"Find joy in reading and take delight in your writing" - Juliet Jocano
As part of our Buwan Ng Mga Akdang Pinoy celebration, we asked Juliet Jocano, author of several books from the Tutubi Patrol series, about some words of wisdom she can impart to readers and writers.
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Books are part of my life. As a young girl, I read a lot of storybooks. My favorites were fantasies and comedies. As I leafed through them and smelled their pages, I wondered how they were made. Little did I know that I would end up making books as a profession—at some point writing a little, then publishing some, to date editing a good number of them.
In 1996, I became an author not because I sought it, but because I was at the right place at the right time. There was a need for a story, and I answered the call. The best thing about becoming an author is being able to share what good one has to the world out there, trusting it will be caught, believing it will be multiplied, and praying it will be passed on for all generations to come.
To future writers, my advice for you is to read a lot. Reading gives the avid reader a sense of composition which cannot be taught even by the best of teachers. Then, write at every opportunity. Writing gives the ardent writer a sense of fulfillment which cannot be achieved even by the best of intentions. Read from the vast resources available to you to hone your craft. Write from the unique experiences given you to enhance the craft. Find joy in reading. It will reflect in your writing. Take delight in your writing. It will bring joy to reading.
As Filipino readers, may we never run out of books to read that are worth our time and always within our reach; books that embody the Filipino soul in each one of them, affirming who we are among ourselves and identifying who we are alongside the rest of humanity; books so real, yet timeless; books fully human, yet divinely inspired.
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Mary Juliet B. Jocano loves books. She reads not only for pleasure but also because she's a book editor. She edits mostly books that uplift Filipino culture. Norman Owen's The Bikol Blend, a book she edited for New Day Publishers, won the 1999 National Book Award for Social Science. She started editing at OMF Literature Inc. in 1993. Her friends at Christian Writers Fellowship encouraged her to write stories for children. She has written three stories for Tutubi Patrol. The first two, Tutubi Patrol 4: Si Baw, si Bo, at si Nognog Niyog and Tutubi Patrol 5: Si Isko at ang Anino, were translated into Chinese in 1998 and 1999. She wrote Tutubi Patrol 9: Si Ningning Kuting at ang Pusang Gala for her husband who loves cats and kittens. This book was published a few months before the birth of their son, who also turned out to love cats and kittens. Tutubi Patrol was animated and aired on Channel 5 in 2003 and 2005.