VETERAN writers urged budding poets and storytellers to craft and inhabit personas in their creative works to deepen expression and expand narrative perspective during the Varsitarian’s 20th Creative Writing Workshop.
Multi-awarded poet and screenwriter Jerry Gracio said adopting personas allows poets to clarify their message and communicate it more effectively.
“Sa akto ng pagsusulat, mayroon tayong gustong sabihin, gustong ipahayag. Kapag maliwanag na sa writer kung anong gusto niyang sabihin, tsaka [siya] mag-iisip kung paano ito sasabihin based sa persona na pipiliin,” he said.
“A writer should be able to assume other personas and other voices,” Gracio added.
Palanca awardee Mark Angeles and UST Publishing House deputy director Paul Castillo emphasized the importance of language choice and developing metaphors that resonate with contemporary readers.
“Trabaho nating lumikha ng mga bagong metaphor pero importante din i-document ‘yong mga metaphor na ginagamit ng kabataan ngayon,” Angeles said.
“As a writer kailangan mong pag-isipan kung paano maintindihan ng reader ‘yong akda, hindi ka p’wedeng madamot—’yong language, ‘yong words dapat may paraan ka kung paano siya papapasukin [sa mga mambabasa],” Castillo added.
Fictionist Sarge Lacuesta, president of the Philippine Center of PEN International, said personas help expand a story’s world-building, reminding fellows that writing does not need to be limited to personal experience.
“Not everything we write is real. We use personas, we write experiences that aren’t our own. You have to think about these things. What world can you make? What world can you capture?” Lacuesta said.
During the fiction session, Augusto Antonio Aguila, co-director of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, and Susan Lara, a Palanca awardee for English fiction, highlighted the need for strong technical skills.
“Form and content must complement each other. As much as possible, a story or poem must be well-written and powerful,” Aguila said.
Lara advised fellows to polish their drafts with careful attention to grammar.
“Suyurin lang ‘yong kuwento kung may inconsistencies sa tense [at] subject-verb agreement. Kahit ang ganda-ganda ng story mo kung may ganito ka, puwedeng makasira sa kuwento,” Lara said.
UST creative writing professor and poetry panelist Joel Toledo discussed depersonalization, encouraging writers to distinguish themselves from the characters they create.
“Remember, the persona is not the author,” he said. “You can always imagine yourself as an invented persona.”
Multi-awarded writer Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta and UST creative writing associate professor Nerisa Guevara likewise emphasized how personas shape the relationship between a writer and the reader.
“You have to understand why you’re using [personas],” Katigbak-Lacuesta said. “There’s such a thing as the reader over your shoulder. You have an ideal reader in mind.”
Guevara added that a poem’s ability to provoke questions reflects a poet’s storytelling skill, not failure.
Renowned writer and copyright advocate Beverly “Bebang” Siy reminded fellows against editorializing in their narratives.
“Ikaw as an author, pinapasok mo ‘yong sarili mo sa kuwento,” she said during the Katha panel. “Hindi ka na gumagamit ng device or point of view para sabihin ‘yong gusto mong sabihin.”
Creative writing professor and fictionist Chuckberry Pascual urged writers to be deliberate in choosing their point of view.
“Tandaan natin, kapag gumamit tayo ng first person [point of view], kasama sa pagbuo ng tauhan ‘yong pananalita niya. ‘Yong boses niya, dapat consistent,” Pascual said.
Out of 103 entries, 12 Thomasian writers were selected as fellows for the workshop:
- Katha: J-Rhic Tanghal, Kianna Althea Fortin, Hannah Faith Lorenzo
- Tula: Denver Emanuel Gastanes, Clark Vinz Pino, Ayesha Julia Java
- Poetry: Charlize Ann Lavastida, Juliana Mae Jamito, Nicole Claire Mendoza
- Fiction: Nashley Gayle Anteojo, Lhieran Nicole Trinidad, Raymond Vince Manaloto
The one-day workshop, held Nov. 14 at the George S.K. Ty Function Hall of the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building, serves as a preparation for student writers seeking to join the Varsitarian’s Gawad Ustetika, the country’s longest-running campus literary derby set to mark its 41st year in 2026. With reports from Billy Andrei P. Ramos, Micah G. Pascua, Sofia Gabrielle G. Rosario, and Alexandra Gabrielle C. Mansineros
