Author Archive: miaherrera

The “MWG” to the CMW – Future Plans and Current Transitions

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It’s been about a month since I’ve begun the “Markham Writing Group”, now titled the Community of Markham Writers, and it has already been a learning experience. The idea was first met with much enthusiasm by myself and fellow founder, Karen Yuen. Without her support and positive feedback, I probably would have never gathered the guts to take on such a task. Even now, with her continued encouragement, I find it in myself to continue the hard work it takes to maintain the group.

Despite much online support for the group, it’s been difficult to obtain any faithful in-person members and, to be frankly honest, the number remains at 3 (with myself, Karen, and Johnathan Lui). Our meetings, as per our group’s objectives, are dedicated towards form exploration and mentoring and has been productive in expanding our creative scope and encouraging production. I am starting to feel in “the groove” even more with our current excursion into Short Fiction – a form I’m very familiar with and passionate about. Unfortunately, our group hasn’t seem to grown despite our well wishes and future objectives.

This week, after meeting, I laid my disappointment out on the table with Karen, lamenting the smallness of the group and, despite the online support, the lack of physical members. Perhaps there was a lack of creative outlet in Markham because there was no creative interest to tap into? Fortunately, Karen is a strong personality and helped pull me out of my rut by brainstorming solutions rather than fuelling regret. Within our hour of discussion, we’ve come to new goals and obtainable objectives to become the group that we want to be.

Although much of our plans are still in progress, I realize now that a group with a loyal base doesn’t happen overnight. We’re going to look into viral marketing at the moment (kind of like those Obay adds that cropped up everywhere in downtown T.O. but without all that advertising cost) and we’re also planning to place out a call for submissions (with a fee) to generate interest in the group and, if the call is successful, the financial support needed to take our group to the next level. The call for submissions will involve the creation of an anthology of work. But of course, baby steps must be taken.

Another bright-side tidbit to consider is that my great friend, Cindy Yang, has offered to create a new and exciting logo for our group – one that I hope to spread around on social networks and community centres. I’m sure that whatever it will be, it will be an upgrade from my Word Doc creation. Even more, it’ll have the added exoticism of coming all the way from Shanghai! Haha.

On the side, I’m looking for employment. Despite the fact that I’ve worked hard to be where I am right now (comfortably unemployed without any school to worry about), my lack of income makes me uncomfortable. I’ll also be going on a vacation for about three weeks at the end of June, but am sure to come back with renewed vigour and concentration.

MWG 2nd Meeting: Poetry and Multiculturalism

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The most recent MWG meeting was held in one of Angus Glen Library’s meeting rooms last Sunday and focused on poetry and multiculturalism.

I became acquainted with a new member – Johnathan Lui – and we had an interesting session in which he shared some of his poetry with us – the form being one of his strong points. Karen also shared a poem by Dionne Brand and I shared one of my own poor creations (Just for the record, I pretty much fail at poetry!). Although Karen had to leave a bit early, Johnathan and I were able to get better acquainted with each other and discuss our most recent projects and plots.

Later on, Johnathan forwarded a very productive e-mail regarding the structure of our meetings. After discussing the aims of our group with him, I was able to dispell some of my worries about the committee (mainly about the size of our group). As Johnathan noted, the group is bound to start off small in the beginning – something that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. By starting small, we can find dedicated members who may more easily work with each other to mentor and improve each others’ styles and forms.

The next MWG meeting will be held in the same location this upcoming Sunday, May 24th at12pm. Yet again, more information may be found on the MWG website.

Script Revisions, Book Prizes, and Piano Concerts

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Yesterday I went downtown to discuss my beat sheet with Krishna. I am now working on Beat Sheet Revision #7! According to Krishna, my script has become belaboured with too many plot lines and I have to really trim it down to the basic story. I was pretty discouraged but know that in the end my script can only benefit from Krishna’s mentoring.

