THE JUDGES SPEAKS ABOUT  The Other Side of You

ALBERT LOYOLA – COMICS ARTIST/ANIMATION DIRECTOR
Artist ako pero hindi ako writer kaya medyo nahirapan ako dito.  Natutuwa ako na ang gagaling na palang magsulat ng mga bata ngayon.  Tinatawanan nga lang ako ng anak ko sa tanda kong ito nagbabasa pa raw ako ng mga ligaw-ligawan lalo na lalaki pa ako.  Kung alam ko lang na mahirap pala tumanggi sana akong maging judge pero makulit itong binata natin.
Congratulations sa nanalo.  Nagustuhan ko iyong kuwento niya.  Bukod sa romance niya napakaganda ng inilarawan ng author na katangian ng bida.  Inilalarawan ng kuwento niya ang pagsasakripisyo nating mga Pilipino para sa ating pamilya.  Marami sa atin nagpapakaalila sa ibang bansa, tinitiis natin ang pangungulila at pang-aapi ng mga amo natin, basta’t may maipadala lang tayo sa ating mga minamahal.  Ganyan na ganyan ang ipinakita ni Alicia sa istoryang Other Side of You.  Sa kabila ng hindi maganda niyang katangian, ay isa pala siyang napakabuting kapatid at anak sa kanyang pamilya.

CELESTE FRANCISCO
Gusto ko pareho yung 2 nanalo.  Although mas panig ako kay Nimfa Beck, hindi naman ako against sa pagkapanalo ni Garnet.
Medyo classical ang writing style ni Garnet.  Mukhang hindi siya nag-adapt sa trend ngayon na combination ng english-tagalog at walang nangyaring switch sa point of view. However, siya yung nakita kong napakalakas ng appeal sa mga readers.  Mabilis ang pacing ng story at napaka-agressive ang mga dialogues at events.  This kind of writing style is very risky. There’s a 50-50 chance na magustuhan at hindi magustuhan ng mga readers, but on this particular novel, Garnet Heart succeeded. Overall, napakataas ng entertainment value ng story, maayos at maganda ang pagkakasulat, hindi putul putol and mga scenes at very effective ang delivery.  She knows just the right words to make readers feel exactly how the character of the story feels.  Magaling.

EVELYN AGPAOA
As a Filipino teacher, I found it strange na pinaghahalo ang tagalog at english sa mga nobela natin ngayon, pero ayon kay Ces, iyon daw ang style ngayon.
One particular thing na nagustuhan ko sa The Other Side ay ang very unique na characteristic ng bida.  Lahat kami dito kilala namin si Alicia, pati yung anak ko na nakibasa kilala din niya si Alicia.  Nakalimutan na siguro namin lahat pero si Alicia hindi.  Ang lakas ng hatak niya sa readers.  Sa kuwento kinaiinisan siya ng mga tao, pero sa mga readers, she is very much loved and adored.  Furthermore, pinatunayan ng nobelang ito ang “Don’t judge a book by its cover” na sawikain natin.  Malandi man siya o maarte, hindi mapapantayan ang ginagawa niyang pagsasakripisyo para sa kanyang pamilya.

MARY ROSE OLIVARES
I love the other side of you.  To distinguish it from the rest, the emotional intensity is so great it can hit through the readers.  Who did not cry when Alicia’s mother and sister died?  Well I did not, but almost   The character also has a very strong personality either as a famous flirt at work or as a strong willed daughter at home.
It’s a novel well written with interesting plots, hard to put down, and when you reach the word WAKAS, you’d take a deep breath and smile and say “Great!”
Congratulations to you Garnet!  You deserve it!

2009 BEST WRITERS OF THE YEAR

1st Place   :  Garnet Heart (92.19%)

2nd Place :  Nimfa Beck (90.03%)

3rd Place  :  Selene Nepomuceno & Yesha Lee (86.07%)

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2009 FAVORITE WRITERS OF THE YEAR

1st Place  :  Roje Fernandez (256 votes)

2nd Place:  Garnet Heart (247 votes)

3rd Place :  Yesha Lee (231 votes)

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A BIG THANK YOU

Finally, this activity has ended and I would like to congratulate all the participants.  Winners or not, you are all very good, full of potentials to be the country’s best novel writers.  I wish everyone of you luck as you journey towards the fulfillment of your dreams.
And of course, a big thank you also to everyone who voted, to those who watched out and stayed with us throughout, the spammers and everyone else.
To the judges who have stayed with me until midnight finalizing the result, especially to Miss Celeste Francisco who instructed us about proper romance writing, though I’ve thanked you personally I will thank you once again.
Thank you is never enough to express how much I appreciate your participation and cooperation.  Without each and everyone of you, this activity couldn’t have succeeded.
MABUHAY ang mga Filipino Writers!

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THE JUDGMENT NIGHT

This is probably one of the most exciting and most stressful night I’ve ever had.  After tabulating the scores from each of the judges, two writers stood above the rest.  Even the judges are divided into their opinion about who most deserves to win.
It was a very tight competition between the first and second placers, a face off between two great published writers.  NIMFA BECK of BookWorms Forum almost had it, but in the end, the online votes decided the winner.  Garnering 21% of the total votes, this year’s Best Writer award is therefore given to none other than GARNET HEART of Your Story Haven, author of the famous novels: The Other Side of You, The Promise, A Time For Us, One Million Reasons and of course (probably the best selling tagalog romance e-book) The Diamond of Sierra Leone.
At third is a tie between another two great writers in the persons of the beloved Yesha Lee of Tagalog Online Pocketbook and the quiet Selene Nepomuceno - once again from BookWorms Forum.
Also, this year’s Favorite Writer is awarded to the very charismatic Roje Fernandez of Internet Serye, garnering a total votes of 22%.  Some of his famous works include Ikapitong BF, Stranded Hearts,Alma, Kagat sa Apoy, Bengbeng, The Boy is Mine, and many more…  Roje Fernandez probably has the most number of novels found online.
To the winners, nominees, and all participating websites… CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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TO EVERYONE

