Fanfiction is pretty popular, no doubt about it, but it has been received with mixed feelings by many authors and writers. Some don’t mind it, and even welcome readers who give their own spin on their work. Some writers don’t like it at all, to the point that they contact fanfiction authors to take their work down. Others use it as a jump-off point for their own writing.
How about you? What is your take on fanfiction? Do you read fanfiction, and if you do, what kind of fanfiction do you read? Do you write fanfiction, and why? Or are you against fanfiction? Enlighten us.
I first learned about fanfiction during my first appearance to TFG meet up. Honestly, although I heard a lot about it, I’m not sure if I have ever read a product of fanfiction.
My take? Hmm, maybe I’ll give fanfiction a try first. But personally, I don’t have anything against fanfiction writers. I believe that their works are still products of their own imagination. I mean, even though they first got the idea from other authors, they still have to work on the details of the plot, the character and even the conversation, right? And they say imitation is the highest form of flattery so if I am an author and someone wrote a fanfiction based from my work, I think I will be honored, haha!
But for now, because of this question, I think I need to go and check out some fanfic websites.
Happy weekend!
While I was walking on my way to office this morning, I was having this conversation with God in my head about how challenging my life is lately especially in terms of my finances. Then I started bargaining with God and told Him ‘Lord, if only you would give me a new job with higher salary, I’m sure I’ll be out of this mess.’ In the middle of my silent monologue with God, I suddenly remembered a certain moment when I was also worrying about money and God unexpectedly provided for me from literally out of nowhere. So I changed the course of my thoughts and told God again, ‘ ok, Lord, I’m sorry. I’ll stop now. I’m not going to ask for a new job again because I know You will provide for me.”
And guess what?! At around 5pm this afternoon, an officemate approached me and handed me some cash, to my surprise! The cash was an honorarium to the service I rendered to one of our office project. Isn’t it so awesome?! God has once again proven Himself faithful. The Lord truly knows what I need even before I ask it from Him. So, to God be the glory! 😀
As a reader, have you ever thought about writing a book? What kind of books/stories do you want to write? Or are you now a published author, and what compelled you to go fulfil this dream? How was your journey from reader to writer? How did you go about getting your book out there?
Hello! I know that it’s Monday. But because I was in a deserted island last friday, I wasn’t able to publish this Filipino Friday post. I’ve always known that writing is my weakness so I have accepted long time ago that writing is not for me. But recently, I’ve learned that never say never because writing, just like any other skills, can be learned and developed through constant practice. Thanks to the inspiration of the so many ordinary people that I know who were able to publish their own book. So, have I ever thought of becoming a writer or publishing my own book? Yes, I’m now considering or maybe dreaming about it. But it’s more of an inspirational book because I know that I’m not the creative type. What made me change my mind about my writing stint? About two years ago, I’ve written a review of my favorite book and one of the readers in Goodreads commented and asked me if I’ve ever thought of writing a book. Of course I was surprised and I answered no because I know that I’m not a writer. But then recently, I’ve learned that a college friend of mine became one of the contributors in a Christian book by sharing her testimony. So I realized that if she was able to do that, why can’t I? We have the same God who enables people to accomplish great things for Him. Though I know that I don’t have that much stories to tell yet, I’m now hoping that someday, if God will permit it, I will be able to share my story to other people through my book. :))
Title: Your Career Roadmap (How to get the job you want… and love the job you hate!) Author: Nelson T. Dy Price: PhP 295.00 Number of Pages: 283 Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary:
The book is a compilation of the best articles from the author’s Sunday Column “Your Career Roadmap” in The Philippine Star. It talks about the author’s thirty-years worth of experience working in the corporate world. It also covers a variety of topics that provide practical tips and lessons on how to put your view about your job into proper perspective, how to get the job you want, how to deal with difficulties at work and how to become the best employee that you can be and succeed in your God-given career.
My thoughts
If I will describe the start of my six-year journey as a young professional, I can say that it was a smooth one. My first job was truly a blessing because it was the kind of job that I wanted back in college. I was also blessed with a cool manager who treated me like his own daughter, and a group of co-workers whom I considered as my family, so it was really easy for me to love my job and give my best for the organization. Three years later, though I never planned it, God gave me another job that offers a higher salary and better opportunities for career growth and development.
