If you have always wanted to be a published author, ABS-CBN Books gives you one more reason to start writing.  With over 220 writers who have joined to date, its author search and mentorship program “Project Foreword,” led by Charo Santos-Concio, Ardy Roberto, Makiwander, and Ricky Lee, has extended its deadline for entries until Monday (April 20). 
 
During the press launch held last March, the “Project Foreword” mentors shared their advice for aspiring authors.
 
ABS-CBN’s chief content officer Charo Santos-Concio said you can train yourself by learning from the things that you watch or read. “We’re limited by the books we read, by our experiences, by the friends we have, the family we have,” she explained. “But when you read a good book, you watch a good movie, you listen to good music, you are transported to a different world and you get to know other people with different influences, then we begin to appreciate and develop that sense of empathy for other characters and realize that that world doesn’t solely revolve around us.”
 
Meanwhile, multi-awarded screenwriter, novelist, and playwright Ricky Lee reminded aspiring writers to have confidence to tell their story. “Sometimes people say, ‘That’s ambitious.’ But you can always make a book popular, regardless of subject matter, genre—you can always find a way for your book to appeal in bigger markets, it doesn’t always have to be niche.” 
 
He also advised writers to focus on making a story that will move people. “A recurrent concept in my workshops is that we’re all broken. So if a story addresses my brokenness and helps me to be whole, or if the story’s still broken until the end—if it still helped me to have a strong desire to be whole eventually, then I still think it’s a great story.”
 
Inspirational speaker Ardy Roberto echoed this, stressing that great narratives are the ones that bring readers aspiration. “From a broken world, or a fallen world, or a world full of disaster and chaos, a good story should give readers hope and show that it’s still possible to see things differently,” said “The Happy Entrepreneur” author.
 
In the end, Wattpad published author Maki Kris de Luna Ogang or better known as Makiwander pointed out the role of writers to leave readers with important learnings to hold on to. “For me, I try to impart the moral lesson in the story. Whatever the narrative is, even if its erotic or romantic, you have to find a valuable lesson from the character. As a reader, you’re not just entertained, at the same time, you learned something as well.” 
 
Visit noink.abs-cbn.com for more details on “Project Foreword” and submit your entries to books@abs-cbn.com. For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.abs-cbn.com/newsroom.