A Mentor’s Musing: On Teaching Writing IV

(In which we are both tested.)

***

Today, in our IELTS writing class that has already run for more than a couple of weeks, I was once again baffled by Janice’ inability to come up with a 150-word essay about a line graph after twenty minutes. And when the inevitable shock and frustration showed on my face, she manifested an unconcerned countenance, explaining she actually didn’t expect to finish the task under time pressure.

Of course I was incredulous.

“You know, I already know I won’t finish it. Just like before.”

“And do you think that’s positive?” I can’t help but ask. I really try my best not to sound condescending so I didn't ask if that's is really something to be proud of. I wouldn’t want to be trained that way, either. All of us have our own pride to salvage.

“I know. But I think writing is not my goal. You know? If I fail IELTS, I will take speaking and reading test when I go back home. So writing is not really my priority. I think having writing everyday is not what I want. So now I’m confused. And I think, if I memorized a lot of academic expressions, I will write better,” she confidently lectured.

For more than two weeks, it filled me with happiness that her organization is improved at some instances. That she can defend her ideas and actually makes a concept map before writing. But IELTS is a timed test. Either you vouch to accomplish the tasks within the time limit or you quit. But I didn’t tell her that.

“First, we don’t have a writing task everyday. In fact, we spend most of our time on vocabulary practice and essay analysis. I understand that you aim for a superior academic vocabulary. And I am telling you, you have the capacity to produce an academic essay – “

“But it is not enough. You know? When I read sample essays, I do not feel frustrated. I feel that the words are important for me. So if I memorize them, I will be better.”

I took a deep breath and told her what I think.

“You know, I also read essays by writers younger than I am, writers who did not even major in English. And I feel frustrated about myself. So when I see a writing style or a vocabulary so awesome, I incorporate it with my own. You’re right. They are helpful. What I’m trying to say is that although I understand your predicament, we still have to stick to our goals. Do you know what our difference in that matter is?” I asked. And with that she looked suddenly stunned.

“I have all the time to spare and contemplate on my writing. You are making do on a limited time to be prepared for an exam. I wanted you to remember the right structure of writing. That is what the usual writing tests are for. I understand that you have a difficulty remembering vocabulary at times, and during the test, you will be too tensed to remember words. And the last thing you need is an unfinished essay albeit with superiorly academic vocabulary. The tasks are for you to be more familiar with writing styles. The time limit is for you to extract what you learn under time pressure. It really surprises me that I seem to be more pressured than you actually are.”

“I know”, he sighed, “but I don’t want to just to finish essay with basic words. I don’t want that.”

In my imagination, I can see her painstakingly searching for words to use in her essay. In her dismay of using late learner, she spent 5 minutes coming up with opsimath and another 5 minutes for somnambulist instead of sleepwalker. Those thoughts furthered my apprehension for the future so I discarded them immediately.

Thus the two-hour class intended for writing tests have been utilized in an open forum, an unfinished essay and an unspoken promise of a cycle.

A Mentor’s Musing: On Teaching Writing III

(In which I am slowly memorizing a monologue day by day.)

***

In teaching the academic essay, we use samples as they make discussions easier. The objective is not to set a standard, but basically to present the wide variety of styles and ideas and all the thrilling possibilities of the written word. But recently, I felt as though this objective wasn’t met, at least in my class. That I have been misunderstood. Or that I didn’t make sense to the student. Or maybe I am wrong in all aspects.
Consider that the student isn’t a beginner. She/He knows what her/his targets are and just want to polish the skills to achieve that. So I give her/him a topic to write about, usually a homework. Then the next day, we edit the work together. Then we analyze the sample essay which, of course, has the same topic as her assignment. And then after a tedious series of comparison and contrast and structure analysis, I was shocked by one of the biggest (and surprisingly, the most repetitive) question I received upon analyzing a sample essay with my student.
“So you mean my style is wrong?”
Of course my answer is always no. But how should I answer that particular question asked by a student who doesn’t seem to acknowledge the fact that there are gray areas in writing? Well, this is what’s running in my mind now.
For example, on the subject of cyclones in rural areas, N.V.M. Gonzales wrote:

The storm had come. The thatched wall shook, producing a weird skittering sound at each gust of wind. The sough of the palms in back of the hut – which was hardly the size of the deckhouse barrel, and had the bare sand for floor – sounded like the moan of a lost child. A palm leaf began to dance a mad, rhythmless dance. . .

