Wattpad advice #1 : For littlesweetheart30

I usually go to wattpad to write my fanfics. Me mga batang nagsusulat din duon ng mga novels nila in Filipino. Though most of the readers are English speaking thus English writing, encouraged din sa TOPPERS at writers na gawing lagakan ng mga ideas ang Wattpad.

This is the girl's story. http://www.wattpad.com/10113833-destiny-of-us-destiny
http://www.wattpad.com/user/littlesweetheart30 ang page niya.

ETO ang mahaba kong advice. 

http://askpinaywriter.blogspot.com/2012/05/top-novel-chapter-format.html I know that this is your first time to write so I will help you out as much as I can (in our writing group I am the Editor in Chief) and the first thing I would advice you is to make sure your story is EASY TO READ. Format is something na nakakalimutan ng mga e-book writers minsan. Pero tandaan mo ang mga nagbabasa ng iyong story ay mga taong mahilig din magbasa ng totoong libro. And if you are still very young, it's great to start making good habits ngayon pa lang.

**if you are writing a story imaginin mo na bulag o hindi nakakakita ung nagbabasa. SO ikaw bilang writer, YOU ARE PAINTING A PICTURE WITH WORDS.

examples:

Nagdiscuss ang teacher nakinig naman kami could become :

Nagsimula na ang klase at kahit na nakatingin si Suzy sa blackboard hindi niya mapigilang mapatingin sa labas ng bintana. Napaisip tuloy siya kung bakit tuwing parang ang ganda-ganda ng panahon ay saka naman me pasok. Narinig niya ang pagtikhim ng kanilang titser kaya napatingin na siyang muli sa harapan. Napangiti siya sa kanyang isipan nang makita niyang hindi pala siya ang nahuli nitong hindi nakikinig. Nakatulog na pala ang isa niyang kaklase sa sobrang kabagutan.

**if you are writing dialogues make sure to still follow the rules in grammar and composition. Kasi mahirap nang masanay ka sa ganoong format.

**remember that writing is not the same as TEXTING. Never spell words like their text or j3j3m0n f0rm@t b3c0z !tz r!l! @n0y!ng dntch@ th!nk zo?

**Write without editing muna. Post mo para di mawala or save mo para di malost. Then READ. Habang binabasa mo ito sa wattpad then bukas din ung word doc mo. Edit errors and typo real time. DO EDITING PAG TAPOS NA ANG UTAK MONG MAGSULAT. Ibig sabihin wala nang kasunod na scene sa utak mo ung nasulat mo na kasi finoformulate pa nya ika nga. EDITING your work is good because it teaches YOU your weaknesses at pag narecognize ito ng iyong isip next time hindi mo na sha ganun kadalas magagawa. Pero dahil no one is perfect, that is why re-reading is a must.

**I like that you asked people for feedback. But be careful also that their feedback do not destroy or tamper with your UNIQUE writing style. The suggestions I am making would just enhance the reading experience and help you self-improve. I won't tell you how to rewrite things exactly kasi 1) malay ko ba kung anong ending ng kwento mo 2) although love stories tend to be predictable me sarili kang life experiences na iba sa akin na you can include or modify ang place in your story.

TANDAAN MO, KWENTO MO TO no one should tell you what the best plot points are, that is ALL YOU. Formating lang dapat namin ituro or pansinin. We can applaud you for the effort or we could tell you that you are doing the right thing na. Right now your effort is good. The story from an initial glance is simple and believable. It's a good start for a first novel. It is no best seller pero believe me pag binabasa ko ang mga sinulat ko nung bata pa ako *I had an early start* nagnonosebleed ako sa sama ng sulat ko at pangit ng story lines.

**Romance novels lalo na in popular Filipino can be hard. Just make sure to remember.

KEEP YOUR TENSES straight. Dapat hindi patalon talon ang tenses mo kahit Filipino pa yan. Lalo na pag me English lines.

MANAGE YOUR P.O.V. well. Make sure na si reader di nalilito sino na ba ang nagsasalita. Example dito sa chapter na to http://www.wattpad.com/15202131-sheila%27s-kwon-chapter-five-heartbreaker-incomplete#.UXJGbKJHK3E me dalawang character minsan si girl ang POINT OF VIEW minsan si boi naman so dapat me MARKER ka if nagpalit na ng POV. (ERRATUM : VIEWPOINT PALA ANG SINASABI KO DITO pero kasama na rin ang POV AY DAPAT NA IISANG KIND LANG. if first person di first person pero madalas third person dapat.)

