#4 of 24: A Story in a Story, A Review of Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra

Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Story in a Story

I am not like Ellie Manuel, the protagonist. There are elements to her that I can identify with but she's the carefree type. That was why it was fun to get inside her head. That's for starters.

After having read Mina Esguerra's #RomanceClass textbook, it seems that Fairy Tale Fail fits perfectly into the Hero Journey. It felt meta. :-) But in a very fun way. And I was rooting for Lucas the whole way. Okay, no spoilers.

What I really liked about Fairy Tale Fail was Ellie's journey into self-awareness. She realizes that getting what she wants doesn't necessarily mean it's the best path for her. For many people, getting what they want is the be-all and end-all of things. That's the whole point of the journey. But I'm glad it didn't turn out that way. It's nice to see Ellie be who she is and appreciate herself just the way she is. This is the kind of protagonist that I'd like my daughter to read about one of these days.

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#3 of 24: The Thrill of a Bad Boy's Past, A Review of That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra

That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Thrill of a Bad Boy's Past

What hooked me immediately with this story was: WHY? Why did good girl Julie say no to a marriage proposal from obviously hot Anton? The story begins with one of Anton's past "conquests" and that sucked me into the story.

To begin with, Julie isn't an all-around nice girl after all. Her staff actually hates her. So, that kind of made her a more layered character, someone I wanted to get to know better. I really liked this story. For all the good girls (a.k.a. Manangs) reading it (haha!) it will give you some vicarious thrills. I liked how Julie wanted to get to the bottom of her feelings, no matter what the situation. She knows there's something missing in her relationship, so she doesn't just follow her feelings. That's a brave thing to do. Confession: I wanted Anton to be "badder." Or maybe I wanted to know him more, to understand what was going on in his head throughout his string of flings. But this is more of Julie's story. Don't get me wrong. It's a really good perspective. Go read it!

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My #SparkNA Adventure: Chasing Time

A picture I took from Cambugahay Falls, Siquijor (one of the waterfalls in my novella, Chasing Waterfalls)

First of all, what is #SparkNA? Read about it here, from Mina V. Esguerra's website. So, onto my adventure.

When I signed up for the class, I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into. You see, I signed up for an online accounting class and got a new job all around the same time. I wanted everything to work. That was how I realized that I could literally make the time if the stakes were high enough. My mini pep talk to myself: No complaints. You got yourself into this; you finish all of your commitments.

One June 6 (last day of the #SparkNA class), Mina asked us: 1) what worked, 2) what didn't, 3) what's next. For me, what worked was the outline, which was a prerequisite at the start of the class. If I did not have an outline, I would have floundered. Some writers prefer not having an outline at all. However, given the volume of work I had given myself, it was an absolute necessity for me. I have a vague memory of May 2015. It was a haze of deadlines and hard work. It reminds me of the time I was breastfeeding my first child. I was committed to it. That meant I had to pump my breast milk 2-3 times a day during work days. At the time, I was working at a telco (read: dynamic business, crazy work schedule). But somehow I managed to do it (mostly because my boss understood how much it meant to me). But how I did it? I don't remember. I just stuck to the schedule, whatever happened. I could pump my milk anywhere! So, that was what happened last May. I was mostly sleep deprived.

What didn't work was the deadly rush. I wanted my cake and I wanted to eat it, too. Hahaha! I just kept going and going. I have to say that this links back to a second element of what worked: a support group. Beta readers are blessings from heaven. My wonderful friends, Therese, Ines and Liana, all editors, were such a big help during the review phase. Ines was also working on her own #SparkNA novella, mind you. So, I was overwhelmed with gratitude when she agreed to read my work and give me very helpful feedback. I couldn't have finished my manuscript without my beta readers' invaluable support. A big, heartfelt thank you to Therese, Ines, and Liana!

What's next? Apart from waiting for word from Spark Publishing/ Anvil Publishing... I want to publish my novella, Chasing Waterfalls, online, on as many digital distribution platforms as possible. But yes, I'll wait, of course, for the print opportunity. Fingers crossed.

On May 30, 2015, I hit the "send" button and submitted my 28K-word novella to Mina with my query letter to the editors of Spark Publishing. On June 1, 2015, I started at a new job. On June 9, 2015, I received my verified certificate for my Introduction to Financial Accounting Class. It was all possible.

What did I learn from all of this? Somehow, life imitated art. Our challenge for #SparkNA was "to be brave." In particular, this was the instruction from Mina's email: "You don't have to say it in the book, but when we read it, we must be able to describe your MC to our friends as BRAVE." Well, what is bravery? What is courage? One of the dictionary definitions I came across was: the ability to do something that frightens you. Oh boy. That was what happened between April and May. The other half of the equation is: WHY? As I said earlier: it depends on the stakes. For me, the stakes were all high for the things I wanted: to write; to develop; to learn. I realized that time really is the most precious resource. It's even more valuable than money (you can always make more money...but you cannot produce more time...we are all equally given 24 hours a day and every day is a reset). At the beginning of the class I thought I would be chasing time. But it didn't turn out that way. I ended up creatively carving out niches of time. It was an art.

Thank you, Mina, for putting together the class (and for making more classes available! I absolutely love the structure of your classes!). With #SparkNA, I pushed myself like I've never pushed myself before. It was all worth it.

#buqoYA: Finishing a Portrait of Jade

#buqoYA class pic (not a complete one, though) last Feb. 28, 2015. We had cupcakes!