Just like my first job, I was thankful that God gave me an opportunity to work in a bigger organization. The start of my journey in my second job was also a good one. However, the changes that happened to our organization recently have also brought a lot of challenges to me. And though I find it hard to accept it, I realized I’m not actually coping well. So, when I received an invitation from OMF Literature to join their Book Worm Blogger Review Program, I immediately accepted it because Your Career Road Map by Nelson T. Dy is one of the books that I believe I really need to read at the moment, and OMF Lit is offering it for a free review. 😀
As I’ve expected, reading this book was truly a blessing for me. I know that there’s something wrong with my attitude towards my job and I need help on how to really deal with it. Though I seek help and godly counsel from my friends and my sisters in Christ who have gone ahead of me, I still find it hard to accept the truth that they are telling me so I read this book to get other insights. The topics discussed by author gave me a bigger and better picture of my current situation. It has also helped me evaluate my current attitude towards my work and made me realize the mistake I’m currently doing with my career. The book has also listed down the practical tips that I can learn and apply on the area of my life that I believe God is teaching me in my present circumstances: EXCELLENCE.
The author has indeed gave me valuable lessons on how to pursue excellence in doing my job.
If there’s one topic that I wish the author could have included in the book, it’s the discussion on finding the value on the job you’re doing. Or perhaps, how to correct your attitude when you no longer find value in the work you’re doing.
Nevertheless, the book in general, is an encouragement for me. It has reminded me of the truth that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.(2 Peter 1:3) Everything that the author has written in this book is impossible without God’s grace. As Christians, we are called by God to succeed not only in ministry but also in life, in general. And by life, that means God has also called to succeed in our career so that He will be glorified through our life.
If you’re looking for a book about professional growth, maybe this one is for you. 🙂 For copies, you may visit any OMF LIT store or these online stores:
If there’s one thing that I believe played a great role to my conversion, it’s music. Thanks to my friend and roommate back in college, I was introduced to Christian songs and artists like Hillsong, Switchfoot, Casting Crowns and of course, Relient K. Whenever she’s in our room, she will start playing Christians songs and will sometimes explain the meaning of the songs to me. It was also from her that I learned to be careful with the kind of songs I’m listening to. I told her once that I’m not usually particular with the lyrics of the song, as long as the melody will make me feel happy, so she corrected me by telling me that I have to be careful with the songs I’m listening to because it can influence my way of thinking.
Since then, I learned to be mindful of both the lyrics and the melody before making any judgment whether I like a particular song or not. This mindset was eventually reinforced when I became a Christian, so I’ve decided to listen more to music with meaningful lyrics and melody and try to avoid listening to “senseless” music. What have I gain from that decision? It has helped me grow in my walk with Christ.
So now, I will share to you some of my Lifesong because whenever I’m feeling down, worried, in doubt or even happy, these songs never fail to minister to me:
1. I Am Nothing by Ginny Owens. Whenever I listen to this song, I am always reminded of the truth that “If I do not love, I am nothing.” It speaks of the biblical truth that everything we do, for God and for other people, should be motivated by love. Otherwise, when our works go through the testing in fire, it will burn up and thus will not count.
2. If You Want Me To by Ginny Owens. Just listen to the song and try to understand the lyrics and you’ll know why I like it. This song has also helped me calm down before, when my flight to Manila was so shaky that I started to get worried that our plane will crash. I just sang the line “I’m clinging to the promise you’re not through with me yet” and believed that I’ll come home safe because God is still not through with me.
3. Grace by Laura Story.I discovered this song last year. It reminds me of the truth that no matter how many times I fall, God will always be there to pick me up as long as I remain and abide in His love.
4. The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns. This is actually my lifesong at the moment. Because of frustrations and disappointments in life, sometimes we forget that we are more than conquerors in Christ. Refuse to listen to the lies that the enemy is telling and believe in God’s word instead.
5. I Am by Ginny Owens. I consider this song as my “Personal Ministry Song”. It reminds me of the truth that God uses ordinary people to accomplish great things for Him, so I know He can use me too. 🙂
Hello there! I’ve been following the Filipino Fridays meme since 2012 and I’ve been meaning to participate in the meme. However, for some not-so-valid reasons, I wasn’t able to do so. So, for the nth time, I will again attempt to post for Filipino Fridays.
For the introduction, I’m Cary and I’m a member of The Filipino Group, a local book club based in Goodreads, for more about three years now.
Surprise, Reader! Hello, it’s the first week of Filipino Fridays 2014! Whether it’s your first time to participate or not, tell us a bit about yourself. More specifically, tell us about your favorite book discoveries for this year. Any author you started reading this year that you can’t get enough of? A book you didn’t think you’d like, but you ended up liking/loving? Any book series that you just have to get your hands on? Have you discovered anything new from Filipino authors this year?
Tell us about your favorite book discoveries for this year.
My favorite reads this year so far are Stargirl series and the Catastrophic History of You and Me. As mentioned in my previous posts, reading these stories after reading too much non-fiction is truly a breather.
A book you didn’t think you’d like, but you ended up liking/loving?
