Update 3/18/2018

I'm actually working on the next chapter of the Notebook Game. It's my second try, not satisfied with the first I made. I've thought about the premise for days and finally, I'm in the process of pouring it on my laptop screen.

But while doing this, I looked up sensing something. I glance to the left and see them. They were gawking at me with bloodshot eyes. I screamed, can't believing that file puppets could look so terrifying. I ran from the room, from my side projects and regular job workload.

In short, it would be a little while.

Not to worry though. I'm on it! Time management to the rescue! I hope.

Cheers,

-OTPwanderer _

Update

To my readers out there,

I have been suffering from hardcore dizzy spells for about a month now. Took anti-vertigo pills, changed my glasses' prescription, but I've still got it.

I have found I could only concentrate enough to consume, but not to think and create something that's fit to my standards.

I might go back to the doctor soon.

I'm sorry. But I'll try to get better so that I can continue writing.

Take care,

-OTPwanderer

Ideas When You're Stuck in the Middle of Writing Your Story

You're tapping on the keyboard and having fun when the flow simply stops. Try as you might... You crack your head on the wall, you pace around the room like a lost puppy... Nothing would still come out. Your Idea Dam may have become barren, but don't worry. OTPwanderer's got you.

Keep in mind that these are just tips that could help. It's up to you whether you want to follow or break them. It's up to you how to live near the edge of the cliff. Because that's how writing could feel like sometimes.

The others may also be obvious, but then again, these are tools that could help you remember. After all, the most obvious truth is the most hidden truth. Kudos to whoever said that, for I can't find you.

Lastly, I also thank Ricky Lee, the ultra-awesome guy behind this list [from his book Trip to Quiapo (1998)].

He's the guy who used two languages for his novels, and boycotted all quotation marks for those same projects. And hell, his works is still good! If his books don't get translated in different languages soon, it would be a great loss to humanity, I tell you. Great loss!

He had also written about 150 scripts of finished films, some of which had gotten awards. Honestly, I almost died when I missed his meet-n-greet seminar last week. Oh, wise old sage Ricky Lee.

But, anyway... On to the list!

1. Make the problem/s get more difficult.

No matter what Marty McFly from Back to the Future does, problems just keep piling up and he just can’t seem to catch a break.

He’s running away from terrorists in one scene, the next he just found out that he had traveled back in time and now he had to find a way to get back.

Then he finds that he also needed to fix the damage he had done to his young parents’ relationship or he and his siblings won’t exist.

2. Make the villain of the story get more powerful.

The main character and his best friend had a huge fight that destroyed their relationship. Now Ex-bestie is aiding The Enemy, much to the dismay of your character.

3. Add additional problems to the central problem.

Her goal is to get revenge to those who had killed her sisters. But now her entire savings got stolen. Her only son is suddenly missing, and now her house is about to get bulldozed in such a short notice.

4. Create revelations.

Your character has cancer, and then she would find out that her husband had been cheating on her for a very long time with her sister.

5. Give the main character an additional goal.

The protagonist’s goal is to win a certain national soccer championship for his college sports team. But now, he also wanted to win back his former girlfriend back in high school, hoping that this win would impress her enough to want him back too.

6. Create subplots.

The protagonist’s mute brother is a frustrated writer who is aiming to get published soon. The main character’s schoolmate who always got bullied finally decides that enough is enough and brings a gun in class the next day.

“When you're suffering, that's when you're most real.”

-Man in Black from Westworld (2016)

Further Musings

“Once someone dreams a dream, it can't just drop out of existence. But if the dreamer can't remember it, what becomes of it?”
― Michael Ende, The Never Ending Story

I have always loved writing and reading stories as a kid.

I still remember the time when my teacher read my story in front of our 1st grade class. My creation was inspired by what I have read about a magic dragon kite owned by a young girl who lost it because she let it go onto the sky accidentally due to a strong wind. That night, she saw a large distant burning ball of fire slowly moving across the sky among the stars. She knew then that she had found her dragon.

I cannot remember if those were the exact details. I only remember that in my version the dragon kite became a fish sort, and I made the now male protagonist try to climb a very tall tree because the fish kite got momentarily stuck in one of its topmost branches. Of course he failed. The fish untangled still got away somehow, and the story ended the same way, with the glowing ball having the same color of the fish kite.

I don't remember but I think my peers liked it. Well, my teacher definitely did. And the next day, another classmate wrote his own story and presented it to class. Something about a dog named Max.

I want to do the same here. I want to discover stories within stories and the alternate realities of canon. The could-have-beens and should-have-beens must be voiced. I also want to inspire others to also write what they are passionate about, be it fanfic or something original.

Everyone can be a storyteller, one just needs to speak out. Well, research and passion may also be required. When you want and know, you can.