learnings from the grind

Some of these I've known a long time but we all needs some reminding every once in a while.

+ Minsan sa kagustuhan mong maitawid ang isang logic detail sa plot, you come up with a solution that may seem ludicrous or unbelievable (when you look at the big picture), and you don't notice it, kasi naka-zoom in ka.  lesson: always check you solution with the big picture.

+ Male bidas, especially father figures or sources of words of wisdom, should not be emasculated by the females. They should have a voice na pinapakinggan, and they should be principled. )Well at least, yan ang standard sa audience na kine-cater namin)

+ Cause and effect. Tempting ang paggamit ng biglaang aksidente, o biglaang pagkikita out of nowhere. But everything that happens should be the effect of something that happened prior, or better yet, the effect of a character's decisions. And the character's decisions should ideally be coming from who they are-- emotional motivation.

+ Be unpredictable. We all know how the story would go. A character who does something unpredictable (pero yung convincing na magagawa nya) is an exciting character to follow.

+ Go emotional. Characters should be driven by emotional motivation. Sino ba talaga tong taong ito and why is she/he doing the things she does? What does she want to happen, what does she want to have? And what does she really need (most of the time, the character doesn't know what she "needs"). It's easier to go plot route or go the cerebral route, but we should always remind ourselves, what the character is really about-- is she a mother? is she longing for her real family? (Yeah, that's the stuff that the stories we sell are made of. family, family)

More  to come. For now, there's a feedback meeting at 430 and have a bunch of things to do before the meeting, cause I foresee a weekend of revising, revising revising.

karambola weekend

realizations from last weekend:

* Nakikita ko ang full extent ng pagmamahal ko sa anak ko kapag nagkakasakit sya. (But don't tell her that, dahil baka magsakit-sakitan pag gusto nyang magpapansin kay Mama). I worry. I will move heaven and earth just to make sure she's comfortable, and will get better. Lumalabas ang pagiging spoiler ko. tsktsk. Nasa stage pa naman ako ngayon na I'm consciously trying to teach her how to be independent and do things on her own. Pero ibang kaso kapag may sakit siya. Kung kailangang kargahin, gagawin ko (and if you know just how big she already is, at 7 years old--- ulo ko na lang ang agwat ko sa kanya-- you'd know this ain't no easy task).

* I hate making pasyal when there's work to be done and I know I should be doing the work if I know what's good for me. Field trip kasi ng anak ko last Sunday. Hindi ko manejoy ang rare moment na ito with my husband and daughter dahil marami pang dapat isulat at Diyos ko, lagging behind. Sayang lang talaga ang araw, hindi ko na-maximize ang joy.

* Hugh Jackman is getting old, and in my eyes it's a tragedy. Nothing's more tragic than faded beauty. I guess my crush on him has gone past the honeymoon stage. No, Hugh, don't lose it. I wish I can stop time so that he'd look beautiful forever

* I can't enjoy blogging here as much as I normally would when there's work to be done. Just like right now.

Which brings me to my last realization before I go back to work..

* When ordinary ladies show signs that they find my husband attractive, sometimes I feel actually proud. Because this attractive man chose me. :-D Bwahaha. Haba ng hair ko no. Magpacute kayo dyan, ordinary (looking) ladies. I may be ordinary looking too, but I got the prize. Heheh. (Kung maganda ang magpacute sa asawa ko? Ibang usapan na yon)

So Hugh.. sorry. Hindi pala kita ganon kamahal. I admire you for all your other qualities, yes. Pero tanggalin mo yung kaguwapuhan... hindi na kita ganon ka-crush huhu.

And hubby, yes... I'm appreciating you more as time goes by. Kahit maubos pa ang buhok sa ulo mo, malamang pogi ka pa rin sa paningin ko. Now that's what you call love.