#JustWritePH—For Love: Beth G., Carla de Guzman, Giselle Bacalla, and Amae Dechavez

Hey there! This is a (super) delayed post featuring the awesome work of Beth G., Carla de Guzman, Giselle Bacalla, and Amae Dechavez, whose works are all part of the #JustWritePH—For Love bundle :-)

Love is never easy, but the journey to that happily ever after is what makes it worth it.

Witness the struggles of these characters as they work their way through both new romances and second chances at love in this four-story bundle. Features “I Still…” by Beth G., “Sigh No More” by Carla de Guzman, “Velvet Valentine” by Giselle Bacalla, and “One Sweet November Day” by Amae Dechavez.

Read on for the sweet and exciting story blurbs!

I Still. . . 

by Beth G.

Jamee is head over heels with Denmark. And after several years of not seeing each other, they meet again, and Jamee cannot deny the fact that after all those years, she is still in love with him. As their renewed friendship seems to progress, all while their common college friends hold a reunion for all of them, Jamee discovers the truth behind her heartache with Denmark years ago. Will she still surrender on how she feels for Denmark and give herself a chance on love? Or will it be too late?

Connect with Beth G.!

WordPress: http://bethgstories.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bethgonline

--- Buy #JustWritePH—For Love! ---

Sigh No More 

by Carla de Guzman

Beatrice and Claudia never thought they would see Benedick and Hiro ever again, not that they wanted to. But when the business opportunity of a lifetime hinges on Ben and Hiro's work, they find themselves head over heels and crashing into the boys again. But why did they ever have to be apart in the first place? Can Hiro win Claudia's heart back? Can Beatrice and Benedick ever stop fighting? This book is a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Connect with Carla de Guzman!

Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/somemidnights

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/somemidnights

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/somemidnights

Website: http://www.somemidnight.wordpress.com

--- Buy #JustWritePH—For Love! ---

Velvet Valentine 

by Giselle Bacalla

Elizabeth Mariana Hernandez Cruz, a freshmen in St. Agnes Integrated School has only one agenda; to live the life she always dreamed about in school. She grew up from a small town and studied in a small sectional school until now. As soon as stepping into high school, she vowed that things will finally change. As young, careless and naïve Elizabeth struggles her way through her freshmen year and that changed until the day she meets Isaac D. Rodriguez, a third year senior who always dropped by in her classroom. Little did she know that this boy would be the catalyst of change. After long years of house arrest, watch her adventure to discover life in a different light as she experience friendship, love and reality. “Excuse me, are you by any chance, Sakura?” “How did you know about me?” Velvet Valentine’s Elizabeth will bring you places and memories you thought you’ve long forgotten.

Connect with Giselle Bacalla!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiselleMarisBacalla

Wordpress: http://gpicks.wordpress.com/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Gpicks

--- Buy #JustWritePH—For Love! ---

One Sweet November Day 

by Amae Dechavez

Nagtagpong muli si Ethan at Maylie. Sinong magaakala na pagkatapos nilang magkakilala at maging matalik na magkaibigan noong bakasyon sa Pila, Laguna ay magkikita silang muli? Sa saglit na pagkakalayo nilang dalawa ay lalong nilang napagtanto na mahal na nga nila ang isa’t isa. Kaya sa muli nilang pagkikita sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Los Baños ay hindi na pinalagpas pa ni Ethan ang pagkakataon niya. Sinabi niya kay Maylie ang mga katagang “Mahal kita.” “Mahal din kita” ang naging tugon ng dalaga. Girlfriend na Ethan si Maylie—first girlfriend. Ngunit magtatagal ba ang pag-iibigan nila?

Connect with Amae de Chavez!

Website:  http://amaedechavez.blogspot.com/

Email:  amaeauthor@gmail.com

Facebook:  https://facebook.com/amaeauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/amaeauthor

Goodreads:  https://goodreads.com/amaeauthor

Wattpad:  https://www.wattpad.com/user/amaeauthor

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/amaeauthor/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/amaeauthor/

Ask.fm:  http://ask.fm/amaeauthor

--- Buy #JustWritePH—For Love! ---

Congrats to all the authors of #JustWritePH!!!

Note: The #JustWritePH workshop, which ran from July 1 to August 8, 2015, challenged participants to write a story and prepare it for publication in a little under 6 weeks. Tips and lessons were delivered online & in person. The reward? Guaranteed distribution on Buqo, plus marketing opportunities like a bundle launch (held at Bo’s Coffee Megamall on August 22), a Facebook party, and a blog tour.

#SparkNA: Choosing to be Brave

Two weeks before the #SparkNA deadline, I shook my head and told my husband, “This isn’t working. I’m not going to finish.”

That admission was really disheartening. After all, I already had my final chapter and epilogue fleshed out. The problem was the four chapters that preceded the last. Although they had some scenes written here and there, the thought of weaving them together loomed before me like a herculean task.

I was on the verge of falling into a writing funk and giving up. But my hubby told me, “Remember Nadine.”

Too cryptic to digest? Let me explain.

