I think Ricco-Renzo is a gallery-cum-restaurant that also sells some kind of plastic or glass that can be used as dividers or even walls, that you can use alone or with other designs. The bar has marvelous glass touches and suddenly, one day, the ceiling had modern birds flying across. The food is delicious and quite reasonably priced. It is a good place. On Friday nights, they have music, too. And on Saturday afternoons, from 2 to 5, an awkward time on Saturdays, I hold my writing class there. Joy of Writing, I call it, and it is truly joyful.
My classes form permanent friendships, I think, most classes do. I remember when I first conceptualized the course, it was to be 10 classes at P10,000 paid up front, no refunds, but you could make up later at the following classes. Those 10 classes were good and my students formed close friendships then. They had enough time. At the same time, I also introduced a six-class course, at the suggestion of a cousin, who thought 10,000 was too much. But the six-class course did not work well and I cancelled it immediately. So now, after my stroke, I have launched only one class. The course has eight sessions and it is P8,000 paid up in advance, no refunds, just make-ups forever. I removed one session that was there just to get my students used to the new system and another session called Image, which I incorporated into a session called Description.
What do my classes do? First, they teach a technique called clustering that liberates your mind, makes your right brain or your creative side lead your writing process and makes your left brain come in later, only for the editing, because your left brain, whether you know it or not, is your censor. It is the more active part of you. It inhibits you from becoming adventurous, from becoming creative. It keeps you firmly in the box. Tell it to buzz off first and set yourself free to write. That’s what I teach you to do the first two sessions. Then we go into the artsy part of the series – recurrences, description, metaphors. All these you find on your own. I never try to teach you how to write like I write. I cannot teach you that though I can show you, write along with you, read out loud to you. I guarantee, however, that you will find your own voice.
At around the fourth class, Recurrences, your voice changes. Your classmates and I all hear it. We marvel at it. Your writing becomes more whole, more creative, more expressive, but it is in your own voice. That is wonderful. For me, the professor, this is the start of the exciting part. Right now, I have a student, Lisa, who is an accountant by profession and was very left-brained when she began. In four weeks, her poems are so poetic, so whole, so lovely. Everyone in class – Noy, Vince, Deedee, Taffy, Aly, Ching, Janelle – writes better now than when they began.
I have past classes who, on-and-off, talk about doing an advanced class. Frankly, I do not have an advanced class. In my mind, I want to just keep doing the basic course and setting them free to write better, to write best. I just want Joy of Writing to go on because I know it makes people write their best. The next class will begin on June 18 and if you’re interested, just call Ricco-Renzo at 898-2542, leave your name and number, and I will call you back.
If you have nothing to do this weekend, come to the Reposo Street Fair. There will be booths on the street. I will have one. I will be selling my things actually, Second-Hand Rose, that’s me. I also have a few original bead creations. It will be today, Saturday, at 10 onwards and then again on Sunday. You can also enroll in my writing class. My apologies, I realize suddenly that these must be the two days of the year when I am selling me!