Thursday, June 14, 2007
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Thursday, June 14, 2007
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The more I read award-winning short stories, the more I get the feeling of a loser. It has dawned on me that I will not win a Palanca Award this year, or even in the next years. I'm not pessimistic, just realistic. I can categorically say that my works are so amateurish and full of bullshits. I now accept the fact that I still need a lot of time to hone my fiction writing skills. Perhaps, not having been trained to write stories could be an excuse (since I took up Journalism). But what about Rosario de Guzman-Lingat? What about the likes of Luis Gatmaitan and Liwayway Arceo? They are some of the finest writers who didn’t have literary trainings of any sort, and yet excel as prolific writers all the same. Just last week when I was in FullyBooked in Gateway Mall, I read an anthology of short stories of Lingat, and the realization hit me big time. How could this woman write a superb short story? How could I not?
Actually, I submitted two entries to Palanca this year (short story and short story for children, both in Filipino). I had a lot of nerve — or audacity — to submit entries, and even thought confidently, much to my chagrin, that I would win an award. In my dreams. I got that shabby inspiration from Edgardo M. Reyes when he said in his book that he won a Palanca on his first try. It had been only a year since he began to write when his piece “Di Maabot Ng Kawalang Malay” won a Palanca (third prize, 1961). Also, there have been 30 people already winning a Palanca on their first tries. With a kapalmuks, I might as well join them and get one for myself. Beginner’s luck, you know. Maybe Don Carlos Palanca won’t mind giving this idiot a thumbs up.
Actually, I submitted two entries to Palanca this year (short story and short story for children, both in Filipino). I had a lot of nerve — or audacity — to submit entries, and even thought confidently, much to my chagrin, that I would win an award. In my dreams. I got that shabby inspiration from Edgardo M. Reyes when he said in his book that he won a Palanca on his first try. It had been only a year since he began to write when his piece “Di Maabot Ng Kawalang Malay” won a Palanca (third prize, 1961). Also, there have been 30 people already winning a Palanca on their first tries. With a kapalmuks, I might as well join them and get one for myself. Beginner’s luck, you know. Maybe Don Carlos Palanca won’t mind giving this idiot a thumbs up.
Posted by
Nutty Boy
Labels:
Asimov,
Chekhov,
Edgar Allan Poe,
Edgardo M. Reyes,
Hemmingway,
Liwayway Arceo,
Palanca Awards,
Rosario de Guzman-Lingat
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2 comments:
Oo, wag mawalan ng loob! Sulat lang nang sulat! :D Nakakainspire din pag nakabasa ng magandang kwento. Kahit nakakainis din, minsan gusto ko sana ako na lang ang nagsulat nun! haha. :D
Oo nga e. Ganun din ako. Kapag nakakabasa ako ng isang magandang kwento, minsan nangangarap akong ako yung gumawa nun. Hehe. Nakakabilib silang mag-isip at humabi ng mga salita. Astig.
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