Love Ba `To?

Naalala ko ang komento ko dati tungkol sa pagsasabi ng 'AlDub you' ‘I love you’. 

Sa totoong buhay, marami pang kailangang patunayan ang sino mang magbibitiw ng mga salitang ito. 

Paulit-ulit, sa bawat pagkakataon, at madalas ay hanggang kamatayan. 

Walang silbi ang mga ito kung walang kalakip na gawa, kung hindi mo ramdam.

Parehas din sa nobelang romance.

Kailangang maipakita kung paano naganap ang pagmamahalan, kailangang madama ng mambabasa.

Dahil kung hindi, ang salitang 'AlDub you' 'I love you' at ang iba pang anyo nito, ay walang silbi. 

Mababaon lang.

Malilimutan.

#Olivetteinthenow

So sorry for the late replies.

Been busy being a writer again.

I'm trying to produce a manuscript within a month and I'm kinda getting the hang of it. Kailangan lang mag-ipon ng kilig.

I currently have a manuscript for evaluation at PHR. I don't like the waiting game, but it can't be helped. Sulat na lang ng susunod na manuscript.

Frankly, I have nowhere to go now. My previous dream of becoming-an-architect-and-then teaching-at-a-university-so-I'd-have-some-time-to-write FAILED BIG TIME. Humahadlang ang katawang-lupa ko. And it was a pathetic plan from the start. 

If I want to be a writer, why not be a writer today rather than five years from now?

So here I am, taking this as seriously as I can. But realistically, I could probably finish only one more manuscript before the year ends. I'm putting my hopes for next year again.

Sigh.

You see why I can't be bothered with a love life? No? Oh, well. I want to have a source of income before I even think about hooking up with someone. To be financially okay. Independent girl problems, yeah.

So to my readers, please bear with me.

To the people who love me, thank you.

Babangon ako nang paulit-ulit at magsusulat. Itaga n'yo sa something. Haha.

Birthday Post: Twenty Eight Things I learned In Life

1. Not all medical operations use anesthetic. Don't depend on it.
2. Coffee is best black. Hot or cold.
3. You can’t live your life alone, even when you live alone. People should be involved with people.
4. Enough sleep, at the right time, prevents future illnesses. It's the body's healing time. Make time for it.
5. You can be productive the whole day, but still have doubts the same night. #writinglife
6. Acceptance makes life easier. Some fights are not worth the time and effort.
7. What true love is:

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music…
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

—Kahlil Gibran

8. Be happy without a lover and you’ll be even happier when you find one. 
9. Family is forever. Blood-related or not.
10. Change is inevitable. Take advantage of it. Use it to be better.
11. Have a facial regimen even if you suck at routines. Take care of your skin not for vanity but for health.
12. Love doesn’t give a shit who you love. Repeat.
13. The world becomes a little better with a 'thank you'. 'Sorry' works, too, if said ASAP.
14. Delicious food is delicious even when cold. Yes, you're desperately lazy.
15. Grades are not everything, but they are something. For job hunting, mostly.
16. List things. Just so you can reduce mind stress.
17. Everything starts with imitation. While you slowly find your own.
18. Have at least one person you can count on. Take care of that person.
19. Life is a gamble.
    
20. Don't sell yourself cheap. Value your hard-earned skills.
    
21. Ask for help. Just don't abuse it.
22. Not all praises are sincere. Not all criticisms are hate.
23. Water is life. Have more of it.
24. Experience is the best teacher. Try everything at least once.
25. Sometimes, peace of mind is better than justice. Life is precious. Live it to the fullest.
26. Do not trust easily. Even yourself.
27. Things happen for a reason and there’s always something in it to be grateful for.
28. Focus is better than multi-tasking.

TO PRO OR NOT TO PRO?

Before anything else, let's define these terms:

amateur
: a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job

professional
: paid to participate in a sport or activity

(source: merriam-webster.com)

I'll use these definitions since they're more appropriate for this post. Sa madaling salita, kung binabayaran ka sa isang propesyon, PROFESSIONAL ka. Kung hindi naman at hobby mo lang, AMATEUR ka.

So if you're a writer, you can either be an AMATEUR WRITER or a PROFESSIONAL WRITER.

That's right. But don't be mistaken. These terms don't define if you're GOOD OR NOT, BUT it will give you an idea on how far you'll go as a writer. And we all want to go at it until our last breath, yes?

So... this is for the AMATEUR writers who deep inside wanted so bad to get published.

Yes. I know you want it. And there's nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

I heard you say you don't want money so you're fine not being published. Okay. For now, maybe. But is money the only reason?

Can't it be EXPERIENCE?  

Iba yung pressure kapag magsusulat ka na may layuning mailathala ang iyong akda. Nagkukumahog ka, pinipiga ang iyong isip.

Kapag lagi mo `yong ginagawa, nahahasa ang imahinasyon mo. Sinasanay na makapag-isip ng mas masustansiyang kuwento.

When you face greater expectations, it will push you to strive to reach your potential. To surpass it even.

When you're good, people will urge you to go pro. Or you will feel that urge yourself.

But since writers are walking lumps of insecurities and uncertainties, you might not do it. 

Scary nga naman. You'll just write what you want and when readers don't like it you'll conveniently shout 'mind your own business' or 'then die so you can't read anymore'.

Malakas maka-bitter. Sayang ang buhay kung gugugulin sa ganong damdamin.

So my advice to amateur writers who think they're good enough to be published but are too afraid to try:


GET YOURSELVES PUBLISHED NOW!  
 

Cause if not now, WHEN?


I dare you to step out of your comfortable throne and try the next level. If you're good enough, BE EVEN BETTER. Take the plunge!

But wait, why am I saying this? I must be stupid for recruiting 'competition'.

But writing has never been a competition for me. It shouldn't be for all of us. Unless talagang writing competition siya at may premyo.

So why?

Simple:



BECAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF TAGALOG ROMANCE TO READ!!!



+1,000 LOLs
Seriously. I've been plagued by this desperation for a while now.

Cause I'm a reader first. Reading is one of the things that fuels my soul.

And the tank barely fills halfway these days. 

But I'm always hopeful. May mga Tagalog romance writers akong sinusubaybayan sa ngayon. I just want more. (demanding much)

:)

Does that sound arrogant to you? Unbelievable? Well, I don't know if that's egoistic. All I know is that I want to read. 

To be swept away. 

To feel excitement. 

Nagkaton lang na writer din ako. 

And don't bother telling me to write the novel I want to read, ha. I CAN'T READ my own work. It's just impossible not to be biased. I can't read just to flatter my ego anyway.

When I read, I want to completely immerse myself in the stories. I can't do that with my own books.

Reading books written by others is still a different high.

So... why not read online works, you might ask.

Well... I just feel it's UNFAIR for the writers. 

I mean, why write for free?

IF YOU'RE GOOD AT IT, I WANT YOU TO GET PAID FOR IT.

You deserve that. 

Even artists need patrons to take care of their survival needs. So they can focus on their art. 

You deserve to be paid for your works.

When a writer gets published, I always know that THERE'S SOMETHING IN IT. Cause I trust the editors' and publishers' judgements (especially PHR's). Anyway, you can always get better. You can even self-publish. Though iba pa rin ang makuha ng isang publisher.

So go on, AMATEURS. (masakit ba sa pandinig? see the definition again)

Take what's for you. Write to be published. Explore deep waters. Who knows what you'll find in there.


Challenge yourself.

We're waiting. :D