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Minty! para sa kanyang tula.

Pangalawang premyo (nguni’t walang komiks): figsch para sa ulat na beki.

Pangatlong premyo (wala ring komiks): roseriver para sa linyang ito: “sabi ko na nga ba, kapag ang isang tao ay may mabalasik at nagki-criss-cross na mga kilay sa gitna ng noo, may pagka-halimaw talaga ang pag-uugali.”

Mabuhay ang mga nagwagi! Minty, pakisulat ang iyong buong pangalan (Hindi ito makikita ng mga mambabasa) sa Comments. Ipapadala namin ang iyong Manga komiks na Ang Mga Tagapaghiganti sa Pambansang Tindahan ng Aklat sa Pabrika ng Kapangyarihan, Mabuting Bato, Makati.

Salamat kina Francine at Chus, ang mga hurado sa timpalak na ito.

P.S. Momelia, nasa Pambansang Tindahan ng Aklat na rin ang komiks na dulot namin sa iyo bilang pasasalamat sa pagbigay mo ng permiso upang magamit namin ang iyong sulat sa aming kolum sa pahayagan.

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Hindi kami nanonood ng telebisyon (Ang Laro ng Mga Trono ay napapanood namin sa ibang paraan) o sumasali sa Aklat-Mukha at Huni ng Ibon (Twitter) kaya’t wala kaming alam tungkol sa alitang Tulfo-Raymart. Paki-kuwento naman sa amin kung ano ang nangyari at tila ito ang pinag-uusapan ng madla ngayon. Ang hinihiling lamang namin ay ikuwento ninyo ito sa wikang Pilipino (Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Chavacano, atbp).

Salamat! Ang pinaka-nakakaaliw na pagkukuwento ay magkakamit ng komiks mula sa Mangha (Marvel).

Ang Mga Tagapaghiganti. Ayyy biglang nagka-interes ang mga walang pakialam! Hala, magsulat na kayo at kami’y walang masabi hahahahaha.

Ang Biglaang Timpalak ng LitWit na ito ay hatid sa inyo ng ating mga kaibigan sa Pambansang Tindahan ng Aklat (National Bookstore).

Empty London from 28 Days Later

Not long ago, Europeans were cannibals.

“The question was not, ‘Should you eat human flesh?’ but, ‘What sort of flesh should you eat?’ ” says Sugg.

Read The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine in the Smithsonian.

Author of Splendid Nightmares

The best authors of children’s books understand that kids are tough and unafraid. Thank you, grumpy Mr. Sendak.

This has been an obituary-heavy month.

revealed at the end of this post.

Notes on the entries. (Read them all here.)

1. Decide whether the story is taking place in the past, the present or the future, pick a tense and stick to it. Constantly switching tenses makes the reader dizzy.

This is especially important if your protagonist lives in the present day but behaves as if it were 1994.

2. Ambition is great, but so is self-awareness. Be honest about your skills level. Do not go for verbal acrobatics unless you are sure you will not land on your face.

Example. They weren’t asexual pods: in fact, they’ve had their fair share of each other’s bodies before they were even engaged. Not having a children after 2 years, it would seem, was an oddity. Or perhaps it was the fact that they have had enough of human flesh that the experience was already boring for them.

The first sentence takes too long to say they used to have sex a lot. The second sentence is windy. The third suggests they are cannibals.

3. Keep it simple. Unless you’re writing an epic fantasy or a farce set in the academe, don’t try to sound like a thesaurus.

Economy is a good thing. Some of you allude to Closer. Consider the most stinging insult in that movie.

Two words: “You. . .writer.” (The clip is in Italian but you’ll get it.)

4. Mind your grammar. When in doubt, consult the spelling and grammar checker on Word or whatever application you’re using. It takes seconds.

It is true that we do not copy-edit letters to our advice columnist. The uncorrected version gives us helpful information on the letter-writer’s state of mind, educational background, etc. If their sentence construction is off-kilter, they can claim emotional distress.

