Thanks to Praise's Waterfall for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 59

"Hey," Lovino greeted as soon as he saw Vlad on Monday morning. "I have good news."

"Yeah?" Vlad prompted, looking excited.

"So, I talked to my dad, and he's willing to sponsor you for the workshop this weekend."

Vlad's face fell and he sighed.

"I appreciate the offer," he said, "but I don't want you spending so much money on my behalf. I don't want any charity."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Lovino said. "Which is why my dad and I made an agreement. The gallery has a fundraiser, and on that day he's going to need some help. Setting things up, cleaning afterwards, telling people where to find the bathrooms… things like that. Since it's a fundraiser, he doesn't want to spend a lot of money on hiring people. So, if you accept the sponsorship, then you're also volunteering for the fundraiser."

Vlad stared at him for a moment, before he smirked.

"That is sneaky and underhanded," he said. "But fair. So, when's this fundraiser, and what does it involve?"

"It's next Saturday," Lovino replied. "It's kind of like an auction for the artworks made by the kids. People 'bid' and donate their biddings to the gallery. They don't really have to take the work unless they really want to, but if they leave it, it makes it possible for another bidding later in the day. Kids of all ages will be taking part."

"That's interesting. And kind of giving them a taste of how the outside world is like. Will the kids at least get something out of it?"

"There's a competition for the best entries in each category, but they all get a gift for their participation, and they get free entry to the gallery for a year. They also agree that any money made on their entries will be for the gallery."

"Okay. Well, the concept sounds interesting. And I guess it's a way to get kids interested in art. I wonder if I can get my brother involved too."

"He's welcome to participate if he wants to. I'll give you the details later."

Lovino's eyes trailed to the teacher, who had just entered the class. Any further discussions would have to wait.

…

"It's been a few months now, and there's definitely progress," Matthew announced as he examined his notes. "Good job. I'm really proud of you."

Lovino beamed at the praise. Even he would admit that the way he felt now was different than the way he felt four months ago. And he knew who he should thank for that.

"So, care to tell me how your novel is coming along?" Matthew asked.

"It's going well," Lovino said. "I also decided… I wanted to use a pseudonym."

"Really? Any particular reason?"

"S-si. You see… for the longest time, I thought my name meant 'I ruin'. And those three also learned about the word rovino."

"Yeah, I can hear the similarities. I'm guessing they gave you grief about your name."

"Si. They did. I want to escape from that. I also don't want any potential readers to make that mistake too. I mean, who would want to read a book written by someone whose name means 'I ruin'?"

Matthew pursed his lips, before he nodded.

"I can see why that would be a problem for you," he said. "But you shouldn't let your name be a cause of fear or shame."

"My dad at least explained where the name came from," Lovino said. "It was the nickname of a kid who saved his life. But… the name I chose isn't technically running away from my name. It's what my mom wanted to call me, and it would have been my middle name. And it means 'novel' in Esperanto."

"So, you started learning Esperanto?"

"I just studied the rules. Feliks is actually teaching me Polish, which isn't so easy. I've been checking a few translations, you know, to help my vocabulary a bit. The website I use also has the Esperanto translations, for some reason."

"And that's where you saw this?"

Lovino nodded.

"I decided to write as Romano Vargas," he said. "In that way, I'm also honouring my mother. Is that okay?"

Matthew smiled warmly.

"That's not up to me to decide," he said. "As long as you feel happy, and as long as you believe that the intention is good, then no one is allowed to judge your choice. Now you've got me excited to see Romano Vargas on the bookshelf."

Lovino beamed. He'd gotten to know Matthew well enough to know that it wasn't simple praise. The man actually meant it.

…

Francis groaned as he slumped forward. Well, toilet was clean. He just wanted to rest, and he should probably do it away from the toilet.

"Is the little prince tired?" Evelyn asked.

Francis wasn't particularly happy about the housekeeper's attitude, but he had to bear with it. He still had a few weeks left of his grounding. He didn't want to give his parents any reason to increase the duration even further.

He would need to be patient. And once Antonio and Gilbert were free as well, they would have to repay Lovino for this humiliation.

…

The workshop would take place across two days. The first session was on the Friday, and the second on the Saturday. Mr Kirkland had volunteered to take the students, since he was the one that suggested it to Lovino in the first place. And as a teacher of literature, he had an interest in the material as well.

The workshop took place at the local university, and started at a time when everyone would be able to come. As they made their way towards the lecture hall, Lovino was a bit side-tracked by the flyers posted on one of the bulletin boards. They were all about the university's school of languages. Among them was Creative Writing.

He could also see booklets of the school of languages, and he grabbed one. He would have to apply for university soon, and it would be a good idea to start looking for possibilities. Lovino then rushed to catch up with the others.

Arthur glanced back at him, and smiled when he saw the booklet in his hand. He nodded in approval before turning back to the front, where they could see a table with drinks and snacks set out.

"It should be another ten minutes," Arthur said. "Feel free to indulge in some of the snacks."

At their teacher's approval, the four teens immediately descended upon the table. Lovino chose some of the biscuits laid out, before fixing himself a cup of coffee, thankful that they had the ground coffee there and that it wasn't made beforehand. Those things could be a bit watered down for his taste.

