Writer’s Faire 2013
By Sandra Lopez
I just went
to the faire.
No, I’m not
talking about the OC Fair, where the chicken-fried frog legs, chocolate-covered
bacon, and Krispy Kreme sloppy Joe’s are plentiful and make your stomach swirl
(especially after a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl.)
No, what I’m
talking about is the Writer’s Faire, which was held at UCLA on August 25.
The event
hosted a variety of panels and lectures by published writers, who were all
scheduled to teach a class in the fall semester as part of the UCLA Extension
program.
When I first
heard about this, I just knew I had to be there, even though that meant a long
drive through L.A. gridlock.
It was about
10 o’ clock in the morning when I (finally) arrived at the campus grounds; the
panels were to start at 11, meaning I had a whole hour to find parking. I
nearly had a heart attack when I found out that parking was $12. What?!
One thing to
realize about L.A. is: There is NO such thing as FREE PARKING. Even the Ralph’s
across the street required a ticket for a 2-hour limit; if the stay exceeded
past the limit, there would be an additional charge.
After running
around, I eventually found a lot with $5 parking—that was good enough for me.
Of course, by that time, it was about 10:45, and I had absolutely no idea where
I was or where I was going. UCLA was that HUGE.
Breathless
and sweaty, I arrived at the first panel session minutes before it started. One
of the speakers began with an ice breaker that brought me out of my fatigue.
“There are two kinds of people who have voices in their heads—Paranoid
Schizophrenics and Writers…The incidental difference is that Paranoid
Schizophrenics listen to the voices in their heads and follow their commands.
Writers just turn them into stories.” (Lou Mathews)
Here were a
few things I learned from the experts.
Panel #1:
Promoting Your Work and Branding Yourself as a Writer
-Be
professional
-Do your
research
-Build an
audience
Panel #2: The
Art of Writing and Publishing Short Fiction
-Appeal to
the senses
-Give readers
the experience in language
-Dialogue
puts the plot into motion
Panel #3:
Writing Compelling Work
-The key to
writing compelling work is to answer the following questions:
1) What’s going to happen and how?
2) How will the characters react?
3) What is happening?
Each answer to a question poses another
question, pulling in the readers to seek out the mysteries (even if your story
is not a mystery)
Panel #4:
Writing with a Day Job
-DO NOT give
up your day job
-Write
anytime, anywhere you can (lunch breaks, before work, kids’ soccer practice,
etc.)
-Don’t wait
for time, make the time to write
Of course,
there were several other panels that were going on, but I could only go to a
select few. Still, what little I gained from each 40-minute lecture gave me
new-found inspiration and the courage to keep doing what I do: write. And I
will keep on writing for as long as I live.
My only rule
of thumb is: write, write, write (and read).
Esperanza
A Latina Story
by Sandra C. Lopez
Genre: Teen Fiction
Fourteen-year old Esperanza Ignacio could only think of a few words to sum up her life: crap, crap, crap! She was born into a poor Latino family living in a small crummy apartment in the barrio side of town, where the graffiti chiseled more the souls and character of the residents than it impacted the exterior looks of the buildings. Her father was a drunken gambler, and wife-beater who, one cold night, got arrested after a violent intrusion. Her entire circle of relatives consisted of nothing but formers- former drug-addicts, former gangsters and gang-bangers, former alcoholics, former everything. Yep, her life was nothing but a huge load of crap. And she hadn't even started high school yet.
After surviving a scorching summer heat, Esperanza enters the unfamiliar world of high-school with a tight knot in her stomach. On the very first day, she is sucked into a blunder of catastrophic events beginning with accidentally running into the world's BIGGEST bully. Now, she has made herself the prime target for a main course. And, to top it all off, she has to see this girl everyday in P.E! P.E.-the one class Esperanza truly despises the most. Could life be any worse for her? Well, her family could take in a relative hopped up on drugs, a probable shooting can take place right in front of her, and Esperanza could also sit and listen to the crazed ranting of her loud psychotic mother. Oh, wait, all that does happen. To make things even easier, her best friend, Carla, won't stop trying to marry her off to her twin brother, Carlos. And she has these two puny siblings constantly vying for her attention. God, it's a wonder she doesn't strap herself in a straight jacket and pretend to be Elvis. Nonetheless, Esperanza attempts to get through it all. She is a smart and ambitious young kid struggling to survive her life while fighting to make her mark on the world. Her story is filled with pain, strength, and too much loud bickering. It carries a voice enriched with barrio slang and sarcastic humor. Esperanza illustrates what persistent Latino youth can achieve when they get back up after a fall and keep on walking straight into college.
"Esperanza is an admirable and too real story of many Latino youths lacking role models, who find themselves lost and isolated in the paved jungles of the inner cities and overwhelmed by the dissonance of barrio life. Sandra C. Lopez has created a resilient and likeable character, Esperanza, who seems closer to a naked truth-seeker than to a barrio kid-desperately trying to get out of a crappy world, but not knowing exactly where she was going to. Highly Recommended."
Andrea Alessandra, University of California, Berkeley
"Sandra López is a fresh and resonant voice from the Hispanic rainbow."
Ray Michael Baca Author-"Brotherhood of the Light"
Book Trailer
Sandra C. López is a writer, artist, blogger, and book reviewer. She is one of today's funny and influential authors in YA and chick lit. Her first novel, Esperanza, was published in March 2008 WHILE she was still in college. Her most recent and bestselling book is Single Chicas, a collection of humorous short stories about zany chicas. She is currently working on the next installment of the Single Chicas series called Holiday Chicas. Release date coming soon! When not writing her stories, Sandra supports the art and literary communities with freelance work, book promotion, and running a Read and Review Program. For more info, see below:
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