Dahil sa kagustuhan kong iba-ibahin ang mga chracters, nagplano ako kung gusto ko ba ng babaeng astig, matapang, iyakin o sweet para sa mahal kong si Paul. Doon ko naisip na hindi p’wedeng Cinderella ang heroine niya dahil… well, Cinderella na ang huli kong heroine.

Ano nga ba ang Cinderella na character? Sa kwento ni Cinderella, Disney version ito kasi hindi ko nabasa ‘yong original version, namatay ang daddy ni Cinderella noong bata siya at naiwan siya sa pangangalaga ng masungit niyang step-mother. In short, naapi at naabuso si Cinderella bago makahanap ng happily-ever-after niya.

Noong hindi pa ako nagbabasa ng Tagalog romance, hindi ako mahilig sa mga naaapi o naaabusong characters. Naaalala ko kasi lagi si Judy Ann Santos sa mga telenobela. Mahirap na nga ang buhay, babasahin o papanoorin ko pa ay laging nasasampal, nasasabunutan, at emotionally-battered. Ngayon namang nagsusulat na ako ng Tagalog romance, napapansin ko na mahilig din pala ako sa mga naapi.

Sa listahan ko ng heroine, ilan sa kanila ang naabuso?

* Bethany (Inosenteng Puso) – pinalaki siya ng tita niya na masungit at laging pinapamukha sa kanya na utang na loob niya ang bawat butil ng bigas na kinakain niya.
* Cassandra (Crescent Heart) – neglected siya ng daddy niya.
* Mios (Playing for Keeps) – same as Cassie.
* Amerie (Waiting to Fall) – naging tampulan siya ng tukso dahil sa over-weight siya.
* Joie (My Safe Harbor) – inabuso siya ng mga magulang (physical at emotional)
* Bryce (Love Always Dreams) – binugbog siya ng tatay niya.

Kung iisipin, nakakasawa nga naman ang Cinderella na heroines kahit pa sabihing formula. Iyakin, parang walang backbone, alagain… pero alam niyo, sa totoong buhay, maraming Cinderella sa paligid natin. Mga babaeng nasa relationships (hindi lang marriages) na abusive. Ang mga Cinderella sa mga kwento natin, nabibigyan natin ng boses, ng pagkakataong mabago ang buhay at makatakas sa mga pang-aabuso sa kanila. Pero nakakalugkot isipin na marami mang kababaihan ang tulad ng mga heroines ko, higit na mas marami ang hindi.

I’m sorry, wala akong statistics na maipapakita pero manood lang naman tayo ng TV o magbasa ng diyaryo araw-araw, makakahanap tayo ng balita tungkol sa domestic violence, rape, at iba pa, na kadalasan, kung hindi man 100%, kababaihan ang biktima.

Kapag nagsusulat ako ng libro, sinusubukan kong kahit kaunti, may matutunan naman ang mga readers ko. Sana naman meron silang napupulot sa mga libro ko maliban sa pagwiwish ng happily ever afters.

Ang isang formula ay nagiging formula for a reason. Gusto ko man sumulat lagi ng astiging character na tulad ni Mallory, hindi naman lahat ng babae katulad ni Mallory. In the long run, kahit pa parang suntok sa buwan, sana kahit paano, may mapag-isip naman akong mambabasa kahit paano. Sana, kahit paano, kung meron mang makabasa ng real life Cinderella sa mga libro na katulad nila ang characters ko, matuto silang pahalagahan ang sarili nila bilang tao, at bilang babae. Hindi nga kailangan ng Prince Charming para maging masaya eh. Sana maisip nilang kailangan lang nila magtiwala sa sarili nila, at maniwalang kaya nila at mahalaga sila. May karapatan silang lumaban kung naaapi sila at laging may handang tumulong sa kanila kung gugustuhin nila.

Iyon lang po *bow*

Paano ba kayo mag-develop ng characters? Base ba sa iyong pagkatao? Base sa pagkatao ng mga kilala ninyo? Base sa mga taong gusto niyong maging?

Kung ako kasi ang tatanungin, all three ‘yan. Ang isang character ni Elise Estrella, hero o heroine, ay base sa akin, sa pagkatao ng mga kaibigan ko at sa kung sino at ano ang gusto kong maging. Kung nabasa niyo naman ang mga gawa ko (kahit at least dalawa man lang), mapapansin niyong meron at merong pareho sa kanila. Malamang sa alamang, iyon ay ang personalidad na nakuha nila sa akin.

