Paolo Chikiamco is a Filipino writer of prose, comics, and interactive fiction. He is the editor of “Alternative Alamat: Myths and Legends from the Philippines” and his work has been published in anthologies such as “The Sea is Ours” and “The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction.” In the field of comics, he’s the co-creator (handling the writing duties) of “Mythspace: Ignition”, and “A Sparrow’s Roar” and “Muros: Within Magical Walls.” He has also served as a judge for the Graphic Literature category of the National Book Awards and is the creator of the #RP612fic Twitter hashtag.
He published his first short story in the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories Volume 1, Issue 3 in 2007 entitled “Homer’s Child”. And returned when it went digital, under the guest editorship of Yvette Tan, with his story Malvar in 2011.
Welcome back to Philippine Genre Stories, Paolo! I think this would be the Q&A where Kyu will have to bleep a lot out. (Laughing) So, how does being interviewed feel like for you nowadays?
I mean, I have young kids so I’m used to trying to answer questions with aplomb that I’ve never really thought about in my life, so it’s just another Wednesday in that sense.
(Laughing) Yeah, kids sure do that.
I’m just so happy to be able to return the favor of doing an interview with you, for when you did our interviews for Rocket Kapre when Farthest Shore (edited by Joseph Nacino and Dean Alfar) was first launched. Please refresh our memories: what made you decide to put up Rocket Kapre?
In the simpler days of the Internet, the focal point of most fan communities were the blogs. I felt that the natural next step to building a community out of those who wrote and read Philippine spec fic was to have a blog that covered Philippine spec fic in the same manner as old mainstays such as IO9 and Tor.com did for Western spec fic, or the way CBR did for comics. Of course the difference was those were entire teams with financial backing and I was one guy with a cool domain name.
Ooooh yes! And where did all the content in Rocket Kapre go?
Most of it is safe somewhere on my hard drive – one of my hard drives. I’m a pack rat when it comes to digital data. Not an organized one, but you can’t have it all.
Saved! It was recently Independence Day. What do you think of how #RP612fic has gone through the years?
It’s been a while since I checked up on it, given Twitter’s very public and drawn out fall from grace. I enjoy the fact that people took it and made it their own in a way that is very different from how we started it, but one that still, to a large degree, keeps the very core of its essence: a way to celebrate Independence Day for those who create in words (even when they come with videos or meme images) rather than traditional art.
And how did you start exploring the genre anyways? Were there specific books and authors that got you started?
I tend to remember the first of anything that got me into a new source of stories. The first novel I read was also my first fantasy novel, an early 80’s example of the now ubiquitous isekai genre called “The Sleeping Dragon” by Joel Rosenberg.
For comics, the first one I remember reading was Avengers #315, a space adventure which guest starred Spider-man, purchased from Comic Quest in Quad. (Shout out to Vin, up above.)
But my first Philippine comic, the one which opened my eyes to both Philippine mythology and the existence of Philippine creators, was the Mythology Class, by Jamie Bautista and Arnold Arre. I have the original floppies – since I’m an OG fan – but it still tickles me that the international editions of both Mythology Class and Muros (my comic with Borg Sinaban) share the same publisher.
For prose though, my timeline gets a bit confusing. I think I saw the early volumes of Philippine Speculative Fiction before I saw a copy of the first Philippine Genre Stories issue, but I can’t say for sure. In any event, reading both of those lines was definitely what made me dive into spec fic short stories.
Wow…
And Vin is really missed…
How long has it been since you last wrote a short story? What made you answer the call for the PGS submission this time?
I made a few very short ones as bonuses for the Mythspace Kickstarter backers, so if you count those then it hasn’t been that long. Otherwise – probably almost a decade or so? Let me do a quick check – ah, the last time was for PGS as well, the story entitled “Malvar.”
As for what made me answer, I mean, same as last time: there aren’t that many people I’d make a story from scratch for, but Mia and Kyu, you’re both on that very short list.
