And yes, I'm once again late in posting my #FilipinoFriday post. >.< Sorry about that. Anyway, this week's topic is about fan fiction. More specifically---

I don't read fan fiction. But I totally support the idea because sometimes, you just love the story so much that you start writing your own version of it - a sequel if you will - because you don't want it to end. Or maybe you don't like what's happening or how it ended and it's only through writing fan fic that you're able to console yourself. And I say that because that's exactly how I feel about Vampire Knight. God. The ending.  (-_-) I don't think I'll ever recover from it. Fan fic is my therapy, and that's why I wrote The Morteia Chronicles.
I really don't have much to say beyond that. I also see where people who are against fan fic are coming from. I understand why they feel that way and I totally respect it. I don't think anyone's written fan fic about my characters so I really don't know if I'd feel the same way as, say, Anne Rice about fan fic. 
To each his own for now.

So there's this smart man - a pastor - who said (I'm paraphrasing) "Truth does not change lives. It's truth applied that changes lives." I think the same goes for knowledge or information for writers who want to succeed (and by success I mean being able to sell enough books to make a living from it).
Knowledge matters - but it's knowledge applied that will change your life. My point is, indie writers have it extremely lucky today because the information you need to succeed is already at their fingertips. It's there for anyone and everyone to use - but that's the thing. Your life - your career - won't change until you take the necessary steps to apply those changes.
I admit to being unable to understand why some people don't apply what they've learned to their lives. However, for this post I'm going to try placing myself in their shoes and see if I can figure out where they're coming from - and what they need to do to make those all-important changes.

Fear of change
You know that when you apply certain changes to your work, your life is going to change with it. Those changes - whatever they are - are terrifying for you for some reason. But be honest with yourself.  Are those changes that bad? Also, weigh your options - which matters to you more: avoiding those changes or succeeding in writing? Because those changes you fear are your opportunity costs. You can't have it all. Something's always gotta give.

Fear of failure
If you don't try, no one can say you failed. But consider the other side of the coin - if you don't try, you can't ever say you succeeded either. And trust me, failure is vastly overrated. Failure WILL NEVER be able to ruin you unless you allow it. It's only extremely painful the first time around, but when you get used to it, you'll be able to shrug it off and move on. You'll learn to see it as a learning experience and even though failure will always sting, the pain will get bearable because you know it's part of life.

Fear of discrimination
You refuse to write steamy stories because you're worried about what other people would say. You don't want to write mainstream because you feel it won't be considered literature by your peers. I get where you're coming from, but what I don't get is why you're letting what other people say stop you from writing what you really want. Use a pen name if you have to, but just start writing what you want.

Fear of going broke
This is a very specific fear that could fall under #1 (change) or #2 (failure) but I thought it deserves special mention anyway. Some of you may think that embracing your career as a writer could put you at financial risk. I understand. That was my fear, too, but I took the risk and it paid off. However, I wouldn't have been able to take that risk if I didn't have a partner who supported my decision. He was the one who footed the bills during the months I hadn't been able to contribute financially.
I'm not saying that you should find a partner to do this for you, too, obviously. :D But it would be great if you do have one of course. If you think writing full-time is the only way for you to succeed (in my case it was) then so be it. However, you can also mitigate the risks you'd be taking by planning well ahead of time.
I'm going to refer you to Sha Nacino's Money and Me if this is one of your fears. Some of you may have noticed how I recommend this book frequently. Please note that I do not know the author personally and I am not paid to recommend her book. But I really believe in her book and even though I only read it after I had quit my day job and was earning from self-publishing, I still found her book very motivating and enlightening. I could see how it would have helped ME if I had read it before I had quit and consequently, I could see how it would also help writers thinking of quitting their day jobs to write full-time.

Time
When browsing the Internet, I frequently come across people saying they just don't have enough time to do this or that - things that have to do with their ability to achieve their goals in writing. They already KNOW what they NEED to do. They just don't have the time to APPLY the knowledge. 
If you're in the same boat, then you should realize time is not your enemy here. It's yourself. You are the master of your time and not the other way around. You're the one with the power to decide what to do with your day and you're the one who chose not to do what you had to do to succeed.
This is an excuse. You may not realize it, but it is. If you really want to succeed in writing then you must make time for it. The same goes for anything you want out of life, really. Time is one of your greatest resources, and you must learn how to effectively allocate it.