Ang challenge sa akin ay kung paano gawing iba-iba ang mga characters. Hindi maiiwasan na lahat sila ay katulad ko bilang ako ang writer nila. Pero sinusubukan kong bigyan ng ibang personality na unique sa kanila ang mga characters. Halimbawa, marami sa characters ko ang insecure. Insecure si Amerie dahil overweight siya. Iba ang insecurity niya kay Bethany na siya namang dumanas ng abusive childhood sa kamay ng kanyang tiyahin. Iba rin ang insecurity ni Joie (na makikilala niyo pa lang) dahil inabuso rin siya ng kanyang mga magulang. Sinubukan ko lang silang pag-iba-ibahin sa paraan ng pagbibigay ng iba-ibang background. Hindi lang iyon. Iba-iba rin ang paaraan ng pagiging insecure nila.

Marami rin akong iyakin na characters. Iyakin si Cassie, si Joie, si Bryce… okay lang ‘yon dahil iyakin din ako. Pero ang hindi maganda ay kung nagsimula ang libro na umiiyak sila, at natapos ang librong umiiyak pa rin sila. Para saan na sinulat ko ang story nila kung hindi sila magdedevelop at magiging mas mabuting tao sa huli?

Iyon ang naaalala kong natutunan ko sa English at writing classes no’ng bata ako. Ang mga characters ay hindi effective kung hindi sila mag-eevolve sa libro. Tao ang mga characters. Ang tao, nagbabago.

Most of the time, hindi ka magsusulat ng characters na alam mong hindi mo magugustuhan. Hindi ako marunong magsulat ng bidang malandi, dahil unang-una, ayoko ng malandi. Baka chapter two pa lang ako, patayin ko sa drug overdose o kaya sa STD ang haliparot na ‘yon. Pero somewhere out there, may reader na gusto niyang basahin ay happy-ever-after para sa isang character na malandi. Which is why ipapaubaya ko na lang sa ibang writer ang pagsusulat sa character na iyon.

Hindi ko rin masusulat ang isang character na hindi ko kilala. Kaya ako may Excel file kung saan nakalagay ang mga detalye ng buhay ng characters ko.

For example:

Sample of the Sentinels Files

Siguro may pagka-OC pero at least may guide ako sa kanila, at kilala ko sila. Alam ko ang gusto nila, ang ayaw nila, kung paano sila magre-react. Realistic sila in a way na alam ko kung paano magiging jologs ang isang Catholic school girl, o paano magiging iyakin ang isang miyembro ng 1st Special Forces Regiment ng Philippine Army.

Imposible bang maging iyakin ang sundalo? Of course not. Siguro katawa-tawa siyang hero pero imposibleng walang isang sundalo ang iyakin, romantic, mama’s boy o bading sa totoong buhay. Im.po.si.ble. Kung kaya’t hindi natin p’wedeng sabihin na hindi gagawin ng isang tao ang isang bagay. Sayang ang mga characters natin kung lilimitahan lang natin ang mga gusto nating ipagawa sa kanila dahil hindi tayo naniniwalang kaya iyong gawin ng ibang tao. Halimbawa, alam mong hindi mo gagawin ang mag-suicide. Por que ba hindi mo gagawin iyon, ibig na sabihin wala nang ibang taong nag-susuicide?

Puwes, realistic bang umiyak si Cameron na dating astig na Army Ranger? Bakit hindi? Dahil kung mahal niya si Mallory ng gaya ng sa gusto kong mahalin niya si Mallory, luluha siya ng dugo kung gusto ko siyang paluhain ng dugo.

Maging open-minded tayo. Huwag tayong magpakahon o manatili sa comfort zone. Madaming characters sa mundo ng isang writer. I-challenge natin ang sarili natin na isulat ang character na akala natin hindi natin kaya isulat *huwag ka kumaway d’yan, malandi ka* Sayang ang pagiging writer mo kung ikaw mismo lilimitahan mo ang sarili mo.