**check out the HOW TO for changing scenes dun sa blog link ko. simple lang un pero doable naman. Para din di ka malito sa sarili mong kwento.

**alam kong boring pero dapat mong buuin ang kung sinong nagsalita.
DO NOT FORGOT Correct capitalization and correction punctuation please. Kasi ung nagsasabi sa amin kung tapos na ang sentence, san hihinga ang character. etc. TIP : READ THE DIALOGUE OUTLOUD. Pag kinapos ka ng hangin, iklian ang sentence. Place a comma where needed. if di ka familiar with punctuation marks, please review them. It will also help in making papers in school for the future (if you are still studying)

this : "Hello! How was your vacation Suzy?" Samantha
could be : "Heya, Suz! How was your vacy?" napatingin ang ilang studyante sa bumati sa kanya. Napangiti siya nang makita ang kaibigang si Samantha. Kikay na kikay na naman ito at mukhang nag-tan pa, malamang nag-beach ng nag-beach ang pamilya nito noong bakasyon. Galing sa mayamang pamilya si Samantha at hindi miminsang inaya siya nito na sumama ditong magbakasyon sa malayong lugar kung saan me bahay daw ang pamilya nito. Hindi siya magtataka kung naglibot-libot na naman ito.

**WHEN you introduce a new character, important na me info na relevant sa kwento mo na kasama sa description mo ng character mo. Kailangan mo ding bigyan ng VOICE ang iyong character para siya ay may ibang way ng pananalita than the other characters. Kasi ang lalaki iba manalita kesa sa babae. You can learn more about this by OBSERVING friends, watching videos or talk shows with relevance or movies. Pero mas useful ang mga real people. Pansinin mo lang, mas madaldal ba talaga ang girls o me mga words ang phrasing ba na iba ang guys o matanda o pag bata me dagdag bang kulit?

**Writers needs REAL LIFE friends. You need friends. Great close friends (a few of those) and a great abundance of real and online friends. Your close friends would help you with your Heros and Heroines and your kaaways can give you your Villains and your acquaintances can help you make supporting characters.

**READ REAL BOOKS** if at all possible kasi nga you want to write this genre, then you should read some that are in the same genre. Pwedeng printed form or pwedeng e-book.

**REMEMBER THE CREEDo na "Isa akong writer, sa isip salita at akda. So you should never plagiarize. Kahit konti lang. Be careful when you are writing something tas magbabasa ka ng gawa ng iba. As a first timer, sponge mode ka pa, humihigop ka pa ng information at baka ang ending matulad mo ang writing o kwento ng iba na di mo sinasadya. Pwedeng ang teaser or premise nyo ay hawig pero di naman ibig sabihin nun sha lang me karapatang magsulat ng ganung kwento. Ikaw rin. Pero dapat me sarili mong flavor ung kwento mo.

**ang haba na nito. Sana nakatulong. *now magbabasa pa ulit ako ng iba pang chapter mo. Pero dito na lang ako magkokoment. Kaya mo yan! Aja Fighting!

**isa pa pala. Hindi porke't Romance ang sinusulat mo ay dapat puro kilig lang. Later you can mix genre tulad ng Romance comedy or Romance Action.
http://www.wattpad.com/15208187-reunite-in-love#.UXJKu6JHK3E


GALINGAN MO!!!~



**nakalimutan ko na dapat walang emoticons sa story.

**natutunan ko na ang VIEWPOINT ng character ay iba sa POV or POINT OF VIEW, ito pala ay ung first person, third person etc. Ngayon ko lang naalala. See, useful magbasa ng comments ng iba sa mga story ng iba. NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN.

Kayo, me tips din ba kayo? Share na yan!

 

HOW TO FIND INSPIRATION for ROMANCE NOVEL WRITING

1. Make friends.

What I learned from my favorite professor in college is that "A writer needs friends." not because of the adage that a man is not an island but because you need friends to make you live your life outside of the confines of your own home.

Good friends make the best heroines. Bad friends or people who hurt you make the best villains.

2. People watch as often as you can.

This is probably the most lucrative way for a newb to get inspiration. If you are in the mall or just in the park, absorb while you observe. Best way to do this? Wear earphones but don't plug it into a device or if you do, don't play any music. You have now a pretend barrier and people can now freely do whatever they want and believe me you will pick up some awesome chatter.

