NY Comic Con Updates

It actually surprised me that the New York Comic Con managed to draw lots of people in the anime/manga industry. I expected that some of the announcements that were made there would have been reserved for the more dedicated anime/manga conventions.

Anyway, since my tastes are weird, here are some choice bits from topics that interests me:

• Joss Whedon just turned in the script to Dark Horse for Buffy (Season 8) #1 but comic production takes a long time, around 9 months.
• A Kull miniseries from Dark Horse and hopefully a Solomon Kane miniseries to follow (FYI Kull and Solomon Kane are titles of Robert E. Howard, a.k.a. the creator of Conan the Barbarian [not the detective!]).
• Dark Horse releasing the MPD Psycho manga.
• Tokyopop will be releasing the Twelve Kingdom novels this year.
• Viz will be re-releasing Uzumaki and Gyo, which I assume will be shrunk down to their new manga format. Oh and they're also releasing Houshin Engi.
• Sadly, still no hope for seeing the rest of the Saint Seiya series.
• In a strange reversal, Yen Press will be releasing the Spiral manga instead of Tokyopop.
• A Wild Cards comic!
• An Orson Scott Card comic set in the same world as Ender's Game.
  

The Old Ones Beckons

I expect that one of these days, I'll wake up and find myself at Arkham, discover that I'm enrolled at Miskatonic University, and be one of those cultists who can't speak proper English. Haven't met up with Cthullu yet but I've probably run into Nyarlathotep in disguise.

So here's the latest "dream" I had ten minutes ago (and you know, these things are always good mines for ideas) but it hasn't been the first nor will it be the last. In a Resident Evil/Biohazard atmosphere, I find myself to be one of those people who's out hunting infected humans (nothing original there!). Of course the twist is I wake up from unconsciousness and find pale-skilled zombies in front of me. Luckily I am not a trigger happy person and discover that my vision has been skewed for one reason or another and so normal people look like zombies. My paranoia getting the better of me, I tell no one about it and do my job as usual. And then we enter this building that's supposedly infested with zombies and after careful treading, I find myself separated from the group. Eventually (after dodging some real zombies--how I know they're really zombies I don't know), there's this crevice I find and I manage to squeeze through it. And then I find myself in my grade school gym. (Hey, these are dreams... no one ever said they'd make sense.)

Retailers Like No Other

Comic book shops in the Philippines have a special place in my heart and not necessarily because of the comics. Take for example my current predicament—I’m a pen-and-paper RPG fan yet the hobby store that’s supposed to stock them (Neutral Grounds) simply hasn’t obtained any new books for the past five months at the very least. My only alternative if I want to purchase them locally is to get them from Comic Quest. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Comic Quest. I just find it strange that I’m getting items from them instead of the shop that’s supposedly dedicated to the products I buy.

I bring up the phenomenon of the Philippine comic book shop because few comic shops are run the same way and are a hodgepodge of various interests. Take for example one of the oldest chains of comic book retailing: Filbar’s. To begin with, Filbar’s roots wasn’t solely in comics but for a time in the mid-80’s and early 90’s, if you wanted the latest comics, you went to Filbar’s. Currently it’s embraced more of its roots—you’ll likely find the latest magazines just as you’ll find the latest comics. And yet that’s not all you’ll find there any more that you’ll only find books in National Bookstore: posters, romance novels, knock-off toys, model kits, toys, etc. It’s simply a bizarre amalgam.

Yet Filbar’s isn’t alone. I mean I’ve visited the newly-opened Comic Odyssey in Robinsons Galleria, Comic Quest, CATS, and the now defunct CCHQ in Katipunan. Aside from comics, they also have different product lines but one thing common to them is that they stock collectible card games (CCGs) that is more reminiscent of hobby shops. In fact, back in the 90’s, perhaps the reason the CCG phenomena hit the Philippines hard was due to the various comic shops who carried the product, everything from Magic: The Gathering to Legend of the Five Rings to Pokemon. And looking at it from a business perspective, the CCG business is quite lucrative: high profits for little shelf space.

