Local fictionists weigh in on Wattpad, Marcelo Santos III, future of PHL literature

Words failed Wilmor Pacay III, a Literature instructor at a college somewhere along Taft Avenue, when he required his students to write a book report. Nearly 80 percent of them reviewed Wattpad books.

 

It was startling, according to Pacay. “Next sem lahat ng klase ko ganun yung final project, pero hinahanda ko na yung sarili ko na Wattpad readers na nga yata ang bagong henerasyon,” he said.

 

In addition, the rest of his students reviewed Ramon Bautista and Bob Ong. Only one student read what most in the academe consider a part of the canon of Philippine literature. It was a novel by Ellen Sicat.

 

“Grabe! Does that mean mas popular na ‘yung Wattpad (writers) kesa kina Bob Ong at Ramon Bautista?” he figured. 

 

Popular fiction

 

This year saw a swell of readers on Wattpad, mostly in their teens.

 

Some Wattpad stories, which receive a tremendous following based on the number of views, were recently turned into book form. 

 

In March 2014, Summit Media, one of the country’s leading book publishers, inked a partnership with Wattpad to print stories for their Pop Fiction imprint.

 

Bianca Bernardino’s “She’s Dating the Gangster,” originally published on CandyMag.com's Teen Talk section, has already been read over 1.1 million times on Wattpad. 

 

Like Bernardino’s novel, Wattpad stories have been adapted into teleserye and movies. 

 

The surge of Wattpad readers is paralleled by the growing fanbase of Marcelo Santos III. The latter’s Facebook page has 4.1 million likes. Every post, no matter how mundane it is, spawns thousands of likes and shares.

 

But these phenomenons have received various criticisms and condemnations from a few 'serious' bibliophiles. Some claim that Wattpad stories do not foster critical thinking. 

 

A certain Angielou Soberano expressed her frustration on Facebook after reading Santos’s bestselling novel “Para sa Hopeless Romantic.” She said if she had the chance, she would choose a pack of Oreos anytime over such “nonsense.”

 

Pundits have also established a #SaveLiterature campaign to “bring back the beautiful literary pieces of our great writers and eradicate the writers who contribute to the delusion of our youth.” 

 

Philippine literature?

 

Wattpad has given amateur writers a chance to publish their stories. Over a decade after Bob Ong published his first book and created a stir in the academe, academics still ask, “Is there space in Philippine literature for popular fiction?”

 

John Bengan, who teaches writing and literature at the University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao, said if Marcelo Santos III has a wide readership, we may perhaps consider him part of Philippine literature. 

 

Bengan holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School in New York City. As for Wattpad, he said, “Some read it for fun. There's no harm in that.” 

 

Meanwhile, Dumaguete-based multi-awarded fictionist Ian Rosales Casocot said he would not make a blanket judgement call for all Wattpad stories. “Maybe as an object of an academic study. But certainly not as an object of an in-class review (i.e., teachers assigning readings for students to make reaction papers about). Who knows, there might be something really good amidst all that junk?”

 

Vim Nadera, UP professor and director IV of Philippine High School for the Arts, related that he has already read some Wattpad stories. According to him, “Kung mayroong mga kuwentong pulido o pinag-isipan o pinag-aralang mabuti, dapat sigurong ipabasa o ipanood sa mga guro at estudyante. Kung hindi naman pala lahat basura, hindi naman pala lahat dapat itapon.” 

 

Even Francisco Balagtas and William Shakespeare were denounced by self-proclaimed vanguards of High Art during their times, he explained. “Halimbawa sila noon ng sining na popular. Kinalaunan, hindi ba sina Balagtas at Shakespeare ang ginawang huwaran?” 

 

Meanwhile, Ilokano fictionist and Bannawag magazine editor Ariel Tabag said, “Dapat i-qualify ng guro kung anong uri ng akda ang gawa ng Wattpad writers at ni Marcelo Santos III. Nakakainggit lang kasi tinuturo siya sa mga klase sa Filipino, samantalang yung rehiyonal na panitikan na napakalaking bahagi ng kabuuang panitikang Filipino ay 'di man lang nababanggit.”

 

Tabag lauded Santos’s attempt at drawing readers. “Sariling sikap din kasi siya kung paano siya nakilala—ibig kong sabihin, hindi siya gumamit ng pera ng gobyerno para makilala siya. Magandang tularan ng mga rehiyonal na manunulat kung paano siya nakilala para makilala rin ang mga rehiyonal na akda,” he suggested.