And thank you! We feel the love, man!
Which among the published stories in Philippine Genre Stories have you found the most interesting so far (and why)?
Of the ones published since the PGS revival (naks), I’d say Tin Lao’s “Honest Reviews” is the one I’ve loved the most. She really captured the ebb and flow of social media postings and the kind of personalities most likely to engage with something like a review post, and told an emergent story in and between the lines. It’s great.
What about Filipino-authored works, which ones that you’ve recently read have sat with you and why?
There are a few that we’ll be publishing in the DELAY Southeast Asian comic anthology for Difference Engine, but of those already available to the public – Josefina by Russell Molina stands out. I was on the National Book Awards judging panel the year it won and while the field was strong, it was clearly the best one that year for me.
Onto your story: what specifically inspired you to write IN AND OUT?
One of the reasons that I don’t really use social media much anymore is that I’m in the part of my mental cycle where I’m a cynic when it comes to using words to engage with those bearing malice. I’ve also had thoughts about the more ‘meta’ applications of Philippine folk magic, and coupled with a character in one of the games that I play who had his ability to curse undermined in a hilarious fashion… Well, this is what came of it.
Ah! So which came easy and hard in writing this story?
It’s hard coming up with cuss-word substitutes that can still be ready instantly as cuss-word substitutes, and not typos.
As for what came easy? Well, let’s just say I use the same trick that Bruce Banner does.
(Laughing).
In your first published story, “Homer’s Child”, you mentioned in your note that words and stories can influence the world around us. And here in “In and Out”, your story is also centered on the power of words. What do you think about how people wield words nowadays?
Wield is a good word choice there – likely because you already know I feel this way about this – but I feel that so many people use words as weapons nowadays. Online discourse is filled with bad actors who, out of hate or because of money, deliberately set out to hurt and harm – if not people personally, then their ideas, principles, or concept of the truth.
The only way these people can harm others online is through words, so words become their weapon, and those who want to resist them feel they must respond in kind… and everyone can get lost in that spectacle of words. In who had the better turn of phrase, who ‘burned’ who and… sometimes it’s important to get too sucked into that.
Lies should be refuted, but most times the real fight isn’t in the word war – if pointing out hypocrisy made evildoers change their ways, the world would be a much better place than it is. Words only matter between people willing to communicate.
Agree.
As someone who’s already had books out, what were the highlights and lowlights of putting a book together to get it published both independently and with a publishing house?
The highlight is always getting the book done – by this I mean the manuscript, the story itself. It’s a monumental task to take your hands off something that a little voice in your head will always tell you is not good enough, and that’s what it means to say you are finished with a story.
Lowlights? The fear that always comes afterwards that this was the last complete story you had in you.
Oh yes, that fear… Is there a next project that you’re already working on?
I’m toiling my way through a piece of interactive fiction that I’ve been working on-and-off on for almost a decade now. I don’t want to move on to anything else this time before I can finish this – but as I said, finishing a story is a monumental task. Especially an interactive work.
May the Force be with you!
As a writer, what tips can you share with the new and aspiring storytellers out there?
The only way a writer that wants to be read (not everyone does) and wants to better their craft (not everyone does) can really improve and discover what they’re capable of is to write work, finish work, release the work, listen to feedback, then start a new work. You can only reach the heights of your abilities by stepping on the bowed backs of all the stories you’ve made before.
And as an editor, what are the top tips you can share?
Not every creator wants to be better, or wants their story to be better, and it’s a waste of time to edit those without that mindset. An editor can only help an author that wants to be helped.
Amen! Anything else that you’d like your current and future readers to know about you?
Hm. I’m not really all that good with interpersonal interactions – I try when I have to, I swear – so if ever we’ve met and I’ve made things awkward (or completely forgotten you) please trust me that it isn’t personal!
Thank you so much again, Pao, and it’s really fun to have you back in 2025!
Thanks for dragging me out of the cave (now to head back in)!