QUILL
Supernatural
An innate gift for words and world-building
earns speculative fiction writer Vida Cruz the
coveted 2017 Writers of the Future prize
I nterv ie w Patrick Kasingsing
Hello! Please introduce yourself.
Hello! I'm Vida Cruz, 26, Filipina spec fic writer and
an occasional artist when I'm not writing. There are a
number of occupations I can imagine myself in, but all
in all, I'm glad I struck out and stuck to the path of a
career writer.
really liked my story, so I decided to send it to Writers
of the Future. I had nothing to lose.
What are some of the preparations a writer has to
undertake before joining a writing competition?
A writer has to write, of course. You cannot join
competitions if you do not start or finish your entry.
Mentally, you also need to prepare yourself for a possible
rejection. On my end, I do hope that my work will get
picked, but I'm also already starting to line up other
possible venues where I can send my
work. There are innumerable venues
and competitions for writers to send
their work out there; rejection from
one does not mean a rejection from
them all.
You've recently won first prize in the prestigious
Writers of the Future contest. What did you feel
the moment you found out about this good news?
Shock, of course, but also
joy—I've said elsewhere that I've
never won first place in anything in
my life before. I was also ready to
start crying, but I couldn't because
of the long phone call I had with the
contest director. Only when the call
ended about half an hour later did
the waterworks unleash.
You've also been recently
published in two upcoming
story anthologies. What for you
is the importance of putting
ones work out there? How does
it help build one's strength and
character as a writer?
I've been talking a lot about rejection
here, but I can't tout its usefulness
enough. Yes, rejection hurts. But it also
toughens you up as a creative person.
What made you decide to
submit to the competition?
As I mentioned above, the
story got rejected three times. My
record for rejections is nine, by
which point I start hating the piece
and consider putting it back in the
trunk. By the third rejection, I still
71