Touching on universality is an important part of effective storytelling, but the problem with cliches is that they are tired and dull. And that's where writers must try to be artful. — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share Image
“Cliches remind and reassure us that we're not alone, that other have trod this ground long ago.” — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share Image
“Here, need blurs the line between good and bad, and a constant promise of random violence sticks like humidity down your back.” — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
“He fidgets. Thinks. Observes his fellow passengers. Judges everyone, in the traditional Filipino sport of justifying both personal and shared insecurities.” — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
When I was young, I spent my days and nights trying to impress future generations. I spent them. They're gone. All because I was… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
You can’t bring an unwritten place to life without losing something substantial. Manila is the cradle, the graveyard, the memory. The Mecca, the Cathedral,… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
“A father must take credit for his child, but never a child for his father.” — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
I surprise myself that I'm not dead in the gutter somewhere, surprised that I haven't given up. — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
“We liked to believe there is an alternate world, a better world, populated entirely by characters created by the yearnings of humanity--governing and inspiring… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
I have to believe that literature can effect change; otherwise, I would have no purpose in my life and would have wasted four years… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
I don't see myself as any different from all the other Filipinos who have gone abroad looking for opportunity, to be a nurse, a… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
Clichés remind and reassure us that we're not alone, that others have trod this ground long ago. — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
We referenced fictional characters as if they were people to learn from. As if real-life people were too nebulous, too private and unreal for… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
“There are only three truths. That which can be known. That which can never be known. The third, which concerns the writer alone, truly… — Miguel Syjuco Copy Share
