Long before his name appeared on an official recognition as a registered writer and author, Jake Allen B. Lorenzo, was simply a child with a pen, a diary, and stories he wanted to tell.

What began as unfiltered diary entries eventually grew into campus journalism, poetry, prose, and novels. Years later, that childhood dream found a milestone when the Wesleyan University-Philippines (WUP) College of Education alumnus was officially recognized as a registered writer and author by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) on September 17, 2026.

For Lorenzo, the recognition was more than a professional achievement. It was a moment of looking back at the younger version of himself who once only imagined becoming a writer.

“The experience is still so surreal,” Lorenzo shared. “I remember when it was just a dream of mine ever since I was a child, wondering about my dreams and my passion as a writer.”

His journey, however, was not written in a single chapter.

Where the Story Began

Lorenzo’s first encounters with writing were personal and unfiltered. As a child, he filled pages with diary entries, allowing his thoughts and imagination to find their way onto paper.

In high school, his writing took another direction when an English teacher recognized his potential and encouraged him to try campus journalism.

At first, Lorenzo recalled, writing was simply something he enjoyed doing. He would write fan fiction about his classmates and himself, sometimes involving his crushes. But what started as playful writing eventually introduced him to feature writing, copyreading, and headline writing.

Feature writing became particularly important in shaping his creative expression.

Through it, he learned how factual prose could still carry creativity and how his fascination with poetry could find its way into his writing. His early experiences taught him that writing could inform while still allowing room for imagery, emotion, and a distinct voice.

That early discovery eventually followed him to Wesleyan, where his childhood dream began to take a more definite form.

Finding a Voice in the Wesleyan Halls

Lorenzo describes his time as a Wesleyanian as deeply personal—not only because of the lessons he learned in classrooms, but because of the people and experiences that surrounded him.

It was during his sophomore year that he felt his identity as a writer truly began to bloom.

“The university helped shape me into the writer I am today. It was the place, the classrooms, the hallways, and the laughter—not just the institution itself, but the vibrant souls within it,” he said.

His professors introduced him to Literature, Stylistics, and Discourse Analysis, subjects that helped him understand that becoming a writer was not simply about imitating the authors he admired. It was about discovering and developing a voice of his own.

Outside the classroom, Lorenzo also found opportunities to create spaces for other writers. As Vice President of ANGLICIZERS, the English program’s local organization, he introduced a literary writing showcase where students could share their works and have their voices heard.

Meanwhile, his classmates became accustomed to seeing him quietly writing at the edge of the room—sometimes a poem, sometimes a prose piece, and sometimes something inspired by someone he admired.

One particular relationship would eventually inspire something much larger.

A classmate, fellow English major, and close friend became one of the muses behind Lorenzo’s writing. What began as quiet admiration and longing gradually became poems and prose, eventually growing into a novel:

Let Me Breathe Beneath the Forgotten Sky.

For Lorenzo, inspiration could come from people, memories, emotions, and experiences. Each could become another page in a story.

Writing Beyond the Expected

Today, Lorenzo writes novels, prose, and poetry while exploring experimental and avant-garde forms.

His literary interests extend to queer literature, Boys’ Love and broader queer narratives, as well as Dark Academia, Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction, postmodern literature, experimental writing, avant-garde forms, and ergodic literature.

For him, writing is also a way of giving space to voices that deserve to be heard.

“I am fascinated by using gender and sexuality as my literary framework, driven by the belief that queer voices must be heard and never silenced,” he said.

Yet finding a distinct voice has not always been easy.

Lorenzo acknowledges the challenge of being an unconventional writer while navigating a literary environment where established forms and styles can sometimes make experimentation feel uncertain. He continues to question whether unusual approaches—from combining poetry and prose to experimenting with fragmented narratives and typography—can find their place in contemporary Philippine literature.

But uncertainty has also become part of his growth.

Rather than seeing writing as a finished skill, Lorenzo sees it as a continuing process of learning, revising, unlearning, and discovering.

He has learned that reading does more than entertaining. It can change how a person sees the world. More importantly, he has learned not to force his writing to follow passing trends.

“The true beauty of writing lies in its authenticity,” he said. “When it isn’t forced, mimicked, or imitating others, it proves that unique voices truly matter.”

A Recognition, and Another Beginning

When Lorenzo received his NBDB certificate, the moment brought him back to the dream he had carried since childhood.

He described the experience as overwhelming and ambivalent—an achievement he was proud of, yet one that also made him reflect on the writer he had been, and the writer he still hopes to become.

“I was caught in a process of quiet recollection, remembering how I used to simply crave and long for this dream to come true—and now it had, entirely through effort,” he recalled.

Even with the recognition, Lorenzo remains hesitant to see himself as having reached the final destination.

Perhaps that is because, for him, being a writer is less about possessing a title and more about continuing to write.

He writes to share stories, to express himself, to cope, and to understand the purpose behind the gift he has been developing since childhood.

“To begin with, it is currently a personal hobby. I write because I want to share my story with the world,” he said. “And I am going to write more, and more, and more, and more, and more.”

Lorenzo graduated from Wesleyan University-Philippines in 2025, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, major in English. Currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Literature (MALitt) at Central Luzon State University.

“I aspire to further enhance my writing abilities and continue developing my craft as a writer and a poet, and also to understand the complexities of this world—especially the human condition and the human consciousness,” Lorenzo said, emphasizing his keen interest in enriching his skills in writing.

Write the Story Anyway

For students who are still waiting for the right moment to begin writing, Lorenzo offers a simple invitation: start with the story already living in their minds.

“Just write that story you are currently thinking and wondering about,” he said.

It does not have to begin as a career. It can begin with a notebook, a Notes app, Wattpad, Tumblr, Instagram, or anywhere a story can be written. What matters, he said, is progress—even when it comes slowly.

He also encourages aspiring writers to join writing organizations and campus publications, build portfolios, and submit their work to literary journals and anthologies whenever opportunities arise.

Most importantly, he encourages them to develop their own voices.

Looking back, Lorenzo wishes he had preserved more of his earliest writings—the diaries, notes, and scattered pieces from his younger years. Those fragments, he now realized, were part of the story of how he became a writer.

His advice to his younger self is simple: listen to constructive feedback, ignore destructive criticism, and continue listening to the heart and the dream.

For Lorenzo, becoming an NBDB-registered writer is not the conclusion of that childhood dream. It is another page in it.

He continues to revise manuscripts, explore unconventional forms, read classic and contemporary works, and learn from the people who have supported him—from family and friends to classmates, professors, and fellow writers.

“Writing is a lifelong learning process,” Lorenzo reflected. “We read to breathe, and we write to exhale.”

And so, the child who once wrote simply because he had stories to tell continues to write.

Only now, the dream has a name, a body of work, and a place in the literary world.

The story, however, is far from finished.

Article by Emily G. Agumbay (PIO)
Photo Courtesy of Jake Allen B. Lorenzo