Frankenstein. I’ve been evading this book for so long because I thought it’s scary. But to my surprise, it’s not. The lessons and theme of this book are also socially relevant so I really enjoyed it.
Any book series that you just have to get your hands on?
I’m planning to start the Game of Thrones series as my personal reading challenge this year.
Have you discovered anything new from Filipino authors this year?
Yes. My Favorite Filipino romance novella this year is Jayen San Diego’s Just a Little Rain. I also enjoyed reading All is Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria.
Because I’m happy that September was a relatively productive month for me, I’ll share the summary of the books I’ve read last month and the books I’m planning to read this October. I was able to finish 6 books (yay!) in September and I’m happy because that’s the most number of books I’ve read in a month so far, this year. For me, it’s a sign that my passion for reading is back. Life without passion is kind of meaningless so I’m really worried whenever I feel that I’m having a reading slump.
But so much for that, here are the list of my September reads.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry by Gabriel Zevin (2.5/5 Stars) – Actually, I’ve finished reading this book last August. But because this is the TFG Book of the Month for September, I’ll include it in my accomplishment for the month.
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala (5/5 Stars). This book was an encouragement for me. It has challenged me to pray more for my ministry in order to invite the Holy Spirit to work for me and through me.
Unlimiting God by Richard Blackaby (5/5 Stars). Another timely and relevant book and it is somewhat related to the book in number 2.
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by (4/5 stars). Although it is quite heartbreaking, I really enjoyed reading this one .
Unstuff by Michael and Hailey DiMarco (3/5 stars). A book about simple living.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (5/5 stars) – I already wrote a review about this one, so I guess I don’t need to explain why.
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (4/5 Stars) – Just like the first Stargirl book, I also enjoyed reading this sequel.
September Reads
Indeed, doing the things you love will really make you productive and I think that’s the reason why I was able to read more this month. Anyway, I hope this will continue until the end of October. So for this month, I plan to read the following:
Gone Girl
Your Career Roadmap ( review copy courtesy of OMFLit)
You know what? This is really a hard one. You know, I’ve been single for 26 years and I’m so used to it that doing things alone is a normal thing for me. It is really very seldom for me to have that feeling of need to be with someone so, what I will share is an awkward moment of being single.
As an introvert, I really love doing things alone and one of those things is watching movies. Alone. So one time, I went to the mall and decided to watch the movie Eclipse. Since I came in a little early, I had the chance to see and observe the people coming in to watch the movie with me. Of course, I’ve always known that the movie house is a common place for dating and it would not be surprising to see couples watching the movie together. But when I saw that people were starting to come in two’s, I suddenly felt awkward and yes, alone. I started to freak out silently and I was like, ‘Oh crap, what am I doing here alone, by the way? Why am I watching this movie alone? What if these people notice me and pity me for watching this romantic movie. ALONE?!’
But then, that was just for a short moment because I shake off the thought and told myself, ‘who cares anyway? This is a free country.’ Thank God, that feeling didn’t last long so I was able to enjoy the movie. 🙂
And just like that, we’re now in the last quarter of the year! But before that, friends, please celebrate with me because Goodreads says I’m a book ahead of my reading plan!! 🙂
Yes, I’m celebrating because for the past few months, life in general, is very difficult for me. I am disappointed because I haven’t accomplished anything great this
year so I want to succeed at least in achieving my reading goal.
Anyway, every day is a brand new mercy so let’s move forward and celebrate! Therefore, I’ll share with you my reading goal for the last quarter of the year:
1. Finish The Three Musketeers soon! I started reading this last year but I stopped halfway so it’s been in my currently reading shelf for a year now. I think it’s about time to take it out from that shelf.
2. Finish reading Quiet!
3. Reduce my currently-reading shelf to half (because this is the most realistic goal).
I don’t actually have a ready answer whenever someone throws me this question point blank. So I’ll just share a typical conversation with me whenever this topic is brought up and it goes something like this:
Someone: Do you have a boyfriend? Me: No. Someone: Why?! Me: Hmm, I don’t know. Someone: But have you ever been in a relationship? Me: ahmm, No. Someone: seriously?! Me: Yes.
Then most of the time, I will reply with a short laugh and say ‘Oh, I really don’t know because that’s the same question I’ve been asking God and myself for the longest time.’
Actually, if I will really think about it, this question seldom occurs to me and I have never attempted to search for an answer to this question. Why? Maybe because I don’t find any need for it at the moment. And maybe because I have believed that God has a perfect plan for me. Sure I do have crushes and feel attracted to some nice and decent guys, but that’s not enough for me to plunge into the dating game.
So why am I still single? The reality is maybe because I know in my heart that I’m not yet ready. I am not yet ready to give up my independence and submit under the authority of a man. 🙂
No Ordinary Day 