Given the same assignment, my version would be:

A terrible storm shook a small and shabby-looking house, creating a sound that resembles a haunting wail. And the background is a swaying green pandemonium.

(Now I suddenly regret choosing N.V.M. but it still renders the effect I was trying to point out. Anyway, I know my example is literary but I know you get the point.)
“The thing is that every writer writes differently. The fact that we all have different opinions about a certain idea proves that. And then there’s the other fact that we think differently,” thus goes my usual explanation. “The samples here are just guides; they are not standards. In the end, you will choose your own style and vocabulary with the knowledge that it has to answer the topic. There is no strict rubric regarding the exact paragraph structure and writing style intended for a certain question.”
And of course, N.V.M. Gonzales has a better way of saying that.

Photo Source:
Trees Writing an Essay

Attending the 1st Filipino ReaderCon

(In which I abandoned my work for more fun.)

***

It was a long walk to get to SMX Convention Center and we almost got lost in the midst of technicolor banners and busy people and tons of books and wide corridors and a nauseatingly long escalator before I decided to message Chachic and get to the right venue. I silently blamed myself for not checking event information beforehand. But we got there. And that’s what matters.

What followed after getting our seats in the front row of a crowded meeting room (which, of course, is a positive thing) is really an awesome experience. First we’ve got Mr. Carljoe Javier and his speech on book publishing and social media . . .

. . . followed by a trio of online/offline book club administrators who discussed how to manage and keep a book club . . .

, and then a panel composed of five bloggers who talked about their blogging experiences.

And as if that’s not enough, there was food . . .

. . . and a raffle draw as well. My boyfriend won a Twilight movie magazine and I got a bagful of books and a shirt from OMF Lit.

I like all of them, with the bubbly lectures and all. But I especially like Miss Tata of Ex Libris and Miss Gege of Flips Flipping Pages. Aside from their vibrant personalities, I admire their passion for running and keeping a books club which adhere to noble advocacies. It made me proud to have been there to listen to them.

But along with the pride comes the gratefulness to all those made the event possible. By going through the laborious process in pioneering a convention dedicated to Pinoy book lovers, they have made a mark. Congratulations to the organizers and thanks to all the sponsors! Let there be more events like this.

Philippine Literature in English Today and its Challenge to Contemporary Filipino Writers in English

(In which I share my serious thoughts.)

***

The following is an essay I submitted in school in response to my professor's question as regards to the current status of Philippine literature in English and the challenges the present and future Filipino writers in English face.

***

We live in an age where the kind of lifestyle predominant was unimaginable 100 years ago. Through the continuing development of science and technology, every aspect of human life is expected to improve. These advancements help shape the tremendous change in almost every field of study – communication, business, arts, etc. As technology elevates various fields of science and arts into a widely spread compilation of information accessible through the World Wide Web, it is no wonder that it has done equally so with Philippine literature. Therefore, the literary critic Isagani R. Cruz was correct when he said that “The Philippine literature is alive and well and living on the Web.” (Cruz, 2009)

He gave this statement in a lecture with the student group WIKA Kabataan in UP Diliman where he was asked to explain the current status of Philippine literature. In his article published in the Philippine Star entitled “Philippine Literature Today”, he managed to depict the condition of the country’s literature through a presentation of three types of writing – an excerpt from Virgilio Almario’s Hudhud trickily presented as prose, a long text from a blog presented as verse and a paragraph from Bob Ong’s blog. The reaction of the students in the conference confirmed his thesis for the lecture – that Bob Ong symbolizes Philippine literature today.

Considering the age of the Philippine population, it is rather expected that the youth will be the driving force of changes in the field of written arts. Their needs and predilection will be the prime mover of the future of our country’s literature. Therefore, Bob Ong’s popularity is an easy win, not to mention epic. The youth can easily relate themselves to his writing and the language in which his works is presented is the icing on the cake.

However, Bob Ong being known as a writer in Filipino raises questions concerning the other major aspect of our country’s literature: Who, or what, then, is the icon for contemporary Philippine literature in English?

Currently published works of fiction in the country written in English by Filipino writers are dominated by YA (Young Adult) and graphic novels. The subgenres vary from chick lit to fantasy. This trend, however, is expected, as in the case of Philippine literature in Filipino. Again, the current trend is dictated by the penchant of the younger generation; the popularization of which is made easier by online catalogs and digital downloads. It is also worth noting that these fictions are somehow patterned from the Western example, which where some of the problems start.