Of course CCGs isn’t the only product comic shops have dabbled in. I mean Comic Quest has toys and RPG books, CATS DVDs and anime, Comic Odyssey busts and sculptures, and CCHQ authentic manga, plushies, art books, and Japanese trading cards. Aside from their main demographic, namely comic fans, these comic shops also had other subcultures trickling in. For a geek like me, the comic shops are like a second home, not just because of the products they sell but because of the kinds of people they attract.

Unfortunately, this phenomena isn’t necessarily all good news. I mean as much as I appreciate variety, I have to ask, why can’t comic shops just sell comics? I can’t help but feel it’s like the predicament with National Bookstore two decades ago—they can’t sell books alone because it isn’t profitable. Of course the environment with bookstores decades ago is different now—we have chains like Powerbooks and Fully Booked wherein books do comprise most of their sales, as well as independent bookstores like A Different Bookstore, Booktopia, and Aeon Books surviving (I presume) on simply selling books. But what about comics? Is it simply the owner’s wish to expand to other fields of interests or do they really need that extra something to supplement their business?

Perhaps another sign of troubling times for comic book retailers is the encroaching of bookstores into their territory. As a fan, I’m happy that comics are getting more shelf space in bookstores. That, after all, means that hopefully there’ll be more comic book fans. On the other hand, that’s also drawing some business away from comic book shops, especially when it comes to sales of graphic novels and trade paperbacks. Here’s a fact some of you might be aware of but not necessarily fully understand: bookstores sell their comics cheaper. Since I love whole numbers, let’s work with Absolute Sandman Vol. 1. It’s $100.00 and sells for P5,000.00 in Fully Booked and P6,000.00 in most comic book shops. Why is the former cheaper? Well aside from ordering in bulk, the real money savings for bookstores is shipping. Bookstores usually have their stocks delivered by boat while comic book shops by plane. That’s how consumers get the latest titles every week instead of simply every month. Comic book reailers get new stocks every week while bookstores every two weeks at best.

I don’t think it’s the end of comic retailers. They’ve survived difficult times in the past although at the present, they are thinning out. Nonetheless, it’s far from the brightest of moments for them, and I expect in the future, local retailers will have to compete with online vendors. But in the meantime, I really appreciate my local comic shop and more importantly patronize it. It’s not just about the comics but rather everything else.

The Moleskine Hoarding Begins

Fully Booked ran out of the "good" Moleskine notebooks by mid-January but I passed by Fully Booked Greenhills last Saturday and I saw them again along with their new stocks. So I guess for Moleskine fanatics, now's a good time to grab 'em.

Goodness for Its Own Sake

One of my more memorable philosophy classes during college was when our teacher tackled the ethics of Aristotle and Kant, not because it was a huge epiphany on my part, but because I already had a mental debate with myself over their philosophies seven years prior — before I had even heard about Aristotle and Kant. This is an oversimplification but Aristotle was more concerned with actions rather than intent while Kant placed more of an emphasis on the latter. It would seem that considering I’m more of a practical bent, I’d side with Aristotle because his side delivers results and as for Kant, we all know that the best intentions can sometimes lead people to ruin. But to be honest I’m more Kantian in my belief. For me intent plays a crucial role in morality which brings me to my next point.

There are lots of good people in the world, don’t doubt that fact. What I am concerned about, however, is what leads them to be good. There is a prevalent philosophy which can be summed up by its motto: “What’s in it for me?” It’s a selfish philosophy but then again, people should be selfish on one level or another. What might confound people is that such a philosophy can bring about much good. Here are two examples. Following that philosophy, one could donate to charities, not because it’s purely altruistic on our part but because it gives me tax breaks and improves my reputation (in addition of course to giving us an ego boost or soothing our conscience). There’s also the practice of recycling and other nature-friendly policies not simply because it’s eco-friendly, but because it’s actually more efficient to do so and it is actually preserving our very lives. Don’t get me wrong, “What’s in it for me?” isn’t a bad philosophy. It’s actually a good start for people to start doing good. My problem with it is its limitations. In the end, there will be some good acts which can’t be justified by “What’s in it for me?” Just because something stops being profitable to us doesn’t mean we stop supporting it.

