User:Alternativity/Ma-Yi/Philippine Myth

Philippine Mythopoeia/Legendarium

• Bathala;
• Maria Makiling;
• Bernardo Carpio

reference: http://www.katig.com/alamat02.html

• Tikbalang;

references: http://www.answers.com/topic/tikbalang http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tikbalang.html http://www.angelfire.com/ny/tikbalang/main.html http://www.oocities.com/gcalla1/tikbalang.htm http://www.oocities.com/horrorflip/demonsdragonsanddwarves.html

• Kapre;
• Nuno;
• Anito

reference:http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/filipiniana/viewessay.asp?art_id=19 ;

• Catalonan -- created an entry already;
• Aswang I'm planning to expand on the similarities between the Babaylan,Catalonan, and Mambabarang vs. the Aswang and Mananangal. Scott's Barangay records early references to Aswangs so it seems the Aswang stories pre-dated the spanish, but there are too many similarities between the two, as noted in numerous references I still have to look for, to ignore.;
• Mambabarang

. 1. You mention inserting Christian elements into your story. Any overtly Catholic elements?

Overtly written into the text, no. Not in the sense that one would write a novel set in modern times with Catholic themes. That's largely because of the setting, which is 600 years prior to the arrival of Catholicism and Christianity in the Philippines. Come to think of it even the Christian themes of the work are from a slightly different angle -- perhaps the best way to describe it is "Old Testament". The story's characters would be viewing the gospel from a point of view much like that of Job, Joseph, Moses, Zipporah, Joshua, Rahab [the prostitute], Gideon, Ruth, David, Solomon, Esther, and Jeremiah (from whom I am currently drawing much inspiration)rather than that of St. Paul or St. Peter. When one dissects many of the questions modern humans ask today, there are many similarities to the questions asked by the prophets and patriarchs of the Jews. So in the story, I approach the gospel the same way they did - in faith-full anticipation,as Hebrews 11 points out.

2. Do you, as a writer, have unique writing habits or writing routines?

To be truthful, most of the time I'm not writing the novel at all, at this point. What keeps me busy is writing "Between the Mountain and the Bitter Sea," which is sort of my 'project encyclopedia'. While Ma-Yi is set in a real land, it's still very necessary for me to create the world of Ma-Yi. In the end, my novel is still speculative fiction (aka ScienceFi/Fantasy) and world-creation is a staple in that genre. The historical (or perhaps protohistoric) roots of the story make it harder in some ways, because there's a lot of research to be done. I actually hired a research assistant at PhP30 per hour to help with the research.

Aside from that, I find myself reading articles about contemporary culture a lot. Reading a new Time Magazine, despite its heavy liberalist bias, has become the highlight of my week. Ma-yi may be set in the 9th century, but it's still written to address issues faced by today's audiences, and Time serves as a Barometer of sorts.

A few weeks ago, I attempted to write down my whole pot on post-its, using Cristopher Vogler's "A Writer's Journey" as a guide. But it seems doing that only got the story development more stuck - it now seems just a bit too neat for me. A bit contrived. But I suppose any plot would look contrived once one puts it up on a wall, written on post-its. The experience has shaken me up somewhat, and I am still trying to recover the confidence I need to rework the plot's webwork.

And oh, I can only really work about an hour after I've last had human contact - that's the only time I can hear the thoughts in my head. So usually I can't write a thing before 11 o'clock. If my creative juices are flowing right (that's rare, though, I'm afraid), I'm usually working on one writing project or the other until three or four in the morning. Otherwise, bedtime is around 2, and then I fall asleep mildly guilty that I didnt get much work done.

I show up to manage the store's bank deposits and checks for release at ten in the morning. I wish I could say I can write during lulls in the day, but the truth is I can't -- too many distractions.

3. What role will geography play in your story?

4. Any other interests?

-- I'm very fond of watching the countryside as seen from our front porch, which looks out at acacia-bordered ricefields. Depending on the season, I am blessed to watch Egrets search for insects, to watch lightning spread across the night sky, and to hear the sound of a great multitude of frogs desperately seeking a mate.

-- My room is a treasure trove of SciFi/Fantasy. Aside from the books there are Lord of the Rings and Narnia posters and action figures. And Star Wars action figures as well. My favorite DVDs are on display, including Lost, I Robot, the Matrix, and V for Vendetta. My computer desktop is from Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series.

-- I never did play sports. I went to four different schools in my elementary years and quickly learned that one had to learn to accept aloneness if one didnt want to get hurt when the time comes to move on again. That's a very difficult lesson to unlearn, by the way, and it has caused me a great deal of grief.

-- the idea, after ma-yi, is to write a story set in the near future, perhaps in the same vein as 1984 or or Farenheit 341. After that, I've long wanted to write a story around a GK Chesterton quote I'm very fond of, which says that any man who knocks on the door of a brothel is actually knocking on the door of God. I've always been fascinated by how our longings, when brought to their deepest fruition, always end up leading us to kneel before God.