3 Reasons Why Blogging is Essential for Tagalog Romance Writers

If you're a tagalog romance writer and you're not convinced that you should start blogging, this post is for you. I want to change your mind, and convince you that, hey, blogging can actually help your writing career.

I'm hoping these three reasons will make you create a Wordpress or Blogspot account right away:

1. Blogging is  great way to connect with your readers.

Don't you want your readers to fall in love with your books and your winning personality?

When I read Rebel Heart by Elise Estrella a couple of years ago, I loved it so much that I simply had to get more information about her other books. I googled 'Elise Estrella' and stumbled across her blog Elisean Plains.

She had a lot of posts about writing and her life in general. Reading her blog, I saw how much work and thought she put into her books. I even saw that she had an Excel file for her Sentinels series!

Also, I had no idea that Rebel Heart was actually the second book in a trilogy, and I ended up hunting down the other two books. This can happen to YOU too.

I have no idea why, but, most of the time, it's difficult to find information on tagalog romance writers on the Internet. Only a handful have blogs or websites, making finding information about them or their books close to impossible

2. Blogging lets you help other writers.

I still have a long way to go in terms of my writing career, but I've received a lot of emails asking for writing advice.

Where do you get your ideas?

How do you get published?

How do you format a manuscript?

I've tried to reply to every single one of those emails, because replying feels a lot like paying it forward. And you know how they found my email address?

They found it by clicking the Contact page on this blog.

When I first started working on my first book, His Secondhand Heart, I sent a lot of emails to Elise Estrella and a bunch of other writers from our publisher, My Special Valentine. They all replied and gave me a lot of great advice about writing and getting published.

The tagalog romance writing community is vast and magnaminous, and blogging is a great way to be a part of it.

3. Blogging forces you to write on a regular basis.

If you're one of those organized people who write a set number of words everyday, congratulations. You can skip this part.

However, if you're like me and tend to write in sporadic bursts, blogging will force you to write on a regular basis.

I've come to believe that maintaining a blog is a lot like keeping a pet alive. You have to write posts on regular basis, which is a lot like feeding a pet on a daily basis. You have to update your layout once in a while, which can be compared to bathing your pet when it starts to stink.

In fact, blogging can help you improve the one thing that you need in order to become a successful tagalog romance writer. Your writing skills.

These are only some of the reasons why you should start a blog right away. There are probably more, and I won't be able to discuss all of them in one blog post. If you have more questions about blogging, feel free to let me know in the comments or you can shoot me an email at camrynmorrell@gmail.com.

So, what are you waiting for?

Think of a spiffy blog title right now.

Five Essentials for Tagalog Romance Writers

source

1. A laptop or desktop computer

If you’re going to take this whole writing seriously, you’re going to need your own computer.

What if inspiration suddenly strikes and someone else is using the computer?

What if you have to meet a deadline and only have two hours to write every day?

It’s pretty obvious that sharing is not an option here.

2. A decent Internet connection

The days where you have to print out and photocopy your manuscript are long gone. In fact, submitting a manuscript has never been easier.

When I first submitted my manuscript to Bookware Publishing in 2009, I didn’t even have to print a single page. I typed up the entire manuscript in a Microsoft Word file and saved it.

I attached the file to an email and sent it to Bookware Publishing. Three to four weeks later, I got a response from one of their editors stating that my manuscript had been approved.

The internet is also a great way to network and connect with your readers and fellow writers. When I first started out, I was too afraid to send in my manuscript.

To gain more confidence, I sent a ton of annoying emails to several published writers, asking them questions about how to get a manuscript accepted and how to handle rejection. It was pretty great.

3. A Tagalog-English Dictionary

You might not need this if you speak Tagalog on a daily basis.

However, I personally find this very useful. I grew up in Visayas where we speak a completely different dialect, and I sometimes struggle when it comes to finding the right words in Tagalog.

4. Inspiration

Unlike the other things in this list, inspiration isn’t a tangible thing. It can be found in the books you read when you’re stuck on a particular passage or the people you talk to when you’re looking for ideas.

These are basically the things that give you ideas and fuel your writing.

When I write, I get most of my inspiration from music. I have to find a “theme song” for my book, and I listen to it over and over while writing. It can’t just be any song, because it has to completely encompass how my characters feel about each other.

5. Confidence

Do you hear a voice inside your head telling you that your writing isn’t good enough to be published/read/used as tissue paper?

That’s great, because you’re not alone. All writers struggle with confidence and question their writing at some point or another.

In my opinion, questioning if your writing is good enough or not is actually a good thing. It means you’re open to feedback, and you’re already a step ahead of other writers who stuff cotton in their ears every time someone criticizes their work.

I give writing advice... Yes, really, I do.

I was recently invited to post on a Facebook group for tagalog romance writers/readers/lovers in general. Here's what I said:

There are so many veteran writers in this group who have really made a huge impact on the romance writing industry, and I'm technically still a newbie, so I'm a little shy about posting tips or advice. At the moment, though, my only advice is to be yourself. I think we've all gone through phases where we tried to imitate writers we loved, and that’s awesome practice for beginners. For me, however, the best way to truly make a name in the writing industry, aside from persevering, is to hone your own writing voice, to create your own “brand.” When you sound original on paper and a reader falls in love with your words, you’re the only one who can provide that special flavor. That’s all I can think of for now.

I just can't believe someone asked for writing advice. FROM ME. *Starts jumping up and down.* This feeling almost beats the first time I saw His Secondhand Heart at National Bookstore. Cripes, I feel like a real writer now.