Another prevalent philosophy is that of divine retribution. It can best be summed up by what parents tell their children: “Be good or you’ll go to hell.” Again, much like the “What’s in it for me?” philosophy, it’s something to start with (and in fact most of us, I think, begin with this incentive). Unlike the “What’s in it for me?” philosophy however, the concept of divine retribution is inconsistent at best. Let’s be honest with each other – divine retribution doesn’t always work. First off, the only certain punishment in divine retribution is in the afterlife. And even then, that fact can’t be proved. The other incentive there is that the just will be rewarded and the unjust punished. But let’s face it, that’s not how it works in real life. There are good people who suffer and evil men who succeed. That might not always be the case but it happens. Sometimes it’s just a matter of not being caught. And that perhaps is its biggest flaw. Divine retribution needs an omniscient corporeal entity to police its policies but we usually end up with mortal proxies such as our parents, our teachers, our bosses, our law enforcers, our government. And they’re not doing a good job of it. Simply put, divine retribution works because it’s a threat and it stops working because the threat can’t be perfectly enforced. At least in the “What’s in it for me?” philosophy, the incentive to do good comes from the self rather from an external source.

Of course if you’re thinking divine retribution only applies to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, you might want to take a fresh look at your own belief system. Some people don’t believe in God but they believe in karma. Under these circumstances, they’re really one and the same. Karma may not originate from a divine entity but it is still of divine origin. Just because you act good doesn’t mean you’ll be treated with goodness. People might feel predisposed to act good towards you but that’s still not a guarantee. For others, acting good means you’re a susceptible victim. Again, it could go both ways. And just because two “good” people believing in karma meet doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll get along with each other. It’s even easy to suppose that they’ll get into conflict with each other. Suffice to say, karma for me is the same as “Be good or you’ll go to hell.” Except it’s shrouded with better words and sounds more appealing. You’re still trapped in the negative reinforcement philosophy which can be limiting.

So where does that leave us? Well, people who do good because it’s simply good. It’s not an easy path – in fact it’s the most difficult and it’s hard to imagine that people would embrace this kind of philosophy. Even I don’t do good deeds simply because it’s good. There’s a part of me that’s tinged with selfishness and expecting something in return. Another part of me might be thinking I’m racking up karma points or at least letting God jot me down in his book of good deeds. But I do believe that if man wants to transcend his current state, to live a better life, he needs to practice this kind of philosophy not because it simply benefits him but because it’s simply the right thing to do. Of course adherents of other philosophies will find this shocking. The “What’s in it for me?” man might claim one’s following this philosophy because we’re getting something out of it. And that’s true but I’d like to think that the benefit we get doesn’t necessarily extend to our individual selves but to humanity in general. It’s what makes self-sacrifice and martyrdom possible. Adherents of divine retribution, on the other hand, might reply that goodness must have a source such as faith or religion to make it more meaningful. But the problem with that is what happens when one discovers that there’s no divine will? Or worse, a divine will exists but he either doesn’t care, isn’t omniscient, or simply impotent. In the end, divine retribution is akin to a parent watching over his child. What happens when he isn’t there to watch him or her? Some children continue to do good. Others start rebelling. That’s not the kind of environment I want to nurture goodness.

Of course this only works if you subscribe to the Kantian philosophy. To Aristotle, results are results no matter what your motivation is. In the end, this is a dilemma only Kantians will probably ponder about. Or people who believe in morality.

