Keep Writing

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A few blogs ago, I mentioned “rejections.” We all get them at one time or another and get over them eventually. But when we first see that rejection via email or snail mail, we wince, feel disappointed, rejected, hurt, and ready to give up. So when I read Ingrid’s Notes’ blog on Rejection Rocks, it made me feel a lot better knowing I am not alone. Famous writers have been rejected many times as well. I think you’ll enjoy reading about it in her blog, not being rejected, but persevering and forging ahead. 
One of those writers originally rejected many times (nine years of manuscript rejections) was Gail Carson Levine of Ella Enchanted (a 1998 Newbery Honor book) – her first, can you imagine? I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Levine at last summer’s SCBWI-LA conference. Not only was she an inspirational speaker, but she had her audience in stitches with her humorous anecdotes.
By the way, a non-fiction piece that I sent out to a magazine nine months ago was originally rejected. A few days ago, I received word that it has been accepted for publication. So there you go. Never give up! Keep writing!

“I don’t necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that’s most vivid in my imagination and work forward and backward from there.” – Beverly Cleary

Illustrators – Editor’s Day

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I mentioned Editor’s Day in my previous blog. Writer/illustrator Carolyn Flores’ blog elaborates a bit more on this event, especially from the illustrator’s point of view. One of the highlights of that day was the portfolio display by many of our area illustrators. There is so much talent as evidenced by what we saw in those portfolios. 
Rio Grande Valley
I have been writing this morning and took a break to reread some of the passages in the book, Bird by Bird written by Anne Lamott. Some of the phrases, which I had highlighted: “… to do is to write down as much as I can see through a one-inch picture frame.  – … to pick up the one-inch picture frame and to figure out a one-inch piece of my story to tell, one small scene, one memory, one exchange.”
Sometimes when I’m writing and I feel overwhelmed, I take Lamott’s advice —  piece by piece, bird by bird.  
“It is not remembering the incidents that took place when you were young that enables you to write for young people; it is remembering the emotions that accompanied those incidents.” — Sue Alexander

Editor’s Day

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This past weekend we had our regional SCBWI Editor’s Day. Writers and illustrators from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, McAllen, and other surrounding cities attended. Sarah Shumway, senior editor from Harper Collins Children’s Books and Julie Ham, editorial assistant from Charlesbridge, presented talks that kept us glued to our seats. They spoke to us about character and voice and provided information on their submission and acquisition process. They also critiqued manuscripts.
Our keynote speaker, award-winning poet and writer, Dr. Carmen Tafolla, inspired us to forge forward in our writing. She spoke about her own journey to becoming a writer and conducted a brief workshop that had everyone in the audience writing. Art Avila, of Raining Popcorn Media, and Illustrator Heather Powers conducted workshops for the illustrators. It was quite a weekend indeed.   
Julie Ham, Moderator Peggy Caravantes, and Sarah Shumway



Ruiz-Flores and Dr. Carmen Tafolla

San Antonio RiverWalk

At the end of the day, the editors were treated to a Mexican dinner on the San Antonio RiverWalk.



“What I do with my books is to create windows to my world that all may peer into. I share the images, the feelings and thoughts, and I hope, the delight.” — Walter Dean Myers 

Avoiding Pitfalls

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We all value our time and want to be productive in our writing, right? But sometimes we get a little discouraged or sidetrackeded along the way or we lose sight of our goals. Very easy to do. Writer’s Digest blogger Sage Cohen writes about the “Top 10 Productivity Pitfalls for Writers to Avoid,” in a recent online article. One of the pitfalls he mentions is not having a “clear big-picture vision.” Another one is fear. Lack of short-term goals is also on the list. I think some of us have been been guilty of one of these at one time or another. But that doesn’t last long. Then we get inspired to move on and we do. We learn to avoid those pitfalls and get back to what we love to do and that is to WRITE!. Do not give up! Keep on writing! 

“However readers make a book theirs, the end is that book and reader become one.” — Alberto Manguel from his book A History of Reading (1996)

Dialogue

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If you’ve ever had problems with writing dialogue, here is a blog that might help you. Author and literary agent for Curtis Brown Agency, Nathan Bransford, blogs on this topic in his online article, “Seven Keys to Writing Good Dialogue.” “Good dialogue has a purpose and builds toward something,” he writes. Visit the link to learn more.
Sometime ago I had the pleasure of meeting author Pam Munoz Ryan at the Highlights Foundation writing workshop at Chautauqua. As a guest blogger on TeachingBooks.net, she talks about the writing process. Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi Leon are two of my favorite books written by Ms. Munoz Ryan. Her latest, The Dreamer, is also exceptional. Read about her insights on the writing process in the link above.

