What They Wrote
“There Is Life with Schizophrenia” was the hair-raising
chapter created by psychologist Bolet Bautista for her book, Stories of Hope and Resilience. In a different chapter, Agnes wrote about
her stage four breast cancer diagnosis and her encouraging recovery. And Malou wrote about raising her Downs’ syndrome child, who is now a
young woman. Throughout Southeast Asia there is already a waiting list for this book of hope.
Living as a Single Woman is frank and funny but also Scripturally-rich. Though Germaine already
lectures on this topic, she wanted to expand her material. Should she include a chapter on adoption, for example? What are the implications when a
single Filipina adopts a child?
Making a Difference in the Workplace was written by Yay for young professionals. Yay is a corporate
advertising and marketing executive with 30 years experience. Mayette is developing a book for the huge body of Filipinos who work overseas. Bing
is writing a practical and extensive manual, How to Run a Camp.
Relationships is the focus of most manuscripts. This is not surprising, since Filipinos are remarkably skilled in
relationships. Two of the books are for teenagers, a current priority for OMF Lit. One book describes the service activities of Filipino Christian
teens. The other explores teen friendships. Sibling rivalry explodes in the first chapter, after which the reader learns how to be a friend even at
home.
What We Studied
Major topics in this workshop were:
*How to Breathe Life into Your Writing
*How to Structure Your Writing
*How to Write Biblically
*How to Write
for Filipinos
We circled back to each major topic several times, adding new insights.
Our first challenge was to help the writers hone their topics until they fit clear market niches. When a
Christian woman is invited to write her first book, she conscientiously reflects on her life. Often this leads her to choose a
“soft” topic, focusing on emotional problems. A market can sustain only a limited number of these books. We had to tackle
this.
An afternoon of writing fiction in groups provoked chortles and occasional howls. Rich, harmonious
singing and worship every morning bathed us in transcendence, overshadowing differences between Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals, wealthy and simple,
egalitarian and complementarian. Listening to fine writing read aloud yielded sighs. Individual writing and personal and group critiques were
ongoing.
Some of us played badminton, dripping sweat but reveling in the chance to whack something. Eventually we
retired to ping-pong inside where it was air-conditioned. Some worked out in a small gym, while others strolled among flowering trees.
“This has been one of the happiest weeks in my 18 years in publishing,”
said Yna Reyes, editorial director. “Every book here may be publishable.” She formed an online group to encourage these women who
have much to give from the sweet middle years of their lives.