The revolution of the modern world around anything Western could be considered the epitome of the challenges that the present and future Filipino writers in English must face. The hype directing readers towards Western literature was one of the main causes for the insufficiency of the market for locally published works of literature. (Wikipilipinas) One sad facet of this is the readers’ creation of standards regarding the books that they choose to read. Not that setting a standard is bad. However, if the readers base their criteria on foreign books, i.e., writing styles and themes, the Filipino writer is expected to come to terms with it by giving in to what the prospective market expects, thus somehow losing some important aspects of cultural signatures in writing in favor of profit. Another challenge the Filipino writers need to triumph over deals with grammar, diction and meaning of words. (Santos, 2002) Although this might be a case of cultural preference or even tradition, some expressions, words and writing styles may appear unappealing to other readers.

Given these problems, the present and future Filipino writers in English are then expected to strive more in the attempts of encouraging more readers. It is quite ironic that in a population of more than 90 million, a literary work with a maximum publication of 1,000 copies is considered a bestseller if it sold that thousand copies in a year. (FilipinoWriter) Hopefully, in the future, more readers would be interested in patronizing works by local authors and eventually help in providing a more solid identity to our literature. It may sound Herculean, but not impossible.
References

Cruz, Isagani. (2009, August 20). Philippine Literature Today. The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=497452

Philippine Literature in English. (n.d.). In Wikipilipinas. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Philippine_Literature_in_English

Santos, H. O. (2002) Philippine Literature Today: A View from Afar. Philippine Best Short Stories. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/essays/rplit_today.htm

Tantizm, (2009, September 8) "Read or Die" ni National Artist Virgilio S. Almario. Retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://www.filipinowriter.com/read-or-die-ni-national-artist- virgilio-s-almario

A Mentor’s Musing: On Teaching Writing II

(In which I once again had to listen to her evaluation.)

***

First she evaluated the test I made. Today, Mileah criticized the textbook we’re using in our reading and writing class. Since she passed the level test last week, we are now on a new book. And because she will only be staying for a month, we found the idea of using the fourth book in Our-Previous-Book series impractical due to its length. So instead, we decided to use the third in Our-New-Book series.

The book unfolds with a chapter on description. I thought, and she greed, that since it combines reading, comprehension and vocabulary, grammar and specific writing skills, the book is cool. The first reading selection was about a famous Indian landmark. Then a list of vocabulary from the reading, arranged according to parts of speech, then a fill-in-the-blanks activity wherein the students are supposed to choose the answer from the list. On the page that follows were a set of pictures that appeared to be a step-by-step tour guide of the Indian landmark, which I made her answer as an assignment, by the way. This was when she started evaluating.

“Mmmm . . . I think . . . this exercise is not good,” she began.

“What do you mean? It’s boring?”

“Uhmm”, she hesitated, “I know it will . . . make me understand this place but . . . I just look at the story again to answer it. I think it’s unnecessary,” she uttered in between her signature air-sucking motion.

“Well, it’s good that you know what that’s for. But since the lesson is about describing a place, this activity was made to widen your imagination – so you can imagine the inner structure of the landmark. And besides, not all students are comfortable imagining through text alone. That’s why there’s a picture there,” I explained.

Mileah just nodded and we went on to the grammar activities in the book that were comprised of adjective and preposition exercises as well as sentence construction activities executed by utilizing the aforementioned parts of speech. Here was where another section of her thoughts came in.

“But this is easy,” she said.

“Then that’s good,” I remarked, trying my best not to sound sarcastic.

“But I just have to copy from the story and make sentences using the adjectives,” she complained.

“Who says you should just copy from the text? The activity asks you to create sentences – grammatically correct sentences, by using the adjectives. But that doesn’t mean you should be contented in using the exact lines from the article or using basic sentences.”

“Mmmm. . . Okay,” she conceded, or so I thought.

Because when we reached the writing part, where she was supposed to choose to write one out of five topics and read the writing pattern on the next page, she once again bluntly accused the pages of being unnecessary.

“This is same as Korean. I know how to write. Why it says how to write?” she asked.

“Well, this is a reading and writing class,” I answered matter-of-factly. I looked again at the text arranged in numerical order. Think of a place that you want to describe. . . It must . . . have meaning to you. . . Create a sketch . . . Make a list of adjectives . . . Decide on a theme or sense that you want to create . . . Start drafting. . . What’s wrong with these?

