10 Writing Habits

I was tagged by @Maria Feda Davies (yep, our very own Jade Anne Franco) on Facebook. I'm not on FB, so dito ko na lang ilagay. :) 

I-tag ko si Dior Madrigal, Alexie Aragon, xxakanexx, saka si pajama_addict. 

1.   Di ko kaya yung putol-putol na pagsusulat. Mas productive ako (sa tingin ko) kung tipong isang araw na walang pasok na dere-derecho akong magsusulat, kaysa araw-araw tig-dadalawang oras.

2.   I choose visual pegs for my characters para madaling mag-describe ng hitsura nila. Tapos naka-wallpaper yun sa laptop ko para inspiration, hehe.

3.     Gusto may background music. Gumagawa pa ‘ko ng OST-like playlist tapos ‘yun ang pinapakinggan ko habang nagsusulat ako. Habang gumagawa ako ng ibang bagay (nagtatrabaho, nagbibiyahe, o anuman), pinakikinggan ko yung playlist para ma-motivate ako. Kaya ayun, forever nang may earphones sa tainga ko.

  

4.   Di ako puwedeng magsulat sa kama, makakatulog ako.

5.  Ayoko nang may istorbo kapag writing time ko.

6.  Nag-a-outline ako pero di rin nasusunod. :/

7.  I keep a notebook (notebooks, actually, dahil ang dami ko nun), sulatan ng ideas. Pag tamad akong mag-take notes, vino-voice record ko.

8.   I research. Di ko siya masyadong feel pero ginagawa ko yun, kasi kakahiya naman sa babasa ng sinulat ko kung mali-mali ilalagay kong info sa MS ko, di ba?

9.   Mahilig akong mag-edit at mag-revise ng MS. Kahit halfway pa lang, binabasa ko na siya at pinapalitan yung mga names, yung scenes, nag-chop-chop ng scenes, etcetera. Makulit ako, as in. Baka sa isang nobela, mahina na yung 3 times ko siyang irerebisa.

10. Matagal akong magsulat. Ang pinakamabilis kong natapos ay inabot ng 1 buwan. Yung pinakamatagal… ahm, sinimulan ko nung 2008, ayun di pa rin tapos ngayon. :/

Crutch Words

Be aware of your crutch words (i.e. the words you usually use) and slowly minimize using them. Replace them with synonyms while doing your revisions. :)

Narrative Tenses

Lahat ng pangyayari sa isang nobela ay assumed na tapos na at kinukuwento na  lang ng kung sinumang narrator (puwedeng iyong isa sa characters kung naka-First Person). 

This is also the reason why we seldom write 'ngayon', 'kinabukasan', 'kamakalawa' in the narratives. Kasi tapos na nga iyon, kaya dapat: 

•    Ngayon =  nang araw / oras / sandali na iyon
•    Kinabukasan = nang sumunod na araw
•    Bukas  =  sa susunod na araw
•    Kamakalawa = dalawang araw mula noon 

Pati sa places, ganoon din. Hindi natin sinasabi na 'Nag-jogging siya rito.' sa narration. Not rito kundi roon/doon. 'Sa lugar na iyon', not 'sa lugar na ito'.  Maliban na lang kung nasa dialogues itong mga ito.

Thus, the verbs in your narratives should be in the PAST TENSE.

Examples:

•    Uminit ang ulo niya sa nakita.
•    She closed her eyes.
•    Sumakit ang tiyan niya.

Puwede rin ang PAST PROGRESSIVE or PAST PERFECT kung may isa pang action na nangyari, habang kasalukuyang nagaganap iyong first verb.

Examples:

•    He was thinking about sleeping when his phone rang.
•    Naglalaba siya nang may kumatok sa pinto. 

   (Note: Dahil nasa Tagalog, mukhang present tense yung 'naglalaba' pero dahil may isa pang action na nangyari (kumatok), past progressive yun talaga.)  

Kung nangyari iyong action bago doon sa timeline ng istorya, dapat naka-PAST PERFECT ang tense ng verb.

Example:

•    Chen had put corrections on the manuscript, when I told her it's the wrong file. 
•    He had had his share of women, before they met.  

   (Note: Puwede ring 'He'd had' kung naalibadbaran ka sa 'had had')


Pero kung may ilalagay na something na hindi mo maatim na ilagay in past tense dahil hanggang ngayon ay fact iyon, write it in another way. 

Try kong ipaliwanag, ah. Try lang.  :)

Example: 
Say, you wanted to say:      
   The earth revolves around the sun.

Write it like this:                 

•  The earth had been revolving around the sun. (happened in the past, nangyayari hanggang ngayon)
•  The earth would always revolve around the sun. (future)
•  The earth would be revolving around the sun. (future)                              

Instead of this:                   Try this:

She likes coffee.         She had always liked coffee.    
She is impatient.        She had always been impatient.
                                
If it still sounds wrong to you, rewrite the sentence or better yet, translate it in Tagalog. Mas madali kapag naka-Filipino na ang verb dahil at least tatlo lang ang tenses natin.

Kung may questions, send mo lang po sa comments section. :)

Good day, everyone!

Sicknesses and Styles

Every writer has a 'sickness' (sorry for the word, but that's how I call it) -- a weakness. An evidence that they're not perfect. A room for improvement.
Some weaknesses are curable --and with varied levels of curability, while some aren't.
   
Some writers are more creative; others are more gifted technically. Some are better with descriptions, others with dialogues. Some are experts when it comes to touching the reader's emotions.

Some appeared better when they are writing a specific genre (or subgenre of romance), some can excel in anything.

No writer is perfect; just as no style is better than the other.

Style is SUBJECTIVE. There is no productivity in comparing one writer's style to that of another writer, unless it's a constructive, honest-to-goodness criticism.

Create your own and though you cant please everyone with it, be proud.
Be authentic. Be you. :)

First Meeting

Your main characters should meet within the first 10 pages of your manuscript. 

Readers are eagerly anticipating their magical, sexual-tension-filled, heart-stopping, knee-melting, blush-inducing, sparks-flying first meeting, don't make them wait too long. ;)