I am a fan of Mina V. Esguerra's workshops. I've only just completed one in the past: #buqosteamyreads. I came away with two short stories, both over 5,000 words.  I tried joining a #romanceclass and a #flirtsteamyreads class but these two are still in draft and outline mode. I'm not sure when I'll finish them because a) life got in the way (yes, excuses, excuses) and b) I already missed the bus. Deadlines are deadlines, after all.

Okay, first of all, what is #buqoYA? It's an online YA (young adult) story writing class moderated by Mina V. Esguerra (with two optional face-to-face classes) sponsored by buqo (a Pinoy digital bookstore, see more below). It started last January 19 and ended last February 28 2015. The goal: finish a story, not less than 5,000 words, based on an assigned trope (trope = a significant or recurrent theme; a motif. In other words, a familiar theme that one can find in literature).

My number one reason for loving writing classes like #buqoYA: I am a working mom. Huh? What does that have to do with writing a story? It just means I'm busy. I have a regular job* and I have two young kids. I do a lot of balancing acts. I need structure to finish anything. I need to be accountable to someone, too (like Mina, for instance). I also especially like the way Mina gives me an assigned trope. It's like fate dealing me a hand (or like life, pretty much!). This kind of structure doesn't clip my creative wings. It actually gives me flight! It's narrow enough to challenge me and yet broad enough to take on any number of characters I can create. I just love this kind of assignment.

Other things that helped: detailed discussions on each trope (I really appreciated the face-to-face class where we got to interact with screenwriters, Chacha Sawit-Esguerra and Anton Santamaria), having team mates to cheer us on (my good friend, Ines Bautista-Yao was a fellow trope mate!), and (this one is new from Mina) challenges along the way to spur us to really think through our stories (and submit on time!).

The result: a story that reached more than 15,000 words. I've called it A Portrait of Jade. It's gone through a lot of draft titles already, from The Color of Complicated to Semi-Precious to, finally, A Portrait of Jade. I have my beta readers to thank: Liana, an editor I trust, Ricky, a friend who also happens to be an artist, and my fellow trope mate, Ines. With all of their input as beta readers, I think the story improved a lot (it was their input that got me editing the existing story and writing another 2,000 words).

So, how did I finish? Apart from loving my main character, Jade, I really wanted to get to the bottom of the story. I wanted to understand how such a talented artist could be so insecure. I really liked how Mina requires all of us to write about a main character who is "not ordinary." It's easy to start with a blank canvas: a Hello Kitty without a mouth, a character that anyone can insert themselves into. So, I liked how I needed to come up with someone who's both interesting and still developing. I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to finish my #buqoYA story. A fellow #buqoYA classmate and I were joking about how we, married (and older!) women, found it easier to write steamy reads versus YA. Teens are hard to figure out! But then, of course, as we wrote, we remembered that we were teens once, too. So, surprise, surprise. I ended up writing something longer than both my #buqosteamyreads stories combined. It helped that I learned stuff from Mina's other classes: 1) writing in acts and scenes (these gave my outline a fixed structure -- more of the acts, I was a bit more flexible with the scenes) and 2) reading from Mina's reading lists (they really help!). 

I'm excited to see my fellow #buqoYA classmates' stories on buqo over the summer! Congratulations to everyone! Thank you, classmates and beta readers! And thank you, Mina! I'm looking forward to finishing more stories under your classes.

*Disclosure: I work for Hand.Interactive, Inc., the company behind buqo, the Pinoy Digital Bookstore and Reading App. I also happen to be a writer. :-)

Here Comes The Sun: Beach Stories to Brighten Your Day, A Review of Sola Musica

Sola Musica by Mina V. Esguerra
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Disclosure: I am friends with the authors.

I pre-ordered Sola Musica last August but only got the chance to read it recently. I really loved it. It's set in a fictional beach music festival in Anilao, Batangas. Each author contributes a story to the setting. The first story is Spectators by Chinggay Labrador, the second is Georgia Lost and Found by Mina V. Esguerra, followed by A Captured Dream by Ines Bautista-Yao, and the last story is Break by Marla Miniano. But feel free to read in any order, depending on what strikes your fancy.

Four very different perspectives but all so inspiring. I loved how little details from one story would randomly show up in another story.  Also, don't miss the playlists in the appendix of the book. They replace the regular "about the author" and give a new perspective to each author. Each story features songs and the bands, adding texture to your reading experience.  With Spectators I listened to Coldplay right when the band was mentioned in the story (Song: Amsterdam). It's well-researched. I loved all the little details about bands setting up! Mina's average-Georgia has a surprise waiting for her in the story. It's so relatable (ex. Awkward silence in a car with a guy that you’re not sure likes you back. Familiar situation. At least, for me). Plus there's this giant balloon. Memorable metaphor. Watch for it. Ines' A Captured Dream is all about girl power, but with a twist! What can I say? It's about literally taking one's power back. Now, who wouldn't want that? Marla's Break was so charming. I loved the unconventional-modern-family of Nat. Also, it's full of insights on teenage angst and finding out who you really are.

So, all in all, it was a gift of stories and music to me. And since we're on the topic of music, if I could pick a song to describe the book, it would be "Here Comes The Sun," the Nina Simone cover.

All in all, I treasured my reading time with this book of short stories. It made me want to look for tickets to the festival. Haha!


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