1. Write about an ordinary place in an unusual setting (i.e. a school on an airplane, a hospital in a minefield, a house in a doorknob). In what ways might the setting affect the place? Write about the things in this place that catch your attention, and the people who occupy that place, if there are any.

Heya. I figured I might use a long weekend. I’ve been blogging every Monday and Friday for a whole month, and when I checked Google, I saw that this site had made it to the top of my search results (thanks in large part to the SEO optimization my sister Eloisa built into this site!!!) That’s good enough for me.

If you’re worried that your novel-in-progress is still in-progress, you may actually have something to publish already.

Mandy broke the sad news to me that Route 196 was closing. In response, this morning, I suggested that we should test out Spotify’s Group Session feature, trying to keep one another company through the music.

So this week, I made two new literary magazine submissions. (I say that as if I haven’t been putting myself out there, when keeping my commitment to write something that people can see at least twice a week—even on holidays—really means that the opposite is true.)

The opening of Frances Quinlan’s first solo album Likewise evokes a history lesson.

I really love it when stories introduce tension between their opening sentences. In the traditional forms of storytelling, we tend to think and write sequentially: “This happens. Therefore, this happens.” The second sentence necessarily relies on the first for narrative context (the “therefore” being key in that relationship), but there are occasionally times when a second sentence starts to generate tension for that opener, putting it to the test and inviting the reader to watch it prove itself.

Earlier this week, Underdog published my essay ‘Hold on to the songs that make you cry’, where I laid out my reasons for keeping a playlist of every song that has ever made me cry, ever.

Re: 5| The Neighborhood Returns

TIL is a special blog series inspired by Joe Dunthorne’s advice on using the “Random article” button on Wikipedia as a source of inspiration. Every Monday, I click on the button and write about whatever comes up.

Yesterday, I saw Julie & Julia (2009) for the first time, and I’m glad to report that it is now my second favorite Nora Ephron movie (not counting This is My Life, which is virtually unavailable in the Philippines).

Really happy to announce that I now have a story in Kill Your Darlings, an Australian literary magazine dedicated to arts and culture! Out this week, the piece—entitled “View from a Talking House”—is included in a showcase of new writing from and about the Philippines, and appears alongside some excellent essays by Patricia Arcilla, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, and Carmie Ortego.

Take a look around. Will be writing regularly on this page from now on. Otherwise, all my work online and in print thus far can be found up on the ‘Writing’ page.