“Yes, but it is just like Korean. I want to learn English. I already know this. You know? I passed university. I made essay in university.” Then she motioned her hand in a gesture to show how long the essay was. “But this is just English, not Korean. If I learn this, I feel I don’t learn English. Only writing,” she said as she was flipping the pages from beginning to the end and back.

I breathed in. this is going to be one tough explanation.

“Okay – “

“I think Our-Previous-Book 3 is better,” Mileah said. I held up my hands.

“Okay. But you have to understand first what a level test is for. The reason why did a level test is to check if you understood Our-Previous-Book 3. And you did. Congratulations.

In Our-Previous-Book 3, I allowed you to write essays at your convenience. But being able to write using basic sentences is no longer what we are aiming in this book. It has a lot of exercises from different language skills and questions that are asking you to create more complicated or sensible answers. If we left the fundamentals, there is no other way but to go to a higher lesson.”

She nodded, still flipping the pages.

“Writing has universal rules. We write using the same elements, only different languages, and therefore different grammatical structure. But we basically use the same writing pattern – we think, we picture, we decide. And for every kind of essay, there’s a different pattern.

The patterns there weren’t made to make you appear stupid. In fact, they are guides so you can make more sophisticated writings. You know the basics – introduction, body, conclusion, topic sentence, supporting sentences, general statement, thesis statement, the list goes on. But the question is no longer about your ability to use them in a beginner’s way. You have got to improve your style. That is what the book wants from you – a better writing style.”

Again, she nodded, her eyes fixed on the book and her fingers busy flipping.

“And about you not learning English. What do you think are you learning then?”

“Ahmm, anyway . . . I think you don’t understand my saying . . . but . . . hmmm. . . ”

Oh no! So I don’t understand at all?

Maybe I really don’t. I don’t understand why the book is unnecessary. All she has to do was to read and understand how to write effectively. And do it. Without an overload of accusatory questions or remarks. Writing is doing. Learning is, too.

She silently flipped the pages until there’s no more leaf to flip. I looked at the clock and told her we still have five minutes before the class ends and that she can do her thing. She fumbled her notebook and began writing.

A Teacher’s Musing: On Teacher Writing and Reading

(In which she has the remarkable bluntness to ask – which is. . . okay.)

***

I feel utterly guilty for suspending the draft of my research proposal in lieu of the freshest, newest teacher experience I have for today. Consider this a news flash in the middle of a peaceful lunch or merienda.

So I have a new student named Mileah. She’s cute and bubbly. But compared to the conversational competence of Gerald and Jack, she has a long way to travel. But nevertheless she’s using the same book that Gerald did – a reading and writing book. (You may want to click here and/or here to know a couple of things about the book . . . and Gerald.)

And today is our first testing day. The test includes identification, enumeration and event sequencing for the stories we have discussed involving colors and colorgenics, superstitions about numbers and the Hawaiian way of celebrating Thanksgiving. For the writing part, there were identification tasks wherein she’s expected to name what part of the essay or paragraph is being described. The last one involves three paragraphs and she’s supposed to encircle the main idea and underline the supporting details. Yes, I know that sounds elementary.

Towards the end of the first hour she seemed uneasy and started to mutter something. It turned out she was telling me that when she studied for the test, she didn’t expect that she should have memorized the stories. Memorize. That struck me as though I am a terror teacher who adheres completely to the absolute power of rote memorization when it comes to influencing test scores. Or the creation of tests itself. She strongly claimed, albeit in a very cute way, that those questions involving memorization do not actually improve any skill.

Wow. Not that I have never received such complaint. But to tell me it doesn’t improve any skill? And that was also ironic considering that it came from someone from a country where students are expected to memorize roughly a hundred words in at least a week for the sake of widening their vocabulary. No and I’m not even talking about vocabulary usage. Just plain memorization of the term and the definition and poof! That’s a test!

Now, that reminds me of Gerald. And honestly, I have to be thankful that I am now dealing with a considerably shy girl and not that obstinate lad. But nevertheless I still gave the speech that I guess would continue to be handy for as long as I work here – that the class is also a reading class and readings were not done to be kept in the dark corners of one’s memory. It has to be utilized and therefore understood. That memorizing doesn’t necessarily mean understanding. That the test doesn’t require them to write in verbatim. That we have discussed the stories a lot of times. That there is a reason why there are comprehension questions at the end of every article or essay in the book. That there is a reason behind the mere existence of an article or an essay in a textbook other than to fill space.

