word watch

I feel real bad. I've been busy cutting-slashing-ripping to shreds three of my manuscripts because the word count's too long. Sabi kasi ng editor ko, bawasan ko daw. The ideal is between 23K to 24K and I exceeded that.

I added all the words I removed. Here's my tally:
Lovebug 1 - from 31,717 to 26,786 equals 4, 931 words
Lovebug 2 - from 31,784 to 27,283 equals 4,501 words
Lovebug 3 - from 26,922 to 25,643 equals 1,279 words

That's a total of 10,711 words flushed down the drain!!! That's half a books worth. Kung tutuusin, sobra pa din ang word count ko pero hindi ko na talaga kayang paiksiin pa. Kung ipipilit ko ay makokompor... makokompro... mako-compromise na ang istorya.

Nanghihinayang ako sa panahon na binuhos ko sa pagsusulat pero sa huli, tatapyasin ko din pala. Huwag ng isali ang oras na ginuguol ko sa pagtapyas. Ang HIRAP pa namang magbawas ng word count lalo na sa kaso ko, ayokong magtanggal ng eksena hangga't maari. Kaya naman sa flow-of-thought ako tumira at saka sa mga descriptions. Pati na yung mga phrases na "ang totoo ay..." at "the fact is..." na nakagawian kong gamitin, pinagtatanggal ko din. Lahat ng "saad/wika/sambit niya" pinalitan ko ng "aniya"

Lesson learned: when writing, watch my word count!

this took two and half hours off my time

A questionnaire sent to me via e-mail by a bunch of students for their school work...

A. Writer's Personal Profile

B. As Writers of Tagalog Romance novels

1. When did you start writing Tagalog romance novels? 2003

2. When were you first published? Aug 2003
What genre or title - was your first published work? Modern Category Romance written in Popular Tagalog

3. How did you become a Tagalog romance novel writer? My own initiative
Who or what influenced you? I have long since been a fan of the genre and writing felt like a natural progression

4. Do you use any pen names? If yes, what is/are these? Yes, Almira Jose

5. How many novels have you written so far (If forgotten, approximate no.)? Twenty four

6. Are all of these published? If not why? No, 18 have been published already, the rest are still waiting their turn/schedule

7. How do you come up with your plots/stories? How do you choose your characters? My psychology background plays a part. I'd like to think I have a rudimentary understanding of human behavior.

7. What are the usual themes of your novels (aside from having a central love story)? Why do you use such themes? I'm partial to 'coming of age' 'comedy of errors' and 'rekindling old flames' but I try not to indulge myself and write these themes. Why? I want to push and challenge myself.

8. Do you follow a formula/process in writing your manuscript? If yes, what is/are these? Romance fiction by nature is formulaic. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end.

9. What do you consider as ideal writing conditions (place, almosphere, mood, etc.)? Place - my room...Atmosphere - as long as there's no distraction...Mood - when I don't have pressing problems to think about. In short, when I'm relaxed

10. Where do you get your ideas on what to write in your novels? Decades of reading, watching films, observing strangers, interacting with others etc...

11. What/who are your inspiration/s in writing? I'm a fan of the genre and that inspires me to write.

12. Do you accept inputs suggested by your publisher? Editors? Production Designers or Marketing Directors? Yes. I take their suggestions into consideration.

13. What suggestions do you retain/remove? What I love about PHR is that they give us writers leeway in our stories. We can write 'out of the box' as long as we are able to give justice to our plots

14. Who has the final say as to what gets published? The editor

15. Does/do your publisher/s have memos/ guidelines on how and what to write? No. But they do have book imprints for example, my love my hero (where the heroine's safety is compromised and the hero saves the day), my lovely bride (the story leads to the altar), blue (the male protagonist is a blue collar worker), working girl (most of the scenes take place in the work environment).. they don't obligate us to write under these imprints but they do encourage us

16. Are there any restrictions? If yes, what are they? Who sets these rules? As I've mentioned, the very nature of the genre is formulaic. Boy meets girl, conflict keeps them apart, this conflict is later on resolved and both end up together. Conflicts are vast and varied and it is up to the writer to think of, build up, and resolve this conflict. You can't write a story without these elements and still call it romance.

One rule that can't be broken though is that the hero and heroine together must have a happily ever after ending. This has been a long established requirement of the genre.

