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Kota Kinabalu: A recent flash fiction workshop hosted by the Sabah Literary Circle (SLC) and the Sabah State Library not only sparked participants’ interest in writing but also prompted discussion on the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creative process.

“It is very important to form your own writing groups. Look around you – maybe these are the people you can start with,” said internationally published Sabahan writer Rachel Fung, who is based in London and graduated from King’s College London with a law degree.

Fung, who also holds a Master’s in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) from the University of East Anglia, was in Sabah during her summer break and was invited by the SLC to conduct the two-hour flash fiction workshop. Her stories have been published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and China.

“I cannot deny AI is a big threat to writers, but I believe stories that push boundaries must have a human core,” she said.

“AI writing can sound very nice, very flowery and grammatically perfect, but the human core is often missing. I would not use AI in my own writing, but it is an individual decision every writer must make.”

Fung is set to release her debut novel, Homebody, in April next year.

Meanwhile, SLC founding member Datuk Dr Johan Arriffin Samad, an established author and Daily Express columnist who writes under the pen name Joe Samad, advised aspiring writers not to become overly reliant on AI.

“Do not rely on AI. If you use it correctly, it is fine, but many of the historical dates and events it generates are often wrong,” he said.

“It is good to develop the skills to eventually become independent of AI and write from the heart.”

Participant Nur, an IT and software engineering professional, said the workshop left her wanting to write more.

“I think this workshop was really fun, but I wish it had been longer. It has triggered my interest in writing,” she said.

Antonia

Another participant, Mashitah, who has a background in psychology and cognitive science, said the session gave her a fresh perspective beyond her usual interest in poetry.

“Even though it was a short session, I found it insightful because I was exposed to different styles of writing. It was fun, interesting and impactful,” she said.

Sandakan-based English teacher Atika, who flew to Kota Kinabalu for the workshop, said it equipped her with ideas to guide her secondary school students in writing flash fiction.

“My students use AI a lot to generate ideas and find prompts, but I tell them they should not let AI do the writing for them. As long as you are using AI to generate ideas or gather information, and not to write your work, it is fine. You have to use it in a balanced way,” she said.

Rina, a kindergarten teaching assistant, said meeting Fung was one of the reasons she signed up for the workshop.

“The benefit of AI is that it can improve our critical thinking, but the drawback is that it can also replace human thought. We are living in an era where everyone is using AI to solve problems,” she said.

Papar-based dentist Dr Euphrasia said she enrolled after rediscovering her childhood love of writing.

“In my own profession, I do not use AI, and I strongly oppose its misuse, especially among students,” she said.

“I attended my daughter’s choral speaking competition recently and noticed that four different groups had almost identical ideas.

“My daughter told me it was probably because of AI. I feel it kills creativity when everyone repeats the same keywords. Students should first learn the conventional way instead of relying on AI.”

Fung said flash fiction has been gaining popularity, particularly within literary circles.

“You can think of flash fiction like a firework. It should capture readers just as they are about to turn away, hold their attention and leave an emotional resonance that lingers,” she said.

She added that the discipline of writing within a tight word limit also benefits novelists working on longer projects.

Sharing three tips for aspiring writers, Fung said they should choose a strong title, avoid slow introductions by starting in the middle of the action, and end with a line that lands like a punchline.

She cited American author Joyce Carol Oates’ four-word flash fiction piece, I Kept Myself Alive, as an example of how a title can carry emotional weight.

“With flash fiction, you have no time for throat-clearing,” said Fung, whose work has also been shortlisted for the Cambridge Prize for Flash Fiction.

Johan welcomed participants and encouraged them to persevere despite setbacks.

“Whatever happens, do not be discouraged as a writer. There are many tough roads and roadblocks ahead, but I am proof that a Sabahan writer can succeed at the national level,” he said.

He noted that his books, Unequal Partners: Race, Religion, Domination and Inequality in Malaysia and *Revisiting the Social Contract: The Malaysia Borneo Perspectives*, were nominated for the POPULAR–The Star Readers’ Choice Awards in the non-fiction category at BookFest Malaysia in 2024 and 2025.

Johan said publishers and readers currently favour horror, romance and crime, but encouraged writers to pursue the genres they are most passionate about. He added that getting published requires discipline, including revising the same passages repeatedly to ensure accuracy.

He also proposed creating a Facebook page where writers could post monthly flash fiction pieces, with cash prizes of between RM50 and RM100 for both adults and students.

Meanwhile, Sabah State Library Senior Assistant Director Antonia P. Sani said the workshop was organised to promote reading and support local writers.

“We formed this circle to promote reading and help aspiring writers publish their books,” she said.

“Any Sabahan author who publishes a book can have it acquired by the library, provided three copies are submitted for preservation.”

She said one copy is kept at the library headquarters, while another is housed at the Keningau branch.

Antonia encouraged participants to register as library members to enjoy free access to future programmes, discussion rooms and the media viewing room.

She added that the Sabah State Library operates 25 branches, 63 village libraries and a mobile library service, while also using the OverDrive platform to make

Sabahan books available as e-books through the Libby app.

She also hinted that the library’s short story competition, previously held during Library Week and limited to Bahasa Malaysia entries, could return through a collaboration with the SLC.