Do Punctuation Marks Have Feelings?

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Do punctuation marks have feelings? You have to read this great article on the emotions of punctuation marks. Written by Arika Okrent on The Week blog, it addresses The Angry Period, The Sincere Exclamation Point, The Coy, Awkward Ellipsis, The Dramatic Asterisk, and the Dull Comma. A must read!!! (Notice my exclamation points.)

Do you sometimes cry when you read a book? I have to admit at times I have done that. I get so caught up in the story and connect so much with the main character that my emotions get the best of me. That is why when I read this question on the Dear Editor website the other day, I clicked on it to find the answer.

“Dear Editor… I cried when I wrote my romance manuscript. My beta readers aren’t crying. What am I doing wrong?”

Part of the answer was: A cathartic cry is a whole story in the making; no single plot event triggers it. Examine your entire story to be sure every plot point amps up emotional tension.

Read the rest of the brief answer to find out more.

For those of you who missed the November Picture Month Book blog and my day and essay, click on the link above.

In a few days, I will bake dozens of cookies for our family’s annual Christmas Exchange Cookie Party!

Christmas Cookies!

Backlist: A publisher’s list of its books that were not published during the current season but that are still in print. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

November is Picture Book Month

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

From the founder of Picture Book Month, Dianne De Las Casas: “The website, PictureBookMonth.com, features essays from thought leaders in the children’s literature community. Each day in November, a new essay is posted.

New features this year include “Curriculum Connections” by Education Consultant, Marcie Colleen. Every day, a new activity and curriculum connection is posted based on the Author/Illustrator’s book. In addition, the multi-page Picture Book Month Educator’s Guide, correlating picture books across the curriculum, is available as a free download for educators and teacher librarians.”

My day (Lupe Ruiz-Flores) for Picture Book Month on “Why Picture Books are Important” is November 22. Be sure and visit the website every day of this month.

Picture book: A type of book, aimed at preschoolers to eight-year-olds, that tells a story using a combination of text and artwork, or artwork only. — Writers’ Digest Weekly Planner

McAllen, Texas, Book Festival

Image

McAllen, Texas, had its first-ever book festival on November 8 and I was lucky to have been invited to participate with my fellow authors, poets, and illustrators from across our nation. The beautiful one-story building was formerly a WalMart, which has now been converted into a huge library for the citizens of McAllen.

There were panels, readings, book signings, face painting for the children, music, and just overall fun for those who attended. Hundreds of people attended and that’s a sure sign that this is just the beginning of many book festivals to come. Thank you to the McAllen library staff and the many volunteers who made this event possible. Congratulations, McAllen!

Authors, poets, and illustrators!

Author With Friends!

McAllen Library

National Picture Book Month

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

I have an updated website and blog. Hope you like it. Still working the kinks out. Let me know. Great news! I am one of the authors and illustrators selected to be part of National Picture Book Month in November to help celebrate why picture books are important. You can visit the website for more information and to see all those wonderful artists and authors who were selected as well. Stay tuned for November!

Pumpkin Land!

Here’s a really good post on Ingrid’s Notes blog on, “9 reasons your reader is bored.” Some of the headings of why your reader might be bored with your story include: 1) Leisurely Descriptive Passages 2) Leisurely Passages of Back Story and Flashback 3) Scenes Where the Plot is Not Moving Forward and six more. Make sure you read this post and keep your reader interested.

Here’s a writing contest you might be interested in. Sponsored by the Institute of Children’s Literature, the Kindergarten Story Writing Contest has a grand prize of $500, only 150 word count, and the deadline is November 7, 2014. There is a $15reading fee. Go for it!

“Seasonal queries to a magazine should be submitted at least six months ahead of schedule to allow for editorial lead time.” – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

Writer’s Block?

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Do you sometimes suffer from what we call “writer’s block?” According to Andrew Lewis Conn’s post, “7 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block,” on the Publishers Weekly blog, “… writer’s block, similar (to) those other figments, does not exist. There’s writing and there’s not writing (and, within those two large camps, factions of good writing, poor writing, and mediocre writing). Like anything else, there are going to be good days and bad days. But let’s not get all exalted about it!”

A gem! Antique camera!

Wow! So what to do about it if you think you do have it? Well, he posts 7 steps, one of which is (4) place your trust in craft, not inspiration and (5) get your hands dirty. Then there’s (7), write out of love—“double-down on your commitment to doing the work—good work that takes the form of an expression of love—in the hopes that you might carry that torch a few inches forward.”

Let’s get to work everyone! But before you do that, you might want to take a look at this very long list or sneak preview of the upcoming 2015 children’s book titles listed by publisher on the Publishers Weekly blog.

Happy Writing!

“There is no frigate like a book, to take us lands away” — Emily Dickinson

Illustrators are Visual Storytellers

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

I was just browsing through some of the notes I took while attending a writer’s workshop last year in Austin. One of the faculty was E. B. Lewis, illustrator and Caldecott Honor winner for Coming Home Soon.He was talking about picture books, but this could apply to any genre.

