Istoryan Writers

[diem]

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I know in National Book Store in SM, there are book anthologies of the past Palanca Award winners from the 1980s to present for sale there.

Another resource is the Cebuano Studies Center in the University of San Carlos where they collect works of Bisayan writers.

On the Internet, you can view the regional winners of the 2006 to 2008 Palanca awards and their works. Just check out the Literary Works Link on the side menu.

Another good site to view Visayan contemporary literature is the Bisaya magazine site where you can read mga sugilanon, balak, gumalaysay at nobela.

Hope these help.

[popoy2]

tnx kaayo bro

[diem]

It is a process to become a good writer. Not only should one have achieve a mastery of language but also one should realize a commanding purpose or reason why one writes.

Writing can be an art where its appreciation can be subjective however it is also a craft where its quality can be determined by a certain set of characteristics.

Do you think yourself as a good writer or do you want to learn to become one? Then please consider the following basic characteristics of good writing.


The ABC'S of Good Writing.

A is for Accuracy

To be effective, the writing should be accurate and relevant.

Accuracy means that a writer should properly use words and punctuation in a manner that directly reaches readers. Misspelled words, messy use of grammar and punctuations can only imply that the writer does not care for his/her readers.

Accuracy also means relevance. An accurate writer only writes in a specific manner, using what is directly related to the relevant topic s/he wants to share to the readers. The writer understands the readers as individuals with certain needs and preferences. Thus, the writer makes sure that the written information is relevant to the readers and does not waste the readers’ time.



B is for Brevity or Briefness

When a writer becomes accurate, there is a tendency for the writing to become brief, which is commonly a good thing.

Nowadays, readers demand their information fast, to be easy to read and understand. Brevity is typical of news articles, features and advertisements.

However, there are some exceptions where good writings need not necessarily be short. This is dependent on the topic or material as well as the intentions of the writer.

Brevity or briefness in writing is also an aspect of form. A writer can write in short sentences or paragraphs, stating only the things that need to be said (being accurate). Long sentences and paragraphs tend to make reading tiresome.



C is for Coherence or Consistency

When a writer becomes accurate and brief in the writing, s/he makes little mistakes thus the article becomes consistent and clear.

Consistency can be expressed in many ways.

For example in choice of writing language, if a writer writes in English, a writer should write in English throughout the article.

The writer must also be consistent in the tenses of the verbs used.

Another example is in the consistent use of voice. When the writer writes in first person voice, the pronouns “I”, “my”, et cetera must be constantly used.



S is for Sincerity

A writer’s sincerity through his/her work is what attracts readers.

When a writer becomes personal through writing, the writing becomes universally appealing.

As long as the writer remain honest in his/her intentions to write, the readers will respond to th effort and can relate to the topic of the writing, thus the connection is made.

[Salma]

Hi diem

do you know of any short term, several-hours-a-week journalism or literary courses around Cebu? I hope to be able to derive some information out of a respected Istoryan member like you who happens to have a know-how in this field of endeavor...

[jelousofthe1]

i was once a writer...sa among school before..i won 3rd place sa southwest cebu campus journalism workshop pag 2007 didto sa alcantara,,,(feature)..i love writing....so much...

[diem]

Hi Salma,

There were some workshops offered during the summer 2009 however I'm not really sure about any short-term (2 years or less) courses in literature and journalism offered by the many campuses in Cebu City but I think I can ask around.

You could try the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) where you learn through distance education, simply you correspond via e-mail with your professor. On a monthly basis attend a class in the UP-Cebu campus for further information and examination. Learn more about this here

A practical course that you might be interested in UPOU's Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies. Reading from the brochure, it's applying literature and journalism basics through modern mediums. Check out the brochuere here

In the mean-time, may I suggest that you could do some self-studying on your own. There are a lot of journalism/literature course outlines available on the Web which you could use as your learning matrix in your personal studies.

[foxyvixen]

Oh thank heavens there's a writing circle! Well, I'm still an amateur writer but I'm treading on the dark paths of writing right now; struggling to edit and revise and am still a university student as an English major. I had my doubts at first if I chose the right major but I guess it would be better if I say that I got my... "calling"? Anyways, that's half of it. But once my daydreams starts to kick in, I couldn't remain calm so I got to jot down on a piece of paper (or usually my word processor) all the flashes of images that circles around my head, describe it in full detail and manipulate the words to create good imagery or visualization--I think that's part of what a good writer do. And of course, to know the conventions of writing and sometimes break the rules to have one's style as a writer.

I want to write a novel someday and I am working on a story right now. It's gay-themed and supernatural fiction (still haven't known how to write non-fiction and I'll get to that someday). They say that the literary industry is a tough industry but I'm willing to tread on that path, I'll kiss their a*s so I can get my book published someday. I also spend a bit of my time doing research on LGBT related issues such as homophobia and same-s*x (can't believe they bleep out these word) marriages. Hopefully, in the future, I'll get into graduate studies and learn about Queer Theory. I want to do research but I will certainly try to make sure that I won't lose my creative writing ambition. Research is a new field or world contrary to creative writing.

PS. I devote myself two hours every day on writing my story. With Celtic music to keep me motivated to write or... to get in the mood.

[diem]

Welcome to the new iStoryan Writers!

Please feel free to browse the past pages of this thread to get an idea how things work around here.

One can post questions about the craft of writing and the writer's life. I'm sure everyone will try their best to share their ideas.

One can also post their works or works-in-the-making, reminder lang, the material should be PG-13. Even links to 'obscene' content is a no-no, just an extension of the forum rules.

One can also post news of the literary world.

I hope everyone has a pleasant time, browsing here.

[galenostiel]

Hello, everyone.

It has definitely been a long time since I last posted here, or even checked out the thread. It's almost NaNoWriMo time again, and most of the PinoyWrimos I know are starting on their backgrounders and materials for their next novel. Sigh. The way it looks right now, I may have to sit this one out. I miss the frenzy of National Novel Writing Month, because it made me write like I've never written before. But... there is the real world to think of right now... so I'll have to put my novel on the back burner for the time being. At least until things are settled at work.

In the meantime, I've been thinking of doing 100-word "drabbles" -- got this idea from a Jrock fanfic writer, of all sources -- where you draw a random word and write 100 words of prose around that one-word concept.

Wishing the Istoryan Writers all the inspiration in the world~
Keep on writing, guys.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive, diem. =)

[diem]

@galenostiel, I do what I can to give this thread a "pulse" hehe...