His creativity evolved from his early childhood, which starts from the drawing, writing poems and essays on the diary. His first publication was a short story that won a contest when he was in 6th grade, 1979. Then he often joined the competition and won. After publishing his works with a variety of pseudonyms until the end of high school in 1985, he decided to live by writing. Since then, he uses two names: Gus and Gus tf Sakai. In 1996, he returned to Payakumbuh. Together with his wife, Zurniati, he decided to live and settle in the village with their three children.
Some of his works have been translated into some languages. A collection of short stories, ‘Kemilau Cahaya dan Perempuan Buta’’, who won the Lontar Literary Award 2001 and translated into English and published by the Lontar Foundation under the title The Barber and Other Short Stories'’, which was translated by Justine FitzGerald, Anna Nettheim, and Linda Owens.[3]
Gus tf Sakai Sangkar daging (collection of rhymes). Jakarta: Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia. 1997. OCLC38216558.
Gus tf Sakai Kemilau Cahaya dan Perempuan Buta / The Barber and Other Short Stories (short stories). Jakarta: The Lontar Foundation. 2002. OCLC51543947.
Gus tf Sakai Tiga Cinta, Ibu (novel). Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. 2002. OCLC54464862.
Gus tf Sakai Ular Keempat (novel). Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas. 2005. OCLC224772363.
Gus tf Sakai Daging Akar (poems). Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas. 2005. OCLC62872696.