She said she understands. I hope so. Now how am I going to clarify the scope and limitation for my research proposal again? Ah . . .

A Mentor’s Musing: On Teaching Writing

(In which he finally wrote.)

***

We reached the chapter where my student, Gerald, is supposed to study narration, finally, after days of procrastination due to the combined bouts of nostalgia, lovesickness and plain laziness. I was so thrilled to teach that I discussed the four major modes of discourse despite of myself, much to the surprise of the wide-eyed East Asian man whose attention shifted from the whiteboard to the sports article on the PC monitor. I know not which he’s feigning attention to but I care not as well. He had his days of unproductiveness; it’s about time that I lift the curse he caused!

Knowing the importance of time and place in a narrative, I told him how he could use order to show sequence.

“In your story, you should always pay attention to the order. Which comes first? Which do you want to narrate first?”

He nodded, and glanced at the monitor.

“Oh soccer!” I muttered under my breath. “Okay, about the order, you may use the chronological order or the reverse chronology. You could also use some flashbacks.”

He nodded, looked at the monitor and clicked on a link.

“Gerald!”

“Yes! Chronology! I understand”, he assured me.

“Well, for the sake of discussion, the chronological order shows how a story transpires from the past to the present or from first to last. The reverse chronology, however, works from the present to the past or from the last to the first.”

“Why should we use that?” he asked.

“What?”

“The reverse.’

“Well, it depends on what the writer’s purpose is. Joel Gross in his book The Books of Rachel used the chronological order to link different Jewish families from the past to the current. Susan Vreeland’s Girl in Hyacinth Blue is presented through the reverse chronology to trace the origin of a painting. So you see, the purpose is the thing.”

“I still don’t get it but, anyway, chronological order is easier.”

“Okay.”

As we went on with the writing activity which includes the writing process, i.e., topic selection, brainstorming, outline making and the rough draft, I almost jumped for joy when he actually wrote a topic outline legibly! And wait, he also asked questions like:

How am I going to write the introduction for a narrative? I’m sure it’s different from an example or a process essay.

How am I going to write the conclusion?

Do I still need to summarize in the conclusion?

I don’t want my essay to be too detailed. Can I just write about the interesting things and explain them?

Okay, you may think that it’s no big deal since it’s a writing class and students are supposed to ask questions like these. But considering that a couple of months ago, his colossal interest in writing revolves around the fact that he didn’t want to follow the correct structure and that he didn’t find an outline of any kind important or that his idea of an essay is a bunch of paragraphs with a minimum of five sentences overflowing with conjunctive adverbs and comma splices, yes, this one’s a big deal!

The formula in a nutshell:

Be lenient and practical. Let the students think for themselves. Make a list of topics to give them options. Don’t use Emerson and Bacon to elucidate. Give your own writing examples and let yourself be criticized. Understand their interest and let them write about it. If they happen to be Korean, let them write about Park Ji Sung and prepare to correct a two-page essay. Well, that’s better than correcting four paragraphs made up of five sentences each.

Photo Source

Comics

Writing and Bitching

(In which what the last thing I wanted now is censorship.)

***

Half a decade ago, whenever I wanted to let my feelings out, I just grab my diary and pen. And then I could enjoy all the liberty of writing about the very emotional and even useless feelings or issues that I had. But then the idea that my exclusive access to my diary that I thought was an unwritten law was broken the moment my mother took me to task for cutting classes (which she wasn’t supposed to know). That is the main reason why I don’t feel like keeping a diary anymore. The other reason was that manual writing is such an exhausting job considering that I have been used to using the keyboard.

That’s actually a good thing because I feel more comfortable tapping the keys to transfer my thoughts into text than subjecting my right hand to the awkward and painful job of producing cacography. Also, the ideas come when I’m in the office. It always seemed like a win-win situation.

But the situation today is a Catch-22. I feel bad. I feel confused and annoyed the moment I took the van to the office and listened to the other passengers bitch about other people. And now I feel bad again – humiliated and intrigued. I wanted to type their names and call them names. Yes. Right into this blog. And yes, I don’t have the guts to actually tell them they suck.