Ruiz-Flores and Pam Munoz Ryan

“People often ask, ‘How do you start a book?’ Well, I’ve always started this way … Chapter 1.” – Paula Danziger

On Writing

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If you like to write for children but are a little confused about the word count and all the genres out there, here is a good article defining what is what. Blogger Brian A. Klems of Writers’ Digest online magazine explains the different categories in his brief article, “Questions and Quandaries – Writing for Kids.”
Santa Fe
Just finished reading two wonderful books. The first one, On Writing for Children & Other People by Julius Lester (1969 Newbery Honor for To Be a Slave) was both inspirational and shares the storytelling experience. The other one, What’s Your Story? by Marion Dane Bauer (1987 Newbery Honor for On My Honor) offers practical advice from the first step in starting a story to the final step of polishing. I met Ms. Bauer at the SCBWI-LA conference where she autographed my book. She offers more writing tips on her Website.
“To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity’s past, is to have no star map for our future.” — Jane Yolen

SCBWI Blog

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I know the SCBWI-LA conference is already one month old, but I’m providing this link to their official blog. The comments and pictures give an insight of what went on during the conference. It’s worth taking a look at this. I also mentioned in a previous post about the Latina panel at the conference and the topic of multicultural books. Ingrid Law’s blog goes into much greater detail where she interviewed all three Latina authors, Jennifer Cervantes, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall. As I am in the middle of writing a multicultural middle-grade story, I find this most interesting. 
Cervantes, Ruiz-Flores, Gonzalez
I met with my critique group yesterday and today am busy revising the chapter I presented. I’m still amazed at how each one of us brings something totally different to the table and each provides good constructive feedback. I am blessed to be in such a great group of writer friends.

Getty Museum and Texas Book Festival

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On tram to Getty Museum
While attending the SCBWI-LA conference at the start of this month, I took a side trip to the Getty Museum and I’m glad I did. Not only was the place awesome, but being surrounded by the art of world-famous painters was a thrill I will not soon forget. It was exciting to see Van Gogh’s “Irises” up close for one. Once we got on the grounds of the Getty, we took a tram up to the museum itself, which is on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. The view from up there was amazing. There was so much to see but not enough time. We spent several hours there but then had to head back to the hotel for the next day’s conference. Going to the Getty was an inspiration in itself. If you ever get the chance to visit there, do it.
Getty Museum
Van Gogh’s “Irises”
It’s always an honor for me when I’m invited to be part of the annual Texas Book Festival in Austin. This will be my second time there and I am so looking forward to it. Hundreds of books and hundreds of authors! What better way to spend a weekend. The event will be held on October 16-17.

“Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.” — Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

Battle of the Snow Cones

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It’s here! Over the weekend, I got the first copy of my next bilingual picture story book, The Battle of the Snow Cones, illustrated by Alisha Gambino. We write the stories but it’s the illustrators who bring them to life. Ms. Gambino did an awesome job with her vision of the book and the colors and textures she brought to each page. It is now “our book,” a collaboration between writer and illustrator. Thanks, Alisha.

It’s always a thrill when you actually hold the hard copy in your hands. I know I’m going to have a great time doing school visits with this book because it’s a fun book, funny and whimsical. I had such fun writing this. As writers, we are told to think “outside the box.” Well, I really let my imagination go with this book.
‘Embrace your own eccentricity. Look for new ways to see.” These were some of the comments by some of the guest speakers at the SCBWI-LA conference. “Empower kids,” was another one. “Think of a book as a friend that kids will like to visit,” we were told. I hope my book is one that kids will visit again and again.

The topic of one of the workshops I attended was “The Ultimate Checklist for Submitting to Editors” conducted by Deborah Halverson, award-winning author and editor. I took so many notes on this one because she covered in great detail the ten steps or tests a novel must pass to prove it’s ready for submission. She will cover most of these in her upcoming book, Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies (yes, the yellow one). It’s due out in June 2011. I plan to get it. Although I cannot go into great detail, here are some of her suggestions in brief:

1. Use dynamic action words to reveal your character’s mood/personality.
2. Twist & drop test. Take your character from the final chapter of the book and drop him in the first scene of the book. He should behave differently (if he’s grown).
3. CIP test (catalogue, identification, publication). Test for one-line hook. Look at Library of Congress hooks in books.
4. Look for escalation/movement of the plot.
5. Dialogue test. Use highlighter. Plot flats that are in your dialogue.
6. Check the As’s. These are too passive. FIX: Make it more active.
7. Setting – sense of place. Use setting to act upon your character or have character act upon the setting. It reveals emotions.
8. The word “so” is too melodramatic. No real reason for it.
9. Show not tell. Scan for direct feelings.
10. Eagle eyes. Proofread. Print and read your manuscript like a book.

By the way, to read the book description of The Battle of the Snow Cones and to preorder, click on amazon. The book will be in bookstores by November.

Multicultural Middle Grade Books

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One of the workshops I attended at the SCBWI-LA conference was hosted by three Latina writers, Jennifer Cervantes, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall. The topic was multiculturalism. According to this panel, multicultural is a buzz word now. Young Hispanics want to see their contemporary culture in books, the panel noted. The readership in this genre is growing in numbers. It was an excellent session with great information on writing for this genre. I bought and read Cervantes’ book, Tortilla Sun, and Gonzalez’ book, The Red Umbrella. Both were amazing reads, which I really enjoyed. McCall’s book, Under the Mesquite, comes out in the fall. All three are middle grade novels.
Gonzalez, McCall, Cervantes
Author Marion Dane Bauer, one of the keynote speakers, spoke about the struggles we have in life and how that can lead to a story. “In writing your story,” she said, “Discover your own personal truth.”
Bauer and Ruiz-Flores
Author and illustrator, Ashley Bryan, another keynote speaker, inspired us with his poetry. Some of his comments during his speech: “Open up the spirit of play. Find the spirit of play in voice. Try to bring the words alive. In reading your book, the reader should feel the storyteller.”
Ashley Bryan
Before returning home, I took a side trip to New Mexico. Now I’m in the middle of unpacking the heavy suitcase loaded with books I bought at the LA conference. Time to get back to my writing and trying to digest all that I learned at the conference. Happy writing!
Albuquerque