You are trying to win a prize in a contest.

5. “A painting by someone who sounds like a candy brand” only makes sense to people familiar with Goya. Don’t assume that everyone who reads your work is just like you.

6. You watch movies, how delightful. We’re all for dropping film references, but what do Ray and The Aviator have to do with the story? Do the characters have an affinity to blind musicians and germ-phobic billionaires?

7. “Maybe he love her?” Hulk not pleased. Hulk smash!

The winner of LitWit Challenge 8.8: Talk to him is jaime. Congratulations. Please post your full name in Comments and we’ll alert you when your prize has been delivered to National Bookstore in Rockwell.

The Weekly LitWit Challenge is brought to you by our friends at National Bookstore.

Mula sa tumblr ni Gendry

Iboto ang inyong paboritong tambalan!

Arya at Gendry: Eeeeeeeeeee ang kyot nila. Ayon sa aklat, 10 taong gulang si Arya at si Gendry ay 15 pero sa dami ng pinagdaraanan nila para na silang 40. Teka, 15 yan? Pero sinabi naman sa aklat na malaking bata talaga si Gendry. At kamukha niya ang nasirang hari ng Westeros na kanyang ama.

Cersei at Jaime. Ick ick ick ick ick ick ick.

Jon at Ygritte. Oops, spoiler.

Daenerys at Khal Drogo. Huhuhuhu nguni’t sa katapusan ng ikalimang aklat tila magkaka-relasyon siya muli sa isang Dothrak. Sana kamukha uli ni Jason Momoa.

Tyrion at Shae. Hindi kami makapapayag na si Tyrion ay mapunta sa isang talipandas! Totoo ba na ang aktres na iyon ay galing sa porno?

Stannis at Melisandre. Ick ick ick ick ick ick ick

Renly at Loras. Ayyyyyyyy. Hindi patas ang labanan, may mumuu yung babaeng pula.

Robb at Jeyne. Na sa serye sa telebisyon ay nagngangalang Talisa (o may ibang Jeyne ba talaga?) Layuan mo siya Robb! Ipinangako ka ng iyong ina sa mga Frey at kung hindi matuloy ang kasal…

Joffrey at Sansa. Lintik na tiyanak ka, mamatay ka! Mamatay kaaaaaaa!

Daenerys at Jorah Mormont. Hija, ikaw lang ba ang hindi nakakapansin, o deadma ka lang?

Margaery at ang kanyang mga malas na mapapangasawa. Diba 15 lang si Margaery Tyrell sa mga aklat? Bakit si Anne Boleyn yan?

Littlefinger at Varys. Uuuuuuuyyyyyyyy. Wala, nang-iintriga lang.

Sam at Gilly. Sweet. Si Samwell ba ay hommage kay Samwise Gamgee?

Theon at Ikaw. Naku, tsk tsk tsk tsk.

Jon Snow at Robb Stark.
- Ano ba, incest na naman!
- Hinde, dahil baka si Jon ay hindi anak ni Eddard Stark kundi ng kanyang kapatid na si Lyanna at ni Rhaegar Targaryen.
- Che! Bakla! Inyo na nga si Renly at Loras e.

Jon Snow at Ikaw. Magsabunutan na kayong lahat.

Sino’ng nakalimutan namin?

P.S.

Barack Obama in Central Park, 1981. Photo from VF.com.

Interesting piece in Vanity Fair about Barack Obama’s relationships with two ex-girlfriends, one of whom allowed her journals to be used in a biography of the American president.

This bit jumped out at us.

The routine with Barack was now back and forth, mostly his place, sometimes hers. When she told him that she loved him, his response was not “I love you, too” but “thank you”—as though he appreciated that someone loved him. The relationship still existed in its own little private world.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when you say “I love you” to another person, the reply you don’t want to hear is “Thank you.”