Thank goodness I am not mad enough to forget that this will be published on a public blog. If not, that would be my next worst blog vomiting since the insult last September 11.

Oh well, where’s my diary?

A One-Week Diary in Ten Minutes

(In which I have so many things to say in so little time.)

***

I haven’t been posting for a long time and there has been a lot that happened. Although I want to write about every exciting, exhausting and even humiliating bit of everything, I simply cannot. And during these times I really appreciate the existence of bullet formats.

So, within the last week …

· I have been to a very fun reunion with my artistic classmates from high school which lasted for approximately 12 hours. It was almost, if not, serendipity, as I have told my Virtual Confidante that I long to be an artist, that there was an association for young artists in the making. Then I have suddenly thought of joining a writer’s guild.

· I have been referred to apply for a job and was stupefied after knowing the stuffs I might be getting, had a series of meet-ups with friends over coffee and online manga and finally decided to give the job a try.

· I, together with BF, went to the building and found that the person who referred us seemed not very reliable or just plain forgetful not to clarify things with us. Or maybe all the forgetfulness and slight irresponsibility should be blamed on me but, anyway, we didn’t make it to the interview as the HR only comes to work at 4PM. You’re right. I was quite surprised. We left our resumés and received a text message the next day asking us to come again the next Monday.

· I was given last minute tips that had me sending tons of text messages to people who I thought knew about technical acronyms and stuff. Their shock might have been as huge as mine as I received tons of text messages saying that they don’t have any idea or that they would be reviewing their Computer Science 14 before they could give me a reliable response or that they would be asking people to help me. Nevertheless, I wasn’t very disappointed since the elusive Alvin sent me two messages in a span of an hour – first saying that he was sorry for not being able to help and the second asking if I have found the answer yet, and that he will ask others for the much sought-after solution.

· I have asked to be given a leave which was reduced to a three-hour work, accompanied my mom to the hospital and went to the job interview which almost turned out really well if it wasn’t for the stingy offer. They say they are in need of employees ASAP but it turned out that they are only in need of desperate people. I was thankful that we weren’t that desperate yet. Anyway, there's still another time.

On Choices and Preferences

(In which I look for a piece of me.)

***

I haven’t gotten over the unfinished reading of Coelho’s last book. Once, I was communicating (through SMS) with the friend who gave me the book as a present.

“How’s your reading?”

“Honestly, I stopped reading it.”

“Why? Isn’t it beautiful?”

To get rid of explaining how I view his work which resulted to an undesirable conversation the first time I did with another person, I just said “Fashion’s not my thing. And so is showbiz.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh! The book is actually good. But in a reader’s life, there should be at least one instance when he/she won’t like the book. It happens. It was such a pity that it happened between me and an expensive book.”

“So that book’s not your thing?”

“Yes.”

“Then what do you like in books?

“Hmmm… it’s in the subject, the characters. And sometimes, the setting. Why don’t you guess?”

“Look. I guessed you would like that book and you didn’t. I’m not good at guessing.”

“I am asking you to guess now.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

I knew he would give in. After a few minutes, he replied. “I guess you would like a story about a girl with multiple personalities falling in love with different guys.”

I was surprised with the answer. He likes multiple, doesn’t he? It took me a while to type my response on the phone.

“That’s a very imaginative guess. Interesting enough but not even close to the real thing.”

“That’s what you get for making me guess.”

He’s right. I forced him to guess and got a very surprising answer. And its element of being surprising is almost insulting.

“Okay.”

“So what is it?”

“I like things that concern human beings - real human beings. Well, I like Harry Potter. But I enjoy books that reflect the reality of human life – no matter how hokum or dark it is. I like the story about artists – painters, musicians, writers, photographers, dancers and okay, theater actors – the arts I’m connected to. But not the showbiz and fashion industry.”

“Got it.”

I have always had this thing for artists. Have I told you X is a poet? I remembered him writing a poem in a crude handwriting that I have to learn another alphabet to decode it. Right, I like artists.

I continued reading the next paragraphs of the book I just bought in a bookstore where they sell cheap secondhand books. It’s a story about a married violinist who fell in love with a ballerina. And the ballerina fell in love with his married son. Interesting.

I was about to sit comfortably when I remembered something. I grabbed my phone and typed. I should know why he thinks a story about a philandering girl with a complex psychological makeup fits me.

Currently reading:
The Four Temperaments by Yona Zeldis McDonough

WOOF Top Picks

(In which I dared.)

