On Writing My First Book

The following post was originally published in Manila Bulletin  on its Arts and Culture page dated October 22, 2012. 

How does one leave a lasting legacy? I remember a quote of unknown source that says there are three ways to leave a legacy in the world: 1) by having a child, 2) by planting a tree, and 3) by writing a book.

(Photo credit: thecreativepenn.com)

The first option is out of the question, as I am still single, unless I go looking for a surrogate mother to bear my child. Besides, the chance of getting a psychopathic egg donor scares me out of my wits. The second one, planting a tree, sounds much easier as I have always been an advocate of a greener earth. But I would rather leave that to those with the green thumb. As for me, I have always wanted to write my first book, not so much to leave a legacy as to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a best-selling and award-winning author.

That dream began when my first poems were published in a national magazine a few years after I graduated from the university. I said to myself, if I could write more poems, then perhaps sooner or later I could turn it into a book of poetry.

But even if the first published poems were followed by more published poems in the same magazine, my dream book did not pan out. It seemed God had other plans for my writing career.

In a way, that led to long years of drought and doubt as a writer. I would still write a few poems here and there, but none of them ever saw print nor the light of day. During this time, I focused all my energy on teaching, and as the years wore on I had become so acquainted with this newfound vocation I came to believe that teaching, not writing, was my true calling. I even pursued a teaching career abroad and a postgraduate degree in teaching.

But I had a date with destiny in June of 2009. A colleague of mine at Manila Japanese School asked me if I was interested in writing a Literature textbook for high school. At first I thought she was pulling my leg. But when she showed me her own manuscripts, I began to be fascinated with the idea. It was as if something in me had been reawakened.

After my initial meeting with representatives from Ephesians Publishing, I had nothing on my mind but to begin the enormous task of conceptualizing, planning and organizing the content of an English textbook aimed at private high schools. Together with my co-author and friend, I spent long hours day and night, weekdays and weekends, typing away at my PC like a mad man consumed with a raging passion for words.

Wrting a textbook involves my expertise in both teaching and writing. My postgraduate degree and years of teaching experience have guided me in the pedagogical aspect of the writing process. On the other hand, my love for literature served as a beacon of light, my inspiration in selecting the literary works to be included in the textbook. Hence, the collection was a very personal choice representing the great masters of both western and Asian literatures: Hans Christian Andersen, Walt Whitman, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Guy de Maupassant, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov as well as Nobel Prize-winning authors such as Rabindranath Tagore and Gabriela Mistral.

The textbook has four major themes: passion for life, living justly with others, man and nature, and globalization. The reading selections were also chosen based on these themes. But the most challenging part was drawing specific lessons and skills from these selections. In fact, even the grammar aspect had to be taken out of the passages. This way, the textbook seeks to provide a holistic and integrated approach to learning language and literary skills.

After three years, the book is finally out and is currently being used in selected private schools nationwide. Entitled Breaking Grounds Through English, it paves the way for new innovations in teaching literature in the classroom.

Many years had slipped by before my dream of writing a book was realized. Although it's not a book of poetry as I had intended my debut book to be. Nor was it published by a leading publishing house in the country. In fact, it did not even have a book launching to formally and officially welcome me into the literary limelight (I must confess I have this guilty pleasure of imagining myself signing my autograph on my book launching!). Just the same, I am grateful that with this book, I am leaving a legacy somehow, in the hope that it will help cultivate in the young and future generation a lifetime passion for reading.