SD Avatar: The Last Airbender

Remember the Avatar: The Last Airbender game/online comic I plugged weeks ago? Well aside from that pre-season 3 promotions, Nick also released an animated short here but you need a secret code. There's three shorts planned and this is the first so far. Got one of the codes from Marco: KOH. Hope it still works. =)

Vignette: The Price of Soul

Four days of visiting Manila left Trevor Baker baffled. It was a surprise to him that one of the purportedly happiest countries in Asia was also a den of vice and corruption. A dollar bought you a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of beer. Two dollars paid for either a pirated movie or a bootleg album. Five dollars was sufficient to bribe any traffic enforcer while twice that amount got you a whore. The natives didn’t live in nippa huts but their makeshift homes along the streets certainly reminded Trevor of their tribal origins. For one reason or another, it was all too easy to imagine the locals retaining their barbaric roots especially when they ate with their hands or did not remove the heads of fishes from their dinner or had fertilized duck eggs as delicacies.

Online Comics and Beyond

More of a spin-off from my previous post, the phenomenon of online comics isn't new and in fact, it's been tackled by several people before, especially Scott McCloud (not to be confused with Connor, Duncan, or Quentin McCloud). Scott pointed a lot of possiblities from web comics, everything from near-infinite strips to "choose-your-own-adventure"-style comics where by clicking hyperlinks you enter a new panel, to something as practical as microcurrency. A lot of his ideas are innovative. Some, like the 24-hour comic strip, has taken off. Others, not so much.

Why I'm interested in the online comic format is because it provides a neat solution to DC's attempts at a weekly comic (and if the rumors are true, the same can be said for Marvel). Or perhaps even going beyond the weekly comic and delivering the daily one (or most likely somewhere in between). Daily strips aren't new of course -- we see them regularly in the newspaper. But the power of online comics is that it gives this in the hands of the creator instead of looking for a third party to publish it. And as a consumer, it's a quicker and more direct way to receive it.

Let me backtrack and talk about the weekly comic format. What makes the format difficult aside from the production process is the printing and distribution process. Experienced creators might not find printing difficult -- but it takes time. There's no circumventing that. Well, time and capital. So if you have seven days in a week, that's at least one day (I expect it takes two to three days in the real world) off your timetable. And then there's distribution, bringing it to retailers and into people's homes. Unless it's through the Internet or you have your own shop (and just one shop), shipping it takes manpower and time. If you plan to deliver to the entire US for example, that's taking lots of manpower and time. Again, it might take a day for you to do so (again, reality is less conservative). So that's five days left to produce your comic. And that's assuming you're involved in the entire process, no coordinating with an artist or an inker or whatever. Online publishing significantly saves you time, manpower, and money on those two steps.

Of course web comics isn't as progressive as people want it to be, at least not yet. Perhaps one of the biggest online comic success stories is Scott Kurtz, especially considering he's been picked up by a mainstream comic publisher (no, Image does not count as an independent comic publisher). Yet Scott's success isn't one that's solely dependent on online content. His comics goes to print via Image for example. The real money I think (but since I'm not privy to Scott's financial records, take this with lots of salt) is his partners, the ads, and the merchandising. Don't get me wrong -- Kurtz isn't as rich as Bill Gates. But he has made the transition from having a day job and doing comics on the side to making comics his day job.

Another success story is my personal favorite, Rich Burlew. Rich's name might not be as popular as Scott's, but he revolves around a niche market: D&D. His comic, Order of the Stick, is a meta-D&D strip. To some people the numbers might not add up but it did. Rich's strategy was publishing his strips in a book which fans got to order (again, the revenue is still in purchasing print copies of a comic instead of simply micropayments) and that's how he was able to quit his day job and focus on the comic and his game writing. Oh and the occasional merchandise as well. For me Rich's story is interesting because the comic isn't necessarily mainstream, or at least perceived by people as mainstream. But because he has a focused market, it sustains him. (Again, by no means is he rich, but at least it's paying for his living expenses.)