Hindi ko sinasabing magaling ako sa character development. I wish I were. Kapag binabasa ko ang mga libro ko minsan naiisip ko, ganito pa rin siya o ay, hindi ko masyadong na-develop. Hindi ako kuntento na iba-iba lang sila ng trabaho o iba-iba lang sila ng hilig, o iba-iba lang sila ng kwento. Gusto ko iba-iba sila ng ugali. Iba-iba sila mag-react. Iba-iba sila ng background. Kadalasan hindi ako successful sa pagsusulat ng mga ganoong uri ng characters kung kaya’t minsan frustrated ako. Pero at least sinusubukan ko, ‘di ba?

At sa 19.5 manuscripts naman na nasulat ko na, wish ko lang na sana naman may unique personality naman pala ang bawat isa sa mga tauhan ko.

Edith already knows what Mac is because I blurted it out when she asked about the elite force that Mac used to be a part of when he was still in the States. Basta, none of them know which branch of the armed forces he was in, or what his rank was. And I’m only going to say one thing about him. He’s an engineer. What type of engineer? I’ll just blurt it out in his book.

Shoot! I wish I could write a longer book for Mac. I guess it’s why I keep putting bits and pieces of him in the first stories. Ah, basta. I’ll write a superduper long ms for Mac then just cut it down to 96 pages when I submit.

I haven’t started writing his book but I’m already so in love with him *sigh*

Thank you, Jette! Thank you, Dumaguete! Now I only have to actually finish the manuscripts…

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is what I’ve been doing every year for the past two years on November. It’s when people (writers, professional or not, talented or not hehe) all over the world write like crazy for thirty days to finish a 50,000-word novel.

There’s no price. You don’t win any money (except some icons and pride that you’ve finished a 50,000-word novel in a month). But I join every year just to prove to myself that I can do it.

Your novel doesn’t even have to be good. You don’t even need to edit it before the end of November. It might be crap, full of loopholes, and will never see the light of day in the bookstore but that’s not the point of NaNoWriMo. The point is… WRITING 50,000 WORDS FOR A NOVEL AND ENJOYING IT. That’s it.

I’ve only been doing it for two years and I crossed the finish line both times. Yay!

My online novel started as a NaNoWriMo entry in 2007. I finished 50,000 words but didn’t finish the novel. The finished novel is currently a little over 60,000 words. In 2008, I finished 50,000 words again, but not the novel. My 2008 entry is supposed to be a three-part series (even in English, I like writing series), and I started the last book. Fifty thousand words were enough to write several adventures of the eight main characters… I write really, really long stories in English

I still don’t have a plan as to what to write for NaNo 2009, but I never plan them anyway. I’m thinking that I should write two-and-a-half Tagalog novellas and submit it to my publisher in December. Hit several birds with one NaNoWriMo stone

Want to be my Writing Buddy? My NaNo ID is akra_athena. I’m soooo excited. Can’t wait for November.

Working Title: Sa Kanya Pa Rin
Pages: 95
Wordcount: 20,119
Chapters: P+9+E
Started: 06/22/09
Finished: 09/23/09
Submitted: 10/02/09

Working Title: My Hero, Your Heroine
Pages: 96
Wordcount: 20,186
Chapters: 10
Started: 08/25/09
Finished: 10/05/09
Submitted: 10/10/09

I’ve met my quota! I’ve submitted 10 manuscripts this year, and have ten approved.

Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings. AMEN.

Working Title: Nothing Else Matters
Pages: 98
Wordcount: 21,307
Chapters: 9
Started: July 28, 2009
Finished: August 2, 2009 [Five days!]
Submitted: August 11, 2009

Working Title: Charmed by You
Pages: 98
Wordcount: 21087
Chapters: P+10
Started: 5/4/2009
Finished: 8/14/2009
Submitted: 8/17/2009

Working Title: My Guardian Dear
Pages: 97
Wordcount: 19938
Chapters: 9
Started: 8/20/2009
Finished: 8/23/2009 [New fastest written MS ever!]
Submitted: 8/25/2009

I’ve been really busy today, but not with a manuscript, but with my day job. Yes, I do have a day job. I’d love to be a full-time romance author but since my muses can be fickle, I’d still need a day job to be able to pay the bills. But no, I don’t go to a normal office. I work at home, in my pajamas. And that is thanks to oDesk.

