Babbling Point

. “Joel, I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours.” –Clementine, from ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND How the heck do you get to write stuff like that? How far does one have to dig to find such words, such thoughts? Which chamber of the heart do I open to find the right story? Do I use a scalpel, a butcher’s knife, or a black Pilot V5 sign pen to stab my heart and make the right words spill out onto the paper? Is that how it works? How bloody does this story have to get? How do I make money out of misery? How do I make the right words splatter across the computer screen and not make people cringe and say, “Ick! He’s being sappy again!”? Which vein do I slice open that will let me spill the words into the page that will make people say, “Oh wow, that’s me. That happened to me. It’s like he’s writing about m...

. Call me Mr. Quote of the Week Hi, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Budjette Tan, Philippine animator extraordinaire-- and I sold out. Let me explain. Last week, I attend the launch of Eddie Boy Escudero’s photo exhibit “When We Danced”-- which is more like an exhibit of Eddie Boy’s photos and Karen Kunawicz words. While checking out the exhibit, I saw Tim Yap who introduced me to two kids. “Budjette! I wanna introduce you to our two new super writers…” Super writers? Huh? My brain quickly hyperlinked Tim to the Inquirer’s Saturday SUPER! Section. Oh… Super! writers. Anyway, their names got lost in the rest of the people’s chatter. Tim pointed to me and said, “Guys! This is Budjette Tan! One of the Philippine’s best animators!” (At least that’s what I remember Tim yelling in the din.) “I sold out!” I yelled. “Don’t do what I did!” (At least, that’s what I remember yelling.) So, not only did I NOT correct Tim about my job description, I ended up giving advice to the two Super!wr...

The Next Big Thing? Teen romance novels with manga-type art on the cover and pin-ups in the interior pages. (Which local publisher will cash in on this first?)