The Story Behind the Story: “Willing to Wait”
A behind-the-scenes look at how this short fiction came to life.
Willing to Wait is available to read at Breadfruit, first published in February 2024.
Before I even started writing short fiction in September 2023, the concept of Willing to Wait had been sitting, patiently, in the depths of my mind for more than 5 years. It first came to me as an idea for a short film, back when I thought I wanted to revisit my early passion for filmmaking. But my filmmaking dreams never got traction, especially with the costly investments on equipment. So I tucked the idea away then, not knowing what its future would look like.
It wasn’t until I was brainstorming more ideas for my short fiction writing over the holiday break that I remembered this little flame. So I kept fanning it until the fire grew bigger and I completed writing a short story that I felt good about. I guess you could say that this flash fiction piece is aptly called Willing to Wait too, because conception to creation did take its sweet time.
In essence, Willing to Wait demonstrates systemic issues in society, particularly in the context of the Philippines, that lead to unending cycles of exploitation and neglect.
Whether it’s living paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet, or being adaptable to the repercussions of a shitty public transit system, or smiling through flooded homes and streets amid the onslaught of typhoons, Filipinos are often praised for their resilience by the media.
It’s this romanticization of people’s daily plight and hardship that bothers me especially because while Filipinos are generally a happy bunch, the framing of the “resilient Filipino” distracts from the deep-seeded systemic problems and failures of the government.
Through the story’s protagonist, Grace — a deliberate name choice — I wanted to capture as close to an accurate portrayal of a day-in-the-life of a lower-to-middle class Filipino to illustrate the nonsensical challenges and sacrifices that ordinary Filipinos have to go through every day, with little to no alternatives, resulting in them simply accepting that this is their way of life.
But it doesn’t have to be this way — if only we had more competent leaders that are true public servants more than opportunistic politicians.
In terms of publishing, I encountered an extremely rare case for this piece wherein I opened my inbox one morning to two acceptance emails for Willing to Wait that came within 10 minutes of each other.
Normally, I am lightning fast when it comes to withdrawals for simultaneous submissions as soon as I receive an acceptance, but this was a case of unfortunate timing where I didn’t get a chance to withdraw before another acceptance letter came through. I couldn’t say yes to both as much as I wanted to, so I had to make a choice and honor the acceptance of the publisher that sent the first acceptance, which was Breadfruit in this case.
Both publishers would’ve made a great home for Willing to Wait, but I especially liked Breadfruit’s mission as a literary magazine that “champions the voices and words of the lesser-heard, and builds a counter-space where womxn and non binary people from the global majority can come together to create, experiment, and learn.”
Through the publication of this piece by Breadfruit, I hope to amplify the repressed voices of Filipinos like Grace and show their strength and dignity despite the senseless oppression and adversity that they constantly have to endure.
So, Long Story Short (SLSS) is a Medium publication where I pull back the curtain on my original works of short fiction that have been published in literary magazines and journals.
I write about the why and the how, and I aim to post my thoughts within two weeks from the story’s first publication, while the story is still fresh on my mind.
By doing so, I hope to have written artifacts beyond the stories themselves and be reminded of my motivations, inspirations, and evolving writing process, as well as the state of the external world and my inner life in that moment in time.
Thanks for following along.
For more short fiction writing, consider subscribing to my Substack newsletter of the same name, So, Long Story Short.
I write drabbles and offer a behind-the-scenes look at my original works of short fiction published in literary magazines and journals.
