Misteryosa

One of the very very very few things I’ve learned in my Creative Writing
class last year was how to read, not as reader, but mainly as a writer.
Maybe I’ve never really taken the advise to heart because I (and half
of the class, I’m compelled to say) got a tumataginting na kwatro
in the course because, according to the professor, our “grammar sucks”
in the 500-word short stories we submitted. Surprising, especially
because other than the few cheesy lines, my story has been
well-received by the whole class.

Even by the professor, actually. So okay, then 20-year-old Sands Reyes
was born after a few minutes of “brainstorming.” I finished the story
in only a few hours before the deadline. It wasn’t technically perfect,
but it certainly passed the standard. The prof only strongly suggested
that I stop reading those damn corny romance novels by Mills & Boons
and the like. But he said that my language wasn’t as bad as in the
previous stories we critiqued. A sigh of relief that time. One of my
closest friends in class, Mark (the rumored boyfriend last year
by the duffus, haha), even consulted his story with professional
writers and still got a 4. We still got a frigging 4. What a big blow.

An Invitation to Write

So when Kenneth Yu, creator and publisher of a new startup short-story magazine called The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories,
asked me to write for the mag, I was helluva lot apprehensive. Still
sporting a bruised ego from my CW course, I think it would be quite
understandable for me to turn down the offer. After all, I’m no J.K.
Rowling. Dammit, I shouldn’t compare myself with a renowned writer. I
mean, I’m no Dean Alfar. Hmmm…I shouldn’t compare myself with a Palanca awardee, too, eh? Uhm, I’m not my former CW prof?

But that’s beside the point.

I’ve decided to accept the challenge not only because I want to prove to myself and others that I can write, but also because I want to contribute to what PGS stands for. And I think I’ve come to love writing just as much as I love reading. I blog, right?

I suppose it wouldn’t hurt much if a lot of people would
send me emails telling me that my story sucks (besides, I’m not big on
big words most Filipino story-tellers use, if you know what I mean) and
that I should die. If there’s one thing I know about writers, it’s that
they have fans and critics alike. And both play a big part in making
them better writers in the long run. So, I thought, why not? Why not
give it a try? More importantly, why not give myself another chance?

The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories

So what’s this PGS thingie all about anyway? It is, first and
foremost, a laudable and most welcome effort to create a venue for
local writers to showcase their talent in writing genre stories. Genre
stories include those that fall under mystery, science fiction,
fantasy, the supernatural, etc., or what we’ll simply call specialized
categories. These stories haven’t been highlighted much in the
Philippines (lately, because if I remember correctly, they used to be
mainstream) mainly because we Filipinos seem to be more partial towards
stories of social realism (for one reason or another, soap operas come
to mind) and those of the “highbrow” kind. PGS is the first of its
kind, and I say, it’s about time!

Kenneth Yu said that PGS was merely an idea for years. He was
inspired by “US based genre magazines Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Mag,
Asimov’s Scifi mag, and the like.” Reading genre stories written by
Filipinos is like reading a local version of the well-loved Harry
Potter books: captivating, fantastic, orgasmic.

It’s also amusing that one of the most remarkable goals of PGS can be summed up in this graphic:

If you guess that it’s to increase English literacy among the youth in the country, then you guessed it right!
Heck, I’ve long ago admitted that my English “skills” are
deteriorating. Truth be told, I’ve had a wider vocabulary when I was in
high school. Only, I still suck when it comes to prepositions. Anyway!

Everyone is encouraged and invited to write for the quarterly
magazine. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been a published writer
before. If you have a well-written and quality story to share, then I
suggest reading this entry that details how you can submit your story to PGS.

I’ve seen a copy of the second digest of PGS. The cover art is
amazing (honestly, it’s more than amazing). A short blurb is written by
the editor before each story, while at the end is a brief biography of
the author. An email address and a blog (if there’s one) are provided
as a medium for feedbacks more than anything else. There’s also an
image inspiration writing contest every release where readers are asked
to submit a story based on an image provided in the mag. The winner
gets the next issue of PGS for free, and P100 (should be enough for a
cup of coffee, as they repeatedly state).

A copy of PGS is only P100 (roughly $2.20). What’s best is that you
get to read 5 or so different stories at a relatively cheap price. The
third digest is set to come out this July, so watch out for that. Excerpts from the stories are provided in the PGS blog. You can secure your copies in one of the following bookstores:

• Fully Booked (Rockwell Center, Promenade Greenhills, Gateway Mall Cubao, SM North Edsa, SM Mall Of Asia)
• Bibliarch (Glorietta 3)
• Comic Quest (SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, Festival Mall Alabang)
• Books For Less (Roces Ave., Pearl Drive Pasig, Commonwealth Ave., SM Mall of Asia, Valero Makati, Starmall)
• Booktopia (Intrepid Plaza near the entrance to Eastwood along C-5)
• mag:net (Katipunan, ABS-CBN, Shangrila Mall Edsa, SM North Edsa,
  Greenbelt 2, Glorietta 4, Gateway, Paseo de Roxas Makati, SM
  Centerpoint)
• Popular Bookstore (305 T. Morato St., Q.C., popular@philonline.com)
• Loyola Schools Bookstore (at Ateneo de Manila in Katipunan)
• Filipinas Heritage Library (Ayala Triangle, Makati Avenue)
• Ayala Museum (Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street)
• A Different Bookstore (Eastwood, Libis; Virra Mall, Greenhills; Serendra, Fort Bonifacio; Glorietta, Makati)

For more details, please visit philippinegenrestories.blogspot.com.
Everything you need to know is there. And please, please, please
support this initiative of Kenneth Yu to acknowledge not only local
genre stories in general, but also Filipino writers whose passion for
writing is simply admirable.