But all that aside, perhaps the biggest potential for online comics isn't necessarily the hyperlinking (although it would be interesting to read one) or the near infinite space one could use. I think right now it's in the ruthless efficiency, of publishing comics in a short period of time. Kudos, of course, to DC with pulling a weekly comic in print in the US. Right now people are still attached to the print medium. It'll be interesting to see how it'll develop a decade from now. Maybe McCloud's idea of purchasing comics via the micropayment scheme comes to fruition (think pay-per-view comics). Or maybe some guy like Elbert Or will come along and think of something else.

The Format Wars

A John writes to John August about an article an article from the New Yorker by David Denby. The two articles talk about the new video format, namely watching movies on your iPod. There is, undeniably, something lost in the movie experience when you're watching it from your palm -- that is what David Denby mourns. John August, on the other hand, is a bit more optimistic, accepting the possibilities that might emerge. (And indeed, just look at the Green Arrow spinoff from Smallville that will be released only in Sprint phones.)

Format affects form, no doubt about that. Although perhaps people aren't necessarily making the most out of it at the moment. I do think there's an "optimal" show to be viewed on the iPod, to be posted on YouTube, videos on mobile phones, etc. (Check out Ze Frank as he doesn't overuse his small screen.) It's just not maximixed, I think. And in terms of entertainment, it is important. Because more and more people are exploring these mediums without necessarily giving it the right form. (Trailers for the US run of Death Note will be released at the New York Comic Con for example and fans will view in on their phones -- hopefully it'll be presented in the right way.)

An example of format not matching form occurs in comics. The format isn't necessarily the size of the sheet but when it's released. To a US comic fan, manga might appear decompressed. To a manga fan, Western comics might seem like the opposite: compressed (especially with those huge chunk of text). That's because both markets are used to different formats. The manga format works because it's released on a weekly basis. (There are manga titles that are released on a monthly basis as well but their stories are more tighter than the weekly manga titles.) US comics, on the other hand, are typically monthlies. Which is also why US comics usually cope with large chunks of text as exposition (instead of just huge chunks of text in dialogue, which manga has no shortage of). It's about as different as watching a 30-minute episode from a 1-hour one: one has more freedom to tell the story while the other must make do with what he has.

Prose, I think, hasn't truly caught up with this problem yet, simply because there's too many formats running around. In print, prose has no problem -- that's the job of the graphic designer. In other formats, however, such as web pages and eBooks, that's a different matter. The publisher of eBooks, for example, has no control where you'll be reading the document: will it be on the computer which has a larger screen? On the phone? On an eBook reader? The dimensions are fluid and vary -- it's far from consistent yet. The same goes with web pages: heck, I don't know how many times you've scrolled down to be reading this part. Blogger's tools aren't up to part to give me an idea on how many "screen units" I've consumed, and perhaps any web designer knows the true problems of publishing on the web: there's no consistent resolution size. The best they can do is recommend the "optimized resolution" for viewing a certain web page. Seven years ago there was consistency in the 800 x 600 resolution but no one uses that these days. The thing with resolution is that it quickly scales up with the video cards and monitors that get released (granted they're not as fast as breakthroughs in processesors and memory but they're still fast). Which is something to consider especially when you're in advertising.

The possibilities I see for fiction, for example, is something that's faster than "fast food fiction" or "short short stories" -- perhaps a story that fits one screen (given of course a reasonable font size). Maybe it's something online writers should consider. But again, unlike iPod screens and YouTube, there's no "universal" resolution yet and screen sizes remains fluid (and in the end, one could always reshape the browser window).

Before you Spam, Think!

I just got this in my Inbox today:

"Subject: Patronize Pirated DVD's

This is a text message currently circulating within the Philippines.

PLS patronize pirated DVD's so that the Filipino movie industry will die & we will no longer have actors, actresses, nor their spouses running for public office. Pls pass."

I hope that was forwarded in attempts at humor. Because it's so wrong on so many levels.

