Successful young author embarks on new chapter

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Tiếng Việt

Successful young author embarks on new chapter

Tran Hong My Dung, a top graduate of the Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) program in 2018, loves sharing tips about studying abroad, popular professions and lifestyles with young readers through her writing.

Tran Hong My Dung, a top graduate of the Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) program in 2018, is the co-author and author of several books about studying abroad and lifestyles.

Ms Dung, who goes by Cindy, is the co-author of five books, including Digital Marketing: Phù thủy truyền thông trong thế giới số (Digital Marketing: The communication wizard in the digital world), and the author of three newly published books about popular lifestyles: Metropolitan, Minimalism, and Friluftsliv (a Norwegian concept related to the importance of spending time outside).

Some of Cindy’s books

Her chance with writing came at a young age.

Cindy interned at 2! Người Việt Trẻ (a local magazine for young people) after she completed 11th grade, and remained as a writing collaborator for the publication for two years. She was then invited to create the first book series about studying abroad in 2016, during her first year at RMIT Vietnam.

“I finished this series by the end of 2016, but it took many more steps before the books were actually published,” Cindy recalled.

“It showed me that it takes lots of effort and involves a lot of people to successfully distribute a book to the public. I had to read and reread the draft many times in order to provide the most interesting book possible.”

“It was a great when the books were distributed!” she added.

In terms of her approach to writing, Cindy said she is practical – more a listener who loves collecting inspiring stories to share with others than a writer of fantasy and fiction.

“That’s why so far all my books have been about suggesting a path and giving tips for young readers about life, studying and career guidance,” she said.

Cindy and her family and friends at her graduation at the end of 2018.

The courses that Cindy undertook during her time at RMIT Vietnam, especially storytelling and copywriting, prepared her well for these projects.

“They helped me to develop critical thinking in writing, which is quite different from creative thinking,” she explained.

“I learned how to identify the target audience to choose the appropriate tone and content. It depends on the audience’s taste; they might or might not like my style of writing, but as long as they find useful information from my books, that is enough.”

After working for a well-known F&B group, Cindy now works in her family business, which supplies seeds to farms and gardens across the country.

“I am interested in agriculture and would love to share it with other people so that they can maintain appreciation for one of the core industries of Vietnam,” she said.

“I realise that the more I work in this field, the less I know.”

Early this year Cindy secured a scholarship to undertake a Master of Business Administration at RMIT Vietnam.

“I am young and love to explore the world to acquire as many experiences as possible,” she said.

“The next journey [taking the MBA] will be challenging yet rewarding. While learning about business skills and supporting my family, I will continuously collect and share stories about the business world and its people.”

Story: Ha Hoang