 

Palanca award-winning novelist Lualhati Bautista said, “Kahit kailan, hindi ako snooty sa panitikan. Ang turing ko sa lahat ng nasusulat, literature. Komiks, literatura iyan para sa akin; pop literature. Mga graffiti, pati mga nakasulat sa mga dyip—ang tawag ko diyan, literature of the streets.”

 

Bautista, whose bestselling novels “Dekada '70,” “Bata, Bata...Pa'no Ka Ginawa?,” and “Bulaklak ng City Jail” were adapted into films, had only heard about Wattpad stories from other people. She noted the lack of publishing houses and bookstores in the country. 

 

“Tama lang na makahanap ng lugar ang mga kabataang manunulat kung saan nila malalathala ang kanilang mga obra,” she said. 

 

Dilettante at heart

 

Popular fictionist and 2014 SEAWrite awardee Jun Cruz Reyes related, “Lahat ng panahon may juvenile generation. Ang Wattpad ay bersyon ng literature ng mga adolescent na may pambili ng load, may access sa net, may laptop at ang gustong kausap ay screen. Dahil sila ang nakararami sa populasyon, kaya napapansin sila.” 

 

“We all go through the same phase,” Casocot said. “We just had different reading materials. My generation had Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins and Sweet Valley High and R.L. Stine. Not exactly top-notch literature. But we'll go through readings that hook us because they are an extension of our secret teenage fantasies. I guess these Wattpad stories are the same.”

 

Beverly Siy, a copyright advocate and MA Filipino Major in Panitikan student, encourages Wattpad authors to continue writing. She compared writing to riding a bike. “Hindi mo matututuhan kung hindi ka aktuwal na uupo sa bisikleta at magpepedal. Natural lang ang mga semplang, ang pagbagsak, ang maling pagpadyak, bahagi iyan ng proseso. Hindi iyan dapat ikinahihiya.”

 

Nadera saw his beginnings with young writers, explaining, “Wala naman sa lahi namin ang manunulat. Subalit, dahil may isang gurong naniwala o nagtiwala sa akin, naniwala o nagtiwala na rin ako sa aking sarili. Minsan, ang ganoong pagbubukas ng pinto ang nagdadala sa atin sa dako pa roon.”

 

Ronaldo S. Vivo Jr., fictionist and anthologist from the transgressive group Ungaz Press, said, “Sa panahon ng social media at smartphones, nakakatuwa ang kabataan ay dumadampot at nagbubuklat pa rin ng libro. Ang nakakalungkot lang dito, nabibiktima sila ng publishers na walang pakialam sa idinudulot ng produkto nila. Tinuturuan lang sila na huwag magsuri at kumapit na lang sa mga pangako ng ‘forever’ o eternal ignorance.”

 

Aside from this, Bautista cautions about posting stories online. “Malaki ang panganib na makopya nang hindi nila alam. Isang paksa, isang eksena, isang passage—maaari iyang angkinin ng iba. Nagkalat ang mga mangongopya sa bansang ito. Sana’y mayroon silang mga kaukulang safeguard,” she said.

 

According to her, writers can be exploited upon signing their contracts with publishers and producers. 

 

“No’ng araw na mauso ang pelikula na hinango sa mga komiks, ipinirma ng maraming manunulat sa mga producer ang lahat ng karapatan sa kanilang mga obra. Nang mauso ang pagsasalin ng pelikula sa telebisyon bilang mga teleserye, ang producer ang nakinabang sa mga obra ng mga manunulat—producer ang nabayaran ng daan-daang libo at walang nakuha ang mga writer. Hindi makapaghabol ang mga manunulat dahil sa clause na ‘all rights and in perpetuity’,” she expounded.

 

Duty-bound

 

Fictionists are convinced that there is no forever in juvenile and stereotype writing.

 

“Lahat ng tao, inaasahan mag-mature, kasama na ang mga writer ng Wattpad,” Reyes insisted. 

 

Also, for Nadera, “mahalagang alamin ng isang manunulat ang kasaysayan. Bilang mambabasa, tungkulin kong ipabasa sa iba pang mambabasa kung ano ang magandang basahin. Bilang manunulat, mas mabigat ang ating responsibilidad.”

 

“Ang responsibilidad ng manunulat na walang tali sa leeg ay magmulat, mag-angat ng kamalayan at ipaalala sa malalakas na hindi lahat ay sumasang-ayon sa kanila,” Vivo explained. 

 

He also warned about writers who claim they are for the masses, but only do it for the money. “Mas masahol sila sa mga nagsusulat para lang kumita,” he said. — VC, GMA News