Jahric Lago: Food + Trips: The Rise of the New Generation of Authors

Writing in itself is hard enough. And penetrating the world of publishing is another thing. That is why, writers of this generation are trying the new trend called self-publishing. Indeed, self-publishing will get you published in a click of a finger (for ebooks) but a little stressful when published in a paperback version. Behind all these are even harder path of editing, layouting, and even marketing your own book. It is a lot of work! But if you are really determined to get your work done, if passion sinks in, then your life in self-publishing would be much easier.

I am a self-publisher myself. It takes pure effort, plenty of perseverance, and a lot of editing, self-editing! Thank God, I’m also the Editor-in-Chief of our University’s paper. Another self-publisher I know is Jonnalyn Cabigting. She actually invited me to judge one of her writing contest titled Novel Writing Contest. I agreed upon receiving the invitation, because I know this will become my opportunity to help out aspiring writers.

The three winners were: 2^nd runner-up, The Queen’s Ace by Althea Summer Kim (ariseu). 1^st runner-up, Hello Shit Face by Mariel C. Mantilla (EllenaLeiram), and the Grand Winner was Bloodshed by Jen Bonito (Aleeze Queen). Here are my reviews about their FANTASTIC WORKS!

The Queen’s Ace by Althea Summer Kim (ariseu)

I loved the synopsis. The title was okay but it could be changed for the better. But most importantly, from the first chapter to the second one, it put tears on my eyes. I don’t know why, but probably I was really moved by the dialogues, they were so real. The characters were jumping out of the pages. The grammar both in English and Filipino were good. The plot was astounding. You got all the right ingredients in one bowl. But I’m not just sure if they are all perfect together. Like, the dialogues on your characters from the first chapters, they supposed to be kids, right? But they sounded like teenagers to me. You have to shake up that part a bit. But overall this is a Nicholas Sparks’ comparable, page-turning, polished plot masterpiece.

We learn from every story we make. Hope you learned from this one and keep on writing better ones. You are GREAT! Keep it up!

Hello Shit Face by Mariel C. Mantilla (EllenaLeiram)

WOW! This one impressed me so much.
Yes, there are a lot of errors all over the place. Usage of Filipino and English, punctuation marks, and spelling. But it could be fixed by editors. Also, you could hone your craft more. Read and write continuously. Never get tired of learning. You just need a little shaping up, but you have a remarkable talent!

I'm not a very big fan of stories with Filipino used as medium. But this one enticed me to the maximum level. I was smiling, even laughing, after every sentences. Catching the readers' attention in a 20-second time-frame is the first mission of us, writers. And you accomplished it so well. You captured my heart!

This story felt like a collaboration of Mina V. Esguerra and Bob Ong, filled with humor and romance. A true page-turner. Riveting plot. I can't stop reading. This is just over-the-top good!

Bloodshed by Jen Bonito (Aleeze Queen)

One read of the title oozed me already to read Bloodshed, congrats to that. Because catching the readers attention is the first most important thing to achieve even before writing the story, and planning the plots took place.

However, the synopsis was CUH-RAY-ZEE confusing. I don't really get the story, wherein fact it should capture the whole story at first glance, not until I read the chapters itself. But it could afford a little shape up.

The characters were quite shallow, I wanted you to add more depth, more actions, using a dialogue is good but making the movements & gestures of your characters to speak is much better. Like Natalie, I didn't get her at first, who wanted to be killed by a stranger in a snap? Or to get bitten by a vampire without any consolidation? Just vague.

Now, in verb tenses it should always be parallel, if you use present tense then stick with it, if past tense, same thing. Mixing present & past tenses would make Stephen King real mad. But yours is fixable.

Finally, this is actually the first story in the pool of finalists which I dreaded to read because it was in full English, kudos to that. The Twilight-mashed story was riveting & I had fun reading it. It reminded me so much of Dreamland, the first novella I self-published. Dream big! Coz I feel that you can really go far. Congrats in advance!