On another note, I won a prize from Keep Toronto Reading! I think I probably won it through submitting a ballot at the Diaspora Dialogues Reading. I won five books by five different Canadian authors and will probably receive it later this week. I always love getting new books; it’s more to add to my library. Very excited!

On a final unrelated-to-writing note, yesterday I also watched Serhiy Salov play for the Four Seasons Centre’s Piano Virtuoso Series. It was the first of the series that I attended. I was especially impressed with his last performance of Mily Balakirev’s “Islamei: Oriental Fantasy”. He also performed some Scarlatti, Beethoven, and Ravel. I probably need to garner a greater appreciation for piano music to understand the complexity of the songs. Whenever I listen to piano music, especially Beethoven, I always picture black and white silent films from the early 1900s where people are hurriedly running about performing gags. It’s my Cinema Studies background getting the best of me and it’s sad to say that it usually ruins my perception of the music as I picture set up gags. At the end of his performance, Salov received a standing ovation.


Serhiy Salov playing at the Four Seasons Centre

MWG: First Meeting

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MWG’s first meeting was today, and it consisted of Karen, Jordan Chiang, and myself – not the biggest turn out, but I guess we can’t expect too much from the very first session. I must admit that, upon arriving, the event seemed unorganized due to a lack of reserved meeting space. We set ourselves up in the designated spot between Angus Glen’s basketball court and hockey rink on the second floor, but we didn’t anticipate how inconducive or unprofessional the place could be to a group that wants to take itself seriously. At least we know better this time around, and will be better prepared when more members join.

Other than that, the meeting was fairly productive. Earlier this week Karen and I were messaged by Donna Marrin from the Markham Village Writers’ Group, which has apparently been around for about ten years. Unfortunately it has existed in relative anonymity or obscurity, as neither Karen or myself knew of its existence and had difficulty finding out about it even after much rigorous research into the matter. Still, they requested for us either to join their group (not an option!) or change our name. Although we weren’t able to resolve this issue today, we’re still working on it and will hopefully come up with more workable titles.
On another note, we each briefly discussed our interests and expectations and settled on a topic for next week’s discussion: poetry and multiculturalism. None of us are very familiar with poetry as a writing form and picked it so that we could venture beyond our comfort zone. Karen and I also managed to briefly discuss our greater community-wide objectives, but I anticipate this to be something we will have to mainly figure out on our own time. We’ll allow members to get involved if they’d like, but other than that, we can’t take up our biweekly meeting time with organizational issues all the time.
Again, for more information about upcoming meetings check out the MWG’s official website. We will soon revamp the page with submission listings and reading lists.

Creating the Markham Writing Group

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MWG Logo

Today Karen Yuen and I met to discuss the complete lack of writing opportunities available in Markham. Perhaps this is due to Markham’s relatively small population in comparison to our more populous neighbours like Toronto or North York, but a thorough search of all Markham services revealed that nowhere in Markham exists regular readings, writing workshops, courses, seminars, or feedback groups. When confronted with the depravity of our small town, we decided to found a new group, The Markham Writing Group, to alleviate this need.

The MWG is dedicated to fostering writing talent and is open to writers of all genres and from all levels (from beginners to seasoned authors). As aspiring writers, we will mentor and support each other in a judgment-free environment. Though we are starting small (with a brief introductory meeting this Sunday, May 10 between 3-4pm at Angus Glen Community Centre), we hope to expand and include writer-based events, author readings, and member features or publishings.

Please support the group by spreading the word or, even better, joining us! For more information, check out the group’s website or Facebook group or e-mail us at [email protected].

Keep Toronto Reading: Friday Nights with Diaspora Dialogues

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Tonight I attended the second of three Friday night readings hosted by Diaspora Dialogues and Keep Toronto Reading at the TPL Palmerston Branch. It was my first off-campus reading and the first time I ever ventured further than Bloor and Spadina in my life and I had an amazing night!

