In Collaboration with This Asian American Life: The Making of “My Journey with Journals”

So as I had mentioned last week, I have never written a comic book or a graphic novel before… but as of this week, I can say that I have written a web comic. I teased this project back in February, but for those who missed it, on Thursday, my collaboration with This Asian American Life (TAAL) was released, in the form of a comic commemorating 20 years of journaling called “My Journey with Journals.”

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About the Journals Pt. IV: 20 Years of Journaling

Say it ain’t so, but it’s very much true. As of yesterday, I’ve been writing in journals for 20 whole years.

5 Years of Playwriting

There is a series from PBS called “The First Twenty,” where it explores significant, altering events within the first two decades of the 21st century. One of the episodes, “20 Years of Asian American Playwriting,” interviews playwrights – from David Henry Hwang to Lauren Yee – about how Asian American playwriting has evolved.

8 Years of Lola By the Bay and 2021 Year in Review

For those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! For those who don’t, I hope you have a really good day anyway.

I can’t believe it’s been this long since the formation of my little corner of cyberspace already. It’s grown to be the virtual hub that I’ve always wanted for myself, and then some. I created the website to make it easy, for those who don’t already follow me on social media, to keep up with writing projects I have going on, as well as what’s on my mind on a (mostly) week-to-week basis. Looking back on my posts over the last 11 months, I think I’ve started to notice just how blatant and honest I’m becoming about both where I am in my journey as a writer, as well as the things that I truly care about.

Playwright’s Commentary: “The Swan”

Ten months ago, I made my return to the theatre both for the first time since the pandemic began and the first time in a couple of years, when I made my playwright debut with Rainy Day Artistic Collective. My one-act virtual play, “Interview with an Aswang,” was part of the lineup for their inaugural production. It was such a collaborative experience to be a part of and from the sound of what the audience was saying online, it seems like it was well received.

“tick, tick… BOOM!” and How It Parallels This Moment in Time

Every now and then, I expand my dialogue about storytelling by going beyond the boundaries of books and out into the mediums of TV and film. I do so by doing these analysis pieces once in a while about a TV show or film that has reached a significant time in its history (i.e. series premiere, series finale, film release, anniversary of a release, etc.). It’s been over a year since I did an analysis, which was on “Hamilton.” Today, I explore yet another Lin-Manuel Miranda project, only this time with him in the director’s chair. Today, I analyze the Netflix film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s “tick, tick… BOOM!”

Thoughts About the Universe Responding

A few months back, I did a post about things I haven’t written, but would definitely like to one day if given the opportunity and resources to do so. What’s interesting is very recently, I’ve been approached and have gotten attached to three different opportunities, all of which were offered to me because of the fact that I’m a writer.

Where Am I As a Novelist?

This is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for a couple of months, but I feel that now is the right time to finally do it. This will most definitely retract statements I had made in interviews I did earlier this year. And just as a heads up that this isn’t meant to bash or pit blame on anyone in particular, but rather to explain where I’m at and what I’ve been feeling.

5 Things I Haven’t Written, But Would Like To

Ever since I made the decision several years ago to start taking my writing more seriously, I’ve managed to have written quite a number of projects since then. I’ve written novels, short fiction, plays, films, and the occasional poem or two. However, there is still so much more that I have not written that I would like to try my hand at eventually, and a lot of those mediums are collaborative. As I’ve been told time and time again, the first step to making something happen is by putting it out into the universe. Therefore, I would like to take today to run through five things I have not written, but would like to someday:

Representation Matters

This is a phrase that I’ve seen shared a lot on social media within recent years and it’s one that rings volumes of truth: Representation matters. Seeing or reading about someone who’s like you – whether they are the same race, gender, sexual orientation, a combination of them, etc. – as the hero of their own story means a lot, especially for those who haven’t really seen themselves portrayed before. It legitimizes one’s existence and that their stories are valid.