I feel like I'm really getting back into the swings of things writing-wise. I listened to some new songs and read a really good book. Nothing like that "just read a good book" feeling to get the creative juices flowing.

Male Feelings

(technically Alex Pettyfer has nothing to do with this post, but...)

I was blog hopping last night, and I came across a guest post on Fiction Groupie’s blog about writing from a male point-of-view. The post was mainly about tackling a teenage boy’s point-of-view, but a lot of the points it made could be applied to adult male points-of-view as well.

Here’s the link to the post entitled Creating an Authentic Teen Guy’s Voice.

The post made me think of a lot of things. In my published novels, His Secondhand Heart and Save Forever for Me, and the other two lined up for publication, the story was told from the points-of-view of both the hero and the heroine. I’ve come to realize that my male main characters tend to overanalyze things, and actually talked about their feelings. *Insert shudder here.*

I hope to rectify that mistake in my next manuscript, and create an authentic guy’s voice. As much as I hate to admit it, guys don't overanalyze their feelings. They prefer action, and avoid talking about feelings as much as possible. They want to talk about what they think, not what they feel.

Now I'm off to interview unsuspecting guy friends about their relationships.

Sayonara.

Backing Up Files

(via deviantart)

I've come across a ton of blogs during my brief stint as a blogger. Most of the entries tackle topics about the craft itself like characterization, plot, and even purple prose. However, once in a while, I encounter a blog post about the importance of backing up files.

Yes, of course, every writer should consider having multiple copies of manuscripts a golden rule. I believed it, too. I memorized it, even.

It just never occurred to me that my computer would crash less than a month later. Only then did I realize the importance of so-called back ups.

See, I've been working on my fifth romance novel for about three months. I usually finish one every month, but this novel was harder to write. It was the first time I ever tried to incorporate research into my writing. Before, I just went and made things up. I had to make sure that I got every little detail right this time, because I was writing about an actual place.

So, three months of hard work on a manuscript...

Then, my computer crashed.

I would've freaked out if I didn't have a back up copy. I got my computer fixed and breathed a giant sigh of relief.

I ended up asking myself: What if I lost the entire manuscript?

Cosmopolitan Magazine and Romance

I love reading Cosmopolitan magazine, even the two-year-old issues with passé fashion spreads.

Why?

Well, aside from the rather educational articles on, um, male and female relations (LOL, sorry if I can't help being immature), the magazine is a gold mine of ideas for romance writers. Practically every page contains an idea for a romance novel.

For example, I have a 2008 issue that contains an article entitled Get A Boyfriend ASAP. I don't know about you, but the article screamed idea the second I laid eyes on the title. I immediately thought of a heroine who's pretty decent, but she can't find the right guy. The entire article itself gave me a lot of ideas for her "boyfriend search."

There was also a section that asked real working girls whether they'd date a younger man or not. Bingo. Another story idea.

Also, the magazine is geared toward women in their 20s, the age bracket of most female characters in romance novels. So, basically it tackles topics that my characters will probably encounter about their careers, relationships, and families.

So, yeah, Cosmopolitan will definitely help me come up with fun, fearless heroines from now.

The Deal With White Space

My current work-in-progress has taught me a lot about white space.

I took a lot at some of my finished manuscripts, and I couldn't help but cringe. Words upon words were stuffed into single pages without room to breath (figuratively speaking).

They looked so intimidating, and they made me want to find something else to read.

White space makes a manuscript look more friendly and approachable. It might add more to your overall page count but it's actually worth it. More pages with fewer words are easier to read from a psychological point of view compared to a lot of words in a few pages.

Meg Cabot once said on her blog that readers will thank you for plenty of white space by buying your books. I think she's right.

Imagine a paragraph that looks like this:

Blah. Blah. I'm going to keep on talking so this paragraph will look really long. Blah. Blah. Blah. So, is it long enough yet? I guess not. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. So, yeah, I'll keep on typing. Is this paragraph annoying yet? If it is, then good. I'm trying to make a point. Haha. Okay, I'm babbling. I'll shut up now. Back to regular programming. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Taylor Lautner is so hot. I just had to put that in here. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Is this paragraph suffocating you? Not yet? I'll keep on going then. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Get my point? See how daunting that paragraph is? Aren't your fingers just itching to press the enter button? I know I am.

What's the Big Idea?

I have this idea for a YA fantasy...

...and it scares the crap out of me.

I don't know if it's just me or if this has happened to other writers, but I like my idea A LOT. I feel like this idea can bring my writing to a whole new level and push me out of my comfort zone.

It's in a setting I'm familiar with and a ton of characters I can't wait to get to know. Also, this is the most important aspect for me, it's all about Filipinos. Yeah! I love my culture and I guess I've been writing about other nationalities way too much. Since it's set in my native country and features the people I love, I think this story--whatever it'll turn out to be--is going to have more heart.

That's why I'm scared of writing it. I don't want to screw it up.

I guess I don't have enough faith in myself as a writer YET (I'm trying to be positive by thinking of yet as the operative word). So, to convince myself that I can handle my BIG IDEA and hopefully to convince other writers as well, I made this list:

Remind yourself that you're a fabulous writer.
You are! Just believe it. :)

Remind yourself why you HAVE and LOVE to write.
Why do you write? It's not likely that you'll get rich by writing (only a few have manage to do that) but you love it anyway. So, profit is definitely not your main motivation. You want to be heard and the only way to achieve that is by...

Just start that novel/short story/whatever the hell it is already!
Just type the first sentence that comes into your mind. You can always change it later. What's important is that you've started. Now, all you have to do is finish it.

What about you? Have you ever been intimidated by A BIG IDEA?