WHEN I was leafing through the pages of her novel, I couldn't help but wonder about the writer behind the scenes that were playing in my mind. The lead character was a woman who didn't have qualms about her values. She was outspoken and oftentimes candid. She could even be comical at times, without meaning to. And how she loved! When I decided that I wanted to produce her ''Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?'' onstage, therefore, I told myself that I would soon discover how much of Lea Bustamante was in Lualhati Bautista. I guessed right. Here are excerpts from our conversation:

AZ: How long have you been writing?

LB: I started writing when I was 16. By then, I already had a published work. But I had been writing stories since I learned how to read and write.

Ideas

What inspires you to write? Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

Iba-iba. I get inspired by what I see. There was a time when I was really moved when a child was run over by a speeding car. I felt at once that I wanted to write about what had transpired in his life before the accident.

Siguro, madaldal akong tao. I like telling stories. When I was still studying, madalas akong pagsabihan na ''very talkative'' ako. My teacher would often tell me to keep my mouth shut. Then I finally decided to just write down the things that I could not blurt out.

So what happened was, the things you wanted to say but couldn't, you translated into writing.

Yes, I wanted to tell stories. There were many things I wanted to share with the others. Like when you discover or experience something new, and you'd like to share it with a friend.

Can you recall your very first published work?

It was about a childless couple. They were able to adopt a child from the streets.

Was that inspired by a real incident?

I don't remember. At that time, so many things were running in my mind. Wild things, even. Until now, when I'm all by myself, many things still enter my mind. Like, what would happen if I was given a hundred thousand pesos each day and that at the end of the day, by twelve midnight, I should have already spent all of it?

Voracious reader

Were you a voracious reader when you were young?

Lumalaki ako sa Liwayway. I read a lot of komiks and listened to radio dramas. I guess, the last one I had to, because my mom was a lover of soap operas.

Were your dad or mom also into writing?

My dad was a poet and a singer. He was a recording artist.

He must have influenced you in some ways.

Oh, yes. He also composed songs. He was a musician--he could play the piano, the guitar, the violin, the trombone. My mom couldn't find time to write. But the few times that she did, she also displayed some flair and style.

In your formative or later years as a writer, was there any author or literary piece you admired most?

When I was young, I liked reading the writers of ''Liwayway.'' They were my early models in writing. I liked their language, I envied the fact that they could narrate stories effectively. I developed a crush on them. And I got married to one of those writers!

Your husband was a writer before?

He still is. He writes stage plays. He's more of a theater artist than a novelist. He's in his element when he's involved in the theater.

Stage actor

Is he also an actor onstage?

Yes, that's in addition to also being the scriptwriter and director as well.

What about you, have you also been involved in the theater?

Not really. I'm more of a writer. I have the moods of a writer. Like, people would ask me why I shun award ceremonies. But I really hate dressing up and applying make-up! When they tell me to go up the stage for an award, I tell them that I am being penalized for a job well done.

But, as you were saying before, you won't describe yourself as anti-social.

Ah, hindi. Hindi naman. I'm simply more inclined to join the family and a few close friends. But, of course, if I really have to attend an important function, I can easily put on the mien of a seasoned politician.

There was a time when we were in New York and we had to attend an after-dinner party. I was in T-shirt, maong jeans and rubber shoes. And then I saw the guests: the men in coat and tie, and the women in their stiletto shoes. Everyone else appeared to be taller than me but I didn't allow myself to be intimidated.

What I did was, I took off my shoes, sat down on the carpet, drank a lot and made a lot of noise. After a while, the others were also taking off their coats and shoes, and everybody really started having fun.

Chito Roño says that you're a writer who has successfully transcended almost all literary types of work--from novels to movie scripts to short stories to tele-plays to komiks…

Ang sabi ko nga sa kanya, e, bright ako! (Laughs).

Different literary types

From among these different literary types you do, is one you like more than the others?