Lollipops

“Illustrators are visual storytellers,” he said. “Illustration is a visual interpretation of the written word.” Then he gave some pointers on character development. “Learn about your subject—your protagonist,” he told us. “Know his thoughts, sensations, and settings around him. Take your character out to lunch. What would he eat? Go to his house and open the doors. Look inside. You need to know your character that well. This is called research. Discover what your character is about.”

Someone else mentioned something about character as well.
What is in your character’s pocket? Does he carry around something that is meaningful and symbolic to him? Is it for strength or to sustain him?

Painted Cow

Lots of good advice here. And here’s an older post by Deborah Underwood about the same topic – picture book illustrations and what writers should know about it.

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.” — Kate DiCamillo

Tips on Writing

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

I just got back from California. Had a wonderful time. I saw the San Francisco Symphony perform on the Fourth of July. There were magnificent fireworks afterwards. Great visit.

Napa Valley

The Ingrid’s Notes blog offers four writing tips on creating great scenes. I really like the following tip that Ingrid recommends a writer should do when editing a scene. It is under the headline, “Is There a Significant Emotional Change in the Scene?” … “You can track the emotion of your scene by drawing emotion faces (happy faces, frowning faces) at the opening and closing of your scenes. The emotion should reflect the emotion your character carries into the scene, and the emotion the character carries out of it in when it’s over. If the emotion-face is the same, for example both are grumpy faces, then you don’t have any dramatic action in the scene. This indicates that the scene may need to be cut or revised.”

Napa Valley

She further writes about dramatic action in scenes, reader expectations, and how to stop protecting your characters. Excellent tips!

And here’s a terrific post by Zachary Petit on the Writer’s Digest blog, titled: 15 Things a Writer Should Never Do.

“Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” — Dr. Seuss

Book review and an author’s writing process

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

My bilingual picture book, Let’s Salsa, got another review. This time the review appeared in Crystal

Brunelle’s blog, Reading Through Life. Hope you read it.

Here’s a post by Newbery medalist, Richard Peck, (A Year Down Yonder – 2001) about the writing process. Titled “Great Expectations: An Interactive Workshop with Richard Peck,”the interview conducted by Matia Burnett appears in the June issue of online Publishers Weekly.

Excerpts from the interview: “Despite the accolades awarded over the course of his career, Peck said that he, like so many, experiences writer’s block: ‘If I knew how to write the novel I’m writing now, I’d be home writing it. I’m here because I’m hiding from a manuscript – just like you are,’ he joked.”

He also provides a “10-points first impression checklist” so that the writer can compare his/her opening lines against it.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Peck at one of the SCBWI-LA conferences. He is a dynamic speaker as well as a great writer.

Do you have a story that’s ready for submission to a children’s magazine? Well, here is your chance to submit it to U.S. Kids (Humpty Dumpty – ages 5-7) and (Jack & Jill – ages 6-12). For complete writer and illustrator’s guidelines, visit the link above. Good luck!

“Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them.” — Neil Gaiman

Mother-Daughter Interview & Giveaway

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

I am super excited about an online interview, “Guest Interview & Giveaway: Carolyn Dee Flores & Lupe Ruiz-Flores on Writing, Illustrating, & Team Flores,” that my daughter, illustrator Carolyn Dee Flores, and I did for the fabulous blog and website, Cynsations.It was a fun project where we interviewed each other. We had never done that before.

Books by author and illustrator – “Team Flores”

Make sure you read the entire interview and then enter your name at the bottom of the interview for a chance to win an autographed book from me and one from Carolyn. But do it now as there is a deadline. Happy writing! Let me know what you think about the interview.

“A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.” — Chinese Proverb

Writing for Children

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Here’s a post by author Marion Dane Bauer of the 1987 Newbery Honor book, On My Honor, that was on the Cynsations blog back in May. The topic? Why Write for Children? She asks, “Why do we choose children or young people as our topic, as our audience?” She writes about an early childhood experience that she wrote about, only a few words, but … “For reasons I couldn’t have explained to myself or to anyone else, that moment mattered. That it was just about the smallest moment I could have imagined made no difference. Capturing it brought something alive in me.” Read the rest of her post and get inspired.

If you’re looking for diversity in children’s books, here is a list, “25 Books That Diversify Kids’ Reading Lists This Summer,” on the Mind Shift blog.

Check this out – “20 of the Most Magnificent Places to Read Books,” on the LifeHack blog. Enjoy the beautiful pictures of libraries from all over the world. Amazing!

“Plotting is difficult for me, and always has been. I do that before I actually start writing, but I always do characters, and the arc of the story, first… You can’t do anything without a story arc. Where is it going to begin, where will it end.” — Elizabeth George