"I'm assuming you're the high school students."

They all turned to see someone approaching them. He looked at each of them in turn, a gleam in his eyes. He looked thrilled. Arthur turned to regard the man and smiled.

"Ah, Winston James, am I correct?" Arthur asked.

"Indeed I am," the man said.

The two men shook hands, and Lovino immediately understood. The man was one of the organisers. After Arthur introduced himself, Winston turned back to regard them.

"I'm always thrilled to see young people interested in the literary arts," Winston said. "Have any of you considered a career as a writer?"

Lovino felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see that it belonged to Arthur.

"Well, Lovino here's been working on a novel for the last two months or so," Arthur said. "And he's quite good. His short stories are always a thrill to read."

Lovino blushed at the praise, and the blush darkened when he realised that Winston's full attention was now on him.

"Glad to hear that," Winston said. "If you don't mind me asking, would you tell me what it's about?"

Lovino flinched, averting his gaze.

"It's… kind of autobiographical," Lovino explained.

"Ah," Winston said, nodding. "A painful part of your past. Might I offer some advice? Never be ashamed of what you're working on, or what inspired you to write it. We all have stories to tell. Some of them are based in reality, some have affected us deeply, and some of them are things we wish to say. A fight against injustice. A love that was not meant to be. We all have these tales within us. It's our job as writers to bring them out in the open, because no matter what, they will resonate with someone. Write for those who wish to read what you have to write."

Lovino smiled at the man's words. Simply hearing them made him feel warm inside. And it made him think that, perhaps, there would be people willing to read what he had written.

A few minutes later, they were all allowed into the lecture hall. Lovino was surprised to see a bag at each seat, and when he opened the bag, he saw that it contained a programme of the activities, notes, a pen, a literature magazine (which he didn't even know existed until that moment) and a notepad.

"Is this normal?" Lovino asked.

"Indeed it is," Arthur said. "At workshops, they usually give you all you need. And I must say, the bags this time are quite beautiful."

"Have you been to this kind of thing before, Mr Kirkland?" Vlad asked.

"I'm a teacher. Workshops are part of the package."

The first part was essentially an introduction of the presenters, including Winston. One of the other presenters, Madeline Grace, was one of the screenwriters of a soap opera, and the third presenter, Pierre Andrews, was a poet with a few collections already published.

Next, there was a discussion of the literary genres, starting with the main genres of poetry, prose and drama, accompanied by a spider graph of the subgenres.

"With prose and drama, narrative is key," Madeline said. "In the case of drama especially, everything that you bring in needs to play a part of the narrative. No red herrings, keep the subplots to a minimum, and focus on the characters. With prose you can stray a little, especially with longer works, but in the case of short stories, keep everything relevant. And when writing poetry, thoughts and emotions are key. Focus on the message."

Lovino wrote all of this down, determined not to miss anything. She continued with the literary genres, going into more detail with all of them, and then Winston took over as he started discussing the storyline.

"When writing a narrative, whether it be a play, short story, novella or novel, plot is the most important factor," Winston explained. "Use the question words when planning your story: who, what, when, where, why, how. Use these six questions as your basis, and work from there."

Lovino wrote them all down as well, thinking back to his own novel and pleased that he had, in fact, included these six questions during the planning phase.

"Many authors have many approaches when it comes to their writing," Winston continued. "While some do extensive planning, which includes worldbuilding, other authors simply dive in, and allow the story to be told the way the story wants to be told. Some describe it as driving at night with the headlights on. You don't know what's ahead of you until you're almost on top of it. None of these are wrong, and it's all a matter of personal taste."

Winston then proceeded to explain his own approach, which involved ten steps when it came to writing a story. He also recommended it for people who were just starting out.

"The first step is to decide what you want to say," Winston said. "Many stories have a central theme or a message, though this isn't a requirement. Social commentary is, of course, one of the most popular themes. These messages do not have to be heavy or negative, and even if you choose something heavy and negative, it's also possible to convey these stories in a light-hearted or even comical way. Satire and allegory are among the ways in which you could attempt to do so."

Well, Lovino had a central theme: bullying, and what it could do to a person. He also wanted to show any potential reader going through something like that that there was always hope, one just needed to know how to look for it, and be brave enough to try.

"The second step is to decide on the characters," Winston continued. "These are of course the people acting out your message. Be careful of writing one-dimensional characters. Try to describe them. For example: the main character is a nerd." Winston was silent as he examined everyone. "You all got a picture in your minds, didn't you? You imagined someone with a pair of thick glasses, perhaps buckteeth and braces, and with outdated fashion. Be careful of writing stereotypes. Now, if I were to say that the main character is a seventeen-year-old high school student with social anxiety who excels in mathematics and sciences, and who is lonely and has a strong need of friends… That character seems more human, don't you think?"

Lovino sighed, thinking about his own characters. He'd tried to make them as fleshed-out as possible, but he wondered if he'd allowed them to become stereotypes.