***

Whoah! I was so engrossed with the pile of homework before me that I was surprised to see that the contest's over. Hey! I wasn't even able to vote! Anyway, congratulations to those who made it. Better luck next time for me. ^_^

WOOF Contest – Top Picks


Poetry

Zorlone – “Storm” - A voice to the storm's awesomely destructive power. This was written in admiration and respect to its might.

Dragon Blogger – “Ghost Whispers” - Poem about ghosts of the past, read aloud by the author.

Jennifer M Scott – “Open Book” - Losing oneself.

Fiction

Roy/Angel – “Modern day Cinderella story” - An original adaptation of my 11-year old daughter of the Cinderella story.

Lauren Salkin – “Dead Mice Don't Eat Cheese” – This post is based on a true story. So, what is actually true? The mouse, the cat, and me, of course. I did grab the cat with the mouse in its mouth, tried to shake it from the cat's mouth, succeeded in doing so, then subsequently stepped on the mouse, killing it.

Brought to you by PlotDog Press with the Serial Suspense Screenplay "Intervention"

Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top posts as chosen by the October 23, 2009 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? The next contest ends October 30. Submit a link to your best writing post of the last 3 weeks using the form on this page. Participants, repost the winning link list within a week and you’re all set.

Other WOOF Contestants for 10/23/09

Prose / About Writing

Roy – “How do you prepare for death?” - How do we want death to come to us? Can we really be prepared for it?

Fun and Fearless – “We Filipinos Are...” - It is about an encounter with someone who thought negatively about Filipinos and how a Filipino writer helps me gain pride for my people.

Fun and Fearless – “Have You Got Style?” - It is about a person's comment on how writers should write.

Poetry

Roy – “Dreams do come true” - We just have to keep the faith... cause dreams do come true.

Dragon Blogger – “The Intruder” - Poem about an invading virus and defensive measures, crafted with random words.

Have You Got Style?

(In which the anatomy of my “writing style” lacks an organ.)

***

Brand this post insignificant or desperate. But be aware, however, that it is of great importance to writer wannabes like me.

A friend gave me Paulo Coelho’s latest novel, “The Winner Stands Alone” as a birthday present in the hopes that I will enjoy it as much as I did with “Veronika Decides To Die” and “Eleven Minutes”. Oh actually, I have only read an approximate of forty pages in the latter. (It still counts, right?) But when I read the first leaves of the world-famous writer’s latest work, I felt that it has lost the ”Coelho factor” that I’ve known and I’ve loved.

I told a new friend about it – as well as my sudden desire to collect books.

“What?”

“I said ‘The Winner Stands Alone’ sounds different from his other novels. And after running an internet search, I found out that I am not the only one who thinks like that. Maybe part of it is because he got a different translator.”

“Is that a factor?”

“Of course it is.”

“You know what? You just don’t understand the writer. Why don’t you just read it again?”

“I understand it.”

“You don’t!”

I was taken aback. As most of you might have guessed, it is freaking hard to keep one’s cool in times like this.

“Look. I am not trying to insult Coelho or anything. I am just saying that there is something strange with this novel because I used the other works that I’ve read as benchmarks.”

“Ah. Okay.”

He called again just when I finished posting my comment on a former co-teacher’s blog.

“I found her.”

“Who?”

“A former co-teacher... and her blog.”

“So?”

“I think she’s such an amazing wordsmith.”

“Why don’t you read her blogs? You might get something useful to help you.”

“I am actually doing it. Hmmm… I know. But of course I want to develop my own style.”

“Style? You know what you lack?” he asked in a manner that made the inquiry sound like “You know what your problem is?”

Again, I was taken aback.

“What?”

“I don’t feel the heart of the writer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your writings are very simple. They’re just like you’re delivering news.”

Was that supposed to be taken as a compliment since I didn’t study to be a news writer yet I write like one? Perhaps. But when you’re trying to write personal essays on mostly personal matters and sound like a news anchor, that’s more than an insult. For a self-proclaimed writer bereft of a heart is equivalent to a struggling artist without any artistic endowment.

“But that’s my style.”

“Really? Well, I read all of your blog posts and they’re all the same. Go ahead. Ask me any question to see if I really did. I don’t feel any heart. Like the one about your anger toward your sister? It’s just mere ranting.”

