How long have you been a writer?

I’ve been a writer since I was in elementary school. I knew I was writing little poems in first and second grade, but the first story I remember writing was in the fifth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Laing, asked us to write a scary story during Halloween and my story was about two girls who got lost in a cemetery and were captured by some monster. There was time travel involved and it had an urban legend flair. That was the first time I finished a whole story and the first time I realized how much I loved writing.

Are you Gabi?

Yes and no. This is a question I get a lot. In Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, the description of Gabi and where she is from (a made up city Santa Maria de los Rosales) is based on me and where I am from, the IE. However, the book is a work of fiction. And I really have to stress that because it is not memoir. Often time writers write about what they know and this is the case here. With Gabi, I wanted to write about a young Chicana who grew up like me (nerdy daughter of Mexican immigrants, strict mother, father who used drugs) because when I was a teen I felt alone in my experiences. I didn’t think that anyone else knew what it felt like to have a parent who was a drug user, or addict. But as I got older I learned that I was far from being alone in that, along with other issues. So, I took some of my life and turned it into fiction. What does that mean? Well, that while some things are based on reality (Gabi going away to college, for example) it doesn’t mean that they really happened (I stayed home and went to a local university).

Are you Daisy?

See above.

Any tips for writers?

1. Read a lot and write a lot. I didn’t go to school to be a writer and so I don’t have any deep or technical advice. Most of what I’ve learned is from reading stories and breaking the apart to see how they’re put together. I’ve also learned from friends with whom I was in a creative writing group with and by asking questions.

2. Writing is a craft and we only get better if we work at it constantly and if we let ourselves grow. That means, if you’re a writer learn to take critiques about your work in a way that is beneficial for your work. Sure, it may sting when someone tells you that your plot is confusing, however, learning that about your work will only help you write a better story in the end.

3. Don’t give up and don’t concern yourself (too much) with trends. Write things that interest you and are meaningful for you.