Oooofff… that last article was a heavy one.
I had to take a short break from writing because I genuinely got affected by it. Writing has that power—it takes something out of you. So here’s one that I hope feels more uplifting, more hopeful.
And hey—Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned after decades of doing this, it’s that writing, at its core, is an act of love.
Writing Didn’t Start as a Career—It Started as a Love for Reading
I didn’t fall in love with writing because I wanted to make money.
I fell in love with it because I loved reading.
Books took me places I could never physically go.
One moment I was in the present, the next I was in a prehistoric world learning about dinosaurs, extinct plants, and strange creatures that no longer walked the earth. That sense of being transported—that magic trick where words reshape reality—hooked me early.
Then came comics.
That’s what totally blew my mind.
Superheroes their origin stories, moral dilemmas, sacrifices, loss, hopes.
Entire universes compressed into panels and speech bubbles. I didn’t just read them—I studied them. I started understanding how stories worked.
Eventually, I tried my hand at writing simple scripts. Simple comics. Nothing fancy. But something clicked in me. I wanted to become a writer at that young age.
Then I fell in love.
With a schoolmate.
And like any dramatic, slightly foolish kid who loved words, I wrote her a love letter. It was s simple love letter with a check box at the bottom asking her if she liked me back or not. I remembered packing that love letter into an origami-lady bug that I learned to make because we had a Japanese exchange student studying with us t that time.
I gave t to her on a rainy day.
Oh she didn’t like that.
For my efforts, I got a punch on the arm.
But she still took the love letter with her.
And then she shared it with her mom.
Her mom shared it with my mom because they were close friends. And then because they thought it was funny, shared it with other moms. Pretty soon all the moms in their circle knew I had written a love letter.
And just like that, I earned a reputation. For being a romantic. I got teased. A lot.
“Ay, writer yan.”
It stuck.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that moment taught me something important:
writing connects people—even when you don’t intend it to.
Loving Writing Before It Loved Me Back
For the longest time, writing gave me nothing tangible in return.
No money.
No guarantees.
No applause or recognition.
And yet I kept writing:
- Articles
- Scripts
- Plays
- Short stories
- Comic books
- Entire books no one asked for
Long before I earned a single peso or dollar, I was already doing the work.
That’s how you know it’s love.
How to Develop the Love for Writing
You cultivate it.
1. Fall in Love With Reading First
Writing is a response to something that moved you.
Read widely:
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Comics
- Essays
- Bad writing (yes, even that)
Reading teaches you rhythm, voice, and different styles and possibilities.
2. Write Without an Audience
Some of the purest writing happens when no one is watching.
Write:
- Letters you’ll never send
- Stories you’ll never publish
- Thoughts you don’t want to monetize
That’s where honesty lives. I write at east 1000 words a day these days just to keep myself sharp. But there was a time I would write up to 10,000 a day. That’s… too much. And too much love will kill you. Hahahaha
3. Detach Writing From Money (At First)
Money is a terrible first motivator.
| Writing for Love | Writing for Money |
| Exploration | Optimization |
| Freedom | Constraints |
| Curiosity | Pressure |
| Play | Performance |
Ironically, loving writing first is what eventually makes it profitable.
4. Let Writing Be Emotional
Writing isn’t just intellectual—it’s emotional labor.
Sometimes it will:
- Drain you
- Expose you
- Hurt a little
That doesn’t mean stop.
It means you’re doing it right.
5. Write Through Different Seasons of Life
Your writing will change because you change.
That’s not failure—that’s growth.
Some years you’ll write passionately.
Some years you’ll write quietly.
Some years you’ll write to survive.
All of it counts.
Writing and Valentine’s Day: A Different Kind of Romance
Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic love.
It’s about:
- Long-term commitment
- Staying when things get hard
- Showing up even when the spark feels quiet
That’s exactly what writing is.
Writing is:
- Choosing the page again and again
- Loving something that doesn’t always love you back
- Staying faithful to a craft even when it’s inconvenient
If you’ve ever written something no one read—but still felt fulfilled—you understand this kind of love.
My first officially released book on Amazon is now over 10 years old.
It still earns.
It still finds readers.
It still works while I sleep.
But more importantly—it represents consistency.
Commitment.
Love.
I don’t see myself stopping.
Not because it’s profitable.
Not because it’s my identity.
But because writing has been with me through every version of myself.
If you want to develop a love for writing, remember this:
- Write because it feels right
- Write because it helps you think
- Write because it connects you to others
- Write because it makes life feel bigger
Careers can change.
Platforms can disappear.
Algorithms won’t remain constant or easy to understand.
But the love of writing?
That stays—if you nurture it.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
And if you write today, even just a little—that’s a good start.