Sa totoo lang, nahirapan akong magsulat ng steamy story kahit pa may ilang erotic/heavy romance stories na akong nabasa. Iba kasi ang pagbabasa sa pagsusulat. Isa pa, teen fiction kasi ang forte ko at iisa pa lang talaga ang nagagawa kong purely romantic. Kaya nung sinabing hindi raw pwede ang Clean Heat Level (handholding and kissing only), kinabahan ako. Nahiya rin akong gawin ang Sweet Heat level (level 1 = consummation is talked about but not in detail; the act itself happens off-screen) dahil karamihan sa mga classmates ko ay Sensual (level 2) pataas ang napili.
Kaya wala nang atrasan. Level 2 ang na-commit ko.
Writing the plot was okay, lalo na’t may ‘extra’ characters ako na pwedeng magamit for the workshop. The struggle came in when I had to write the steamy part. As in sobrang hirap. For someone like me who got used to the simple pagpapakilig (na hindi ko rin alam kung effective nga ba sa readers o sa’kin lang), having to write a bed scene was like setting a bar too high for me to reach.
Thankfully, we were given recommended stories to read. Pero apat lang ang nabasa ko since work is in the way. At ayoko silang balikan while I’m writing mine for fear of their style ‘leaking’ into mine.
So, how did it feel like?
It’s so damn awkward. Contrary to what I can normally do, I suddenly felt ashamed of typing in a public place. Feeling ko kasi, may makakabasa sa mga sinusulat ko. Ano na lang ang iisipin nila diba? Kaya sinisiguro kong nasa sulok ako ng isang coffee shop para less chances of anyone who would notice what I was typing. I also made sure that my font size was very small at ako lang ang makakabasa. Yes, na-paranoid ako bigla.
While I was working on my story I realized something: writing a love scene for the first time is almost like making love for the first time. But the glaring difference is that… kapag unang beses mong makipagtalik, you won’t share it with other people because it’s something private. But when you’re writing a story it’s something that the author has to do. You have to imagine actually being in that moment, and then putting everything into words for other people to read. Parang pinakita mo na rin sa readers kung paano ka mag-isip at ano ang mga iniisip mo and I don’t think a lot of people CAN or WOULD LIKE to do that.
Kaya siguro umabot sa Book 3 ‘yung isa pang kwentong sinusulat ko. Dahil nag-aalangan akong ipaalam sa mga bumabasa/makakabasa kung ano ang mga bagay na ini-imagine ko, lalo pa’t na-establish ko nang playboy ang isa.
At tulad din siguro ng first time, marami pang inhibitions ang pagsusulat ng steamy scene. To be honest, I have imagined ‘racier’ scenes. But I held myself back because I wasn’t ready to write about it yet. Like normal people, I believe writers who devoted most of their time working on stories for teens need to reach a ‘maturity level’ before they could successfully write something that is legitimately ‘steamy’ at hindi nagmumukhang pilit.
Kaya isang chapter lang din ang nakayanan kong isulat that had the act of consummation in detail and in the end got a heat level of almost three, hahaha.
Do I think I have achieved my goal of successfully completing a steamy story? I have submitted my manuscript, yes. But the steamy part… not sure. Actually, while I was browsing through the book covers of my classmates, mine still looked teen, lol. Obviously, I haven’t fully moved on from my teen fiction habit.
Will I write another steamy story any time soon?
The possibilities are endless. And I don’t want to limit myself to just plainly writing teenfics. Kailangan ko ring mag-mature.
Besides, the fact that I have used another penname is a clue. *wink*
BINABASA MO ANG
Writing Tips
RandomA collation of useful tips that I learned not only from fellow Wattpad writers but also based on my personal experiences. It might be useful to you too ^_^