This post should still count because in some parts of the world, it's still Friday. :D

Now, as for this week's topic - this may come as a surprise to some of you, but I wasn't born knowing I wanted to write a book. Nor did it come to me as an epiphany - I didn't just wake up one day and knew that I wanted to write. I started reading at an early age because I was prohibited from playing toys at an early age. Also, I've always been an introvert and rather than ask other kids to play with me, I was good with just reading. 
Most of the books we had at home back then were educational - Childcraft, Discovery books, encyclopedia for kids and adults (oh boy, you should have heard me beg my mom to buy the Grolier Encyclopedia set. We couldn't afford Britannica back then :D).
I enjoyed reading those books a lot - I devoured them every day, but I never got the feeling I wanted to write something like it.
About fourth grade I started reading fiction. Fifth grade, my group of friends had this idea of passing around a notebook where we wrote fictionalized versions of our lives. I was too shy to write my part, so another classmate wrote it for me. Sixth grade, however, I gave it a try and I found out that I liked it. I haven't stopped writing since then.
As for wanting to write an actual book? I hadn't even considered it. Back when I was in high school, there weren't any romance novels written in English by Filipino authors. There were Tagalog ones, but I'm really sorry to say this but I struggled to relate to them. I was okay with Filipino or Taglish for dialogue but not for the narrative - not for the rest of the book.
When I was in college, I accidentally stumbled upon books by Katrina Ramos Atienza from Psicom and Summit's Breakup Diaries and Drama Queen. I was so surprised that there were books like theirs and that's when I had the idea - hey, I could write something like that, too!
So I unearthed the story I wrote when I was eighteen, polished it, printed the full ms then queried PSICOM with it. Ta-da! My first book deal here in PH. And so far - the last. 
I would never have thought it was possible to write a book for international readers until I read and watched Twilight. I loved that book - that series, mostly because I was thinking all the time, I could create characters like this. I would love to create characters like this. And that was that. What followed was a tumultuous journey into publishing, but eventually I found my way home. A place where I really belonged: indie publishing.

So this is my first time to participate in #FilipinoFriday =D To be honest, I only get to read the occasional novel by local authors, but one thing I've become really voracious of is nonfiction by Filipino authors or - more specifically - inspirational and financial management books. I know this seems weird for someone who writes smutty romances, but it is what it is. 
Anyway, the first book I'd like to recommend is MONEY AND ME by Sha Nacino. It's a vastly simple but enjoyable read and is sure to appeal to yuppies who want to "restart" their lives, financially speaking. After each chapter, author SN will ask you to complete helpful exercises that would enable you to build an honest, strategic, time-bound, realistic, and effective approach in improving your finances.
Among other things, she mentioned the need to---

• Follow your passion. 
• Not quit your day job right away. It's all about planning.
• Give back.

Another book that I highly recommend is Bo Sanchez' books. He has a lot and all of them's worth reading. I started with My Maid Invests in the Stock Market, which should serve as a good primer for those interested in investing in the stock market.
Interesting and really good points he made in the book that I can recall off the top of my head include---

• The key difference between investing and trading
• The need for consistency
• The correct equation or formula for managing your money (It should be INCOME MINUS SAVINGS = EXPENSES and not income minus expenses equals savings).
• The benefits of tithing
• How blessings are multiplied every time you give back (in case you don't know, Sha Nacino is mentored by Brother Bo Sanchez).

So anyway, that's it. No fun Filipino fiction discussions, I'm afraid, but I think that's okay since there's likely a lot of readers covering such books. 

One of the most quoted rules on writing are those by Robert Heinlein. 