Tonight’s readings were hosted by Jill Andrew and included performances by nisha ahuja, Anthony De Sa, Sonja Greckol, The M.A.D. Poet, Sarena Parmar, and Cesar Polvorosa Jr. Each person’s performance rocked, but I especially enjoyed Anthony de Sa’s reading of “The Shoe Shine Boy” and the M.A.D. Poet’s spoken word poetry. Though I’m embarassed at my extreme emotion, her performance pretty much moved me to tears. I found one of the two poems she performed tonight on YouTube, which I embedded below:

Hart House Review Launch, etc.

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I am attending the Hart House Review Launch this Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30pm in the Hart House Debates Room and I’m not too sure what to expect, though I know there will be hors d’oeuvres and drinks. I suppose that means mingling is involved (unfortunately for me, as I am chronically anti-social). There will also be readings from Priscila Uppal and Ronna Bloom, with showcased pieces by Davida Nemeroff. I will also get my hands on this year’s issue of the Review with my short story, “Mahal Kita”.

I am still extremely grateful and excited about my acceptance into the Review. At the same time, I’m eager to start trying my hand at publications and contests outside the UofT community. I am currently working on a short story to be finished by early May tentatively titled “Lights Out”. It will focus more on Canadian culture – specifically cosmopolitan Toronto culture – although it will still cursorily refer to Philippine culture as a reference point as well. It is the first time I’m trying to seriously write something for publication in a while and I’m a bit nervous about it.

My screenplay is still in the works as well, and has actually regressed to the beat-sheet stage. There were a lot of issues I had to work out at the plot level, and I’ve come up with a completely different story from the one I first started with. I’m very happy with the changes and progress that has been made, as it’s starting to move at a movie-like pace as opposed to the novelistic turtle-walk it was moving at before.

Anyways, more later. Adios.

Wake Up to Bad News

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Dear Ms Mia Herrera:

Your application for graduate studies in the Department of English at Queen’s University has been given careful consideration and I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission.

Thank you for the effort you have made in applying to Queen’s University. I trust you will find a graduate program elsewhere which appeals to you.

Yours sincerely,

Monica Corbett
Director, Admissions and Student Services
School of Graduate Studies and Research

———

Checking my e-mail is the first thing I do when I wake up. Literally. Checking my inbox this morning was brutal. I haven’t been out of bed since.

Is it possible that Queens found my blogs, which adamantly stated that going to Grad School was a back up plan for me? For the past few months I’ve been envisioning the moments when I receive word from the school’s I’d applied to, but who would have thought I’d hear back from them so soon? Part of me truly wished that I wouldn’t get in so that it would clear a path for me to do what I really wanted to do. Another part of me truly wished that I would get in because, although I’d probably be faced with the tough decision of having to reject one option over the other, at least it’d be on my own terms and not because I’m just not good enough.

Oddly enough, I was always functioning under the impression that I would be rejected from UofT but accepted into my other two choices. I know that this sounds pretentious and is sorely underestimating the graduate faculty of other universities, but my Registrar had even told me as much. Now that I’ve actually been rejected from Queens, I feel as though it’s a sign that I’m just not going to be accepted everywhere. And this bad news is accompanied by mixed emotions.

First and foremost, no one likes the feel of rejection and I am no exception. Despite the fact that (I suspect) the rejection was first received with relief – as though I can now finally stop tipping on my toes and focus on my writing ithout having to split my mind between getting stellar grades and working on my passion – the rest of the moment was just flooded with… embarrassment.

Seriously, most of me is just embarrassed that I will have to tell people I was rejected. Not only from Queens, but most probably from all the other universities I applied to. I don’t want to go downstairs because I don’t want to face my parents.
…

& now that I’ve written it all out… I suppose a little bit of me actually feels happy for this outcome. For the next two months of school I no longer have to stress about assignments, tests, grades – I just have to worry about getting that fifty and breezing out of here : ) Adios to a lifetime of education! Aloha shady and unknown future!

