The Book of Travels

8.4 Fun facts & Trivia

In this part, we'll be talking about all the things that happened behind the scenes! Kung paano nga ba ako nag-come up sa idea na ito hanggang sa anong naging resulta nito. All the things you should know can be found in this part--well, ilan lamang sa mga interesting facts and trivias na *hindi naman talaga dapat kailangan malaman -- but dagdag insight na rin on how the story started from ideation, plotting, character description and all! Tara na't samahan niyo akong maglakbay behind the screen!

1. Ang pangalan ni Cory na Corentienne ay isang French name--I was looking for unique name kasi at 'yong time na 'to, naglalapagan na sila ng names, provice, etc. E, sounds like quarantine rin ang pangalan niya kasi pinush ko na. Halatang joke 'yong origin pero at least, sophisticated pakinggan lol.

2. Same with Douglas! I forgot kung ano ba talagang origin nito, pero nag-pop up na lang sa isip ko na gawing Doggy ang nickname niya. Naging dogshow tuloy siya ni Cory.

3. Hayley's name came from a cast member in Survivor Australia! O, 'di ba, hindi na lang love island at big brother!

4. Hindi ko alam kung fun 'to, but both characters should've never got along in the end. Ang bigat naman no'n kung hahayaan ko lang. This is a light story, forgiveness and acceptance are some of the themes of this story.

5. Remember when Douglas and Cory listens to song by Pamungkas? No'ng time kasi na sinusulat ko siya, ito iyong kanta na on-repeat talaga. Naka-slowed version pa para damang-dama. 

6. Original plan for Cory ay mag-stay na siya sa Palawan for good. Iiwanan niya iyong work niya sa Manila para lang mamuhay at ma-experience ang island life. But I think given on the situation, hindi pa siya pwede so maybe in the future it could happen. Hindi ko lang talaga siya itinuloy dahil hindi pa siya right time to do it.

7. Cory meeting her ex-fiance scene there has changed. Dapat makikita ni Cory si Derek at Flick doon on their wedding day. As in, naglalakad lamang sina Douglas at Cory tapos makikita iyong dalawa na katatapos lamang ng kasal nila, but also, given to the situation hindi siya nag-work out. And I think that would be so hurtful for Cory, sayang hindi ko siya naituloy.

8. How did Cory catch Derek cheating on her? Well... he was f*cking her. Caught them both naked.

9. Cory's original age should be 22... pero nalito ako kaya 24 ang nalagay ko! Supposed to be kasi 11 lang siya no'ng inampon siya so half-half parin. Ayun iyong nilapag kong info about Cory tapos hindi ko rin nasunod.

10. KABIBE!!! Kabibe should've been the star of this story pero nauwi sa pangdodo-dogshow ni Doggy at Cory lol.

1. I really have no plan na i-connect siya sa World Trip Series no'ng mailatag sa amin ang plano. Pero napaisip ako, since travel stories din naman ito, why not make a connection to it? Na iisang mundo lang din sila? And may mga ipinasok akong characters from WTS na hindi naman kailangang basahin ang story nila to get to know them. It also has a connection to LMS so nagsama ang ilang couples dito.

2. Ang una kong province ay Aklan dapat dahil iyon pa lang ang napupuntahan ko na gusto kong gawan ng story bilang setting. E, bigla rin akong nagbago ng isip at ginawa kong Palawan. Lugar na hindi ko pa talaga napupuntahan. It was a challenge dahil hindi ko alam kung anong ginagawa roon. Kahit kasi mag-research, may mga small details pa rin na pwedeng makaligtaan--like magkano yong pamasahe sa tricyle--may tricycle nga ba roon? Ano kayang mga transpo ro'n? Iyong mga binibitawang details ay mahalaga since it's a real place so kailangan talagang may pagbasehan--but all thanks to those readers na kino-correct ako. Sila mismo na taga-Palawan. Thank you!!!

3. Habang nasa kalagitnaan ako ng pagsusulat ng Palawan, sabi ko bakit hindi na lang Siargao ang napili ko since beach alike rin naman ang setting? BInitawan ko lang 'yong idea na 'yon since pupwede siyang maging comparison sa Drastic Waves of Bondi kaya ni-let go ko na... well, Bondi and Palawan have similarities in terms of a few things. Hindi ko na lang muna i-mention dito kung hindi mo pa nababasa ang Bondi haha.

4. Tessa's character, if she didn't become a part of this story, lalabas sana siya sa Continental Romance! At may ilang characters nga ba mula sa Palawan ang lalabas sa Continental Romance? Not for season 1 dahil kasado na lahat ng Travelers. For season 2...  maybe.

5. Seeking Wonders isn't the original title... Seeking Her Wonders sana ito. Pero ang original titles na pinagpipilian ko before ako nag-settle rito is "Adrift in Palawan" and "Stray ___ in Palawan" hindi ko naituloy iyong second since wala akong maisip na pangdugtong lol.

6. Tapos sinuggest ni Ria na Wandering in Palawan saka naman pumasok sa akin iyong idea na Seeking then Wonders... so kaya nabuo iyong Seeking Wonders because of her! Yay! Thank you, Ria! Abangan niyo 'yong Bulacan niya!!!

7. Basically, I got Cory and Douglas' story from a real-life person. Except the part na inampon and the like. The island life itself is inspired from this couple. Hindi ko na lang ime-mention hihi. But they were so cute!!!

8. Feeling ko 50/50 ang story na 'to. 50% travel dahil naglibot lang tayo tapos 50% 'yong plot lol.

9. Wala talagang plano-plano, basta set na lang ng date ang release ng collab and the last hour before posting, doon pa naging aligaga ang lahat. Hindi pa ako prepared sa logline at description ko no'n so habang pauwi ako galing work, hindi pa gaanong solid ang plot ko no'n, kung ano lang ang maibigay ko, iyon lang and I think nabigyan naman ng hustisya!

10. Seeking Wonders in Palawan will be self-published! Together with Made in Baguio, Bittersweet Kiss in Batangas, and The Wayward Son in Aklan.  Naka-boxed set po ito so be ready! I believe limited copies lamang siya. (If you're reading this trivia halfway through the year 2022 at meron ka na, share and tag it to us!)

And now that you've got some of the behind-the-scenes kineme! Let's go to the next part naman where we could see some of the SWIP characters answering some of the blazing questions!