.
Student Weekly recently met up with Milk at a café. The petite novelist, who is now studying an MBA, told us about her writing career and her thoughts about the TV adaptation of her book.
Student Weekly: What did finishing Dream Delivery mean to you?
Milk: After Dream Delivery was published, I attended a school reunion. A friend reminded me that I wrote in a friendship notebook that I wanted to be a writer and release my own book. So, this was the first time that I reached my dream.
Student Weekly: Where do you get your story ideas?
Milk: I usually start by creating a character. For example, I met a friend of my friend and he was cute. I then imagined that he was my leading character and tried to come up with a female character to match him.
Student Weekly: Do all your characters come from real people?
Milk: Not really. I pick up an aspect from a person such as their playful personality. I create everything else myself.
Student Weekly: How do you describe your writing style?
Milk: Readers have told me that they feel my fiction is real. The characters can be found in real life. And the plots are light-hearted, not dramatic. Readers can smile when reading my work.
Student Weekly: How do you make your stories realistic?
Milk: I interview people. In my latest novel, Hello Cutie Pie, the male leading role is a footballer. I interviewed a university footballer who told me about his life. In Hello Sweetie, I wrote about a volunteer in a rural development camp. I went to observe volunteers and created a character from a handsome guy I saw who had a bad boy look.
Student Weekly: What kind of problems do you have when you write fiction?
Milk: I sometimes feel that a plot isn’t solid or reasonable. To fix the problem, I ask friends how they would react if they faced a situation like in the story. I need to check if the story makes sense.
Student Weekly: How did you feel when Pretty (Pity) Girl was chosen to be a part of the Ugly Duckling series?
Milk: I was glad. I never thought that my fiction would be turned into a TV series, or that my parents could watch it.
Student Weekly: Are the main cast in the show, such as Mouse Natcha and Neen Suwanamas, similar to how you imagined them?
Milk: They are OK. I saw a picture of them in a school uniform from the series. They look like they are from the novel.
Student Weekly: Was the main character, Aston, inspired by K-pop band Exo’s member Chanyeol?
Milk: I like the way Chanyeol looks, but I don’t keep up with the band, so I don’t know his personality. But I liked his appearance and hair style when he had a bit of blonde colour. I looked at his picture while I wrote the story.
Student Weekly: What inspired Alice Ho?
Milk: The plot started by creating Aston. I wanted to create a story with a nice male leading character. Ugly Duckling required a female character who has a flaw. After I came up with Aston, I paired him with a forgetful woman.
Student Weekly: Do you feel any pressure as Pity Girl is aired after the very popular story Perfect Match?
Milk: The male character in Perfect Match, Suea, is played by DJ Push who is really popular. But I don’t pressure myself much. I don’t expect that Pity Girl will be really famous. If my readers are happy with it, that’s OK.
Vocabulary
- absent-minded (adj): often forgetting things or not paying attention to what is happening because you are thinking about other things
republish (v): to publish a book, etc. again, especially in a new edition
petite (adj): small and thin in an attractive way
adaptation (n): a film, book, play, etc. that has been made from another film, book, play, etc.
reunion (n): a social occasion or party attended by a group of people who have not seen one another for a long time
light-hearted (adj): intended to be amusing and enjoyable rather than too serious
flaw (n): a weakness in somebody’s character