Two E-mails Received Feb. 23, 2009

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My First Rejection

Hello Mia,

Thank you for submitting your essay to IDIOM: English Undergraduate Academic Journal. Unfortunately we are unable to include your essay inthis year’s edition of our journal. The number and caliber of contributions greatly surpassed our expectations. However, projectslike ours depend entirely on the willingness of students to participate in a lateral literary critical discourse: we thank you for supporting IDIOM with your submission and highly encourage you to submit again next year! We also hope you will pick up a free copy ofthe new volume of our journal in April: please write back if you would like to receive an update when it becomes available.

Sincerely,

IDIOM Editiorial Board


My First Acceptance
Dear Mia,
We are happy to inform you that your short story “Mahal Kita” has been accepted for publication in our upcoming issue of the *Hart House Review*.C ongratulations! However, we have condensed your work to help intensify the complex and heartfelt story you are conveying, as well as to make the division between the past and the present clearer to readers. We have attached your work to this email and the changes are indicated by TrackC hanges. Please let us know if these changes are acceptable to you; if so, please confirm by the end of the next week since we are working on the production stages of the *Review*.
Once again, congratulations! We will be sending out information about the launch in the coming months.
Regards,
The *Hart House Review* Editorial Board
———–
Just for the record, the first letter was from an academic journal, to which I sent an old essay about the duplicity between duty and derogation in Richardson’s Pamela. The second is from a literary journal, to which I sent a short story I wrote about the Philippines.
Another note for the record is the fact that I applied for Grad School – to Queens, Western, and UofT for their Masters in English programs. I felt like it was a good back up plan at the time – my second greatest passion to writing being reading. The irksome thing about it all, though, is that, not only did I spend $500+ on applications, but I also feel, increasingly, like school isn’t where I belong. Despite the fact that I’ve fast-tracked university and am not doing horribly bad in school, I still feel sub-par in my program – as though I’m just not smart enough and I’m somehow magicking my way through classes. I fear this same feeling will follow me through Grad School, and I have nightmares about finding myself in a PhD program and having to admit to everyone that my mind just doesn’t work analytically in that way.
In a way, these letters have solidified the dichotomy between school and writing in my mind. One, I was born to do, and another, I learned to do.
Despite the fact that my mid-terms and finals are quickly approaching, I can’t seem to make myself focus on getting those Grad School grades. I spend more time researching writing techniques, reading for fun, and hammering out scenes for my screenplay.
But perhaps, everything happens for a reason. At least I will know that I’ve kept all doors open and tried my best.

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I’ve wanted to become a writer since I was a kid. Unfortunately, when people would ask, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” my answer would more often than not be followed by a quizzical stare, a condescending smile, a pat on the head, or just a “Really? That’s really what you want to do?” As time passed, such responses reinforced the necessity of looking for a “real job”. Saying that I wanted to become a writer was like saying that I wanted to become an astronaut, a billionaire, or a famous celebrity. It was an unrealistic and impossible goal. So I began to tell people that I’d be happy working the 9-5 behind a desk, at a bank, or in a library as long as I could be financially independent and see a bit of the world. Passion and work simply didn’t mix.

Now, graduating university with my undergraduate degree, I have the opportunity to actually get that 9-5 job, but suddenly it’s not enough. Over the past year, I’ve become more accustomed to responding truthfully when people ask me, “What do you want to be?” I am slowly replying with more confidence when I say, as I did when I was a child, that I want to become a writer. After all, they are asking me what I want to be, not what I need to be, and being a writer is pretty much all I want – to follow my passion and live my dream. At times I do receive the same quizzical or condescending stares, and who knows? Perhaps being a writer is as impossible and as difficult as becoming a billionaire. No matter. I’m going for it anyways.

Feel free to follow me as I achieve my dreams.