Personal

The key word is personal.

In the genre called Creative Non-Fiction, subjectivity is highly encouraged. It is, in fact, the key element that sets it apart from mere journalism. And, I believe, Nick Joaquin totally believed in this when he wrote Journalism Versus Literature. Don't get me wrong here. When I say "personal", it doesn't imply pure ranting and raving, such things are trash and not worth any of your time. It is "personal" in the sense that apart from researching using the qualitative method, you insert your own experiances of the issue at hand. Meaning, you just don't tell the readers about the issue, but you also show the readers what you were thinking, what you were feeling, what you were smelling, what you were hearing during the time you experienced the thing you wanted to write about.

Among, the sub-genres of Creative Non-fiction, social commentary is what I love the most. Not only because it involves both intensive and extensive researches, but you get to weigh your opinions of the matter and, of course, you get to find out about the truth behind it and not just get a glimse of a half truth. Most importantly, in social commentary, you don't talk much about you. Not like the other sub-genre, the memoir.

Last Tuesday, my professor pointedly ask me why I avoid talking about myself. He said that I am too much enamored by social commentary and he thinks that it is a problem, a hindrance, in fact, in developing the craft of writing a creative non-fiction. Thus, I lamely attempted to tell them - it happened in the class, by the way - about my life starting from the time I didn't know I had a father to the death of my father.

My professor applauded. He loved my story and told the class that my story is the "winner". He even asked me to let him publish it. I was in a dilemma, and still am. I know I have a very interesting past, a horrid, a painful one, in fact. The truth is, I am still not reconciled with the pains of the past that whenever I write about it I couldn't stop the tears.

Only a few know about the things kept hidden in my closet. You see, I am not safeguarding myself from the opinions of the public rather I am protecting my mother and the memory of my Dad.

Creative Non-fiction, my favorite genre. I guess I'm caught up with it now. Can I not stick with social commentary? For now, nope. In the future, yes. Who knows? I might excel in the sub-genre I'm dreading right now - the memoir.

For the sake of completion, I will write about a part and parcel of my past. When I could finally manage getting pass the tears, I promise to have it publish whether here or elsewhere, whether under my real name or under a pseudonym.

So, Godspeed to me.