Personal – Page 15 – Tara Tries To Write

A #SparkNA Update: We’re on Wattpad!

September 8, 2015 No Comments

So . . . remember that online writing workshop I took from April to June of this year? Yep, the one for which I wrote a (gasp!) novel about a KPop band and their road manager? Nope, no publishing deals have been handed out yet, but we’re given bite-sized #SparkNA treats–AKA short, kilig, snippets from everyone else’s works–on Wattpad!

There are currently eight different scenes from eight different stories (mine included) up right now, each of them promising, with varying degrees of kilig . . . because hey, when you’re writing romance, that’s what we’re looking for, right? The compilation is updated every few days so you won’t have to tear your hair out waiting for the next one. Simply click on the cover to your right and read to your heart’s content.

My #SparkNA novel is entitled Scandalized, and if you ever find yourself interested in taking a sneak peek at it, I have the first four chapters up on my Wattpad account too.

And now, a quick (and shameless) intro before we segue to a Read More link.

Scandalized
Tara Frejas

Somewhere in Apgujeong, Fi Legaspi’s heart is racing wildly.

No, not because the universe has compelled bright-eyed East Genesis Project band leader Jo Yihwan—the personification of her silent heartbreak—to see her as more than just their group’s reliable Girl Friday. It’s because one good deed unexpectedly backfired overnight, and now she is in the middle of a hostile fangirl witch hunt, one she elects to ignore in favor of professionalism.

But even as PR representative Gabriel Park holds her hand while taking careful steps away from the glaring limelight, the bullying continues to worsen, affecting Fi and the band members as well. When Amethyst Entertainment decides it is not willing to sacrifice EG Project’s marketability for a mere roadie, Fi is clueless on how to proceed. Does she fight for the job (and the people) she has come to love, or concede to a force more powerful than the dictates of her own heart? [ Click here to read Scandalized ]

Of course you are more than welcome to leave me comments on Wattpad, or here. Whatever floats your boat. ^_^

And thank you in advance! <3

Personal, Writing

The #StrangeLit Struggle, Conquered

September 6, 2015 7 Comments

Yep, you read that right, folks. All the sleepless nights have paid off because as of 4-ish in the morning today, I have officially turned in my #StrangeLit manuscript! *insert canned applause here*

Instagram will load in the frontend.

Now to be completely honest, I didn’t think it would happen. Somewhere along the way, I’d already thought of throwing in the towel and cheering everyone else on Twitter, but I’m really glad I decided to soldier on and put in several hundred words per day until my story’s roadblocks were cleared by a goddamn motorcycle. I’ll probably elaborate on that someday, maybe when the book bundles have come out and are accessible to readers–that’s going to happen really soon, and I’m really excited!–but for now let me save that story for another day and tell you all about what I learned in this class.

Personal, Theatre

Finding my way back home

August 6, 2015 No Comments

I think I was in pre-school when I first fell in love with the performing arts. My mother was a Whitney Houston fan who would always play her cassette tapes at home, and I learned to sing most of her songs by listening to them over and over. I was in kindergarten when I joined my first singing contest–The Greatest Love of All, anyone?–and since then I’ve kind of found my way back on stage every so often, even when I’d transferred schools at thirteen. There were stage plays, dance competitions, instrumental performances, and everything else in between that made it so natural for me to be affiliated with anything connected to performing arts.

Being able to stand in front of an appreciative audience is, in itself, its own high. I remember being up there dancing, representing my school as a member of the St. Scholastica’s College High School Dance Club and feeling so inexplicably happy hearing people cheer wholeheartedly. It’s kind of addictive, actually, in that I recall feeling sad whenever I don’t get picked to perform for certain events because my skills weren’t at par with the others that were chosen. But after a while, I realized that working behind the scenes also had its perks and one need not be in the limelight all the time to feel fulfilled.

Personal

A little more than peeved

July 15, 2015 No Comments

Don’t you just love positivity? Don’t you just appreciate waking up every morning to a loving family, having meal/s with them, going to work and meet awesome, hardworking people (with whom you get stressed over job-related things with), and then coming back home to a nice warm bed, maybe curling up to read a book or watch something you like? Wouldn’t it be nice if life were this hassle-free all the time, or most of the time at least?

Yeah. It would be really nice, but you know what? We can’t all be that lucky.

(A lot of ranting after the jump, so if you’re not in the mood to get annoyed or feel bad today, I suggest you don’t click it. This is just for me to release all the rage building up inside my chest over the past several weeks. Again, don’t click if you don’t feel like getting negative energy on you. Deal?)

Personal, Projects, Writing

Backtracking a bit: My #SparkNA journey

July 2, 2015 4 Comments

It’s been almost a month since the #SparkNA writing workshop came to a close, and I never really got around to writing about the experience–or I did, but in increments over the past few months–because 1) things got crazy at work, and; 2) I think I’m still in denial that it had already ended.

During our second and last face-to-face class on the 6th of June, our mentor, Mina, asked us to answer three questions: What went right? What went wrong? And: What’s next?

It’s funny how most of our responses were very similar; I guess it’s true what they say about birds of the same feather, haha. Anyway, I think this whole experience merits another round of . . .