Remembering the Summer of Inspiration

Social media reminders of posts and moments that occurred a number of years ago have reminded me that it’s now been a whopping decade since – what I call – the summer of inspiration. In 2012, two distinct occurrences happened that summer that ultimately inspired me to start taking my creative writing more seriously.

The Act of Screenwriting Exercises

This is another one of those things where you will already know if you follow me on social media. However, in case you don’t, let me just say that I really enjoyed the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” limited series this past month. I loved the journey that this beloved character went through, and despite the hiccups along the way, it didn’t deter my otherwise full blown enjoyment for it. In terms of adding to long-existing story, it was inspiring to me as a writer — so much to where during the show’s run, I started adding to the story myself.

Playwright’s Commentary: “Not in Kansas”

I’m thrilled to take part in my third production with Rainy Day Artistic Collective with my new one-act play, “Not in Kansas.” Based on real life experiences of my great aunt, Justita, the story follows two PhD students from the Philippines who’re studying in the United States in the early 1950’s. While on a trip to New Orleans, the two experience the opposite of Southern hospitality at a rest stop in Mississippi.

Meeting David Mitchell

It’s the dawn of a new year with very little to expect. That’s why to kick things off, I decided to have a little fun with this first post for 2022 and share something that happened to me a few weeks ago.

How Playwriting and Screenwriting is Making Me a Better Writer

Nearly five years ago now, shortly after releasing my second novel, I started making the journey towards writing for both the stage and the screen. A Christmas gift of the word-processing program, Scrivener, jump-started my expansion into other creative writing mediums. Within that time, I have since written multiple stage plays, a few spec scripts, a few pilots, a few short films, and even a feature-length screenplay. Oh, I also upgraded to Final Draft earlier this year, because I felt that it was time to up the ante.

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.

Thoughts About Drawing Inspiration From Real Lives

If you’re someone who’s in tune with widely read pieces on the Internet, then by now, you’re probably aware of the lengthy New York Times article that was published earlier this week called “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?” To put it short, it goes into great detail about the legal dispute between a kidney donor and a writer whose short story may or may not have been inspired by the former’s experience.

Thoughts About Speculation in Storytelling

Warning: The following contains a few light spoilers from “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

Last night, I took part in a bi-coastal virtual watch party of the latest Disney animated film, “Raya and the Last Dragon.” The world of the Kumandra and the conflict that’s imminent across the land played out before all participants of that party, and with that came the all too timely lesson of finding the will and openness to trust others.

After the film, we all hopped on a Zoom call and shared our thoughts about it, and when talking about the characters themselves, the following question came up: Do you ship Raya with Namaari?

Thoughts About Taking Advantage of NaNoWriMo

It’s the last weekend of November, which means we are now down to the final days of National Novel Writing Month (otherwise best known as NaNoWriMo). I speculate over how many people took advantage of it this time around, due to the world still being infected by the pandemic and all. Those are numbers I’d be very interested in learning about.

Revisiting “46” After Electing 46

Last week’s anniversary post made it pretty obvious that An Absolute Mind has been on my mind as of late following the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris into office. However, another story of mine that has been prominently thought about recently is my 2017 short story, “46.”