Trinie's Note: I'm not posting this to promote my stories. Hey, they're my treasures.
Tips and pieces of advice lang po ito. You may use these as guides especially if you're planning to have your stories be published in paperbacks someday. Take it or leave it.
WARNING: Random!
Enjoy!
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1. READ
Read.Read.Read. Sabi nga ng isang veteran Tagalog Romance writer, wala kang karapatang magsulat kung hindi nagbabasa.
Generally, writers read for vocabulary enrichment aside from enjoyment.
Kung gusto nating magpasa ng manuscript/novel sa isang publishing house, READ. By reading, malalaman natin ang tamang atake na dapat nating gamitin, kung ano anong klase ng manuscript ang papasa sa panlasa ng mga publishing house. In addition, malalaman din natin kung ang iniisip nating plot ay gasgas at di na bebenta.
TIPS: Ito ang mga gasgas na plots/concepts. Try mo magbasa, lagi mo 'tong makikita. Nakakauyam lang di ba? So better yet, abstain from these plots/concepts na lang po. There's a lot more plots na pwede nating maisip maliban sa mga ito.
So here they are:
* Bestfriends falling for each other.
*Teacher-student (forbidden) relationship.
* Heroine older than the hero.
* Nagkakabungguang hero at heroine, Followed by bangayanssss.
* Perfect-featured lead characters.
* Childhood sweethearts.
* Rich-poor conflicts.
* Contract conflicts
* Ugly-handsome/beautiful character conflicts
*Business-associated lead characters (Hay naku, di nawawala >.<)
*Arranged marriage (isa pa 'to!)
Implication of using these? THE STORY BECOMES PREDICTABLE
2. FORMAT
Here is the format of a story that editors and readers buy:
1. Boy meets girl/ Cute meet-up.
2. Boy gets girl/ Confessions.
3. Boy loses girl/ Conflicts arise
4. Boy gets girl again/ Kiss or make-up./Denouement
5. Happily ever after.
Please be guided. Both Precious Hearts Romances and My Special Valentines editors follow that format when evaluating a novel.
Every love story is cliche. In simplier term, lahat ng plot ay gasgas. Ang trabaho ngayon ng writer ay ang maging creative sa pag-handle ng flow ng story na gagawin niya.
E bakit ganun ang flow? Bakit, pwede bang mag-happy ever after na si BOy at Girl kung di pa sila nagkakakilala?
Pwede bang maging assuming si Boy na na-lose na niya si Girl e ni hindi nga nito alam ang pangalan niya? JUST BE LOGICAL. Gets?
TIPS:
Mag-isip ng TITLE na pupukaw sa interes ng mga mambabasa. Maglagay ng scenes na fiction but realistic. BE ORIGINAL AND EXOTIC. Have your own writing style- Wag gaya gaya. And always remember, kailangang maka-relate ng mga mambabasa sa sinusulat mo. Challenge and ask yourself, "Pag ito bang story ko, binasa ng isang High SChool student, mag-e-enjoy ba siya? E paano kung degree holder?"
Here's a fact: A Good novel can make itself be appreciated both by a high school graduate and a Doctorate degree holder.
3. THE POV
If you are writing for wattpad, mas papatok kung 1st person POV ang gagamitin mo, yun kasi ang 'in' dito. Pero kung magsusulat ka naman for a publishing house, better use 3rd Person POV.
TIPS:
1st Person POV
If you're using this kind of POV, put yourself in the context of the characters. Kailangang maramdaman mo ang isinusulat mo. Higit kaninuman, ikaw nag pinakaunang dapat na mainis, malungkot, matawa o maluha sa kwentong ginagawa mo. Because if not, paano pa mararamdaman ng mga reader ang gusto mong maramdaman nila? E ikaw nga di mo yun naramdaman. Magic lang?
And PLEASE, please, please, be feminine only when writing the female's POV. At huwag maging bakla sa pagsusulat ng POV ng isang lalaki. YAYKS.
3rd Person POV
Ito ang madalas nating mabasa sa Tagalog paperbacks. When using this POV, our readers should feel na katabi lang nila yung mga character-- Sharing the characters' thoughts, agonies, pains, laughters. Please refer to the earlier POV for tips and advice. :)
4. BE CONFIDENT
Kakagatin kita kapag sinabi mong di mo kayang magsulat! WALANG TAO NA HINDI MARUNONG MAGSULAT. Walang tao na hindi kayang gumawa ng isang worth-reading na story.
I was already 19 when I started writing...just because I lived my 19 years believing that I couldn't write. Pero kinaya ko naman di ba? Nakagawa nga ako ng mga plot at story na alam kong akin lang. Walang katulad.
We only have to believe ourselves. Hindi natin kailangang i-limit ang mga sarili natin sa pag-iisip na simpleng reader lang tayo. Malay natin di ba, baka mas magaling pa pala tayo sa mga writer ng mga nababasa nating kwento.
Kung may writer's block, para lang 'yang sakit. Pagalingin muna. Wag ipilit.
Kung hindi man pumatok ang una nating story, ede gumawa ulit ng bago, hindi pa naman natatapos ang pagsusulat sa isang kwento. We have a lot more stories to share.
Always tell yourself, "Kung kaya ng iba, syempre, kaya ko rin."
God Bless to your writing journey!
-if you find this post helpful, please help me know :)--
P.S. May iba pa po akong writing tips, paki-click na lang po ng external link para mapuntahan yung compilation :)
-Trinie Fangs Romualde
