NaNoPoblano 2022: Social Media and Me

#NaNoPoblano2022 Day 1

It’s November once again and the writing/blogging challenge has begun! It seems like it was just a few weeks back since I did it. That kind of makes sense, considering how much I extended my participation. Shameless plug: Check out my entries last time HERE.  For those who have no idea what NaNoPoblano is, HERE YOU GO, as explained by the lovely and talented Ra.

Obviously, I’m days late. My reasons are valid, though, I’d rather not discuss them anymore and waste time. I just know I’ll make up for the lost days. Meanwhile, MY 2022 THEME: Anything-Social Media. There are probably a range of things to post about. Definitely, a lot of it will be more personal. Some will be text-heavy; some will just be a photo/video or two with a little explanation to go. Some will be combos.

Why social media? To start with, it’s part of my day-to-day life. Being a web content writer, it has become inevitable to take part in it, for work and not. For a bit of transparency, I’ve been working on a Twitter account for over a year now. That’s all I can say.

On a more personal basis, I’ve been on YouTube vlogging (occasionally) and actively joining comment threads. I really like conversations. Sometimes, it’s better and even more interesting talking with strangers, honestly. Facebook? A given. I’ve been spending more time on my writer’s page (the term “fan page” makes me cringe) account, however. Again, it’s better sometimes with strangers, that’s why. No, I don’t get to converse much there. Hardly. But at least, I don’t start questioning my relationships with people that I know in real life. Just real talk here, guys.

This year, I made THE VEERLEDOM active. I even recently made a Twitter account for it, though, I still need to take care of its settings. I keep getting notifications from various people I have not associated it with. Instagram? After years of inactivity, it’s now semi-active. I post once in a while. maybe an average of, at least, once (ha ha) in two to three months. I did post more recently. I follow several accounts, but to be honest, there’s really just one account that I really make sure to check daily. That’s content creator Andrea So‘s. I do the same onTikTok and YouTube. Call me a fangirl. She was the only reason I opened a TikTok account in the first place.

Contetnt Creator Andrea So , also popularly known as Agent Red

I’ve talked about her several times already. In fact, I already posted the first two parts of my article on her. Part 1 is an introduction with a variety of sample videos to show her work. Part 2 introduces the fan faves, the top two of her five most popular characters. Part 3 will showcase the other three characters. Part 4 will spill facts and answer some FAQs about her. Of course, since this is my blog, I write them in any style I want, so they’re not your usual feature writeups. (You might want to revisit the pages if you’ve seen them as I just made changes/updates and added information)

I was reluctant to admit that I was fangirling. But I realized that if someone who’s older and famous like Lea Salonga can unabashedly fangirl in public on KPop’s favorite boys, BTS, I certainly can fangirl on whomever I want. I found Andrea’s videos on YouTube at a time when I was bored (I didn’t realize I was till then) and frustrated about many things. I was also getting depressed because I joined cat and dog rescue and adoption groups on Facebook. I felt so down that I couldn’t give the necessary assistance that were/are mostly needed. There are so many cats and dogs that need love! I couldn’t even adopt any because we already had too many for us to handle. It was stressing me out, for real.

To make the long story short, I found Andrea and she made me less bored, frustrated, and depressed. Her bad*ss Agent Red reminded me of my bad*ss Maya de Alano. I love that people love Red and that’s the kind of love I want Maya to get. I want to enjoy writing Maya as much as Andrea enjoys portraying her famous agent. Andrea inspired me to write again that I finally decided to copy or move my stories, my “book” in particular, to Wattpad. I am seeking a broader audience. I don’t exactly want to focus on just a certain target audience but it can bring me to the right ones who will appreciate the story. 

Alright, I don’t want to spill everything in just one post. Do expect more to come. I’ll leave you with some transition vids from Andrea.

Write on!

@andweaso

transition version ?

♬ Mario my beloved – ✰ princess toadstool ✰

@andweaso

the last transition tho :3

♬ GAL – ᴀʀɪଓ

“As writers, have you ever had ideas only to find out later that others beat you to them? What were they?” #AskWednesday

Well, despite me saying last week that I wasn’t planning on joining Quora, I went ahead and actually started answering and answering questions! And I decided to join because I realized what it could do for my blogging, for #AskWednesday, for instance. It’s easier to interview this way. You will usually get immediate feedback.

So I posted my first and so-far-only question:

“As writers, have you ever had ideas only to find out later that others beat you to them? What were they?”

I kind of knew there would be yes answers, but I thought it would be interesting to find out writers’ personal experiences. Well, so far, I’ve only had several replies (I’m popular like that), from four published authors, but they are good answers. 

First, we have Jesse Frankel a.k.a. J.S. Frankel, a Young Adult Fantasy writer. His works include Twisted, Star Maps, Picture (Im)perfect, The Catnip series, and The Nightmare Crew trilogy.