1) Perhaps I'm non-elitist in my view that just because you're an actor/actress doesn't necessarily mean you'll be a horrible politician. Herbert Bautista, for example, seems to do okay as vice mayor of Quezon City (but then again, it's usually Mayor Sonny Belmonte who's in the limelight). In the US, Governor Arnold Schwarzanegger (sorry if I spelled that wrong) seems to be doing well. Oh, and Ronald Reagan was a professional actor before he got elected as a president of the United States.

2) The author is assuming that just because no actor/actress is running for public office that the country will be a better place. No it won't -- we just end up with less scapegoats. I'm sure that there are other politicians who are worse that the so-called actors/actresses. The latter just draw more attention to themselves. And in the end, what perpetuates "corrupt" and "immoral" politicians aren't necessarily the politicians themselves but the system that contributes to it and the citizens that vote for them. That, my friends, is what it means to live in a democracy.

3) The point of patronizing pirated DVDs, according to the forwarded email, claims to do two things: to kill the local movie industry and so that no more actors/actresses will run for public office. First off, even assuming it does what the author wants it to do, what does that say of our country? That we need to resort to non-lawful means to achieve the results we want?

4) Again, assuming that it does what it's supposed to do, killing the local movie industry hurts a lot of innocent people and not just those planning to run for public office in the future. Who will feed the families of the various actors/actresses, directors, make-up artists, stylists, cameramen, stuntmen, extras, etc.? If the original writer could reply, he or she might say that's a "necessary sacrifice". But isn't that the state of the Philippines right now? Comfort for a privileged few in exchange for the suffering of the many? Aren't we simply trading one evil for another?

5) A spin-off of #3, it's honestly not the current actors/actresses who are running for public office. It's the actors/actresses who have retired from acting that are running for public office. In fact, what we should do is to encourage these people to keep on acting and leave the politicking to politicians. Killing the local movie industry will only motivate them more to run for office because they think they can fix things now that their life is more difficult than it was before.

If you don't want to vote for a certain politican -- don't. If you want to run an anti-campaign, fine. But please do not make broad, sweeping generalizations that simply do not work and floods my inbox.

D&D-Related Posts

D&D Best of 2006

D&D's New Cash Cow

Wednesdays

In grade school, I looked forward to Wednesday, mainly because we were dismissed from class by lunch time (we called it a "half-day"). Xavier stopped that practice a few years ago although Ateneo still has their half-days, except it falls on a Friday (TGIF!).

Wednesdays, I think, is a day in the week that people should look forward to (no it's not pay-day, although it will be next week). Wednesdays is usually when the new movies come in and replaces the old set (because of this, a particular movie might be shown earlier here in the Philippines compared to other countries).

Before Comic Quest, Filbars usually displayed the latest comics on Friday. However, the new stocks were originally released by Wednesday in the US and Comic Quest has typically tried to emulate that schedule, bringing in the newer batch by Wednesday evening barring any complications.

Ack! Another Weekly Comic from DC

Following on the heels of 52, DC Comics will apparently be releasing Countdown, another finite weekly mini-series.

Now if only Viz could tap into DC's system, we'd be getting Shonen Jump on a weekly basis instead of a monthly (as it was originally in Japan and dictated by the format)...

Of course while Japan has been doing monthly comics ever since, there are three significant factors that hampers the US from replicating such a feat.

1) Japan has a well-oiled, efficient machine that's been in existence for the past few decades. While the US has done weekly comics before, it wasn't always sustainable (i.e. not meeting deadlines). And Japan's comic production process is completely different from America.

2) US comics are colored. Those in Japan are usually in black and white, with the occasional splash page that's in color. It's another step in the production process but when you're talking about a weekly comic, you honestly only have a few days to create the comic. (And we're not even counting the days allotted for actually printing the comic.)

3) Japan occupies a significantly smaller geographic area than the US. While this has no bearing on the actual production of comics (or it might if you're coordinating with authors and artists from various states), it does have a bearing on distribution. And it doesn't matter if you produce a comic in time if it doesn't get distributed in time -- it seems late to everyone else.

