Sabi ni Bob Ong, mas mahirap na trabaho ang maging manunulat sapagkat kapag may naisip kang ideya o kaya nagkaroon ng ilaw ng inspirasyon, hindi mo ito pwedeng ipagpaliban. Kailangan kumilos ka agad kung ayaw mong mawala ang ideya o inspirasyon na yun. At malimit walang pinipiling panahon kung kelan uusbong ang ideya o inspirasyon.
And with that said, how many times have I passed up on the opportunity to write? The opportunity to place my thoughts into pen and paper? They said that writers always have a notebook and pen ready, so when ideas come they can jot them down. Writers are inspired by almost anything around them – it may be the simple chirp of a bird or the splendid colors of sunrise; it may be the irritating sound of car horns or the pungent smell of trash; it may be a word said by someone or a collective action witnessed somewhere. Inspiration comes anywhere, anytime at any place. It knows no bounds or limitations. And how many times has it happened that I have been inspired by some observation, some phenomenom around me, with words springing to my mind like colors springing forth from a painter’s skilled hands only to lose that moments inspiration because I had no means nor patience to put those words into writing. But the time is past to regret such lost opportunities. We can only hope for more.
I haven’t yet finished reading Bob Ong’s Stainless Longanisa. But so far I am learning a lot. I have learned that being a writer is indeed a hard job and I have learned that each writer, no matter if the idea is not that unique or original, still has their own style of writing or putting thoughts into words. While I read his book, I am amazed by how easy it is to read his writing; how he can easily communicate using the vernacular language with no care as to the sentence structure or the choice of words. I wonder though if I could ever achieve such freedom in my style. If I could ever write in such a way that my words would all seem like one seamlessly woven thread – easy to follow. I’m afraid that my words or my compositions are not as good. That I tend to resort to high falluting words which I’ve picked up from the books I’ve read. And sometimes I wonder if I could ever achieve that manner of easily conveying ideas or words to my readers.
But then time allows us to practice and practice makes us perfect. Or rather develops our skills. Time will come then when I shall be able to write in a way that is publishable; a way that is easy to read.