Mr. Frankel went on to enumerate his novels and describe what they are about, to emphasize his point (click on the image to read them). I am admittedly an adult who enjoys YA literature, so I think these are quite interesting, based on the backgrounds he gave.

Lastly, he said, “Now, are any of those ideas new or revolutionary? Nope, it’s the way you write about the characters and the situations that makes them special.”

To this, I agree. No one has complete intellectual rights over an idea unless it is very unique, which is, as implied, very rare. And until you’ve had it recorded in audio or print or some other way, you’ll have nothing to prove it’s yours.

Next is a short but sweet answer from Crissy Moss, author of Witch’s Sacrifice, Small Bites, and many novels and short stories.

I realized that’s true. I mean I’ve known it before, but this really emphasizes it. I told her, “Yes, you’re right! Even before Shakespeare ever thought of R&J, folk lores were already rich in many love stories resembling R&J’s. So in that respect, even William’s story isn’t so unique…”

Elaine Calloway follows. She is the best-selling author of the Southern Ghosts series. I’m posting her whole reply.

Good insight about being aware that you’re idea is not unique. And I think that’s the challenge, to still make it your own by adding in your own unique treatment and twists. She also mentioned about writing prompts, which a lot of blogger-writers are all too familiar with. Her example sure is interesting. And I love what she said at the end!

Note to Self: Read on those 7 plots…

Now, I saved this for last. I really love her specific answer! Classic!

Deborah Ross a.k.a Deborah Wheeler wrote the sci-fi novels Jadium and Northlight, various short stories, the Sword & Sorceress and Darkover anthologies, The Seven-Petaled Shield, and many others. I’m posting the complete answer as well.My reply: “Your account about someone having a very similar story is quite interesting. I mean, who would think anyone else would have a similar idea about a mother-daughter-octopi relationship??? I can imagine that you probably felt like a pale of icy-cold water hit you when you heard the editor. I do hope he didn’t think you stole somebody else’s idea…”

I certainly would hate it if anyone accuses me of stealing ideas! I do love the last bit that she said. I guess that’s really the mature way to handle it.

 

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So, did you like this one? Many more to come! And how about you, fellow-writers, can you share some information from your own experiences?

Rock, Liebster!

I am not much into awards. I do appreciate when they are given sincerely. That said, I appreciate very much the nomination for a Liebster Award that I have just been given — my first of the award and my very-first online award, ever! (*thrilled-much*)

Thank you so much to Life, the Universe and Lani. I am happy because I am confident that she gave this nomination to me with her sincere heart, and I feel so honored by it. I like following Lani’s blog because I like that I get to learn things from other people’s experiences and stories (that I either can relate to or would not have otherwise known), thoughts and opinions — she has a lot of those. It’s a plus that she has a nice sense of humor as well. I like people with a sense of humor, takes your mind away from the burdens of the world. I urge you to visit her blog, and honestly, I’m saying this not because of this award but because even without it, I would have listed hers down as one of my favorite blogs to visit, anyway 🙂

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award:

1. Each person who is nominated must post 11 things about themselves.
2. You must also answer the questions that the tagger set for you in addition to creating 11 questions for the people you nominate to answer.
3. Nominate 5 – 11 of your favorite bloggers and link them in your post.
4. Go to your nominees’ pages and tell them.
5. Thank and link back to the person’s blog who nominated you.

 

Okay, the 11 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF. Don’t ask me why 11 and not 10 or a dozen as I have no idea. For this, I thought I’d link you to my USELESS BITS page instead, which lists more than 11. Just go on and click on the link.

 

Now the 11 QUESTIONS FOR ME–make that 5 questions–that Lani wants me to answer:

1. How do you decide what to write about?

Currently, I write for two reasons–work and leisure/pleasure.

For work, sometimes I am asked to write, sometimes I am asked to come up with the topics, have others write them then edit. I do a lot of research to come up with topic ideas. Usually, I just edit others’ works but I still end up adding something here and there, or if a writer misses a deadline and we are pressed for time, I write it myself. But I currently have assignments of my own.

For leisure/pleasure, I don’t have an exact formula, if you can call it that. I just write what I want to write, share what I want to share, which is what my blog is about. I always have a lot of ideas swimming in my head. The question is when do I have the time to write or finish them? If you look at my dashboard right now, you’ll see various drafts waiting to be given attention.

2. What inspired your blog name?

When I decided to create my first public Multiply account (all of my blogs before were on private mode, so to speak), I decided that it would chronicle my journey as a person, something that would be a reminder of who and what I was. It would be something that when my time comes to leave this earth, I would look back and smile and say it was all worth it. Maybe it won’t matter to anyone else especially when I am gone, but it will matter to me to see where my journey has taken me and how. So while I was thinking of my “end” and contemplating on a blog name, a saying that I’ve always liked came to mind: “The end justifies the means.” I decided to tweak it a bit to The End Justifies the Journey. What I will be in the end will be the result of my life’s journey, just like how it is going to be for everyone else.

