Cant Stand Sitting Down

At the height of super typhoon Haiyan's aftermath, I cant help being grateful.

I am really inspired to see a lot of foreign countries, NGOs, businesses, celebrities, even private citizens extending help for the victims of the super typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) in Visayas. 

There's this album by one of my favorite Christian bands, Stellar Kart, entitled 'We Cant Stand Sitting Down.' Maybe that is what everyone feels these days. Pagod na silang tumunganga lang sa harap ng computer or TV at maawa sa mga taong nabiktima ng bagyo. They just had to do something--regardless of their social status, religion, nationality, race--to be of help. 

It's Bayanihan at its finest.

It brings tears in my eyes, a tug in my heart, hope and yes, restoration of faith in humanity. 

Thank you, Lord. :)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Life Lessons from Writing

I don't know exactly what *disease* I've acquired this morning but it left me feeling a little nostalgic and melancholic. The ill feeling just won't go away so I decided to embrace these emotions and grab this opportunity to write something *sentimental*. So pardon me if I'm starting 2013 with an emo-sounding entry, hehe.

Anyway, here are some of the things that writing taught me.

1. Fall in Love

What we're writing about are books about love. Ergo, we have to experience loving firsthand to be able to write about it. 

We have to fall in love with this craft.
We need to be the first to fall in love with our characters.

We need to be in love with life.
We need to be in love with the concept of being in love.

2. Let Go

I've always used conceiving a child as analogy to writing, because I do believe it's an incredibly difficult endeavor to accomplish. Our works are our children, our labors of love. But there are times when we just have to let go. 
We have to let go of characters that won't jive with each other.
We have to let go of that plot/idea that isn't working.

3. Forgive Yourself

They say, we are our own worst critics. We tend to expect a lot from ourselves that sometimes when failure sets in, we find ourselves disillusioned. And then, we give up. 
We all have that one novel we're not very proud of. Maybe you're still disappointed about how a certain manuscript turned out to be; or you still remember that loophole-filled MS you once submitted. 
Along with the beginning of this year, let's all start anew. There is hope. There's enough time to redeem the writer in you.  

Ayan. Thank you for indulging the emo in me. :-)

10 Signs That There Is A Dormant Writer In You

1. You have very rich imagination.
2. You see daydreaming as a productive activity.
3. You’re good at multi-tasking.
4. You have this since-time-immemorial love affair with books.
5. You’re good with words, you even ‘invented’ some.
6. You love using descriptive details when telling stories to your friends.
7. You correct spellings, tenses, grammar lapses on written articles and on other people’s speeches.
8. You enjoy researching and/or learning new things.
9. Your mind comes up with at least 3 plots when someone asked you, ‘if the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do today?’.
10. You look at Christmas parties, family reunions and get-together activities as opportunities to get new ideas from.