Work table
L-R: Hot milk, sugar, packets of cream, unused. Second draft of novel—Yes, it’s thick. Table napkins. Glass of water. Notebook for rewriting stuff. Pilot pen, V-Ball Grip, 0.5 point, my favorite writing instrument. Cup of coffee. Smaller notebook for reminders and observations. The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley, to dip into when I’m sick of hearing myself.
Yaaarrgh I hate doing rewrites. I already wrote the damn thing, why do I have to look at it ever again. But it has to be done because despite having proudly typed ‘The End’ I know this novel lacks something. After torturing three extremely patient and helpful readers with my draft (Otsu, Zack, my friend’s agent) I hope I’ve figured it out. Otherwise all is not lost, that’s a lot of liners for the litter box.
* * * * *
Thank you for your kind comments. I have no intention of inflicting this manuscript on anyone at this time. It was written in 2005 then put away. It was rewritten in 2007 then put away. Those who have read it agree that it is Funny, But Nothing Happens. In short, it is autobiographical. And written to amuse myself, so it has already served its purpose.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 8th, 2009 at 01:03
Who was it who said, “A writer is someone for whom writing is hard.”?
Good luck on the novel.
September 8th, 2009 at 01:16
Ang sarap basahin.
September 8th, 2009 at 02:03
I’m a big fan! Will it be published this year?! We’re so excited!
September 8th, 2009 at 06:50
Jessica, it’s been ages since you last updated us on your novel. It looks big. Can’t wait to read it.
Cheers.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:48
why can’t i find Twisted I anywhere? promised myself in high school that i’d collect all your books once i get a job, so i thought of starting with Twisted I. i already tried NBS, Fully Booked, and Powerbooks but to no avail.
September 8th, 2009 at 14:22
Whoa…you’ve talked about this novel forever! So it’s finally done?! But not quite according to Zadie Smith. I’m reminded of this blog piece on the neuroscientific basis of the wisdom of rewriting (after allowing yourself a time period to get defamiliarized with your own work) from which I took the Zadie Smith quotation that follows:
http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/07/reading_yourself.php
“When you finish your novel, if money is not a desperate priority, if you do not need to sell it at once or be published that very second – put it in a drawer. For as long as you can manage. A year of more is ideal – but even three months will do. Step away from the vehicle. The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat backstage with a line of novelists at some festival, all of us with red pens in hand, frantically editing our published novels into fit form so that we might go on stage and read from them. It’s an unfortunate thing, but it turns out that the perfect state of mind to edit your novel is two years after it’s published, ten minutes before you go on stage at a literary festival. At that moment every redundant phrase, each show-off, pointless metaphor, all of the pieces of dead wood, stupidity, vanity, and tedium are distressingly obvious to you.”
Here is another one on how Jhumpa Lahiri makes it all seem easy when it’s really years and years of painstaking rewriting and editing:
http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/05/plane_reading.php
BTW, not sure if you’re already familiar with him but Jonah Lehrer has written a couple of books including “Proust was a Neuroscientist”, which explains how various artists like Proust, Stravinsky and Cezanne espoused theses on the human mind, probably without their own realization, decades or even a century before neuroscientists started testing the hypotheses and eliciting the neural & biochemical pathways that lie behind phenomena all humans share such as when we all wax poetic (or squirm in horror) about specific memories triggered by certain scents/tastes like your mom’s adobo or how in that scene where the tough critic’s heart in Ratatouille was melted after he was transported back to his childhood by, well, a wondrous dish of ratatouille (in Proust’s case, the trigger was his famous madeleine cookie); nevermind wilting in shame when one encounters essays written years ago in school (lol). Turns out the brain center for smell and taste are intimately associated with the hippocampus — the cortical seat of long-term memory. The pathways for the other senses are routed instead through the thalamus, not the hippocampus, which is why they have more of a prosaic effect on associated memories. The brain is fascinating and we’re just beginning to understand how it works (and sometimes doesn’t).
Anyhoo, can’t wait till I get my hands on your “final” version! I hope it’s not 5 (or more!) years from now.
September 8th, 2009 at 15:10
Hoy, foureyedmonster, talagang walang Twisted I kahit saan ka maghanap. Sinong magaakalang aabot sa Twisted 8 ang idol natin! Buti pa hanapin mo ang “Manananggal….” Sinulat niya noong Mrs. Sting pa siya. Naglalaway na ako sa kanyang bagong nobela!
September 8th, 2009 at 15:32
Working at Cafe Bola eh? :)
September 8th, 2009 at 17:00
I’m exciting how the novel turns out. I hope you find all the inspiration you need as you finish that.
September 8th, 2009 at 17:01
I’m EXCITED how the novel turns out. I hope you find all the inspiration you need as you finish that.
September 8th, 2009 at 18:29
Hahaha. Meron na po ako ng Manananggal eh, kaya lang gift yun. Aww, I’d love to complete your books. Sana maghimala at mapasakamay ko ang Twisted I. Woohoo! *wink*
Nga pala, Alan, na-observe ko lang na wala na rin akong makitang Manananggal Terrorizes Manila sa bookstores.
September 9th, 2009 at 06:40
I found a complete Twisted series on NBS Rob pioneer. It was on the Spirituality section, along with Deepak Chopra and Chicken Soups.
September 9th, 2009 at 20:56
the Spirituality Section? Wow, didn’t see that coming, haha? LOL
Question though, why is Twisted 1 and 2 more expensive than the rest of the Twisteds??? So unfair. Illogical. Annoying, hahaha
September 10th, 2009 at 16:11
like a desperate groupie, i ran to nbs pioneer after i read your comment, mak. as expected, they don’t have it.
i had an interesting day there, though.
me (to a saleslady/trainee): miss, may Twisted I ba kayo ni Jessica Zafra?
saleslady/trainee: ah, tatanong ko po ah
me: thanks.
after a few minutes
saleslady/trainee: ah, ano nga po pala ulit yung name ng author?
me: Jessica Zafra.
saleslady/trainee: saglit lang po.
after a few minutes
saleslady/trainee: ah, Sacra po yung name ng author?
me: Zafra. z-a-f-r-a.
saleslady/trainee: ah, zafra! sige po…
.
.
.
saleslady/trainee: uh, punta na lang po kayo sa customer service..
me: fine.
.
.
me: uh, excuse me, i’m wondering if you have a copy of Jessica Zafra’s Twisted I?
customer service [representative?]: uhm, i’ll check, ma’am.
.
.
customer service [representative?]: i heard she’s a great writer, ma’am. i have friends who collect her books.
me: really? yup, she’s good. :))
customer service [representative?]: nice choice, ma’am.
me: thanks.
customer service [representative?]: she’s an American writer, diba po?
me: uh.. no [with raised eyebrows].
silence.
customer service [representative?]: uhmm…. uhmm.. ai mam, twisted V na lang po.
September 10th, 2009 at 17:55
At a Starbucks.
Me: I’ll have a double espresso please.
Barista: I’m sorry ma’am I forgot your name again.
Me: Jessica.
Barista: I watch your TV show all the time I’m a big fan!
September 11th, 2009 at 13:51
@ foureyedmonster – have you tried ebay.ph? i searched it and found a copy. the bad news is it costs P1,200++! Can you believe it?!
Hmmm… I’m now thinking I should keep my copy in case the recession hits me!
June 20th, 2010 at 19:51
Any update on the novel? I really hope it gets published. Funny is enough for me. :)