3. Learn something new everyday and acknowledge it.

In the world where GOOGLE exists, people tend to be lax when it comes to learning new things. As a writer you don't have the luxury of being stagnant. Even if you can read blogs and google just about everything you need to place on your novel, the bottom line is that feeling would be missing.

4. Experience is the best teacher.

Do not be afraid to love and to explore your feelings. If you are not able to acknowledge your own feelings, how can you explain it to others? How would you be able to paint a picture of a place that you have never been to but already exists. So travel as much as you can, make a lot of memories and draw from there the settings of your work and the people in your life can be pieces of the people that you write about.

5. Acknowledge REAL LOVE when you see it.

I am sure there are people out there or in your life who can show you or you can talk to about this. It could be an older person or even an elderly person. Ask them for advice about how to find true love and perhaps stories of how love cam in their lives. Based on a true story may not be that old, but it's great to know that REAL and TRUE LOVE exists in the world. And that inspiration, more than anything would help you. Mine are my parents. Best love story ever, going strong 27 years too. ^.^

6. Read other styles and genre.

If you are stuck in the Romance genre, you would start getting stagnant and just like water, it breeds all sorts of things and starts to...stink. So think of your love for writing as water and your genre as a tiny tributary that leads to a river that leads to the sea to an ocean. If you keep your water in just one place and it never flows to meet other bodies of water then eventually it would dry up. Surely it would find it's way back to the ocean as rain but it would never flow back to where it was in the first place.

7. Filter your media.

As much as the world is full of posts, comments and links, you don't have to see everyone of them. If you are full of stimuli your brain would be blotted and won't have enough time to process everything. You might end up with a social networking addiction that would cut time for your writing. As much as maybe a writing group would help, writing time should not be FB or (insert later social network that is booming) time either.

8. FACETIME with other homo sapiens.

To help you make believable dialogues and know the way people do talk then you need to listen to them, interact and actually figure out that there are new "words" and trends that are out there.

9. Read more literary books and ingest a lot of poems.

10. Fall in love and fall out of love.


 

NANOWRIMO 2012 : Sali Na!

I CLICK MO ITO PARA MAPUNTA SA WEBSITE NILA!

Kaya mo bang magsulat ng isang nobela na may 50,000 na salita sa loob lang ng 30 araw?

Ako hindi pa. Noong isang taon tumigil ako sa halos 18,000 na salita. Hindi ko kinaya. Iyan na ang pinakamahaba kong nagawa sa napakaikling panahon.

Ang Nanowrimo ay isang challenge sa mga manunulat na gumawa ng isang nobela (no editing muna) sa loob ng 30 araw. Walang cash prize walang anumang reward kundi ang bragging rights na "Nagawa kong magsulat ng 50,000 na salita, isang buong nobela sa loob ng 30 araw. Ikaw ba kaya mo un?"

'Stig, di ba?

At ang masaya nito me group ang mga taga-Pinas. ^.^ http://www.pinoywrimos.com/

As of right now, mga less than 18 hours na lang para makasali ka. Pag patak ng November 1, sulat na!

Happy Writing!!!

 

Basic Characters in a Romance Novel

Minsan nalilito ako sa mga habi-habi at mala-Mexican telenovela na mga relasyon ng mga character ng mga kwentong nababasa ko sa mga baguhang manunulat. Parang ang daming mga tao sa universe nila at sabay-sabay nilang pinalalabas at pinagsasalita ang mga ito. Kaya mahihilo ka at mangangailangan ng chracter guide dahil hindi mo na alam kung sino ang alin. Sa Romance pocketbook me bida. Ang bida me kapareha. Simple lang di ba?

Mali. Mas mahirap ang simple. Kaya nga sa umpisa parang lahat na lang ng mga tao sa universe ng iyong nobela gusto mong pagsama-samahin sa mga kaganapan na magtutulak sa bida at sa kanyan kapareha para maging happilly ever after na sila.

Bida - dapat pinakakilala mo ito sa lahat ng mga characters mo. Ultimo sa reaksyon niya sa iba't ibang sitwasyon ay alam mo. Kailangan kaya mong mag-isip ng tulad niya sa pagkakataong reaksyon niya ang mahalaga. 