The judges: Albert Loyola, Celeste Francisco, Evelyn Agpaoa, Mary Rose Olivares, and me (Edgar Allan Rabanza) have done the best we can to make this contest as fair as we possibly can. We respect whatever violent reactions you have, but before you judge, please take a little time to read the stories of the winners and compare it to your own stories or to the stories of the author you think deserves it.
It’s alright to feel bad, but if you are sore, please don’t mess on the comments.   We are very positive and we strongly believe that we have picked the most deserving writers of this year and I (as well as the other judges) will stand firmly into that.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I wish you all the very best this year!!!

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Find out about what the judges have to say about this year’s Writer of the Year…

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Edgar Allan Rabanza

FILIPINO NOVELS ONLINE

FILIPINO NOVELS ONLINE is an association formed to study and uplift the fast growing popularity of Filipino or tagalog novels on the internet.  We aim to recognize the potentials of dedicated and talented writers who’d been entertaining online readers with their wonderful stories of romance, not only in the Philippines, but also abroad.

As of today, several websites containing free tagalog novels are all over the internet.  A variety of writers can be chosen from depending on the reader’s preference.  Many of them are amateur writers hoping to sharpen their skills through comments and criticisms from readers and fellow writers, and some are professional writers who couldn’t find their places on publishing companies or they simply want to share their stories for free.

There are many reasons why even professional writers couldn’t make it to publishing.  It could be that their writing style differs from the standard set by the publishing, or it could be that their concepts, ideas, and characterization are not acceptable based on the guidelines of each publishing company.  It is on this reason that writer’s identity, creativity, and imagination are hindered.  Due to standards and guidelines set by many publishing companies, writers tend to be what the publishing wants them to be, and not as what they want themselves to be.  In the end, some writers are forced to turn their backs from a promising career to find their freedom, a place where they are free to write about more challenging ideas and characters without a guideline limiting their imagination, and most of them found that place on the internet.

Here on Filipino Novels Online, we respect every writer’s style.  We believe that it is through freedom on writing that a certain writer can reach his/her full potential.  However, every writer must take precautions on the issues of morality and violence, especially that the internet is a public place where anyone can readily access anything that is written.

Two years from now, it is believed that online novels will replace the existence of hard copy pocketbooks in the market.  We, therefore, invite all e-novel websites to join this association by submitting your link to earabanza@gmail.com and altogether, let us share our stories to a wider range of Filipino readers all over the world.  Salute to all online filipino novel writers!

As our first step to recognize the greatness of online novel writers, we have organized this contest to award an outstanding writer for 2009.

Search for the BEST ONLINE FILIPINO NOVEL WRITER of 2009

Click on the link above to see if you are qualified to join.

FILIPINO NOVELS ONLINE is supporting the following Websites:

(If you own a website of filipino novels and your website is not listed below, please send me your link and I will include it ASAP)

Bookworm Forum

Filipino Romance Novel

FilipinoWriter.com

Internet Serye

Tagalog Pocketbook

Tagalog Online Pocketbook

The Other Side of Us

Your Story Haven

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And now the most awaited result…

2009′s BEST and FAVORITE WRITERS OF THE YEAR

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As part of  the study on the growing popularity of Filipino stories on the internet, specifically romance novels, this contest has been established to recognize who among the online writers may be considered the best.

PRESENTING the very first Search for the BEST ONLINE FILIPINO NOVEL WRITER of 2009! (Brought to you by Filipino Novels Online Association, headed by Associate Professor in Filipino Edgar Allan Rabanza)

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must have posted at least one (1) complete story online
• 18 years old and above
• Only romance novels are accepted at the moment

HOW TO JOIN:

• You will be personally invited through email should we find your novels competitive, OR
• You may email your Bio-Data/resume to earabanza@gmail.com, together with the link of your stories, the title and your pen name.  (Please indicate your real name on your resume).
• Your stories will be reviewed and you will receive a notification through email if you were qualified.

CRITERIA:

• Originality of the story                                                – 15%
• Romantic Touch                                                           – 15%
• Realistic approach of plots and events                        – 10%
• Technical Skill (inc. grammar and punctuations)    – 10%
• Unique Characterization                                                 – 10%
• Smooth and Effective Delivery                                       – 20%
• Entertainment Value                                                        – 10%
• Online votes (will start on January 15, 2010)        – 10%

PRIZE:

• Winner of this contest will receive a cash prize of FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (5,000 pesos), a certificate and will be featured on the study about the Growing Popularity of Filipino Novels Online.

**This contest will run until January 23, 2010.  Winner will be posted on January 24, 2010.

THE JUDGES FOR THIS CONTEST ARE THE FOLLOWING:

Albert Loyola – Comics Artist/animation director
EA Rabanza – Associate Professor in Filipino
Celeste Francisco – romance novel writer
Evelyn Agpaoa – Filipino teacher
Mary Rose Olivares – Story Critic/local newspaper writer

*Nominees were carefully chosen by the judges assigned on a particular website.  Some applied personally and some were nominated by their friends and readers.  A list of more than 20 authors was discussed thoroughly, trimming it down to 15.  Notices were then sent to the qualified authors.  3 withdrew, 2 were disqualified for some reasons.  That brings us the final 10.