A guide for anyone who dreams of writing – Ruta Sephempis’ tips

On the International Book Day and Copyright, Ciela Publishing House announced the release of « Your History » – the debut in non -fiction literature of the author of historical bestsellers Ruta Seepis.

The American writer is well known in Bulgaria for her novels « Salt at Salt », « I must convey you », « Fountains of Silence », « Ashes in the Snow », as well as from her participation in the Sofia International Literary Festival in 2022.

« Your story » is an inspiring guide for anyone who dreams of writing. The book was published in English in 2023 with the title « You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory ». The Bulgarian translation is by Maria Peeva.

These pages include more useful tips:

« Focused on creators of all sphere and age, your story invites us to rediscover those parts of ourselves that make us unique. Because in every reader there is a storyteller. And no one could describe and experience our own novel, better than ourselves, » the publishing house said.

Ruta Seepis was born on November 19, 1967 in Detroit, USA. Her father is a refugee from Lithuania. She studied business and finance. Before devoting herself to the literature, she worked for 22 years in the music business. Its novels fall within the bestsellers lists – they are translated into over 40 languages ​​and are published in over 60 countries around the world. Seepisis was awarded the Carnegie Medal and was spent on NATO and the European Parliament.

Dnevnik publishes an excerpt from « Your History » provided to the editorial office of « Ciela ».

From the « Your History » by Ruta Seepisis

Curiosity

Interesting plots are full of interesting people.

You may be raised among unique images or have met them on your way. Did they affect your writing?

List five people who have had a positive influence in your life.

List five people who have had a negative influence in your life.

Positive and negative. Both are equally important because they dictate your decisions and influence the plot that represents your life.

I am the daughter of a father from Lithuania and a German-American mother. Both have experienced poor, obstacles and shame …

My father was born in Lithuania and fled during World War II with his parents. He spent nine years in refugee camps before embarking on a steamer for New York. Upon arrival, his parents did not speak English and cleaned Wall Street toilets. After a year in Brooklyn, my grandfather offered a job at Ford Motter. The family left New York and settled in Detroit.

My mother, the youngest of eleven children, grew up in the poorest Detroit neighborhood. Her father was born in Germany, emigrated to the United States and earned a living as a worker in the Ford Automobile Fund. He died at the fifty -eight years before my mother’s second birthday and his demise condemned the family of misery. My mother had a painful childhood and left school for fifteen years to work and take care of her sick mother.

Despite the difficulties, my parents became subtle, successful people – and successful parents. I am convinced that this is the case, not only because they were brave, but also because they were curious and conveyed this affinity for the miracles and adventures of their children. Mom loved books, music and theater. Dad has been an artist and footballer who loved to travel all his life.

Because as children they lost everything, they lived their lives with gratitude and with the feeling that miracles had no end. Going through all difficulties was not in vain, and they created three confident and brave children. Although they had no impressive origin, my parents somehow managed to fit and circulate in an incredibly diverse environment from people, from the corporate world to the world of art and even in the underworld. And that was interesting.

I remember looking at a richly ornamented silver tea service that we never used.

The card was still standing in the sugar: « For a tidy little fillet from an old battle horse. »

« Where did this come from? » I asked.

« From Jimmy Hoff, » my mother replied. – Give it to me for the wedding.

Someone to smell a story? But that was the end of the conversation. At that stage.

My father had a graphic design company, a subcontractor of an advertising agency. The famous author of the Detroit News Fashion section convinced my parents to buy a small Midsench Modern House in her neighborhood of writers, musicians and artists. Each house in the area seemed to occupy its own separate capsule.

There was a Scandinavian car designer who owned a pet monkey; a doctor who was drawing with Martini the kids on Halloween; A family of architects who have become a design gurus; An adult ballerina, whose house was all covered with pink carpets and a nanny who went to Hollywood and became a star. On weekends, my father was traveling with his American football team in matches in other cities. He often returned with some trauma. The doctor who drank Martini sewed him while my mother was confused by half -finished pasta with cheese and spoke on the phone with the neighbor we were convinced of being a spy.

And all this seemed normal to me. In the fifth grade, a girl I met on a pantomime course (I told you – wonders have no end), came home with me. He examined the living room and the kitchen. Her forehead frowned:

« Ruta, do you really live here? » she asked. Her reaction confused me. Did she mean the fact that my father spoke Lithuanian, had a strange name and lived in Michigan?

– I was born in Detroit. I’m actually an American – I answered her confidently.

– No, I didn’t mean that

And what did you mean? Then I slowly started to understand. We were so isolated in our unique balloon. Our school was in the complex. For the first time, I realized that my home may seem strange to people who live outside our neighborhood. There was a huge pop art illustration of a green hamburger on our kitchen wall. The guest bathroom was painted in a shiny black and had a metal print of the Wonder Woman, just opposite the toilet. We had chairs in the form of tulips and a bowl with white, acrylic fruits. My father had created a portrait in the profile of his child – in Neon.

My parents were conscientious and hardworking, but they were also interesting and expressive. Who records his child at a pantomime course or builds an entire art installation for his son’s collection of beer cans? Other families in the neighborhood did such things. No one was rich, but they were rich in ideas and curiosity. And together these families created endless stories and unbridled subjects.

What did your curiosity ignite? Did your parents or relatives have any strange hobbies? Was there a mime in your family or a neighbor with a monkey? Which house was the strangest in your neighborhood? Which house did you long to live in? In which house did the coupons become? Which house had nylon covers on the living room furniture or strict rules? Think about marriages, divorces, incidents, scandals and successes. What do you remember about your community and can you wrap the details in your story? When you build your story, remember the two most important words:

« What if »

What if an unexpected shipment appeared on your threshold?

What if it flowed from it and left a stain on your porch?

What if the name of the sender is of someone you thought dead?

Think about the community, among which you grew up and start asking yourself « what if » questions. Let your curiosity fly.

Of course, there are conflicting opinions about curiosity. EM Forster says: « Curiosity is the lowest of human qualities. You will notice in your daily life that people who are curiosity are almost always bad memories and are usually inherently silly. »

Maybe. But I prefer the point of view of the philosopher Piero Ferrucci: « In the secret creases of our lives, we can find forgotten or unsuspected treasures that we have not appreciated for lack of time or attention. These are the gifts of life, some apparently banal, others – special. If we are distracted, we will miss them.

What lies in the secret folds of your life?