Little Random Crumbs About Writing

Marinate Your Manuscript

If ever mang makatapos ka ng isang novel or if meron ka nang tapos na novel, the very first thing you need to do is, no, not edit, but to set it aside. Kung maaari ay itago mo ito sa isang ataul, ilibing mo muna sa lupa—pero huwag sobrang lalim—dapat ay pupwede mo pa rin itong makuha after siguro ng isa o dalawang buwan.

Bakit kamo?

Alam mo, ang una kasi nating nafi-feel tuwing nakatatapos tayo ng nobela ay siyempre nag-uumapaw na saya. Feeling natin ang galing-galing na natin. Umaabot pa nga sa puntong gusto nating maghanda ng pagkain bilang celebration. And that's normal. Almost everyone experiences that.

Pero nakakalimutan nating meron pa rin itong mga lecheng grammar mistakes na nagtatago. Inconsistencies, plot holes, irrelevant scenes—and fixing those things would be really hard if you're still reveling on the joy of finishing a novel. Magiging invisible ang mga mistakes na iyon sa iyo dahil masaya ka pa eh, you might say, "E bakit ba? Ang ganda kaya ng gawa ko? Wala nang kailangang ayusin diyan."

Wrong!

Setting your finished novel aside and reading it after a long time feels like reading it with fresh eyes. Because most likely, you're not the same person you were a month ago. So ang nangyayari ay parang gawa ito ng ibang tao and you become its first reader.

Be prepared. Dapat meron kang timba na naka-standby dahil maraming beses kang masusuka sa muling pagbasa ng gawa mo.

It's true! This is based on experience and I'm doing this a lot of times already. Halos mapagod na ang mata ko kaka-irap sa bawat mali-maling gawa ko sa mga natapos ko noon.

But this is a good sign. Seeing your mistakes is a good sign of improvement, at least mag-iimprove din nito ang gawa mo once na ma-edit mo na siya.

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The term marinating your manuscript is not mine by the way. I read it from a writing tip book by Robert Masello, titled, Robert's Rules of Writing. You should check that out.