I Broke My Fast

Writing, for me, is like eating; I can’t live without it. Fasting, therefore, can’t come into the equation—not even as a thought. The Covid-19 pandemic, a force majeure crisis, made me write even more. 

But then, like eating, writing comes with side dishes, special events that require physical presence: book signing (meet and greet) and conducting writing workshops.  I had to fast from those sides, not because I wanted to, but because health protocols ordered it. 

In those three years, I did not not conduct any writing workshop. Although I had invites to do online ones, I declined. I believe that writing workshops should be done face-to-face. Questions and doubts about one’s writing can only be truthfully and thoroughly answered through presence, heart to heart, eyeball to eyeball. 

Time was ripe when I got an invitation recently from the principal of the Philippine Christian School of Tomorrow (Paranaque)to conduct an onsite workshop for the students (ages 12-17) who are passionate about writing. 

I know all about passion for writing. I must have been born with it, but the path to finally be published and “write right” has been strewn with self-help frustrations. 

For this school, I broke my fast! 

Since I officially became an author, my dream has been to help sharpen the pencils of aspiring writers so that the journey to reach their writing destination will be smoother and less arduous than mine had been. 

It was a two-day meet-up. There was a break in between for each of them to spend time on his/her writing assignment—a magnum opus that never yet got the attention it deserves. 

In the first hour, on day 1, the passion was palpable. Everyone was engaged and engaging.

Then in the last hour, on day 2, after their masterwork had been read and discussed, the passion rose to unprecedented heights. Amazing output! The depth of feeling and thinking is beyond many adults I know can hope to reach. 

Their pencils have been sharpened (not by me, but by themselves, with fresh possibilities of where their writing can take their readers and them). 

Grace was written all over the place: on our faces and on their manuscripts. It was a time to write right. It was a happy place.