Helpful Guidelines on Writing

If you want actual helpful guidelines on writing, skip to the last paragraph -- the link's there. I'm not in a position to lecture. If you're bored or have nothing else to do, read on.

Writers are a diverse bunch. Simply saying you're a writer could mean a lot of things: do you write novels? Plays? Short stories? Essays? Columns? Poems? Speeches? News? The list goes on. The written word is a medium and one that has many applications.

Exposition done, I'll talk about me. When I decided to sign up for Creative Writing as my undergraduate degree, I wanted to create stories. (By the way, don't let what "you took up in college" confuse you: your undergraduate degree is just a guide. Your career is what you make of it. There are people who took up Management only to be a well-known writer later on and there are people in the Humanities who end up as successful businessmen. Heck, there are people who didn't even finish high school and are CEO's of various companies.) Unfortunately, while I will go as to arrogantly say I have a talent in writing, my talent doesn't necessarily extend to fiction.

I'll be frank with you: I'm better at telling rather than showing. Perhaps that's why you're reading this blog entry in the first place. I'm not creating mood or showing you a vivid scene from my childhood, I'm telling it to you flat-out. That's my natural disposition towards writing. Which doesn't necessarily make me a bad writer but certain fields of writing suit me better than others.

If I were to rank my "writing skills", they'd follow this heirarchy:

1) Blogging. (Not a real "writing skill" yet because blogging has no fixed form as of yet. It's too easy, too fluid. Although maintaining a compelling blog takes skill.)

2) Essay writing. (In a way, my blog entries are really essays. So maybe #1 and #2 is really just the same, at least in my case.)

3) Feature writing. (Although it's a writing skill I haven't "exercised" lately.)

4) Fiction. (Which is to say I suck at it.)

5) Poetry. (If I suck at fiction, I have no ear for poetry.)

Perhaps some skills I'll manage to sneak in after #3 but before #4. Or maybe there are some things I'm worse at than fiction (such as writing a comic script for example). But you get my point.

Of course even fiction has many factors. The horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, for example, was great at setting the mood and evoking terror. He was horrible with dialogue however but that didn't stop him from being one of the recognized writers of the 20th century.

As for me, I suck at dialogue too. Or rather banter between characters. I was exposed to crappy Tom Swift books as a kid and they used adverbs extensively. Including in dialogue. You known the likes of "he quickly said", "he angrily shouted", "he stuttered", etc. These are things I should avoid and up until recently, I didn't really know how to solve. There's also the fact that synonyms aren't -- they're close approximation of the original word but they're not the same. In Japanese, the word Watashi might sound similar to Boku but anyone who's familiar with the language will know there is a subtle but significant difference between the two. In Tagalog, it might be the words kuya and kapatid. In English, scion and descendant, son and heir. Close but not quite.

Oh, as for the helpful tip, check out the writing guidelines from Weird Tales magazine. (It's in PDF!) I got the realization from the previous paragraph based on their writing guidelines (which is fun and entertaining, and doubles as an exam for proofing/editing).

Submit!

Just a note to aspiring writers, Palanca season is upon us so write, write, write, and better yet, submit, submit, submit. There are millions of Filipinos in the country and we won't know you have such great work unless you submit. There are stories of writers who become famous post-humously but that assumes your family (or whoever you're staying with) has access to your manuscripts once you're dead and not, say, throw it in the trash thinking it was just "scratch paper" or worse, format the hard drive thinking it's all junk.

If the Palanca's is not your field of interest, might I interest you in Philippine Genre Stories? Or just buy the damn digest if you want an interesting read. I mean it's one of those few publications that's actually dedicated to stories instead of the magazine/fiction hybrid (not that there's nothing wrong with that--it's just nice to see both types of publications proliferating).

There's also the foreign market. Wildside Press is looking for cat stories. Be sure to read the guidelines though. Either that or you could pose as the author of "The Lunch Thief".