Let your jaws drop for the one and only Astral_Drop!
1. Ano ang naging inspirasyon mo sa pagsulat ng iyong winning entry para sa Ang Lagim ng Unang Pagsinta?
- Ang naging inspirasyon ko po sa pagsulat ng aking winning entry ay ang given prompt mismo. Sa totoo lang, hindi ko po kasi talaga genre ang Philippine mythology at hindi rin ganoon kalawak ang kaalaman ko tungkol dito. Kaya nakabase lang talaga sa given prompt at Wikipedia (on gods and goddesses of Philippine mythology) ang kinalabasan ng pag-eeksperimento ko sa kwentong isinulat ko.
2. Ano ang iyong naging reaction nang malaman mo na nanalo ang iyong akda?
- Sobrang naSurprise po talaga ako. Hindi ko po naCheck ang karamihan sa ibang entries pero sigurado ako na maraming magagaling na writers ang nagSubmit din ng entries, kaya hindi ko na po inExpect na isa ako sa mananalo.
3. Mayroon ka bang Wattpad Story na gusto mong ibahagi sa amin? Tell us about it!
- El Fantasma de la Noche. It's written in Tagalog po. And it's an ongoing novel (currently undergoing developmental editing) inspired by my favorite historical fiction stories (ie. The Curse of Capistrano / Zorro, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Princess Bride, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Noli Me Tangere, and El Filibusterismo, etc.) Prequel pa lang po ang naPost ko dito sa Wattpad (titled Nunca te Olvidare or Never Forget You) and it's also undergoing editing, but do feel free to check it out po if you like Philippine historical fiction. ❤❤❤ For those who want to read an English story po, you can check out "Shadows in the Rain". It's based on a true story and, hopefully, it will teach you one of life's greatest lessons.
4. Mayroon ka bang maibibigay na tips o kaya naman advice sa mga batang writers?
- ❤ Tip 1: "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." ― Stephen King ❤ Tip 2: Write confidently and from the heart. Kung hindi mo po feel ang sinusulat mo, then there must be something wrong. Either you don't have the motivation for it... or it just doesn't appeal to your own emotions. So why write it in the first place? Ito po ang kadalasang nagiging dahilan kung bakit may mga writers na bigla nalang tumitigil sa pagsusulat at yung iba ay nagiging bitter pa. Yes, hindi po madali ang maging writer... kaya, please, kung hindi mo naman didibdibin at seseryosohin ay itigil mo na lang po at stick to reading ka na lang po muna. ❤ Tip 3: Research (self-explanatory). ❤ Tip 4: Write properly and please please please EDIT your work Big Time. Be your own critic. As a reader yourself, hindi mo rin naman siguro gugustuhing magbasa ng entire book kung nakakaNoseBleed ang grammar nung author. ❤ Tip 5: Know your target readers under your chosen genre. Kasi po not all stories are for everyone. May preferences po talaga ang bawat reader per age, genre, subgenre, and interests.
5. Who are you as a writer?
- As a writer, I am a "pantser" or "a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" kind of writer". Ang ibig ko pong sabihin ay isa po ako sa mga writers na never gumagawa ng outline. Title lang po at idea/general concept ang pinagpaplanuhan ko. At pagkatapos, sulat na lang ako ng sulat base sa mga scenarios na kasalukuyang tumatakbo sa utak ko. It's like daydreaming, watching an ongoing drama inside my own imaginary world, and then writing whatever it is that I'm seeing at the moment. At kapag feeling ko po ay nakarating na ako sa ending, I set the story aside for 2 weeks to 3 months or until feel ko na siyang iEdit ng bonggang bongga (copyedit and developmental/plot editing). Bakit po hindi ko siya iniEdit agad after finishing the story? Kasi po, once a writer has just finished a story, the excitement or hangover is still there, and it doesn't go away easily. So if you edit at that time, you will be a bias editor. Kasi feeling mo ang ganda ganda ng story mo, pinaghirapan mo yan, kakatapos mo lang. This is why I believe that it's best to edit your story kung panis na ang excitement mo at iba na ang pinagkaka-abalahan ng utak at imagination mo... and when you do edit at this time, masasabi mo na lang in the middle of editing na, "What? Naisulat ko 'to?! Erase, erase, erase."