Eight years ago, I was on the verge of finishing another book—my dissertation on the architect Leandro Locsin. But three weeks before the deadline, I had a major panic attack. I ran out of the lab—my heart racing and my hands clammy. Like a lunatic, I paced up and down the square in front of the engineering building, muttering as I walked.

I was already considering breaking the news to my professor, when I bumped into Nadine, a Filipino sempai (or senior) who was doing her postdoctoral at the same university. When she asked what the matter was, I told her everything—that I couldn't finish my book and that I wouldn't be able to graduate on schedule.

Instead of indulging my little pity party, she asked me if I had all the data and results I needed. I told her that I did. I just needed to string them all together into a coherent narrative.

I’ll never forget what she said to me that day. Behind her thick spectacles, her brow furrowed, “Gaga ka pala e. You know what you have to do, just do it. Go back to the lab and write. Wala nang next year.”

At that time, the ice bucket challenge hadn’t been invented yet, but that's exactly how I felt—like a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. She was right, there wouldn't be a next year for me—unless I was willing to pay for my tuition myself. Considering that a year’s tuition was more than enough to buy a new car (albeit a very modest one), paying was certainly not an option.

So I went back to the lab and got to work. Two weeks later, I finished the first draft of my dissertation—all three hundred and fifty pages of them (Disclaimer: half the pages were filled with pictures, charts, and graphs).

And I’d never have done it if Nadine hadn’t hit me on the head (well, figuratively at least).

Through the years, when I’m on the verge of giving up on something, my hubby would always remind me of Nadine’s words.

Back to the present day—with Nadine’s tough-love pep talk in mind, I sat back down in front of my computer and forged on. 

Back when I had first started writing a month and a half ago, I mostly wrote scenes, settings, and dialogues—anything to reach my target word count for the day. One day I'd be on chapter three and the next day, I'd skip to chapter seventeen. But although I surpassed 20k words, my story was far from complete. I still had a lot of holes to fill. 

I think that having an outline really helped. The outline gave each chapter a goal—how it contributed to the development of my characters and their relationship. It was a step-by-step process—much like building a house. First, you had to make sure the foundation was solid before you erected the skeleton of columns and beams. Then you roofed it over, poured in the concrete for the floors, built the walls, and put in the doors and windows before you moved on to finishing. The outline was my story's blueprint, it's basic foundation and skeleton. Without the outline, I don't think I would have been able to write a completely new novella in only two months.

Also, knowing how the whole story would end was also immensely invaluable. It was like a compass—even though I was panicking, I knew the general direction I was headed.
Six days later, I completed the first draft of my #SparkNA manuscript. My word count was 40,360 words.

But my journey was far from over.

#SparkNA’s theme is being brave. And for me, bravery is a highly personal journey.

Bravery is not only about jumping off a cliff or initiating a big confrontation. It’s the little things—sucking up your fears, learning, accepting, and moving on. It’s about taking a chance and being vulnerable . . . opening up to people . . . and to the joy and pain they bring. Bravery is realizing you were wrong and admitting it. It’s doing something concrete to salvage the situation. It’s doing something—even if you don’t want to—because you have to.

In this case, bravery meant sticking to my writing goals. This meant continuing to write even though I wasn't in the mood to or even if I thought my words were crappy. I wrote on my phone while my kids played. I dictated dialogues onto the Notes app while I folded laundry. I thought of solutions to plot holes while I washed dishes and vacuumed. On weekends or at night when the kids were fast asleep, I edited and revised. I sent copies to my betas for feedback then scrambled to complete the final edits. My final word count was 38,993.

Even at the very end of my #SparkNA journey, my bravery was tested yet again. It took a whole lot of courage to press the SEND button . . . knowing that I was letting a little part of myself go and not knowing where it will lead.

But I chose my path and I am happy I stuck to it until the very end. Because bravery in battle isn’t about waving a sword in the air and shouting expletives—it’s about getting out of bed and fighting the fight. It’s about overcoming the simple things in your everyday life . . . making time and space for something you’ve committed yourself to.

Bravery is a choice. And what makes it so scary is that you have to do it all by yourself.

*crossing my fingers for ALL #SparkNA participants*

P.S. And to honor Nadine and her tough-love tactics, her beloved strawberries get a special mention in my #SparkNA novella. Though to this day, all I really know about her research is that she makes damn good strawberry ice cream after she finishes her sampling. Hahaha!

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Note: #SparkNA is an free online writing class that was sponsored by Anvil Publishing’s Spark Books imprint. The goal of the class was to help authors write and finish a contemporary new adult novella. For more info, check out Facebook or Twitter :-)

#BuqoYA: Done!

Yay! February was truly a fruitful month---I managed to finish another story :-) *does a happy dance*

Late last year, I decided to sign up for the #BuqoYA online writing class organized and mentored by author Mina V.Esguerra and sponsored by Filipino online bookstore Buqo. It was a month-long class with the goal of writing 5,000 words of young adult fun. It totally rocked!

Seriously. Be Careful What You Wish For took me ages to finish. So I am over-the-moon-kilig that I was able to finish a novella in a month!