For clarification purposes, I'd like to make clear that we are talking about modern romance fiction here. The happily ever after part is a requirement that sets this genre apart from a love story... one example, Love Story by Erich Segal. Although containing elements of romance, this book cannot be categorized under modern romance fiction since the heroine dies in the end.

C. Assessment

On Readers

1. Who do you think read your Tagalog romance novels? I'm guessing upper lower to upper middle classes... age range- mid teens to mid forties or even older.

2. Why do you think they read Tagalog romance novels? They enjoy reading them. They find them entertaining.

3. What do you think is/are the influence/s or impact/s of these novels to them? Romance stories are feel good stories and so they feel good after reading them.

4. Do you have a fan club site/office where you directly communicate with your readers? freewebs.com/almirajose/guestbook.htm - this is not a fan site

5. Do you get any suggestions from your readers? If yes, what are they? I've at times received requests to write their personal love stories...I always say no.

On Publisher/s

6. Do you write for only one publisher? Which publishers do you write for? Yes, Precious Pages Corp.

7. How would you describe your relationship with your
publisher/s? very good

On Themselves

8. Do you read romance novels (foreign or local) by other writers? Yes of course

9. What gratifications do you get from reading romance novels? Entertaining, enjoyable, a short respite from reality.

10. What other genre do you read? Spy Fiction, Mystery, Chick Lit

11. What other genre do you write? Just this one

12. How do you compare yourself with other Tagalog romance novel writers in terms of appeal, popularity, types of novels you write? I opt not to make comparisons

13. What gratifications do you get from writing Tagalog romance novels? The joy of creating a character, her life, her world, her story...also, tremendous amount of fulfillment after hearing that your novel has been approved and then later, seeing them in book form

14. What do you think are the positive/ negative aspects of being a writer? Romance writers in the country don't get paid much. I can earn more doing the job I was trained to do but I choose not to. I enjoy writing but more so the creative aspect of it. It's a different challenge, one that I find I like better

15. Do you intend to continue writing romance novels in the future? Why? Yes. See above.

On Tagalog Romance Novels
16. As a genre, what are the contributions of Tagalog
romance to:

a. Society - undoubtedly, we promote reading... Tagalog Romance is reality based fiction. In part, It reflects how society is. For example, the women in our stories have grown stronger and more independent...more self-assured.

b. Philippine literature - sad to say, they (critics) don't consider Modern Romance Fiction (both here and abroad) as literary


17. What do you think are the prospects for Tagalog romance novels as a:

a. business venture - there's room for more publishers and writers

b. literary genre - more sub-genre's ie fantasy-romance, mystery-romance etc

accidentally crazy

I'm crazy about this song by Counting Crows called Accidentally In Love which is part of the soundtrack of the movie Shrek2. Kahit paulit-ulit ko siyang pakinggan, hindi ako nagsasawa sa kanya. The lyrics go like this...

So she said what's the problem baby
What's the problem I don't know
Well maybe I'm in love (love)
Think about it every time
I think about it

Can't stop thinking 'bout it
How much longer will it take to cure this
Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love)
Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love

Come on, come on
Turn a little faster
Come on, come on
The world will follow after
Come on, come on
Cause everybody's after love

So I said I'm a snowball running
Running down into the spring
that's coming all this love
Melting under blue skies
Belting out sunlight
Shimmering love

Well baby I surrender
To the strawberry ice cream
Never ever end of all this love
Well I didn't mean to do it
But there's no escaping your love

These lines of lightning
Mean we're never alone,
Never alone, no, no

Come on, Come on
Move a little closer
Come on, Come on
I want to hear you whisper
Come on, Come on
Settle down inside my love

Come on, come on
Jump a little higher
Come on, come on
If you feel a little lighter
Come on, come on
We were once
Upon a time in love

We're accidentally in love
Accidentally in love (x7)
Accidentally

I'm In Love, I'm in Love,
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,
Accidentally (X 2)

Come on, come on
Spin a little tighter
Come on, come on
And the world's a little brighter
Come on, come on
Just get yourself inside
her Love ...I'm in love

'Yan din ang background music ng teaser ng series na Miss Match ni Alicia Silverstone sa Star World. Sa sobrang pagkagusto ko sa kantang ito, nabuo tuloy sa isip ko ang MixMatch.

