Let sparks fly!

If you are an aspiring writer residing in the Philippines (preferably the Greater Manila Area), great news! Anvil Publishing’s Spark Books is sponsoring a writing class called #SparkNA with Mina Esguerra at the helm. The class is absolutely free and will be done online, with two or three optional face-to-face classes which are still to be announced. Classes will run from April 6 to June 6, though when I signed up the other day, I already received my first writing task. If you’re scared about these tasks and challenges, don’t be. I’m pretty sure these tasks and challenges will mold us into better and more responsible writers.

Oh, and the best part? If Spark Books likes your piece well enough, they may offer to publish your book! Isn’t that great? I know I’d love to see a book of mine on display at local bookstores, so this is a real treat. To be quite honest, I don’t really have a solid idea on the story I’d like to write just yet, but I’ve decided on a theme, at least. My next step would be to create character sketches and a working outline so I don’t get swept away by deadlines come class time.

Do you like taking challenges? I really do, especially when it comes to writing. This class in itself is going to be a challenge for me, since I’m struggling with a very unpredictable day job–unpredictable in that sometimes I have lots of downtime, and sometimes there’s barely time to breathe, jingle lang ang pahinga, ika nga–so I signed up to see how far I can go, and if it’s possible for me to finish a short novel of 20,000 words in a span of two months. I have this tendency to slack off when I know I’m not trying to beat a deadline, so actually having one that’s imposed by a person/entity other than myself is good for me.

For now, I just need to clear some work this week and next so I can start on my new task. Darn, if only my weekends were mine, I’d have an easier time with this. Oh well.

Here’s to finishing a new short novel by June!

If you are interested in joining the #SparkNA class, you may view the guidelines and sign up here.