Fiction’s truth-lie paradox, ‘throw away the thesaurus’ and other key takeaways
‘Aba, gusto mo pala magsulat!’ literary masterclass:
IMAGINATION transcends creating fantastic worlds and galaxies; it involves looking at small things from new perspectives as well. In terms of word selection, the simpler, the better. These are some of the literary tips and trade secrets imparted by two decorated figures in Philippine literature in a webinar over the weekend, titled “Aba, gusto mo pala magsulat!”
Touted as a free masterclass in literature, the online workshop received more than a thousand registrations of attendees, comprised mostly of students across the country. The event was presented by the Philippines Graphic Reader, the country’s first nationally circulated magazine on Philippine Literature in English, and Businessmirror.
“[This webinar] is our latest effort to promote Philippine literature in English,” says T. Anthony C. Cabangon, publisher of the Philippines Graphic and Businessmirror. “We want to democratize access to the literature masterclass webinar, and, in doing so, help in popularizing our writers para lubos pang makilala sila ng madla, pati na ang kanilang obra.”
Hosted by Philippines Graphic Reader editor Marra PL. Lanot and her journalist son Kris Lanot Lacaba, the webinar featured multi-awarded speakers Dr. Jose “Butch” Dalisay and Charlson Ong.
Dalisay was nominated for the National Artist Awards last year and is currently working on his third novel, while writing a history of Philippine accounting and editing a 12-volume history of the University of the Philippines Manila. Ong has published four collections of short fiction and won the National Book Award for both short fiction and novel.
Here are some of the biggest lessons from the recent online workshop:
n ‘The art of lying’: What makes fiction an engaging read is its “stronger emotional and intellectual impact” on the readers, Dalisay said. He points to the truths about human life being often better delivered through fiction—short stories and novels—than they would through an essay, an editorial, or even a news story.
The reason? “Fact is stranger than fiction. Fiction, after all, has to make sense,” Dalisay said, paraphrasing American writer Mark Twain. “So, fiction is one way by which we make sense of the chaos and the confusion of human life.”
But in writing a short story, writers must understand that fiction writing is “the art of lying— and lying very well .... However,” he adds quickly, “it is paradoxically in the service of the truth. Because fiction makes us confront the truth more easily than if they’re told to us directly.”
n Character-setting-problem: To start a short story, Dalisay advised beginning with a character.
Newbies may start by projecting their selves onto the story. Next, the character must be placed in a certain setting. What’s in the background? Then the character must be presented with a problem.
Dalisay provided an example—the life of Mike, a certain 17-year-old high-school student from Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Mike has big ambitions: to become a lawyer like his grandfather. But Mike can’t afford to pursue his dreams in Manila, nor can he leave behind his true love, susan. Mike is torn between his ambition and his love.
“That is, in sum, what every short story does,” Dalisay said.
n Shaping language: ong reminded the attendees that the best stories aren’t written in one go.
“remember that writing is an intellectual exercise,” he said. “Maybe your passions, your emotions, love stories might give you your first draft, but you have to go back and look at it.”
ong added: “shape your story the way a sculptor shapes clay or a carpenter shapes wood. You are actually shaping language. Your material is your life.”
n Throw away The Thesaurus: Dalisay was asked if a writer can create words. “of course,” he said. “You can make up words, you can make up anything, as long as you have a good reason to.”
But since writers are touching on vocabulary, Dalisay reminded the attendees that words alone do not make the story, especially big and fancy words.
“one of the first things i tell my students in fiction is to throw away the thesaurus,” he said. “it just encourages them to use long, complicated words, where simple words will do. For example, you do not have to say, ‘He perambulated.’ You just say, ‘He walked.’ You do not say, ‘she expostulated.’ You just say, ‘she said.’ simple words are often the most effective. The short story is not a medium for showing off in terms of your vocabulary.”
According to edna Faura-agustin, school Division superintendent, Deped Division Biñan City, Laguna, the webinar served as a good vehicle for teaching the english language and short story writing.
“As for our teachers, this webinar opens the minds of our learners, students, to appreciate literature and to write fiction stories,” said Fauraagustin, who handles 38 schools with more than 41,000 students.
The entire recording of the webinar can be viewed on Philippines Graphic’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/philippinesgraphic). A second edition of “Aba, gusto mo pala magsulat!” is slated in June, in time for the anniversary of Philippines Graphic.