WRITERS SHOULD brace themselves for the strict nature of writing sessions and should not focus on bagging awards and recognitions to validate their positions as writers, esteemed Thomasian writers said.
In a forum titled “IlumiNasyon: Panayam ng Tomasinong Manunulat,” Palanca award-winning author and UST alumnus Lourd de Veyra highlighted the importance of preparing for workshop sessions, saying they tend to be a test of one’s ego.
“Kung ibang tao ang magdidikta sayo kung pwede kang magsulat o hindi at hindi ang sarili mong determinasyon, baka pwede mong pag-isipan yung career na gusto mong pasukin,” he said on Friday, Feb. 28 at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium.
(“If you let others dictate whether you should write or not instead of relying on your own determination, maybe you should rethink about the career you want to pursue.”)
Aside from attending workshops, de Veyra advised writers to spend some time practicing their craft by building a habit of constantly writing in a notebook, even if it meant filling up multiple pages with nonsensical words.
“Ang kontrata ninyo ng notebook at ng sarili mo, kahit anong mangyari, walang ibang pwedeng bumaling ng kontrata ninyo,” he said.
(“The contract between you and your notebook cannot be changed by anyone no matter what happens.”)
Palanca awardee and De La Salle University professor Jose Victor Torres said writers should not be blinded by external validations, noting that receiving awards and dominating writing competitions are not the only methods to become a recognized writer.
“It’s a good thing to win awards, but don’t be too confident that you will be recognized as a writer already, it took me a while,” Torres, also a UST alumnus, said.
De Veyra said his love for writing began the moment he took part in a creative writing elective led by the late Faculty of Arts and Letters dean Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta. According to him, the late dean would hold a workshop to assess her students’ poems.
“Napa-intindi niya sa akin kung bakit masarap magbasa ng tula [at] masarap pasukin ang mundo ng tula. Sa isang iglap, nagbago na ang buhay mo, alam mo na ang gusto mo sa mundong ito,” he said.
(“She made me understand why reading poetry is a good thing, and that it is good to enter the world of poetry. In an instant, your world changes, you already know what you want in this world.”)
“Titiyagain niya yung walang kakuwenta-kuwenta mong tula.”
(“She would exert an effort to critique even your worthless poem.”)
For Torres, the makings of a good writer, especially fictionists, lies in creativity and the ability to “twist things around.” He said writers must never stop writing and being satisfied.
“Everyone will think that you’re a genius, but you’re not. But because of the information that you have in your brain, you can,” Torres said.
A journalism alumnus, de Veyra is also a musician, painter, TV host and activist. He has won four Palanca awards and has been named best culture-based documentary host by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. He is also the vocalist of the jazz-rock band Radioactive Sago Project.
Torres, meanwhile, earned his master’s degree and doctorate in Philosophy in History at UST. He is a full-time professor at De La Salle University-Manila and associate director for drama and history at the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center. He has won five Palanca awards and was recognized as an outstanding graduate alumni in the field of history by the UST Graduate School in 2014.
His collection of Essays, “To the People Sitting in Darkness… And Other Footnotes of the Past,” bagged the National Book Award for Essays in English in 2017.
The event “IlumiNasyon: Panayam ng Tomasinong Manunulat” was organized by the UST Department of Creative Writing, UST MaKatha Circle and Creative Writing seniors as part of the Faculty of Arts and Letters’ month-long celebration of its 60th founding anniversary. F