Gusto ko silang lahat-- for different reasons. Like, for instance, when you're writing for TV, it is easier since the production costs are not as big as those in the movies. The movies, on the other hand, are also fun to write but they entail greater collective work among many people. By contrast, when I do a novel, it is mine and mine alone.

You have full control over the material.

Yes, but writing for the movies pays higher. With the novels, you only get paid the moment they are published, the moment they start selling. That's what happened to ''Bata, Bata…,'' ''Gapo'' and ''Dekada '70.'' They are selling up to now. Although, when I wrote these novels, I didn't think of money. I wrote them for the Palanca competition. I wanted to win. But then, I had to momentarily drop the other things I had to do.

What is your writing style? Do you, say, start work on a novel and then at mid-point, leave it for a while and start another one?

I don't do that. I finish one thing at a time, I don't overlap writing commitments. For instance, at the moment, I'm supposed to finish seven scripts for the NCCA. I've already done two, five more to go. So I tell people I can't start work on another project for the next two months. By then, however, I've already set my priorities for the succeeding periods of time. And if I don't like certain projects, I tell people right away. Interest in a project, for me, is very important. If I have the slightest doubt about a project, I don't accept it.

Favorite work

From everything you've written, do you have any favorite literary work?

Ah, 'yong ''Bata, Bata…'' pa rin. "yong ''Deakada,'' mahal na mahal ko 'yon. With ''Bata, Bata…,'' my enthusiasm never died down. When we were doing the movie, I was attending presscons and premieres. Of course, I also treasure my having done ''Dekada,'' but ''Bata, Bata…'' had created a greater impact in the market.

How would you describe your style in writing? Any disciplines you observe?

None. Even with young writers, I tell them not to observe any guidelines. They should feel free, they should experiment. They should discover and develop their own bent.

Can you cite two things you love about yourself?

I love feeling free. I love locking myself up in my room. I love being able to go wherever I want to go and be with the people I want to be with.

Two things you hate?

My smoking, I've long wanted to give it up. And then there are the tantrums I can't control. I wish I could be a more diplomatic person. Like Marilou Diaz-Abaya, she can say anything in a nice way. For example, I wouldn't be reluctant to ask at the recent Famas awards: How could I win for Best Story when I was not even nominated in the Best Screenplay category? It is through the screenplay that one learns about the story.

Citations

''Bata, Bata…'' garnered a lot of citations from award-giving bodies this year…

It won Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Urian. Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Young Critics Circle. From the Famas, Best Story.

Where did you get your idea for writing ''Bata, Bata?''

The idea came from a long period of experiences of being a woman. When I was a young girl, the little boys would jump over flower pots and people would think that was OK. But when I did it, they would say: ''Ka babae mong tao, ginagawa mo 'yan!'' And then, the young boys could slip a note into young girls' books to propose, but people wouldn't expect young girls to do the same.

If we were in an ideal world, you would say that even the girls would have the right to propose?

I have taken that right a long time ago!

How much of yourself do you see in Lea Bustamante?

A big part. Everybody's been accusing me of that. A lot of her feelings and sentiments are mine. She had my heart.

When I was reading your novel, I told myself that what I was reading was true. That the writer was not simply fabricating things.

Through Lea, I had an opportunity to say whatever was on my mind. Like, when we're mad, we curse.

I read a lot of that in your novel.

Real life

That happens in real life. So why should it be any different in a novel or a movie?

When Raffy and Ding were leaving Lea, she didn't fight for the custody of her two children, she allowed them to make their own decision. Would you have done the same thing in real life?

Lea is confident of herself. She trusts in the love that she has shown her children.

The last time we talked, you were saying that you were working on a new novel.

Not exactly new. I started working on it in 1993, but I'm not done yet. I can't tell you the theme for ''security'' reasons.

How does the rest of 1999 appear to you?

There's still a lot to be done. It was high gear in 1998, and it's spilling over to 1999. But probably, in the next few months, I'll declare a time-out. I need time for myself!