The Spy in the Sandwich

Friday, July 24, 2020

11:53 AM | Where Stories Come From

By Dean Francis Alfar

In the process of reviewing stories submitted to me for publication or critique, I got to thinking about where these stories come from. In a country where only a very small fraction of the population write, it bears to consider the question. My best guesses (since I have no research handy):

a. Academe. Students enrolled in creative writing courses or similar classes that require the development of texts must write stories. It's sort of like forced savings, in financial terms. Some of the stories developed here are quite good, especially in the post graduate courses, and have gone on and been published. In the undergrad level though, finding a good story is a bit harder—people, after all, are still learning craft—but once in a while excellent stories written for a class come my way and floor me. With a little work, they're ready for publication. Included in this category are stories written by students even if they are not in a creative writing course—because I suspect that, given their exposure to things academic (including required readings and interdisciplinary studies), the university environment is a profound influence on what they choose to write about and how they write it. Also included are work by writers who are teachers or otherwise part of the university system—these writers also create surprising fiction that deserve a wider audience.

b. Writing Workshops. Technically, no writing is done in workshops as each fellow "auditions" with a select set of stories, plays or poetry which obviously were written beforehand. However, these texts undergo the workshop process where they are critiqued in Dumaguete or Cavite or Baguio or whichever lovely place is chosen by the organizers. In my experience, rewriting occurs after a critique (whether positive or devastating), and so the work becomes more polished. A lot of workshopped pieces go on to publication or literary competitions. But certainly the benefit here is not on a per story basis but in the critique and in what the fellow learns from the panelists (techniques, terminology, critical approaches, history). Apart from the formal workshops hosted by various universities, there are also a number of informal writing workshops (such as the LitCritters that we used to have) which go on during the year.

c. On Demand. Every so often an editor issues out a call for submissions for a certain anthology. Usually these anthologies are themed (by subject or genre) and the editor is looking for a certain kind of story. If the writer has no story that fits the requirements, that author needs to write a new story if they want to submit a story for consideration. Sometimes, this brings out exciting texts, sometimes it doesn't. But when it does, the resulting anthology is a fine read, a blend of editorial taste and manifold authorial flavors. Once in a while, an editor may contact an author directly (for an anthology or a magazine) and request for a particular story or type of story from that author, with the express purpose of publishing that story. Whichever case, if the author's inventory does not contain that needed story, then they must write a new one.

d. For Periodical Publication. A number of Filipino authors develop stories with the intent of submitting these stories to the various periodicals that publish fiction. Pro tip: Respect the "no simultaneous submissions" policy—once you submit a story to a particular magazine, you should not submit it to any other—especially if you're also looking at the international market. So it helps to have a number of stories awaiting their black or white fates at various markets; when one is rejected, you can pass it to another venue (after the requisite agonizing and rewriting, if you are so inclined).

e. Competitive Writing. There are a number of literary competitions, the such as the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (cancelled, like many many things this year, because of the pandemic). Some writers develop texts specifically for competition. My stand on this has always been clear—it is akin to athletics, and there is nothing untoward about writers exercising writerly muscles in competition against other writers. Sometimes, authors send me their contest pieces that did not win in some competition.

f. Personal Writing/Inventory. There are a number of writers who just write stories because they like to write stories, which get stored up in their inventories. Majority of the pieces of this type that come my way are not up to publishing standards but do give a sense of the author's potential. On occasion a gem can be found and this is just a delight. Even rarer and exciting is an author who sends me a couple of excellent stories, and, when I ask for more, delivers even more from their inventory.

Stories are written to be read, and to be read they need to published, and to be published they need to be a certain quality. Young guns with a number of unpublished stories need to start showing their stories to readers, other writers and certainly editors, and get over the fear of rejection.

I imagine there must be a number of unsung, unpublished writers with phenomenal stories waiting to be read. But ultimately, the action must spring from the author, to expedite discovery.

Labels: philippine literature, writers, writing