Bernardo C. Vidal Jr. was among the writers whose story was shortlisted for the Fiction Writing Contest “Call of the Wild” organised by The Hemlock Journal in collaboration with Remington Review. His story ‘The Last Sigbins’ secured 3rd position and was published in ‘Fiction Special Issue — Call of the Wild’.

Watch Full Interview with Bernardo C. Vidal Jr. on The Hemlock Journal’s YouTube Channel

A well-written work of fiction lets you see something of the world in a different light. Good writing can take something familiar and turn it around, bring it up afresh, so that the reader can suddenly find new meaning in the ordinary. It invites a kind of looking at the world that dwells more in its depths rather than glazing over the surface.

Interviewer: In your experience, how does well-written fiction encourage readers to slow down and engage more deeply with the world around them?

BC Vidal Jr.: A well-written work of fiction lets you see something of the world in a different light. Good writing can take something familiar and turn it around, bring it up afresh, so that the reader can suddenly find new meaning in the ordinary. It invites a kind of looking at the world that dwells more in its depths rather than glazing over the surface.

Interviewer: How has the act of writing fiction changed your own perspective on human relationships or society?

BC Vidal Jr.: Writing fiction allows me to inhabit my characters. What is their day like? How do they face the conflicts arising from their circumstances? There is something very human about this ability to empathize, an awareness of our common fate, while still leaving an appreciation for how diverse human life can be.

Interviewer: Describe a “eureka” moment from your writing life that shifted how you approach storytelling.

BC Vidal Jr.: I have learned to trust the process more, to let writing take its course and not overly control it from the outset. It becomes less daunting when I don’t need to have everything figured out before I start to write. It can be an idea of a plot, an interesting character sketch, a poignant memory or a place—then I let the imagination lead me, one sentence to the next.

Interviewer: When you first heard the theme “Call of the Wild,” what story ideas or images came to you, and how did you decide which one to follow on the page?

BC Vidal Jr.: The natural world immediately comes to mind. I love to read books on natural history, and I’ve written a story that took place in my own backyard that featured ordinary birds. But for this piece, I wanted to write something that is grounded in a real place yet haunted by something supernatural. The intent was to use this superposition as a way to unsettle the reader and open her to new possibilities.

Read ‘The Last Sigbins’ and the other 23 stories included in the special issue. BUY the Fiction Special Issue — Call of the Wild: Click Here.

Interviewer: What was the inspiration behind your winning piece?

BC Vidal Jr.: The sigbin in the story is based on a mythical creature taken from Visayan folklore, reimagined such that it becomes a scientific discovery, a taxonomic find. I wanted to put the story in the context of our scientific endeavor, one of the most pre-eminent in our modern world. I wanted to challenge the assumption that knowledge is always the most important thing, and to ask whether awe and mystery should not hold as much sway in our lives.

Interviewer: What advice would you give aspiring fiction writers struggling with self-doubt or rejection?

BC Vidal Jr.: To always keep honing your story after each rejection, until you find a home for it. I’m always surprised how much better it becomes after going through many revisions.

Interviewer: How do you decide when a piece of fiction is truly finished, and what role does revision play in capturing the story’s emotional core?

BC Vidal Jr.: I assess completion both at the whole story and sentence level. I read it in whole to check if I’m satisfied that I’ve told the story I wanted to tell. Then I go paragraph by paragraph to see if each one is helping to move the story along, and if there’s a paragraph that is not helping, I ask, “Why is it there?” Sometimes it is to establish a character or a place, but often it is just taking space, then I remove it. At the sentence level, I check for clarity, accuracy, grammar… as someone who speaks English as a second language, I struggle sometimes with my sentences being clunky. This is also where having a second set of eyes, a first draft editor, might help.

Interviewer: Can you walk us through your journey of submitting this piece to The Hemlock Journal, from first draft to seeing the acceptance email? What were the most challenging moments along the way?

BC Vidal Jr.: It was very easy to submit, and what I love about it is that I didn’t have to wait very long for the decision to come out (about 3 months).

Interviewer: What did it mean to you, personally and professionally, to have your fiction selected for publication by The Hemlock Journal, and has it changed how you see your own writing?

BC Vidal Jr.: It is very affirming that my story has been selected for publication by The Hemlock Journal. It is a story I’ve worked on for quite a bit, that has gone through multiple revisions to get to where I feel good about its strength. But having the affirmation is very important, especially for a relative beginner like me (I’ve been writing for a long time, but it’s only been two years since I’ve started to seriously seek publication for my stories). Nothing boosts confidence like getting selected for publication alongside more seasoned writers.

Interviewer: What is next for you: any dream projects or genres you are itching to explore?

BC Vidal Jr.: I have a couple of story ideas that I’m raring to put into draft, and three that are currently in the revision stage. They form part of a collection of stories—of which The Last Sigbins is one—where mythical creatures (borrowed from Visayan folklore) crawl out of our liminal consciousness and manifest in our modern predicaments.

About BC Vidal Jr.

Bernardo hails from the Philippines. He moved to the US in 2006, where he now lives in North Carolina with his wife and two kids. When not working, he pursues his other passion (next only to literature) for fishing.

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