Writing has always been a reflection of one’s self. Writing ugly doesn’t necessarily mean one has poor writing skills or is uneducated or unlearned. Instead, writing ugly means that the writer ignores any semblance of form and reason, of aesthetics, and just goes to convey what he/she truly believes in. 

Writing ugly is when the writer let’s go of those last few drops of vanity. To go beyond writing to impress. Writing is self-expression aside from it being informative and creative. Like art, it is an extention of ourselves – our culture. Hence, it should be as true and as barenaked as possible. To coin a popular proverb, We are what we write. 

As a communications and education grad (yes, separately), I have written in almost every platform. I’ve written for a tech site, wrote for a local romance class publication, for cheap tagalog comic books, for a local broadsheet, for TV and a posh magazine before I gave in to writing online. And one thing that my experiences taught me, is that writing is a skill as it is a passion. And as such, writing should be done with utmost respect. Respect people in the industry. Write as if their credibility is in your hands. 

I have high respect for writers, content creators and bloggers who have, early on, prioritized the quality and honesty of their work compared to those “bloggers” who are more concerned of their statistics, page views and follower count. These are the passionate minds I adore and look forward to consuming on a daily basis. I’ve met great contemporary writers along the way. Marisse Lee, the Lastimosa sisters: Kathleen and Karen Kaye, Karla Mae Cruzado, Pao De Chavez, Anant Shahi, Lawson Elijah, Tish Webber, are some of the best people that do ugly because they write from the heart. Which I think is the best practice where writing is concerned. 

We write ugly because there is nothing beautiful in writing in beauty. Writing ugly creates beauty. Writing ugly IS beauty.