Innovative Creativity: What Inspired me to Write my First Book,
No Tildes on Tuesday
We all have a story within us. Among a few genres, our stories may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, folklore, or whatever the writer desires, but the main point is getting our stories out of our heads/hearts and onto paper. So, don’t be shy. Begin writing and journaling as much as possible. Write, write, and continue writing.
A Good Hook: Ask Yourself this Question
A hook sentence (also called a narrative hook or literary hook) is a sentence in the first paragraph of a piece of writing which "hooks" the reader into “thirsting” for more. It’s what authors coin “a page-turner.” You will want your “hook” written within the first sentence or paragraph. Your hook shouldn’t be too far down after your first paragraph.
Think about what makes a story interesting to you. This is what will assist you in writing a good “hook” for your story. You’ll want to give your readers the same gift you received from stories you’ve read that had great “hooks.”
So, think about how will you make your story so interesting the reader will have a hard time putting your story down?
Make Character(s) Come Alive on Paper
Go ahead and begin jotting down your ideas and notions. Give your characters names, and express their characteristics/personalities (sassy, smart, and intuitive). Don’t forget your scenery (school, home, sunshine, snow, rainy day).
- Give your scenes color/vivid descriptions
- Set interesting Scenes
- Get into your Characters heads
- Personalize your story
- Imagine yourselves in the story
- Voice out your characters words/Act our your story
Helpful tips for planning your very own story (click on hyperlink below)
Components of Planning a Story
How No Tildes on Tuesday was born
This is how I made my first book, No Tildes on Tuesday, come alive. Even though the story within the pages of No Tildes on Tuesday is fiction, it is based, in part, on my personal life which makes this story realistic fiction. Well, you might ask, what is realistic fiction? Realistic fiction means that the story is based on issues surrounding my life, even though it isn’t entirely true. For example, the storyline is based on a biracial girl, Isabella, who is not bilingual. Isabella’s dad, Antonio, didn’t teach Isabella Spanish because of how he was forced by his school teachers to drop his Spanish language at a very young age and concentrate learning English. Isabella’s grandmother (abuela) yearned for Isabella to learn her father’s native language, but really didn’t know how to teach Spanish properly.
Isabella’s father is Hispanic and her mother is Caucasian. Isabella, however, identifies with only one half of her heritage (the Caucasian side). In fact, her very best friend is Caucasian and believes it to be a waste of time for Isabella to learn Spanish since no one at school, or in their community speaks Spanish.
Further into the storyline of No Tildes on TuesdayIsabella meets a new friend who is bilingual. Juanito loves speaking both languages and invites Isabella to a Fiesta where she learns and sees the beauty of the other half of her heritage.
How No Tildes on Tuesday Mirrors my Personal Life
Well, in my real life, my own daughter is biracial, and even though she isn’t bilingual, she has taken Spanish for the last two years in middle school. My husband is Hispanic and I am African-American. My husband’s teachers encouraged them to only speak English while in school, but he continued to use Spanish while at home with his parents.
My daughter’s grandmother (abuela) really wanted her to learn Spanish, but abuela wasn’t able to help my daughter learn the language using proper linguistic skills. In addition, Isabella’s dad’s name is Antonio. Antonio is my husband’s middle name.
As shown on the Back matter of No Tildes on Tuesday:
Isabella never wanted to learn to speak Spanish. But when her parents announce they are moving to the family to a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood, Isabella become desperately afraid that she won’t be able to fit in and grudgingly agrees to start Spanish lessons with her abuela.
But the lessons aren’t as easy as she thought they would be. Abuela is a strict teacher and the words are a lot more difficult to memorize than Isabella thought they would be, so at the goading of her best friend she decides to put a stop to them. Through a runaway adventure, a visit to her father in the hospital, and an introduction to a new kind of friend, Isabella comes to realize that Spanish may not be as bad as she thought, and that being able to communicate with people who share her heritage could be invaluable.
Self-Identity: Love Who You Are
As the author and creator of this story, it was my aim to reveal how complicated it is avoiding self-identity, but how great and rewarding life can be when we embrace all of who we are. We must have deep-seated love, confidence and self-respect for self. Love for self must become ingrained within at a very young age and massaged daily. We must love our heritage whether, biracial, multi-racial or monoracial (of only one race as I am).