The Laredo Book Festival is over.Sniff.
Over 20 Texas authors and illustrators converged on Laredo to share their work and advice through book signings, panel discussions, writer’s workshops and readings.В IВ attended one of the writer’s workshops and my kids thoroughly enjoyed the Children’s Book Reading and Sing Along.
We went to the book sales room where we met several interesting authors.В We had a couple of books inscribed.We’re excited about Ricky Pittman’s Irish Alphabet.
The Writers Workshop was full of aspiring writers, some as young as 8.В В Mr.Carlos Nicholas Flores, a local fiction author andВ Theater Director, was the speaker.В He wrote Our House On Hueco and isВ the Producer and Founder of Teatro Chicano de Laredo, a local theater guild that gives voice and form to works written by Laredo playwrights.
He gave candid, sage advice to those in the room who dream of writing and publishing a book one day.В Among the many items he covered, these stood out:
- About 1% will be published.
- You must learn to write.
- Act out of discipline before inspiration.
- Writing is a contact sport.В Get networked.
- You must be humble enough to take direction
But, above all, and most importantly, it helps a lot to be crazy
It appears that writing for a living, is kind of a tough gig.
He conveyed his own stories and the lessons he learned as he experienced the mostВ crushing ofВ failures and self doubt.В Emerging from the crucible of rejection eventually gave him the experience and wisdom to «rise up» and become the published and well-received writer he is today.В His story reminded me of a quote I read somewhere once by American Author Tobias Wolff:
«The way you get better in everything in this life is to make mistakes.Otherwise
you’re probably doing it right by accident.But you have to do everything wrong
before you can really start with some authority to do it right.»
And speaking of doing a poor job of things, there was a lot of talk about potential failure and intimidation-В One of the attendees, Raul Garcia, asked theВ question of the day,
«How doВ we avoid writingВ La Cronica de Un Escritor Fracasado»?
В (Translation: The Chronicles of a Failed Writer)
We never got a straight answer.В But, there probably isn’t one.В I think we gleaned that failing may be the first step in truly succeeding.В Thinking like that makes you look at failure as aВ lump (albeit a potentially sizeable and momentarily cripplingВ one)В on the continuum toward success.В We just need to find a way over it.
By the end of the workshop, the room was buzzing.В Fascinatingly, parents of young writers were exchanging information and discussing colloborative efforts to bring writing workshops to Laredo’s children.В We all handed out cards and phone numbers, facebook names and email addresses.В It was a step toward knowledge to help guideВ the arduous way ahead.В When the workshop ended, I raced down to meet my husband and kids.
The second session of Children’s Book readings was beginning!
Several Texas authors were featured.В This was one of my daughter’s favorites:В Weiner Wolf by Jeff Crosby.В After the book readings, Ricky Pittman entertained the families with his acoustic guitar and folk songs about Ireland, Scottland and the U.S.South.В My kids danced and beat their knees to the catchy rhythms.
On the way home, my kids were belting «Bring Back My Mary To Me» until they pa*sed out in their car seats.В (They had so much fun today that they are still sleeping which is how I’m even cranking this post out before midnight.В :)
Warning:В Don’t try this move at home.В We’re grooving toВ Puff the Magic Dragon here.
We all owe tremendous thanks to the organizers and sponsors of this event:В Friends of the Library, Chick-Fil A, Laredo Morning Times, La Posada and Overlooked Books.В Also, we owe gratitude to the many visiting authors and illustrators who traveled the Laredo to participate!
This event was a true highlight and enriching in so many ways.В It was a fantastic first event.В I’m already looking forward to next year’s!
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Statement Congratulating the Republic of South Sudan on its Independence
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