Interview With The LIB Writers

Felipe Nas (March 13, 2015)

Date: March 12, 2015

Penname: Felipe Nas

1.Introduce/describe yourself…

-Hi! I'm Felipe Nas! As much as I'd want to talk to you for long, I don't like describing myself to other people. Haha.

2.When did you start writing?

-I started writing when I was in Grade One. The moment I saw our textbooks, I already felt the desire to write my own. Aside from the fact that I grew up with tons of children's books around me, I think it's just really a calling that I got to discover as early as 7. The first poem that I wrote was about a little boy who scraped his knees and was reprimanded by his mother (haha).

3.Nakakapagod pala mag-English. Kaya… saang tadyang mo hinugot ang penname mo? Ano ang problema mo?

-Oh, pen name. I saw someone named "Hugo Slavia" in the internet and I thought, maybe the dude is fro Yugoslavia. And since then, it has always been my dream that as a writer, I want people to know me as someone from the Philippines, so I thought of Felipe Nas.

4.Ano ang naramdaman mo noong kinontak ka ng LIB o noong nalaman mong na-approve ang story mo? Alam kong masaya, pero ano ang kuwento?

-Okay, so this one's a funny story (at least for me, haha). When Miss A messaged me, I did not take the message seriously. That was the time when Wattpad stories were being popularized as books and I thought no, this is hoax because it's the trend, people are trying to make fun or money out of it. So I did not reply anything to the message for a week. I literally "seen-zoned" the message. Then I checked my inbox and saw it again. I opened it and I did not know what pushed me to reply. I even said something like, hi, thank you for this but can you show me proofs of the existence of this company? (That time kasi LIB still hasn't released it's first batch.) I even told Ms. A that I was thinking that it's a scam! (haha) So when Ms. A would see me in the office before my book was published, she would always joke, "Oh, hindi kami scam ha?"

5.Sino ang nagtulak, nanadyak, bumugaw sa 'yo na magsulat? Sino ang mga inspirasyon mo sa pagsusulat?

-It's myself that pushed me to write. My family was actually half-against it, I mean, not totally against that they want me to quit this, but against to the point that they would always tell me that I can do better - in other fields. Well, this is my best, and I'm no quitter at the things I do best.

As for inspiration, it's everyone and everything around me. I can even write already after answering this interview because this inspires me already.

6.Ano ang routine mo o writing process mo o ritwal mo bago magsulat? Paki-describe, briefly.

-First, check if anyone's around. If someone can be seen in the vicinity then no, I can never ever write. Second, I need an empty mind. Some people can write when they're totally happy or totally sad. I write when I'm feeling plain (play Pokerface by Lady Gaga). I write best when I'm feeling apathetic about everything and my mind has to be empty.

7.Paano mo tini-take ang mga negative comments/feedbacks sa mga story mo—kung meron man? (Sumagot ng nobela, at least 10 chapters. Joke lang.)

-Honestly, out of all the comments to my stories that I have read, there were like, at least 10 that I took as negative. I don't even think it reached up to ten. I don't know, but I look at people's comments as opinions and assumptions they are entitled to express. I have always been open to criticisms, but some comments are just stating what they don't like about my story or the things they don't get even if I know it's just in the story rin. I still don't complain if that's the case. I mean, I understand that people have different schema, different background knowledge. They could be reading in an unusual environment or could have experienced a strange situation that could affect their comprehension. So ever since, I'm not expecting that everyone will get what was in the story or that everyone who reads it will feel the same way. At the end of the day, everyone's still different from each other, and I deeply understand that.

8.Bukod sa pagiging writer, ano pa ang isa mga pangarap mo?

-My biggest dream right now is to be an excellent filmmaker. Yes, excellent.

9.Meron ka bang paboriting libro na minsan ay naisip mong ikaw na lang ang nagsulat? Ano 'yon at bakit?

-Yes (haha). There are two books, actually. First is Para kay B by Sir Ricky Lee. It's really beautiful, and I love how deep it went to discuss about love in different shapes and forms. Well, some criticized it because it was not the conventional writing style, but that's what made me love it more. I love the badass writing.

Second one is Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen, because it's teen fic and I have never written teen fic. And it's the best teen fic ever. Such badass story. I think I'm in love with badass (haha).

10.Sino ang mga hinahangaan mong Filipino writers? At ano ang impluwensiya nila sa pagsusulat mo ngayon?

-There are two big influences in my life. First is Sir Ricky (Ricardo Lee) and Sir Eros Atalia. It's the face of the reality and the awkward phases in persons' lives that they don't want to face that we all love to write about.

11.Saan ka kumukuha ng mga inspirasyon sa mga plot mo? (Hindi ko ito ipagkakalat, pramis.)

-I honestly can't tell because I don't know. Ideas just come. I think that's the big check mark of difference writers have that others don't.

12.Titles of your published and to be published book…

-The 100th Guy Who Passed by Her, and yes, I'm on my way to finishing a new book.

13.Ano ang side mo doon sa mga nagsasabing dahil sa wattpad ay marami na ang nabubuntis at nag-aasawa ng maaga?

-(Can I get a famous line that I hear from my friends?) "Pakyu."

14. If you will be given a chance (alam kong may chance naman talaga) to step out from your comfort zone, anong klaseng istorya ang isusulat mo?

-I was raised in a conservative and values-oriented family, what could be more challenging to me than an erotic fiction?

15.Payo mo sa mga aspiring writers?

-As you near the steps towards this career, make yourselves stronger and braver. Breathe an air of confidence and firmness. Because I'm telling you, it will never be easy. Writers with faint hearts end up running away, while those with the courageous ones stay.