The Interview - J. M. Gasilla Barrios
Website:
Visit the site
What’s the most challenging part of writing for you?
One of the most challenging parts of writing for me was starting the story. The whole world was already inside your head when you decided to start writing, but introducing it and making it compelling and interesting is difficult. There are so many corners of the story to highlight in the first sentence that it felt quite challenging to decide what to feature.
Who are your biggest influences as a writer?
My family. In my fourth book, Mutya: A Collection of Novellas. I told the tales of seven women in our family; it was inspired by the stories that they went through and got passed down through word of mouth. It shows the difference in how each woman lived in their respective eras and respective generations. And, it always baffles me how those stories won't be saved and completely fade into the heads of our future generations because only a few members of the family know about them. So, I decided to write it down and hopefully it will be a way to preserve the tales of my ancestors.
If you could live in one of your book’s worlds, which one would it be?
I probably would choose the latest one I have written. The setting of the story was a fictional take on the colonization of Spain in the Philippines. It has always been fascinating for me trying to map my ancestry that was living during that time, and I have always wanted to see for myself the culture that was forming during that time.
How do you decide on a book’s title?
I decide the book's title before I start writing it. I have a list of all the titles that I think look good for a book, and then I choose one when I feel like that title is calling me, wanting to indulge me with the world hidden behind them. I have a lot of titles stashed, and I will read them one by one, and if an idea of a story and a plot pops in my head then it is the right time to start writing it.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Keep on writing. I have always been passionate about telling a story as a child. But there was a year in which I thought it was not my calling. I was so busy with everything that was unfolding in my life that I abandoned writing tales. It was around two years of my life that I abandoned my craft until I picked up a pen again and decided to make my dream of publishing a book come true.
Writing changed my life for the better, and if I had never abandoned it, I might have been happier. But life is unpredictable and I guess, I have always meant to be a writer, so I am now here.