Just to share (and also, so I don’t forget), here’s how I did it:

1.    Prep up

Although the class ran for a month, Mina had us reading and watching books and movies of the genre to get us in the mood. This part was really fun! Most of the movies she assigned were old favorites (Freddie Prinze, Jr.! Ethan Hawke! Dingdong Dantes!). And though most of the readings she assigned were new to me, they were really fun reads!

2.    Craft your characters

Mina advised us to do this before the class started. I’m a Gen X-er, so I use slambooks to get to know my characters better. Yes, I even write down their motto—Just Always Pray At Night—kidding! But seriously, I like to make a sheet per character (including likes, dislikes, family, friends, and pegs for physical appearance etc.) then I print them out and refer to them while I’m writing. And if something additional comes up, I just make a note of it on their file. That way I don't have to constantly open and close files on the computer while I’m writing.

3.    End it!

Once the class started, we were divided into groups and asked to tackle specific tropes. So, although I had several storylines running through my head (as I wasn't sure which group I’d be in), I had to nail my story down and write a synopsis that included the ending.

Planning the ending was probably the best advice I’ve ever received. Seriously.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo more years than I care to count, but I’ve only ever finished one novel. Why? Because although NaNo encourages you to write (50k words in a month!), it doesn't require you to finish (editing is reserved for another month). Having a goal made things easier for me, because at least I knew what I was writing towards. It helped me plan my chapters and further craft my characters. And it helped me finish!

4.    Plan, plan, plan

Since I already had an ending in mind, it was easier to plan the chapters logically. When I started, only the last two chapters (and fragments of the first one) were clear in my mind. I made an outline of the chapters and wrote in bullet points what I wanted to achieve within each one. Of the original ten chapters I planned for, only seven went as planned, the other three I had to move around and expand, and I had to add an epilogue. But it’s easier to flesh the story out once the outline is done.
Also, throughout the class, Mina sends us really helpful (and timely) tips and articles, and they *really* help and inspire :-)

5.    Write first, edit later

This is one of the good habits I got from NaNo. I know that I’m an overly verbose writer (my Eng101A prof actually told me that) and that I would not be contented with 5k, so I planned for at least 10k. Once my synopsis was approved, I formulated a rough writing schedule. I allotted ten days for pure writing, with 1.5k as my daily word count goal. The chapter outlines helped a lot. I’m not the type of writer who finishes one chapter before proceeding to the next. I write what I feel like writing at that particular moment. So one day I’ll be writing chapter nine, and the next day I’ll be fleshing out chapter five or adding tidbits to chapter three and seven.

Managing two kids and the household chores takes an amazing amount of time, so I try to squeeze in a few minutes of writing when I can. That’s why I love writing sprints—just typing whatever comes to mind, without checking for errors or grammar. The idea here is to get as much of my thoughts into actual written words. I’ve found that it’s easier to edit / rewrite when you have enough material. Plus, I’ve found that a lot of characters ‘come to life’ during these times. When I review what I’ve written after a sprint, I’m often surprised and delighted.

6.    Make writing a daily habit

Whether on your laptop, notebook, or even on your smartphone, try to type in a few words or phrases every time an idea pops up. Ideas pop up at the most inconvenient of times, so be ready. I personally love the Notes app on the iPhone, I just mail everything to myself afterwards. Similar to my NaNo experience, I wasn't able to religiously follow my daily word count goal (some days I’d have a measly 300, and on others I’d average 2k), but I made it a point to write each day.

7.    Set deadlines within deadlines

Learn to embrace the pressure of deadlines. I personally think that Mina gave us enough time to work on our submissions. She had mentioned early on that she’d ask us to submit whatever we had sometime in the middle of the class, so after the tenth day, I started editing the first few chapters in preparation. This also gave me time to assess what chapters I needed to work on and if the story was going in the general direction I wanted it to.

8.    Have a ready circle of beta readers

Although I had a circle of beta readers, they were mostly my age—and let’s just say that we’re a few years older than the young adult genre I’m trying to write. So when I had the manuscript read by . . . um, younger people . . . their opinions and views were really eye-opening. So I guess it pays to have your story read by your target audience before the final edit :-)

9.    Edit!

It is true what they say—your work says a lot about you. So if you’re getting cross-eyed trying to catch errors, have a friend look at it or have it professionally edited after.

10. Eat cake

Seriously. The day I sent the story to Mina, I made brownies. Hahaha! 

But even if I still have to do the final edits, I cannot help but feel a sense of achievement that I finished something . . . in a month! Yatta! I seriously want to go to the eat-all-you-can dessert place in Shibuya. Anyone want to come with me? Iku iku, go, go! :-)

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Now I’m signed up for the #SparkNA writing class that will run from April-June, which will also be hosted by Mina. This one is sponsored by Spark Books / Anvil Publishing. Hihihi! Nakaka-addict pala! For more info, visit Mina's FaceBook page.

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Please watch out for my new book, When Cocoy Became Kikay :-)

Cheers!