One woman's quirky – and personal – take on life.
BUT THEN AGAIN by MARY SCHNEIDER
OVER the years, the name Mary Schneider has become synonymous with Star2. Renowned for her witty and humorous writings on life, the universe and everything, her column has been injecting a breath of fresh air into the lives of Star2 readers for almost two decades. It all started with an assignment for a creative writing course, which required her to research a local newspaper, and then produce a piece to suit its readership. Upon seeing her work, Schneider’s tutor suggested submitting it to an actual newspaper – The Star – which she did.
In December 1995, Mary’s story appeared in a Star2 column called Potpourri, a column on aspects of life. A year later, Star2 approached her with the idea of a regular column, giving rise to But Then Again.
Throughout the last 20 y ears, Schneider’s writing style and content has drawn a wide following. She celebrates the quirks of everyday life, her pieces are funny, easy to relate to and at times, deeply personal.
Much has changed over the years. When she first started writing, Schneider was a stay-at-home mum with two young children, and a lot of her stories revolved around her then husband and his extended Chinese family.
After getting divorced in 1998, she went back to work and started writing about those experiences. Over time, Schneider’s horizons have changed and expanded, just like her writing. Maybe that’s why so many of her readers feel like they know her.
Despite never having met her, there has been plenty of feedback from readers – some weird, some wonderful, including one marriage proposal (which she politely declined). The column has also led to genuine friendships – mostly virtual, but also some face to face encounters too, and has served as a platform for various things including writing job offers.
One particularly memorable outcome from her column came from a story she wrote about a bus driver. The man, she wrote, was talking on his handphone with one hand, texting with another, and driving the vehicle with his elbows. After the article was published, the general manager of the bus company got in touch with her. In the end, the man was given some safe-driving training. “So at least one bus is a little safer now,” Schneider jokes, over an email interview. The columnist is based in Penang and has lived in Malaysia for 32 years.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of writing for Star2, aside from feedback and work opportunities, says Schneider, has been her increasing confidence as a writer.
Writing has always been in her blood – when she was a 10-year-old girl living in Scotland, her report card described her as “a very quiet child who writes wonderful stories”. And at 16, she did a short stint as trainee reporter for a Scottish regional paper, before getting side-tracked by other more financially viable career options.
Schneider has come a long way since then. For one thing, no one would describe her as “quiet”. Secondly, she’s gained the momentum to fully commit to her passion, giving up most of her paid work to focus on personal writing projects – two books are in the pipeline, due for completion by the end of this year.
For your weekly dose of Schneider-isms, however, there is always her weekly column But Then Again. And if you’ve ever wondered, why But Then Again?
Here is her explanation: it’s a personal column, her own take on life, presented through her eyes. But she recognises that, at the end of the day, others may have opinions different to her own. So “Vive la différence!”
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