Malin Alegria Ramirez

Malin Alegria Ramirez  ( www.malinalegria.com )

 

At the Thursday night reception for the Pima Writers' Workshop, Malin Alegria Ramirez read some of her work. She writes for the YA (Young Adult) market.

Writing aimed at teenage girls is not my interest. I had not planned on attending any of her presentations. Her reading was so full of energy and humor that Thursday night I changed my plans.

On Friday she gave a writing exercise: First Kiss -- Cultivating Your Young Adult Voice.
 
Some of my notes on that are:
 

Why do you write? Be clear to yourself why.

 

What drew you into your favorite books?

 

Readers look for strong characters that speak to them. Writers need just to speak to their own truth.

 

Get to know your characters. At first superficially like what they look like. Then take a walk in the park with them until you learn more, like their astrological sign, birth order, fears, schooling, friends, and favorite foods, colors, music, and activities.

 

To starting writers she advises us: to tell everyone you're a writer, reviews (good or bad) aren't too important, enjoy the ride (it's about the journey not the destination),  and turn off the ego.

 

On Saturday afternoon she gave a presentation called: Voz -My Journey as a YA Author.

This was aimed mainly at YA writers and like everything else she did was full of energy, encouragement, and inspiration. She found helpful the Society of YA & Children's Authors. She advised us: to know what we want and to own it; to remember authors are normal people; to remember life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.