Photos of the Zen Freewriting Adventures!

The writing was intense! :-)

For more photos, click here.

Thank you to everyone who joined the Zen Freewriting Adventures last April 25, 2015! During that adventure, we toured writers around the Mabuhay Temple. If you missed this event, don't worry, the next Freewriting Adventures are on July 25 and Oct. 24. 

For updates, subscribe to our blog http://freewritingadventures.blogspot.com. Follow us on Twitter @FreeWrtngAdvtrs and Facebook at freewritingadventures. 

To register for an adventure, e-mail your name and cellphone number to freewritingadventures@gmail.com. Slots are limited.

Freewriting Adventures are writing sessions that happen in unexpected places. What we do is we visit these interesting areas and use them as inspiration for our writing exercises. It is open to young professionals and college students who want to try their hand at writing. The young at heart are also welcome to join.

Freewriting Adventures is headed by Ja Cruz. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Creative Writing, she graduated Cum Laude from the Ateneo de Manila University and received the Creative Writing Program Award. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, and Cosmopolitan Magazine have published her articles. She worked at Summit Media’s Female Network as an editorial assistant, and she is currently an art reporter for a newspaper.

*Note: The opinions expressed in this blog do not represent the official views of the companies, organizations, or institutions that I am associated with. These opinions are solely my own.

The Zen Freewriting Adventures on April 25, 2015

Freewriting Adventures has taken young writers on a hop-on-hop-off LRT expedition, on a hunt around Luneta park, on a tour around Manila’s top art galleries, and now we are going to a Buddhist temple. The upcoming event is called The Zen Freewriting Adventures. It will be on April 25, 2015 (Saturday) from 10a.m. to 3p.m. at the Mabuhay Temple at 656 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. There is no workshop fee for this event.

Build Your First Writing Kit

So you want to be a writer, but you don't know where to start? You can begin by building your first writing kit.

Arm your kit with a set of ballpens. My writing kit is filled with cheap black ballpens that write smoothly. I don't like gel pens because they feel scratchy when I write. I usually have more than one ballpen in my kit because I often lose them.

Next Freewriting Adventure: April 25, 2015

Here at Freewriting Adventures we believe that to write creatively, the learning process must be as imaginative as the masterpieces that we produce. That's why our participants aren't shuttled into a traditional classroom; we let them run wild through Manila parks and kooky streets. At every interesting stop, we throw them a curious writing challenge.

Post-Adventure Report: Potent Cures to Writer's Block

For my job as an art reporter, I have to constantly produce stories. I can't tell my boss, sorry boss wala kang diyaryo bukas, writer's block eh. When I was just starting out, I didn't know how I'd survive. Thankfully, I just did. Along the way I discovered tips and tricks on how to cure writer's block. Not permanently, but what you can do is quicken the time of recovery from your recurring illness. I learned this from books and personal experiences. Then, I created the writing challenges for Freewriting Adventures' March 29, 2014 event called Potent Cures to Writer's Block at the Rizal Park (Luneta).

Here at Freewriting Adventures we believe that to write creatively, the learning process must be as imaginative as the masterpieces that we produce. That's why our participants aren't shuttled into a traditional classroom; we let them run wild through Manila parks and kooky streets. At every interesting stop, we throw them a curious writing challenge that will help them solve their inky icky problem

Third Freewriting Adventure: Foot-Loose in Manila (Lrt Edition)

3. Freewriting Adventures Foot-Loose in Manila (Lrt Edition) on Sept. 7, 2013 

The third Freewriting Adventure was inspired by the book Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line by Jean Pearce. It is a travel book where the author went from one train station to the next. At every stop, the author explored the areas near that station. 

For the Manila version, I decided to use the LRT station because the surrounding areas interested me. From Tayuman station, we went to the Dangwa Flower Market and hunted for curious flowers.

Post-Adventure Report: How to Write Funny Without Even Trying

Last Jan. 24, Freewriting Adventures welcomed 2015 with How to Write Funny Without Even Trying, an adventure that brought participants to Luneta Park (Rizal Park) in Manila. In Freewriting Adventures, we believe that the learning process should be as creative as the written work that we produce. An alternative learning experience, Freewriting Adventures challenges participants to explore the world, interact with what they find there, and use that as inspiration.

If you missed our funny adventure, don't worry. Future adventures will be on April 25, July 25, and Oct. 24. All dates are Saturdays, and each event will last from 1p.m. to 5p.m. Further details will be announced when the adventure nears. Each adventure has limited slots, so watch out for the registration announcements. As a special treat, the adventure on April 25 will have no workshop fee!