I’m not trying to be profound here, but hey, you asked 😉

3. What was the best present ever given to you?

I don’t get a lot of presents, even when I was in school, plus my birthday falls in the summer month, May, so yeah, no classes. That said, I always treasure anything, and I do mean anything, given me especially if it is given sincerely and thoughtfully. I don’t care if it’s expensive, if you buy it with your hard-earned money, or if it won’t cost you a thing; it’s the sincerity of the act that I value more and I am always thankful for.

But I do have an answer. It would have been really hard to decide which present I should say is the best if not for a friend who, two years ago, brought me to a very special place. This place was where I received the best gift and I have not been the same since. I wish I could share it to the world. In time, maybe.

Sorry if I am being vague, but that is my answer.

4. Where is the most beautiful place you have ever been?

I haven’t really been to a lot of places yet. In random order, I’ve been to:

(a) Surigao, notably Siargao Island and Cloud Nine

(b) The Banaue Rice Terraces of Ifugao

(c) some historic landmarks and a beach in Cebu (lovely ocean!)

(d) Ilocos Norte with its various churches and architecture that date back to the Spanish era (here) and even beyond

(e) Potipot Island in Zambales

(f) museums, bookstores and libraries!!!!

I honestly need to go out more.

5. What is the best job you’ve ever had?

There are three: I enjoyed my first job in a university, that’s for sure, because I met a lot of my first friends in the mature world who taught me how it is in the “real world” outside school. Meanwhile my work in an NGO was/is the most meaningful, for sure as well, too bad I probably wasn’t cut out for it. But being a writer, or writing per se, still takes the cake for me, ’cause I get to do what I love and what I know confidently enough that I can do at the same time, as opposed to feeling awkward/incompetent when I’m not sure if I’m doing something correctly. I am not referring to a particular position but the writing tasks I’ve been doing in my past and present professional life.

 

Now, we go to the 11 QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES. To my nominees, answering these is not compulsory, of course. But it would be nice to know you more. In case you want to share, feel free to answer all or any 🙂 I thought I’d answer them myself, too.

1. What inspired your blog name? (I’m copying this one because it is a very good question)

Done. Check above.

2. Who do you consider as your hero(s)/heroine(s)?

My parents. Cliché, but true. Too bad I realized this too late.

3. Do you have a weird habit? Give at least one that you have. 

As said in the link I gave, “I keep the spoon in the mug even while I drink my coffee, choco or juice.”

4. What is the best thing you like about yourself? Don’t be shy or humble. Just spill it out. 😉

Good listener, sound adviser.

5. Is there a question that people usually ask you ? Kindly share and (hopefully) give us the answer as well.

“Is your hair naturally curly?” The answer is YES.

6. Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Trek

7. What are you currently reading? (Not original but…)

“The Paranormal Revolution”

8. Any hidden talent? Of course, please share.

Croaking like a frog. Freaks out people. I could probably learn how to beatbox, that would be interesting.

9. Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk or Captain America?  

The Hulk

10. What do you collect?

Various stuff, some you can’t even imagine. I do like to say I collect memories. Someday, I’ll have a museum and you can all go visit.

11. Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook.

 

I am nominating people with whom I have had very insightful and educational discussions with, who care about their followers and whose sites I really enjoy visiting (and I think you should as well). If you don’t find yourself tagged here, please don’t be offended. Meanwhile, if you’ve done this already and do not wish to participate anymore, kindly give us a link to your Liebster Award page — I really do want to read your answers! If you can’t answer because it does not follow your blog’s strict format, or you simply just don’t want to, no biggies, we understand 🙂

And in alphabetical order, the 11 NOMINEES are…

Andoyman

Basil Rene

Anne-Marie

Damyanti

Dave

Diana

Justine

Phil

Sanch

Tobe Damit

Yelling Rosa

 

THANKS, Guys!!!! I look forward to reading your answers 🙂

“REBORN”

REBORN

Darkness has bitten.

And it is thus that I rejoice
the coming of the Dead of Night,
unabashedly waiting, pausing
with quiet but eager anticipation.

Ah! I wield the sword with one hand
as I sense the mingled shadows
lurking around me, whispering,
creeping nearer, closer, slowly taking form.

One by one by one, they come in revelation.

I pause, and I breathe the air in;
I strike, and I joyfully shiver.

A calming warmth envelops me,
coursing through me and claiming me.
I smile in response, savoring
my surrender, striking with my kindred sword.

Darkness has bitten, and I am now reborn, again.

From SellingBooks.com

                    

Copyright © January 2002 J.Gi Federizo 

***Featured in The Sunday Times (August 4, 2002), The Makata (April 2003), The Muse Apprentice Guild (July 2004)