Thank goodness we have to leave the office by then. Because if Chance is mischievous enough to give me a little bit more time, I don’t know what damage I and my big mouth have caused.

This is not the first time I received that kind of comment – it’s actually the second. The first was from my high school best friend. So far, those were the only “spoken” comments that I have received regarding the mediocrity of my works.

Before I become a writer in my own, personal and highly unprofessional criteria which are only made on the sole basis that my ability to write is beyond the sheer definition of penmanship, I was a reader. And like any other readers, I have my preferences. In the same manner that my college classmates disliked Leon Ma. Guillermo’s “sadistic” style of writing “The First Filipino” as he chose to use highfalutin words like “incarceration” for “jail”, I have a really low tolerance for unabridged Shakespeare and Chaucer.

My unuttered question however, was regarding the definition of the “writer’s heart” since it is somewhat manifested as something relative. If it cannot be felt by a certain reader or readers, then it defines the writer as incompetent. Or it is just another issue of the complexity of the difference in human preferences. Take your pick.

When I was in high school, one of my co-artists told me:

“Look at our paintings. They are very distinct from each other. Flor has her floral, neon and wavy effect on her subject and color combination. Most of the males use Angono-inspired imaginative figurism with a modern twist. Jaypee uses extreme color contrast. Bernz has adopted our teacher’s style while Charles is more of an abstract artist. And you use relatively light colors with a wide array of gradual color developments. I can’t believe we have made our own artistic signatures this way. We can readily point out who did which even if our works are unsigned.”

I chose not to reason out that this is a personal blog containing personal essays and that I don’t always need to write as if I am sending Ate Charo a letter. Besides, we all have our own ways of doing things. Some people appreciate you and feel your heart even at the simplest manifestation of your thoughts. Some know you well enough to identify you in a matter of a palette of colors and a prose or a verse.

As for him, perhaps he just didn’t understand the writer. I suggest he reads again.

Let Me Write For I am Living

(In which I am happy that my hands can write what my brain says.)

Yesterday, my sister brought a DVD – One Liter of Tears – a Japanese drama. It was actually being aired at a local TV network but due to my work schedule, I wasn’t able to catch it. It was hard watching it though, since it wasn’t dubbed in Tagalog. You have to look at the actor’s faces, read the subtitle, be sure the dog’s not gnawing on your shoes and eat your meal at the same time. Thank goodness that on the times when our multitasking skills failed to serve us well, the “pause” button was always there to help. We weren’t able to finish the entire series because of its length yet I sure learned a lot from it.

I never knew how important my most random and seemingly senseless writings are until I met Aya. She suffered from spinocerebellar atrophy – a very cruel disease that will leave you with your brain working properly but with the rest of your body so impaired that they will gradually stop receiving messages from the brain. She was advised by her doctor to keep a record of the changes she experiences with her body in the form of a diary. And that diary was published and touched many people’s lives.

I am without an intention to make myself known for my writings. We have to be realistic. I know that being a well-kn0own writer takes more than penmanship. And it sure requires a lot of patience and passion. How cliché is that? There are times that I feel that writing about my feelings and my thoughts wasn’t very useful since it takes a lot of time and energy to create one and post it on a blog site yet less than a minute for a reader to ignore it. I know. Failing to see any comments doesn’t mean failing to get any readers. But it doesn’t mean you got one, either.

I have heard the very famous “Write to express and not to impress” line when we were studying in high school. Well, my writings aren’t made to impress but they could do so. It’s really done for the sake of expression and record-keeping. It’s for preserving memories.

Whenever my students ask me how to write, I always started with the basic “You must have an introduction, a body and a conclusion” thing. But at the end of the lecture and they seemed to get more confused because either I am using difficult terms on composition or they seem not so convinced, I tell them to be true. I tell them not to stop the flow of ideas in their mind and to just put the ideas on the paper using words. I just tell them to write. Please do not say I don’t know how to teach. You see, it’s hard to teach essay/creative writing which you studied for years in high school and more than a semester in college to students who are intending to study it for less than a month. I did my best.

So there. Just write. I just write. I write about jovial, confusing, disappointing, interesting, ridiculous and historical experiences. My hands try to express the things my mouth cannot. And aside from that, I now have a new purpose in writing, thanks to Aya. I can write. And I want to write as long as I can. I will write to acknowledge life.

“My writings are the evidence that I am still alive.” – Aya Kitō

(Real photo of Aya Kitō)