This trilogy is my feeble attempt to emulate the message of song i.e. the unexpectedness of love and the giddy feeling being in love brings.

Book 1: CRAZY BEAT (Unedited Teaser)

To wed or not to wed. Iyan ang pinagninilay-nilayan ni Mica. Hindi niya alam kung pakakasal ba siya sa isang estranghero para huwag malugmok sa pagkakautang ang ama niya o hindi.

Sa paghahanap ng kasagutan ay nakilala niya si Rence, ang best friend ng kanyang intended. They were forced to spend time together dahil aksidenteng nag "stowaway" siya sa yate nito.

To make matters worse, natagpuan niya ang sariling attracted dito. And later, when her heart started doing the pitter-patter thing, she couldn't deny the fact any longer, she knew for sure she was in love with him.

Ano ngayon ang gagawin niya? She didn't know which to follow, her duty to obey her parents or the crazy beat of her love-struck heart...

Book 2: CRAZY FASCINATION (Unedited Teaser)

Margot had finally met the love of her life and what's great about it was that the object of her affection-the ultra cool Jake Luna, of the Zephyr's Way band fame-was also undoubtedly smitten with her.

Or so she thought. Isang araw ay bigla na lang kasi itong nakipaghiwalay sa kanya. He claimed they were going nowhere and it was time to move on.

Hahayaan ba niya itong mawala ng ganoon na lamang? Hindi siyempre! She embarked on a campaign: OPLAN - Bihaging muli ang mailap na puso ng binatang musikero.

Love comes knocking only once and she was willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to it...

Book 3: CRAZY WHIM (work in progress)

Wish ko lang na sana uso pa ang harana at sakaling may makaisip na mag-harana sa akin ay 'yan ang kantang kakantahin niya. Kakakilig 'yon diba?

friendster-ing v.2

Ang ganda ng umaga ko!

May announcement sa email ko galing sa friendster, ang sabi, may nag-testi daw sa akin. "Wow! My very first testi! Weeeh!" sabi ko sa sarili ko. Siyempre, sugod kaagad ako sa friendster...

Here's what it says:
Hi, Ms. Almira Jose..... I really like you talaga as a writer... I know you have a romantic heart kaya nga lagi akong knikilig sa mga sinusulat mo. Ikaw ang pinakapaborito kong writer sa PHR, ikaw ang gagayahin ko pag nagtapos ako... ikaw ang inpirasyon ko! Always take care na lang....

Kahit na ayaw pang mag-register sa profile ko nung testi maski na-approve ko na siya ay masaya pa din ako. Sa wakas, may testi na ako! weeh ulit! Maraming salamat, Jennelyn :)

Tungkol pa din sa paksa, narito ang ilang PHR writers na may friendster accounts

me - almirajose@gmail.com
camilla - camilla.dear@gmail.com
breanna de leon - pillows_14@yahoo.com
jasmine esperanza - jasmine_esperanza@yahoo.com
martha cecilia - dearestmartha@yahoo.com
sonia francesca - soniafrancesca101@yahoo.com
vanessa - vanessa_manunulat@yahoo.com

outraged

Do not talk to me right now. I'm still reeling from shock!

I cannot effing believe it, the only remaining idol I'm rooting for (with Anwar and Nadia gone)

-- pouty Constantine Maroulis -- got voted off the show!!! argh!

What's sad about it was that his mom was there to witness the whole thing. I don't know if it's just my imagination but I seem to sense a little boy in Constantine still seeking approval from his mother.

bootleg

I'm writing. Yes I am. Chapter seven na nga ako. Gusto ko sanang tapusin ang chapter na 'to bago mag-umaga at para matiyak na hindi ako makakatulog, sinabayan ko ng pagda-download ng mp3's. Siyempre dahil naka-dial up lang ako, siyam-siyam bago matapos ang isang kanta despues, hanggang umaga nga akong gising!!

Ang natipuhan ko ay ang duo na Lighthouse Family. Bigla ko kasing na-miss ang music nila, ewan kung bakit.

Anyway, ang mga links na nakatala sa ibaba ay galing sa zvuki.ru -- dapat for streaming lang siya pero dahil mapamaraan ako...well... hehe *wink*

listen to their version of lifted, kakaiba siya

lifted
heavenly
loving every minute
ocean drive
the way you are
keep remembering
sweetest operator
what could be better
beautiful night
goodbye heartbreak