I learned about it from an author I really look up to, and it's something I've found quite helpful. You see, my greatest problem is not being able to finish a book ON TIME because midway in completing my manuscript, I always start doubting myself, my ability to write and the story itself.
Keeping Heinlein's rules in mind have helped me get past these roadblocks, though.
1. You must write.
If you have an idea for a book, stop thinking about whether you have the necessary chops to do justice to your idea. Just write. The only way to know how it's going to turn out is to write.
2. You must finish what you write.
There are times when I'd finish one chapter then delete everything and rewrite it again. There are times when I find myself rewriting a chapter over three times in one sitting. THIS IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE - or at least it was for me. Even if the chapter feels wrong, just go ahead and keep writing. As the story progresses, you'll be able to see the bigger picture. That's the time to ask yourself about that pesky chapter - is it really as shitty as you thought it was? More often than not, I find myself stunned that the chapter I had so much trouble writing wasn't really that bad. It was just my usual insecurities making trouble for me. 
And if it is as shitty as you thought? Then you'll likely have a better idea on how to fix it since you've got more of the story written and you know your characters better now.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
Of the five, this is the most debatable - the most argued about and understandably so. But there are many ways to interpret it and the way I read it, this is just like Chapter Two but it's more about momentum. If you've found your momentum - DON'T let go of it. Don't let rewriting slow you down. Keep writing - type, type, type until your fingers are sore, your eyelids have started to droop, and your brain's shut down. 
Also, waiting for editorial comments is more time-efficient in my experience. As I know I'm both a perfectionist and an insecure writer, my "inner editor" tends to be very opinionated and nitpicky. Because of this, I used to find myself wasting precious time thinking about silly stuff. Now, I avoid all that by waiting for my editor's opinion. If she picks up on the same thing then that means it really is something to consider changing or improving. If she doesn't, I voice my concerns and see what she has to say. 
4. You must put the work on the market.
I think this rule applies more to those looking for a traditional publishing deal. You need to keep querying until you find an agent - keep working on your book until your agent scores you a deal. 
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
For indie authors like me, I interpret this rule as continuously working on your book until you start selling copies. Rework your title, your blurb, your sample pages, your cover, your pricing. There are so many ways to improve a book so don't give up on your work too quickly.   

I'm going to be honest. I am not the type to share how many words I get to write in an hour / a day because many writers believe that writers who write fast are writers who write shitty stuff. My highest word count in one day, for instance, was - I can't recall exactly - 20k to 30k words. I only managed to do that once, though. There have been a few times, however, that I wrote 10 to 15k words in one day. That's definitely more normal.

BUT you don't hear me talking about that often - or at all - because honestly, doing so would be more trouble than what it's worth. I have neither time nor inclination to get into an argument whether those thousands of words I wrote in one day are shitty or not.

Binge writing, however, isn't really a good thing since you usually end up drained afterwards and not being able to write for several days after it. I'd rather be a consistent writer or one with a set word goal count every day. 

I've tried numerous ways to get myself to commit to a daily word count goal and so far these are the things that worked best for me.

The first thing you should do for the day is WRITE.
I don't mean it literally. You can eat breakfast first, take care of the usual chores that have to be completed right away, but after that, you should get to writing - no excuses. I used to think I write better at night, but honestly, it's only because I'm so lazy during the day that I ended up writing at night. Recently, I started writing at about 10 am - or if I have to do some errands first - then I start writing after lunch, around 1 to 3pm and I'll be writing until 7 or 10pm, depending on whether I feel like going to the gym or not. This schedule worked for me - I found myself extremely productive and able to meet my daily word count goal.

Write every day - no excuses.
I mean it. Even if you're sick, try writing even just 100 words. The point is to develop the habit of daily writing until it feels bad, strange, or wrong if you don't write every day.

Don't stop to edit. Just keep writing.
This one is hard especially if you're an insecure writer like me. I tend to question everything I write, and I end up deleting more words than I've written. It's like taking two steps forward and one step back, which of course would only lead to more delays in finishing the book. 
But the thing is, we writers are often our own worst critics. If you want to finish a book in the shortest possible time, don't stop to edit in the middle of writing. Finish the book first before you start editing!

And that's it. Others will likely have more tips to offer, but for me - these three things are the most important and - in fact - the only ones I do my best to follow faithfully. Every time I write early during the day, no excuses, and I don't pause to rewrite and edit stuff, I find myself releasing books more quickly (and the sales that follow tell me they're NOT bad books).

These rules may or may not be of help to you - it all depends on how you are as a writer. But if it does help you, then I'm glad. :)