"Step three is to consider the circumstances. Now, imagine, for a moment, a rabbi, imam and priest in a jailcell. How did the three of them get there? Are their stories connected, or do they perhaps share their individual stories with each other in order to pass the time?"

Circumstances. Lovino might want to consider revising that one.

"Step four is where you start making notes about what happens in the story. This is essentially brain storming, and you don't have to include everything. Just imagine as many events as possible, and try to incorporate them. This is most often the most enjoyable part of the story-writing process."

Since the events of Lovino's novel were based on his own experiences, he had an abundance of events that occurred. The most difficult was trying to decide whether they would be part of the backstory or the main story.

"Step five is to decide how the story will end. Some writers find it easier to think of the ending first. They know what the goal is, and they work on reaching the goal. That way, they believe, the story doesn't stray too much. Other writers prefer to focus on the characters and events, and see where the story takes them."

An ending. That was something that Lovino needed to work on as well.

"Step six, and I know this might seem strange, is to choose a beginning. Now that you know how the story will end, you need to decide on a starting point."

Beginning was settled. Lovino had chosen a prologue where his main character considered suicide for the first time while his bullies were attempting to drown him. Again, based on his own experiences.

"Step seven, and this is particularly true for longer works, is to decide on the different scenes. Start with a framework of the main events, and then write what's going to happen with each scene. Let's go back to our socially awkward teenager. He has a crush on a popular girl in his school, but he has no courage to talk to her. And now, they're paired up on a project. The first scene could be where the two of them are paired up. The second of where they start to work on the project in the library. The third could be where some popular jock starts to flirt with the girl or pick on the socially awkward teenager. The fourth is where the boy stands up for himself. The fifth is where he admits that he likes the girl. And the last scene could be where she either accepts or rejects him."

Lovino was fairly confident in the events he'd chosen, and how they flowed with one another.

"The eighth step is to write a synopsis, where you describe what happens with each scene. It's crucial to write this as complete as possible. Essentially, when you finish the synopsis, your planning is pretty much finished."

…That one might be something he should look at again.

"Step nine is the most important step of them all: Start writing. Your planning is finished, so now it's important to write the story in all its entirety. Keep the characters in mind. Make sure that what they say or do is something that they would say or do. This process might take the longest, and is the most susceptible to the horror that is writer's block. That is what all the prior planning was for. Write your story, and don't stop until you're finished."

That was what Lovino had been doing for the last two months.

"And finally, the last step: read and rewrite. No matter how experienced or how skilled you think you are, no one is going to have a masterpiece on the first draft. What you do at this point is read through it again, and then rewrite. Did the characters stay in character? Did you stay within the confines of the setting? Are there any contradictions?" Winston gave a wry smile. "On average, I'd say that you write your story about five times. One thing I'd suggest is to let your story rest in a drawer for a few weeks before reading through it. This creates distance, and allows you to spot any mistakes that you wouldn't have caught if you were still deeply involved."

Read and rewrite. Lovino didn't look forward to rewriting the text, but he supposed that he could see the method in the madness. Read and rewrite.

When Winston was finished, they had a short intermission. Lovino used this time to go to the bathroom, and when he returned, he nearly bumped into Winston.

"Sorry," Lovino apologised.

"Quite alright," Winston said. "So, how are you finding things so far?"

"To be honest… I appreciate those ten steps. It gave me something to think about."

It's been years since I took part in a workshop, but one that I definitely took part in back in 2014 was a writing workshop (though it specifically focused on playwriting), offered by the ATKV (the Afrikaans Language and Culture Association – Afrikaans Taal- en Kultuurvereniging). I kept the programme and the notes they gave us, which includes these ten steps (though I translated and paraphrased all of them). Personally, I prefer to write the story the way the story wants to be written. In other words, I suck at planning.

I studied Language and Literature Study at my university, which is part of the School of Languages. My majors were French and German, and my minor was Creative Writing. I also had two years of Afrikaans/Dutch, and a year of History (that's how the programme worked: two majors, a minor, and two extra subjects which is then dropped over the next two years, though you can still get an extra subject in a later year if your schedule and finances allow for it; to be fair, there are huge gaps on the schedule and the course itself is pretty cheap (unless you have Afrikaans and/or English in the third year, which is double the cost of the other subjects), and the biggest problem regarding the schedule is whether or not your subjects clash with each other). There's also a mandatory philosophy subject in the second and third years, which can be seen in almost every field of study in the university. I managed to get an exemption for the second-year subject, but not the third-year. Philosophy is fun when it's not mandatory. You also get an academic literacy subject in your first year, which is divided into three parts: academic writing, reading skills and computer skills. This was a pretty tedious subject for everyone, but the reading is fine if you're able to read more than 220 words per minute. I managed to get an exemption due to my reading speed, but a misunderstanding had me return to the reading lab. After seeing my score, it was decided that I would only do five sessions instead of thirteen, and then the exam. My average was 340 words per minute, my record 414, and with a migraine I get 280. The exam was with a migraine, and we discovered that I never lost my exemption, so I spent five sessions there for no reason. Well, if anyone was curious about how it worked in my university, now you know.

And the names of the three presenters are names I came up with on the spot.