Kapareha - siya ang makapagbabago o makasisira sa dati nang ugali or persona ng iyong bida. Siya ang inspirasyon, tagapagligtas o bida-kontrabida sa buhay ng iyong Bida. Sa mga romance novels importante kung papaanong ipapakilala mo ang Kapareha sa bida. 

*sa totoo lang sawang sawa na ako sa mga nagkakabungguang mga Bida at Kapareha dahil di naman lahat ng bida ay klutz na tulad ko* Challenge ko sa iyo na magsulat ka ng unique pero makatotohanang scenario kung papaanong magiging parte ng buhay ni Bida si Kapareha. 

Kontrabida - kailangan nito. Merong maraming uri ng kontrabida. Ung typical na siyang me gusto ke Bida o Kapareha at goal niya na mukha ito mula sa katuwang ng puso nito. Pero maari din ito maging traydor na kaibigan o dating kalampi na kalaban pala, na sa opinion ko ay mahirap na isulat sa plot, magiging complicated pero astig di ba?

Ang Bestie - madalas me ganito lalo na at babae ang bida. At ang reader mo ay madaling makarelate sa character na ito kasi malamang sa malamang ay sila o tulad ng isa sa mga kaclose nila sa totoong buhay. Siguraduhing hindi masyadong supporting actress or actor ang mode nito. Character pa rin sila sa universe mo. Although bestie sya di ibig sabihin nun ay dapat shallow ang character mo at custom made lang para maging friend ni Bida or Kapareha. Kung magagawa mo ng buo ang tauhang ito, pwede mo siyang maging bida o kapareha para sa ibang pares.

Supporting Cast - di kailangang sobrang daming taong nasa mundo mo. Pwedeng me mga taong bayan, or kamag-anakan ang characters mo pero bukod sa pangalan, hitsura at silbi nila sa kwento, once o twice mo lang naman sila papalitawin, wag mo silang masyadong pagsalitain unless words of wisdom ang sasabihin nila at mahalaga ang kanilang contribution sa kwento.

sorry mahilig lang talaga ako sa BigBang at sila ang mga pics sa computer ko

Fairy God Character - para itong daddy long legs or Deo Ex Machina. Ung parang siya ang siyang aayos ng problema ng lahat para happy ang ending or maayos ang buhay ng isang naaping character. Last resort dapat ito. At least para sa akin ha.

A deus ex machina ( /ˈdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmɑːkiːnə/ or /ˈdiːəs ɛks ˈmækɨnə/ day-əs eks mah-kee-nə;^[1] Latin: "god from the machine"; plural: dei ex machina) is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object. (wikipedia)


Ika nga, mahirap ang simple. Pero ang lahat ng iba pang mga hindi mahahalagang relasyon sa inyong kwento, strip it down. Ang pinsan ng kaibigan ng bida ay hindi ganuon kahalaga. Minimize the people in the scene. Minsan nga three is a crowd. Pero mas maiinit ang mga tagpo kapag si Bida at si Kapareha lang ang nasa iisang lugar. 

 

Writing Tip # 3 : No Such Thing As a Writer's Block

Seryoso. Wala talaga. Nagdadahilan ka lang. 

Ito ilagay mo as wallpaper. Pag di ka pa naman ang nagsulat.

More Tips Soon!

Writing Tips # 2: Matuto at Magbasa

Maaaring sa dinami-dami ng mga panahong Tagalog pocketbook lang ang binabasa mo ay hindi mo na nagawang magbasa ng iba pang klase ng mga babasahin. Ang mga blogs ng ibang tao, mga tula nila at maging ang mga tips nila sa pagsusulat ay talagang makakatulong sa iyo.

Dito ko ilalagay ang mga link nga mga blog entries na sa tingin ko ay makakatulong sa mga TOP writers and contributors. Kung me suggestion kayo, ipost nyo lang bilang comment. Kahit na nga ba sarili ninyong blog iyon.

1. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/writing-lessons/


 

How to Make a Teaser

How to make a teaser 
by Pinaywriter 

Disclaimer: All tips here are made by yours truly. Backlink to show me some respect if you are going to link it to your blog. And do not copy paste it on your blog. Just get a highlight then link back here. Get it? 

Ang purpose ng teaser ay parang yuong nasa likuran ng isang paperback pocketbook. Ito ang binabasa ng reader o ng buyer para magdesisyon kung bibilhin niya o babasahin ang isang libro. 


