Author Archives: Lupe Ruiz-Flores

About Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Children's Book Author

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The other night I attended a writer friend’s book signing. Her book got a great review in our local paper. We are in the same writer’s club. That is what is so special about belonging to such a group. Months before a book comes out, the other writers in the club already know about it and are anticipating its publishing date and arrival at bookstores. We show up in force at a member’s booksigning.

While she was reading excerpts from her book, an idea sparked in my mind. I quickly wrote it down in a small journal I always carry. Later, I typed up what I had written and, hopefully, it will be the beginning of a story. You never know when the muse is going to strike. Sometimes when you least expect it, you get inspired. Be ready. Don’t disregard it.

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An image of a Spanish mission in Texas seen through a rock window.

A while back, I bought a book titled, For Writers Only (Ballentine Books). The author is Sophy Burham. I found it extremely interesting and enjoyable because it contained thoughts and experiences of famous writers about the writing process. This book does not offer writing tips. What it does offer are emotions that many writers experience while in the writing process. From nerves about getting started to finding joy in the art of writing. There are chapters on how these writers discipline themselves to write, how they know when to let go of the story, how they make time for their personal lives, the aloneness of writing, writer’s block, rewriting, rejection and getting published. Also included is a chapter on how some writers dealt with depression, alcohol, jealousy, etc., and still produced great writing.

Most of us are not famous writers, but I think we can relate to many of the emotions these very famous writers experienced. Have a pleasant writing day. Be good to yourself.

Reader’s journal

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A Texas rooster at my friend’s house.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine gifted me with a reader’s journal. I love it because for each book you read, it’s got a place for the title, author, publisher, genre, date read, and comments. I am amazed at how many books I’ve read already. Had I not been keeping record, I would have thought I never read that much.

What’s also interesting is going back and reading the remarks/comments I made about each book I read at that time. Comments like words flowed beautifully, dialogue believable or witty, great metaphors, descriptive details, setting very visual, character well developed, story has spirit, and so on. Then I also have other comments like this book was boring, couldn’t get through the first chapter, too much narrative, not enough dialogue, too many names to remember, and so on. You get the picture.

My point here is that by reading like a writer, you get a feel for other writers’ style of writing. You don’t want to copy their style, of course, but you do want to see what works and what doesn’t for you. The more you write, the more you’re developing your own unique style. And that’s what it’s all about.

Book reviews

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An interesting scene by a highway in Texas.

I just finished writing a book review for a book whose theme is writing picture books. It was fun reading and analyzing the book from a writer’s point of view. It took a little out of my regular writing time, but I consider this part of the writing process as well. I found an excellent article on doing book reviews at the following Web site:

Several days ago, I was browsing through the net and found a book review on one of my own books, The Woodcutter’s Gift. The review includes several other bilingual picture books.

Have a great writing day!

Pisa Tower, Journaling

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Have you ever seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person? I had the privilege of going on a pilgrimage to Italy a few years back. One of the cities I visited was Pisa. I journaled the whole time I was there. Here is an excerpt from that day. I recommend journaling whenever you travel or even on a daily basis. Not only might you use some of your comments in a story someday, but you’ve also captured the essence of the moment. I am on the right at the bottom of the picture. My friend is standing beside me.

March 13: We arrived in Pisa. As soon as I saw the leaning tower of Pisa, I was amazed at how much smaller it really was. It wasn’t as tall as I imagined. But, boy, was it leaning. Then our priest pointed out the domed baptistry next to it. Awesome.

Lunch was at a local restaurant. I had some kind of soup that was rather bland and without color but I was hungry so I ate it. The owner was loud and impatient. If you ordered water, they brought you bottled water and charged you for it. They didn’t put water on the table. After lunch, I bought some postcards at a small stand outside. My friend and I strolled along the sort of flea market on the road opposite the tower. So many vendors. So many tourists.

After lunch, we had Mass in the basilica next to the Pisa tower. We went in through a side door to avoid the crowd. We sang before Mass and our voices resonated in the openness of the basilica. Basilicas in Italy have several altars for different Masses at different times. The ceiling of the church was so high and it was cold inside. I kept glancing at the old-fashioned confessionals on the side of the pews. They were ornately carved of rich, dark wood. The wooden pews were hard as were the benches. My knees hurt whenever we knelt.

I felt overwhelmed by the splendor of the renaissance art on the ceiling and the statues on the walls. The communion railing was made out of white marble. We took communion but didn’t kneel at the railing like in the old days. We lined up instead. It felt almost like a mausoleum; it was so big. We walked around in hushed tones. Then we walked back to the bus and started our journey to Florence praying a rosary on the way enjoying the pleasant weather and the green rolling hills of the Italian countryside.

Libraries

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I just returned from my local branch library. How I love libraries. Takes me back to my childhood when we couldn’t afford to buy books so I spent as much time as I could at the school library. Today there is so much more that libraries offer. The technology is just amazing. For instance, I find it absolutely marvelous that I can sit at my desk in my own home and search for a book at my library online. I reserve it and then pick it up the next day. How cool is that?

I am in the middle of doing some research for a middle-grade story. I found exactly what I was looking for at the library. During these economic times, the libraries are overflowing with people reading, checking out books, doing research, or sitting in front of PC screens. It’s a bustling place but quiet and reserved as well. If you haven’t taken advantage of your library lately, please do. It’s a whole new world out there.

Historic buildings

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Old buildings intrigue me. I don’t know why. I can almost feel the history behind an old building whenever I see one. I always end up taking a picture. I got out of my car and took this picture along the way down to the Rio Grande Valley. I wondered who had lived in this house at one time. What memories are still there? What kind of people lived there? Who built it? A writer is always curious about such things. I think we see things in a different way than others do. I know I do. What someone else might see as a discarded, ugly building, I see as a home that once housed real people of a different era but with the same dreams and aspirations that still live in us today. Look around you. You might discover such a place and write a story about it.

Sketches

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I just received some black and white sketches for my latest bilingual picture book due out in 2010. It is very exciting to see the progress of a book from manuscript to sketches to final art form. Because of the illustrations, some books take as long as two, three, or even four years before they are published and in bookstores. As I mention to the children during school visits, a writer has to have a lot of patience. While waiting for the book to come out in final form, a writer is always writing something new. Children are usually amazed when I tell them how long the process takes.

I invite you to take a look at Jon Bard’s free video on Jacketflap’s Web site. Jon is the managing editor of The Children’s Book Insider – The Newsletter for Children’s Writers. You can view the video on “Do you have what it takes to make it as a children’s writer?” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5vnuSLhrAE. It offers great guidance for writers. I invite any comments you might have.

Submissions

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Do you ever get frustrated waiting for replies from publishers on the manuscripts you’ve submitted? The question is whether to submit your manuscript exclusively to one publisher or submit simultaneous submissions. And how long should one wait before querying on the submission? There have been times when I’ve gotten a reply (rejection) a year after the original simultaneous submission.

Not sure which way to go? There is an excellent article on the following Website: http://www.underdown.org/multiple.htm arguing the pros and cons from the writer’s and the editor’s viewpoints. Be sure to read the article and then decide which route you want to take. Best of luck with your submissions.