Fiction Writing

Today I read a short story from the Philippine Free Press, by a prolific writer of short stories who has won many times in the Free Press' Fiction writing contest. After reading the short story, I googled the author and looked for other stories posted somewhere in the net. Lately, I've been doing this, reading short stories by Filipino authors and then googling to find other short stories, trying to study how those stories were written and what they were about.

I have also been re-reading old and new short stories by foreign authors. Some of the old books which remain in my collection were assigned to us for study when I was taking up AB English - a long, long time ago (includes the general classic collections: A Pocket Book of Short Stories; Great Modern European Short Stories; 75 short masterpieces etc.). My professors then, all of them were not writers, taught us that a short story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Of course there should be conflict, action should rise to a climax and then there should be a falling action, a denoument. Then short stories, they said, are categorized into "plot driven" and "character driven". In those college years, we were required to evaluate these ancient classics into these categories, using the simplest definition.

But if anything, I realized that If I were to write a short story, I would like to aim for that element of surprise - that one inevitable feeling which comes right after reading a story, and that rising interest that goes up and up and up as one reads. This is something I see in many short stories by Butch Dalisay. Incidentally, this is also something I see in some of my favorite classic films, a good story that has a single effect, AND a definite "Yes!" ending. "Yes," because there could be no other ending except that ending and "Yes," because It ends.

The short story I read today was something that did something else - it aroused empathy. This other effect could be another area of study - how to make readers feel for the characters. If there is anything at all that needs commitment in a short story, it is probably the creation of a reason and motivation for a character's behavior, the drama that could be merely implied but underlines the whole, and this, without getting sentimental. My professors in fiction workshop, (part of the creative writing course) were dogmatic on this - don't be sentimental, they said, and this is quite a task when writing fiction since you're dealing, with, what else but emotions. What they do in 'unsentimental' fiction is that they draw the emotions, a task that can only be achieved if one is fluent in the language used and has a complete grasp of the idioms and metaphors required.

In other short stories I read, the characters were simply presented, without an unveiling of past or present drives. I didn't like many stories by Checov because they left me with a frown and always, a question - so? Those stories left me wanting, and while reading, I kept thinking about when things would finally happen.

Writing fiction is quite a challenge. But well, I had time to write today, and so I drafted something which begins with : When she left the town, Sinang Canisales, five feet four inches tall, weighed one hundred and ten pounds...

(I remember Ricky Lee's book about writing; he says that there are many ways by which you can reach Qiapo....)

What happens next to my beginning is up to whether I am learning anything at all in reading short fiction.

Back to Writing

From 2000 to 2003, I wrote and kept on file three one act plays, one English poetry collection (15 poems), three short stories (one English, two Filipino), one full length Romance novel in Filipino, a collection of journalistic essays, and one short story for children. This happened because they were requirements for my creative writing classes and they were actually graded. In 2003, I also began a short biography which I finally finished this year! (Finished in the sense that finally I was able to submit it for review to my adviser, but of course, my work has actually just begun because I need to revise it, as per my adviser's "advice":)

In the interim years (2003-2008) my writing seemed to have taken a back seat, because I got busy in translation and editing (they pay my bills). But now, I don't have much time left, especially for the thesis. Going back to my thesis has again spurned a lot of writing. But I realized that I needed to go back to the basic writing exercises (I got my old notebook and resumed the ordinary journal entries since I could not write everything in a blog), get some inspiration and sit down and write regularly no matter what. This is a most difficult thing to do because at the end of the day, I am too exhausted working with words. After all, editing and translation is a "wordy" job, and if you've been on online translation, you'll realize how demanding the deadlines are.

I came to a point when I truly asked, what do I need an MA for. And the answer is simply that since I began it, I should finish it. However, going back to the thesis truly exposes me once more to the challenges of crafting with words, and I take this as one benefit of pursuing this MA, not for the degree itself but for the sheer pressure to write.

So as I go through my thesis one more time, I also go back to the manuscripts on file. It inspires me that I actually finished those pieces, and maybe, I should use them.

Meanwhile, I am slowly going back to the routine of writing, and hopefully, even as age is catching up with me, I would be able to somehow share some things to an audience. But this means that right now, I have to fight the sleepy sluggishness after a day's work, maybe learn some creative way of shifting gears then truly just sit down and write.

I don't know how I will fare in this renewed effort. They say that work should be fun. But writing as of now is not fun. It's work, work, work. But strangely, I can't abandon it. Maybe, I am cursed to write.

Madeline Llengle puts it this way, that simply, I have a gift, and I should serve the gift. I need to ponder more on this insight from her book Art and Faith, because right now, I desperately need affirmation, first from my innermost core, that this gift truly exists. So help me God.

Tomorrow August 5

Tomorrow August 5 is the day of Cory Aquino's burial. Tomorrow has been declared a national holiday. But there really was no need to declare tomorrow a national holiday because people will leave houses, schools, work, and offices anyway to mourn with the Aquino family.

My prayer is for this nation's leaders to see through this event and meditate on Cory's legacy. It was not just democracy that she was trying to uphold, it was also decency, a moral uprightness most expected of leaders.

Her achievement overshadows all "economic gains" this present government claims it has achieved. The image of Cory's passing, both when she's alive and upon her death, is a reproof to those holding on to power right now. They should realize that because they ignore righteousness they are impotent in effecting change that will leave a mark on people's hearts and minds. Those in power now must understand that goodness triumphs even in death, and similar examples are countless, starting from Jesus Christ Himself. Leaders today should learn from the tears of the people - they also cry because of the demise of moral authority in this land.

People are tired of the corruption and the many injustices. We can't keep up with the high prices, however much we sweat at work. We are so deprived of extra time since all time is spent trouble shooting domestic difficulties in order to meet our basic needs. We can't always be faulted for preferring noontime shows that promises easy wealth over debates on issues unless they border on entertainment because, at the end of the day, we simply want to rest and sleep from the sheer exhaustion brought about by poverty. But these are nothing compared to the lies we have to endure, broken promises that drove our people away to foreign shores.

It took us twenty years before we burst onto the streets in spontaneous action against the Marcos dictatorship. In spite of many attempts at getting us all to EDSA again for another people power, everything just boiled down to numbers but there was not much impact and result. Now, more than another twenty years has passed. Cory summoned us back on the streets again. And we came, again, spontaneously.

Tomorrow, August 5, we will again speak -- collectively, loudly, profoundly. By our presence in the crowd, we will be both voicing dissent and applauding goodness. Silently, by being together in great numbers, we will be declaring: This is what leadership should be. We expect utmost moral authority from the leaders of this land. The higher the position, the higher the expectation. This is what we need, a leader who can command respect because she has a good soul. From our leaders, we are hoping for not merely a double digit growth in the GDP but for multiple acts of bravery that will consistently champion what is right.

Hopefully, our present leaders will get the message, loud and clear.