 Three Paragraphs Four Sentences each - 12 sentences max

Ito ang ilan sa mga halimbawa nito. Pero mas mahaba sila kesa sa ginagawa sa atin.

Synopsis/Teaser ng Dark Lover ni Arielle

    Kinomisyon si Selene ng multibillionaire Chinese businessman na si Jason Long para gawan ng tig-iisang portrait ang pitong anak nito. 

    Sa pagdating niya sa Villa Lucinda ay isa-isang nakilala niya ang pitong anak nito. Wala siyang kamalay-malay na sa pagpunta niya roon ay malalagay siya sa isang pagsubok na ibinigay ni Jason Loong. At madadawit dito ang isa sa pitong lalaki. 

   Komplikado ang sitwasyon na nasuungan niya. Natuklasan niyang kailangan siyang umibig at magdalang-tao sa lalaking nagsasagawa ng misyon habang nananatiling lihim ang pagkatao nito. 

   Mautak at tuso ang binatang magpapaibig sa kanya. At ang kapalaran at puso niya ay malalagay sa palad nito. 

Sa teaser na ito walang dialogue na nakalagay pero malinaw nitong ipinapaliwanag ang hook o ang conflict ng kwento. Gumagamit din ito ng tinatawag na technique kung saan ang isa sa mahahalagang bagay ay ipinipresente subalit hindi nire-reveal ang identity nito. Ang mambabasa ay maiintriga kaya't nanaisin niyang basahin o bilhin ang aklat. 

Pwedeng ganito:

(How Did I fall in Love with You by Martha Cecilia)

  Hindi gusto ni Ronan si Laurel, the most popular girl in the campus, the girl who could smile away the thunder and kiss away the rain. She was a snob, too.

  At lalong hindi rin gusto ni Laurel si Ronan, the most infamous guy in the campus. Wild and crude...and, well, gorgeous. Hindi niya gustong aminin iyon.

  Theirs was a case of hate at first sight. 

Dito makikita ang pangalan ng main characters at ang kanilang conflicting personalities. Ang main conflict shempre ay na-inlove sila sa isa't-isa. 


Minsan ay gumagamit sila ng dialogue para sa teaser:


(Wild Enchantment 2)


   "Puno ang schedule ang buong linggo ko. sa Biyernes ay patungo tayo sa Batangas. Nabanggit ko na sa iyong may meeting ako sa labor union doon. At magiging abala na ako...So the wedding could be set on Wednesday next week," patuloy nito na tila ba ang pinag-uusapan ay ang pagbaba at pagtaas ng stock market. "Yes, Wednesday next week is perfect."
   Jordan proposed to marry her to keep her form doing any more mischief - at upang huwag na niyang habulin pa si Rowel. Proposed? No, he didn't propose. Ipinaalam nito sa kanya na magpapakasal sila - sa ayaw at sa gusto niya!


Dito sa teaser/synopsis nito ay makikita ang ilan sa mga dialogue na nasa loob ng aklat mismo. Paraan ito para makita ang main conflict sa pagitan ng mga character. 

Kaya rin itong gawin sa isang paragraph lamang.

Tulad nito: 

(Suzanna's Surrender by Nora Roberts) 

Burned-out and tired as hell, all ex-cop Hold Bradford wanted to do was relax. But when beautiful single mom Suzanna invaded his solitude to search for the missing Calhoun emeralds, he couldn't say no. Hold had changed from a bad-boy teen to a dangerously sexy man, but Suzanna couldn't risk well-ordered life for a man who made her mouth go dry...


OTHER EXAMPLES:

Raine hated weddings, but only on the surface. She actually loved them, the gown, the cake and the promise of a life together. But in her life men have proven that happily ever after doesn't exist. Between her father who cheated on her mother, to her ex-boyfriends who cheated on her and her ex-fiancee who turned out to have fathered a child while they were together, she was done with men. Hercules loved weddings, but only on the surface. His events company has so many weddings to put together that he never wants to put up with it if it was up to him. Plus, bride's can get a little bit too horny for his own good. As far as he was concerned once a man gets down on one knee, they never get up from that position.

Ang goal ng teaser ay makumbinsi mo, makiliti mo ang isipan ng reader para basahin niya ang iyong sinulat. Kung boring ang teaser mo iisipin ng reader na boring ang story mo. Kung maraming mali sa teaser mo, iisipin nila na sasakit lang ang ulo nila if they read your story. So be vigilant.