I found out about oDesk when I was working as a writer/editor for a company that provides editorial services for educational publishers in the States. While I loved writing, and was proud to be able to tell people that I AM a writer, I wasn’t entirely happy with what I was writing. We worked on textbooks for K12 students, and although it needed creativity, the topics that we were allowed (or not allowed) to work on were limited. And I believed I was a romance writer. So when we were on a lull, a rare occurrence during that time, I visited different blogs by people who were working as freelancers. One blog caught my attention, and the writer was talking about a site called oDesk. I read a bit about the site, signed up, and applied for a simple blogging job for $3 an hour. I was hired after three days, and I haven’t looked back since.

That was April 2008. I finally quit my day job on October 2008, and I’ve been freelancing for various teams and my hourly rate had been raised. Fortunately, I’ve been getting good feedback from my bosses.

Because of oDesk, I was able to focus on writing my books. I’m earning as much as I would, working in a full time day job at only half the time, which allows me to work on my manuscripts. Since quitting my day job, I’ve finished 9 manuscripts, 4 of them will be released in October, 2 have been approved for publication, and 3 are already with my publisher for evaluation (and I hope they get approved, too). And what’s really cool about it, is that one of my bosses is paying me to write a romance novel. Seriously. Can I say, “getting paid for something you love to do”? That’s like not working at all. And I’ve met and worked with a lot of awesome people from all over the world, it was like working in a global office.

Yesterday, another one of my bosses sent me an email telling me that he was bumping up my hours to 20 a week. That means I can work longer, but not as long as when I’m in a regular office, and earn more, even more than I was, working in my old job, for only four hours a day. That also means I can continue writing my manuscripts, and at the same time, earn enough money that I could actually help send my little sister to college (which I’m really determined to do and really excited about).

I just realized that I haven’t showed my appreciation enough, and I just realized that I owe oDesk a lot since signing up with them had been a life-changing experience, literally. Essentially, it was oDesk who allowed me to pursue my dreams. I hope I’m able to thank them through this entry. So, thank you, oDesk, for making my life immensely easy. And, hey! I really AM a romance writer after all

Please visit my portfolio to see my oDesk projects past and present.

To sign up, please click here or on the banner below.

1. Laptop – I write using my trusty old laptop, Cedric. I’m a Windows user and have been since I had my first PC almost fifteen years ago. I have Windows XP, and my word processor is Word 2007. I also always have Notepad open. Internet is optional. I prefer not to be online while writing because it’s definitely less distracting so I do my research before I write. I only go online when I need to look for something, and almost always go offline after I find it. Music is optional as well. I use iTunes for that.

2. Other books – Research books such as travel books for location. I currently have Lonely Planet books on Las Vegas, Boston and New Orleans. 100,000+ Baby Names by Bruce Lansky is also a wonderful book to be at arm’s reach. Another book I’ve invested on and has been very well used is Diksyunaryong Ingles-Filipino by Felicidad T.E. Sagalongos. It’s been invaluable since I bought it. I also have a stack of my friends’ books and books by my favorite American authors which I grab when I need a boost. They’re like powerbars or something.

3. Notebook/pen – Yeah, I have a keyboard and Notepad but I sometimes like to jot down notes that I feel like I need to go back to even when the laptop’s off, so I have a pen and paper handy. If not, I have my iPod and use the notes function.

4. Liquids – Water, mostly. Coke or coffee if I want a caffeine boost and an all-nighter although Pepsi Max works best for me. I rarely eat while I’m writing. It’s distracting and I get crumbs over my keyboard. I do not like crumbs on my keyboard.

5. Pillow – I normally suddenly lie down while working a scene in my head, or want to hug something so I have a pillow nearby. Besides, I work in bed

So, those are my writing essentials. What are yours?

Maja (Maharlika) is the second in a family of six. The first story was supposed to be of the youngest, Diwata, and it was supposed to be written in English. I finished four chapters in English but abandoned the manuscript for some reason, until the guy, Nathan, turned up in Inosenteng Puso hehe Anyway, I just love their family so I hope I can write more about them. Their names are Deodatu (Datu), Maharlika (Maja), Diyosa (Diyo), Mayumi (Yumi), Maynilad (Mayni) and Diwata (Diwa). I just love their names ^_^

Working Title: Nothing Else Matters
Pages: 98
Wordcount: 21,307
Chapters: 9
Started: July 28, 2009
Finished: August 2, 2009 [Five days!]
Submitted: August 11, 2009