Speaking before The Greatest Digital Creatives’ seminar on fiction-writing and self-publishing

Last December 15, 2018 at the YDG Coffee Shop in Shaw Blvd., a group of writers and freelancers gathered together for a free seminar on Freelancing and Self-Publishing. Cherrie Ann Balictar, the founder of The Greatest Digital Creatives, invited me to speak about self-publishing and writing fiction. 

Admittedly, I was hesitant at first to accept her invitation. I didn’t see myself as qualified to speak about the said topics because I consider myself a newbie and I still have so much to learn. Cherrie was quick to soothe my fears, though, by encouraging me to just share what I know to these young people who wanted to learn about those things.

And it got me thinking.

When I was starting to delve into self-publishing and rekindling my skills on fiction-writing, there were no free seminars locally (at least, none that I knew of or heard of). I had to research on my own about it through browsing the internet. I had no one to ask. I had to learn by trial and error. It was so frustrating. It was like swimming aimlessly in a vast, deep ocean without a shore in sight.

By speaking what I’d experienced so far, these people may have a chance to avoid committing the same mistakes that I did. They may have a chance to learn things that weren’t offered to me way back when I was starting. And so, though my College teaching days were a long time ago, the thought somehow gave me the initiative to accept the challenge and go for it.

I talked about some writing tips and the basic elements of writing fiction: Plot, Character, Setting, Point of View, Style, and Theme. I also shared what I knew and had experienced about self-publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. The audience, comprising of creative millenials and professionals, was very attentive.

I had a great time at the seminar, meeting new acquaintances and rekindling an old friendship. And despite being the speaker and teacher (sort of), I learned so much too. For one thing, I had to review everything that I knew so far, and it was enlightening. I also learned that given the chance, people of all walks of life, young and not-so-young, will take the time and effort to learn new things and new skills to better themselves. Better people makes for a better way of life that can be satisfyingly creative and financially-rewarding as well. And better people, of course, can make for a better world.

The Greatest Digital Creatives is a creative team specializing in digital marketing and aims to offer mentorship programs to aspiring writers. You can get in touch with Cherrie and The Greatest Digital Creatives HERE. You’ll not regret it!