Category: Events

Introduction to Microfiction

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you to SingLit Station and the Migrant Writers of Singapore for organizing last Saturday’s Introduction to Microfiction session. We had a full house of 21 writers — mostly poets who wanted to try their hand at narrative writing.

Why is it important for writers to learn how to craft microfiction?

Writing microfiction requires you to identify the essential elements of a story — protagonist, conflict, resolution — and to convey them effectively within a limited space. Moreover, the form forces you to be very concise and efficient with your words, as you need to make every word count. Lastly, writing within tight word limits can stimulate your creativity and provide opportunities for experimenting with different styles and techniques.

From Cybertext to the Metaverse

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you to visual artist and technologist Debbie Ding for inviting Joses Ho and myself to conduct our discussion “From Cybertext to the Metaverse” at the Goethe Institute last 30 November. It was the first talk I ever gave that was done almost entirely in virtual reality . We visited 5 worlds that Debbie had created: Flowers, the Udon Bird Sanctuary, Cyberlove Suites, The Commuter and Lost Horizons. The latter was a vast library hidden at the fictional crash site of the (still missing).MH370 –it reminded me of my own Infinite Library. Great discussion on virtual worlds as art, ergodic literature, Reductionism, and world-building for open world games. [n.b. I should have asked how to change my avatar. It was a bit hard to maintain my dignity as an anthropomorphic yokai goldfish.]

More info here on Debbie Ding’s open studio exhibit: “The Psychogeographerโ€™s Guide to Virtual Worlds”.

2024 Singapore Writers Fest Recap

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

It finally happened! After being a part of the Singapore Writers Festival since 2012, I have successfully made it to the opening ceremony. This time there were no overseas work trips, family emergencies, pandemics, or major health issues.

With author Claire Betita de Guzman and calligrapher Malik Mazlan.

Tech Talks: Exploring AIโ€™s Impact on Literary Arts

Thank you to #SingaporeWritersFestival for organising and hosting a panel on the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and the literary arts last Saturday, with Arianne Saga, Daryl Lim Wei Jie, and Simon Chesterman. We talked about how AI affected the writing profession, copyrights and copyright law, as well as its impact on education. Notably, we also discussed whether the fair use provisions of SG’s Copyright Act covered GEN AI transformers or not. Lots of good questions from a very full house. I wish we had half a day to discuss.

Book Bar and the Infinite Library

I was surprised (but grateful) to see my short story collection, The Infinite Library and Other Stories, at the Bookbar in SWF 2024. I only had one panel this year, so I didn’t think they’d stock it.

With author Noelle de Jesus and M&O publisher Patricia Mulles (Thank you Pat for the photos!).

Build an Unforgettable World

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you so much to NTU’s Asia Creative Writing Program and Singapore’s National Arts Council for inviting me to run a cross-discipline worldbuilding workshop during yesterday’s ACWP Practitioner’s Conference. I’m happy that the 36 folks who signed up seemed to enjoy the experience and I hope everyone learned something new. Interestingly, while I had designed the course primarily for narrative fictionists, I was pleasantly surprised to see both an award-winning poet and a best-selling creative nonfiction writer sitting in. Thank you also to Leo (Muhamed Leoaidil Bin) and Annabel Lee for helping to arrange this.

Futurecasting at SMU

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Last Friday, 3 October 2023, I delivered my first-ever lecture on Futurecasting to 60 MBA students at Singapore Management University. We talked about the history of Future Studies and dove deep into various methodologies such as Science Fiction Prototyping, Future Personas, the Six Archetypes Framework, the Alt Futures Framework, and Threatcasting. It was a fantastic opportunity to merge the two sides of my career – writing and technology. Brian David Johnson’s book was what started me on this path.

๐ˆ๐ฆ๐š๐ ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐…๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ 2024

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Postscript:

Thanks again to Lian Connect and the British Fantasy Society for inviting me to participate in this wonderful festival. Here’s a screen shot from the event:

Please join us tomorrow, Sept 22, 2024, from 11:00am to 4:30 pm BST, for ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐š๐ ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ: ๐€ ๐ƒ๐ž๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐…๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐„๐’๐„๐€ ๐’๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐…๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ, an online Zoom conference with Lian Connect in partnership with the British Fantasy Society, in honour of ESEA Heritage Month. 

Join Xueting Christine Ni (โ€œSinophagiaโ€, โ€œSinopticonโ€), illustrator Sinjin Li, P.H. Low (โ€œThese Deathless Shoresโ€), and myself with Elaine Chiew (moderator) as we explore if an “East South East Asian speculative fiction aesthetic” exists — or if can one even be defined.

Panel info here.  

More info on the event here.

Beyond Text: Redux

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you to the National Library Singapore for inviting multidisciplinary artist Debbie Ding, playwright Johnny Jon Jon. and myself to last night’s Beyond Text panel, where we had a (very spirited) discussion on the intersection of new technology and the arts. Thank you also to Maliah Zubir for facilitating the event. Most of all, thank you to the 72 folks (plus or minus a few AI transcription bots) who tuned in on a Wednesday night!

You can watch the recording of the event here: https://www.facebook.com/readingnationsg/videos/1255765222448043

Beyond Text: Imagining Future Tech in Stories

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Artificial Intelligence. Web 3.0. Augmented and Virtual Reality. what role do emerging and speculative technologies play in the arts? In this session of Beyond Text, we explore how contemporary art, speculative design, and world-building are used for storytelling. We also examine the portrayal of these speculative technologies in fiction.

Please join our panel as they discuss these new technologies, their benefits, dangers, and misconceptions in the context of storytelling and the arts. Brought to you by GoLibrary | National Library Board, Singapore.

Interested? Kindly register here : go.gov.sg/beyondtext4

#nationalreadingmovement #readingnationsg #nlb hashtag#sciencefiction #scifi #virtualreality #technology #readersoffacebook #bookstagram #readersofinstagram

CAP 2024: Introduction to Interactive Fiction

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you to the Ministry of Education’s Gifted Education Branch for inviting me once again to hold a Creative Arts Program workshop on adding interactivity and cross-platform functionality to your writing. I absolutely love teaching these sessions (and it seems that the feeling was mutual as students were mobbing me for advice long after the actual class was over).