Miah Learns to Write

Photo by Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash Finding the right way to end things is very tough. I think that’s why many stories are criticized across all media. Before I go on, when I say ending, I refer to it as the part starting from the climax until the resolution of the story. For example, in Titanic, I would consider the ending from the time Jack died until the end of the movie. There are some beautifully executed endings like Of Mice and Men or Breaking Bad. What makes them brilliant I think would be the impact it left on me. The stories themselves were remarkably written. And being able to end it the way they did was the cherry on top. I think being able to stay true to what the narrative is saying allowed these stories to end beautifully. The writers didn’t compromise. Based on the events that have happened and the journey of the characters, the writers were able to bring about the narrative to its logical conclusion. You would think that if the story was well-written from the

Photo by Calum MacAulay on Unsplash My friend has this mannerism. Whenever we chat especially about profound things, she would pause and tell me, “I’m trying to construct the right sentence.” She does this in order to express her thoughts as clearly as possible. It’s a running joke between us to just express ourselves through dance or movement. However I found that I’m afflicted with the same syntactic bug. I just don’t blurt it out loud. What It's Like But this is how it’s like. You can picture something perfectly in your mind but when you put it to paper or write it down, it ends up falling short of your expectations. I have found this to be the case when I try to write stories. When I try to picture a scene, it plays out beautifully. In my mind, I know what’s going to happen. I can see the details but once I try to write it down, it’s like I’m blanking out. The feeling is similar to when you are having stage fright. You’ve practiced your lines and blocking countless

Photo by Alex Grodkiewicz on Unsplash There’s always a constant nagging feeling inside me that my writing is never good enough and it irks me. Sure, I am a perfectionist. That tendency is innate. But I think writers experience this in varying degrees. From an obsession with perfect grammar to the need for a logical flow in the narrative to having symmetry in form. I would go so far to say that this need for perfection goes beyond the realm of art and literature. Perfection is something that we all long to achieve I think. Not just as writers or artists, but as human beings. I think that is pretty much rooted in our history and identity as humanity. The Root The Bible tells us the story of creation and how God made all things good. When He made man, both male and female, He regarded them as very good. In a nutshell, I think the fact that man was made to be in constant fellowship with God is the reason why we have this deep desire for perfection. And the moment man was separa

Review Naruto had a lot of epic action-packed fight scenes, light-hearted comedic moments, crazy nonsensical fillers, and an overall great narrative. It had complex, unassuming characters with backstories that added a layer of depth and richness that made the story compelling and gave it more personality. While I was watching it, I paid close attention to the dialogue between the characters because to me, that allowed me to peer into their hearts and minds. Their words along with their actions, body language, and expressions gave me a sense of who these characters were and what they stood for. I became attached to certain characters because of the level of intricacy that came into weaving their story and how they play into the grand scheme of things, the meta-narrative. Especially the main character, Naruto, who was unrelenting and unchanging while transforming those around him. He definitely had this ability of drawing you in toward him and liking him for who he is – the good, t

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash My biggest weakness is generating ideas. But it’s not just about coming up with something. Rather, it’s about coming up with something relevant, unique, or something that is very important to you. My Situation Ideas don’t naturally come to me. Sometimes, an idea pops up out of the blue as I travel. There are times when my mind is just drifting and I get an idea for an article to write. Other times, ideas are triggered while I’m watching a movie or a series. However, when I feel super inspired, ideas would just keep flowing one after the other. As if there are no shortages of ideas, so I just keep writing them down. Essentially, I’m faced with two problems. One, no ideas are springing to mind a.k.a. writer’s block. And two, there are too many ideas popping up. I can’t readily pluck ideas from a tree. In my case, I come up with ideas at random. So I often need to take note of them so that I don’t forget. I also need ample time to really ponde

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash Nostalgia. It’s that sudden wave of emotions that fills you when you think about the past, from experiences and memories that usually make you feel a tinge of sadness. I’ve found out that I’m quite a nostalgic person. Sentimentality just comes naturally to me somewhat. This is probably because I’m often in deep thought – thinking or contemplating about various things when I’ve got nothing else to do. I’m accustomed to just being alone in my thoughts as I try to make sense of the things I see happening around me. Sometimes, these moments of nostalgia can make me feel melancholic. It’s no big deal for me though. I’ve gotten used to such episodes so it doesn’t adversely affect me. However, when I do get lost in my thoughts and feelings, sometimes it takes a while to come back from them and move forward. At times, I could get hung up with a certain thought or feeling and I feel off. I feel like I’m out of balance. Or like I’m having a momentary lap

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash I have also been self-conscious about sharing my work with others. Fear of criticism is also one big issue that I face as a writer. The thing is, during the editing phase, you feel like you’ve already criticized your work. The thought of others criticizing your work would just make you feel more worthless. And that’s a depressing thought. But if you go to someone whom you trust completely and who only thinks of what’s best for you, I think it would be less of a burden. What good is it? Letting others read your work allows you to see it from a different perspective. You can gauge how your work affects or impacts other people through their response. That could help give you a direction on what to write or how to write it. It also allows for an exchange of viewpoints and ideas. This is probably a good idea to do when you’re editing your work. Getting a second opinion or a fresh perspective on the topic would allow you to make more

Credits: Studio Pierrot I know I'm a bit late to the party but recently, I had just finished my Naruto marathon, both the original and Shippuuden. It took me about three months. Afterward, I kind of missed it since it felt like I was with them as they grew up and matured. So here are a few things I picked up after watching it. Pursuing Your Dreams One of the things that came up often in the anime is the idea of never giving up. Naruto knew what he wanted to be from when he was a child. He held on to that dream and worked hard to achieve it. He spent all his time and effort into getting closer to his dream. This tenacity and determination is so admirable in this character. And I think this is the reason why his story is endearing to many people. And this is why his story resonated with me. The way the character was written and animated made him an inspiration to me. That’s why after watching the anime, I became more determined to express what my dream is and to reach for

Photo by annekarakash on Pixabay When I started blogging, I just wrote stuff that came to mind. I didn’t pay any heed to whether the ideas were coherent or not. It didn’t matter to me whether the paragraphs were too long or whether the words were too big. I was probably breaking a cardinal rule of writing which is to always edit what you write. You won’t get an article, a story, or any piece of writing right the first time. It’s a process of laying out your ideas, straightening them out, and polishing them. You do this until you’ve exhausted all possible ways to make it better. There are a few editing mistakes that I’ve done besides neglecting editing. This all depends on your mindset when looking at your work. One: “There are too many flaws in my work. Or for that matter, the whole thing is flawed. It’s one big mistake. So I should just scrap the whole thing.” This is the wrong mindset. I know I shouldn’t focus on every mistake I make. Technically that’s what makes us huma

Photo by Mikito Tateisi on Unsplash As I mentioned, I have been blogging since 2011. But I have been writing even before that time. I was editor-in-chief of our school paper in grade school. While I also became a feature writer for the Filipino publication in high school. The problems I faced back then are still the same today. I don’t know if other writers experience the same thing. But I would like to share with you my experiences with writing and how difficult it really is. Getting started on writing Everybody procrastinates in one way or another. When we put something off for a later time even if we can do it now, we procrastinate. I don’t think procrastination in itself is a bad thing. It could be viewed as conditioning oneself to be in the right frame of mind to tackle whatever task they need to do. That requires time to prepare. Procrastination becomes an issue if it takes too long for you to warm up. Then you find yourself pressed for time. If you have deadlines,