Ruba Qasem's Blog

For those of you who don’t know, I have two little ones at home, one girl and one boy Alhamdulillah. I am confident that there are many children’s books out there inspired by the children of authors, so I guess mine is not any different from that aspect. BUT something important is that my book is relatable to many children: the curious, the imaginative, the anxious, the confused, the adventurous, and so on.

One of the exciting aspects of writing and publishing your own children’s book is that you get to add as many personalized touches as you want. I can sit here all day and list them for you before you read my book, but that would be boring. I want you to look carefully at all the little details once you get your hands on “The Coolest Career”.

The characters were in fact inspired by my two children, and many of the scenarios are as raw and real as you can imagine. BUT, the process of writing a book for young readers or listeners takes a certain level of focus, patience, and skill, three factors that I have when I follow my passion!

Until this day, I cannot comprehend how I was able to finish this “passion project” from start to finish, but here we are ! I hope this motivates you to do whatever brings your heart joy. No tantrum or negative self-talk should stop you… okay maybe, but just START! With love,Ruba

 

This isn’t your typical blog post, but this is dedicated to my inner child and to any child or adult who had/has a broken home. 

So the question to reflect on is what makes a home a home? It’s not about the quantity of people, not about the country of residence, and not about what theme you pick for your decor. A true definition of a home is a place of peace, a safe haven, a physical and emotional nest if you may call it.

And if you can relate to that sentiment- celebrate that victory because not everyone lives like this…

So where does my upcoming children’s book come into play here? Well, when you read it, you will find that the two main characters, a brother-sister duo, go through the entire book without any other family members. I did this intentionally because as amazing as family stories are (we own plenty of these!), they don’t always show the types of home we were or are experiencing. 

Growing up in a broken home for me means that on the outside, everything seems normal. You have everything checked off on the list of what a family and a home should entail. Everyone thinks you’re just like them. A broken home does not have any visible cracks in the walls or any water leaks that a simple repair can fix. It’s the chaos that occurs behind closed doors. It’s the place that you CAN’T escape because that’s your harsh reality. 

But you know what helps a child from a broken home survive and thrive?

Imagination.

Yes it sounds silly, but a child’s imagination can take them to places they’ve never been and people they’ve never met.

They can make their broken home feel like a facade and that candy house they always explain to their siblings (true story) feel like the real deal.

And for that, this book of mine will not focus on ANY type of home so that ALL children may relate just as much as it will explore the wonderful world of imagination and adventure, so that you and your children may find joy while reading.

I pray your home brings you and your children peace and I pray that your inner child is able to heal if you’ve ever experienced being in a broken home. 
With love,Ruba 

So, you’re writing a children’s book Ruba, how hard could it be?

Listen, I will sound like a broken record but you REALLY won’t know this struggle till you try it for yourself.

If you don’t care to write one, good for you for knowing that! If it’s been on your list or you just like hearing what I have to say, keep on reading!

The amount of effort involved in keeping your children’s book under 1,000 words is wild. How do you tell a story to little ones without overdoing it? But also, how do you make sure you have enough details so your readers can connect with your story? Do you want to have a plot written in dialogue or a fun theme written in rhyme? What if you want the best of both worlds? And the list goes on and on and on…

THEN there are the little details you want your readers and their families to know that can’t be written in the story itself. For example, if I don’t tell you that I purposely excluded family members in my story to appeal to all kinds of families, you would never know that was my goal.

Yeah, so basically if you’re already planning to buy my book to support me, thank YOU truly but if you’re here for the deep stuff, stick around because this girl has more to say before you actually read my book! Until next time, Ruba

Ok, so if you read my previous blog, you know that I did not write my book in some Pinterest-worthy office or at a cute and colorful desk. In fact, I don’t even remember how I managed to finish the book from start to finish. This is why I journal sometimes- mom brain is real. Okay, so how did I pull it off?

Honestly, the main success factors for writing a children’s book are passion and courage. You need to be passionate about writing it. Many people can write a children’s book, but not everyone can do it right (write and right – I love puns lol). You also have to believe that your story needs to be told to the world, which takes a great deal of courage.

The funny thing is that the shortest part of my writing journey was writing the book. I know that sounds so weird, but you really don’t realize the intense amount of work required in writing your own children’s book until you dive into it yourself.

SO let me summarize the beginning part of my writing journey in steps for you:

1. Set your intention and goal for writing the book. What is the purpose of telling your story or any story?

2. Narrow down a topic and read books in your genre. Read so many children’s books before writing one.

3. Take a writing course. I took Naima Robert’s Children’s Book Masterclass and I cannot recommend it enough.

4. Create an outline for your writing. The masterclass allowed me to answer the 5WH: What, Who, Where, When, Why, and How.

5. Write a draft of your story. This part took the shortest time for me to complete, BUT it took the longest time to actually begin.

Again, this work is not for everyone, and if you tell yourself you don’t have the time, that’s okay. Just know that it might not be a priority for you like it was for me.

My passion is what helped turned this bucket list goal into a reality. As for the courage part, I am doing that now by creating my blog and being as transparent as possible with you guys! Thanks for being part of my writing journey. With love,Ruba

Exactly one year ago today, I was chatting with friends about...well lots of things. But moms would know that the easiest conversations happen when all the kids get along OR when there are simply no kids. In this case, all kids got along thankfully.

Anyways.

At some point in the conversation, I was discussing children’s books and said something about writing one and both my friends reacted in a nonchalant way that they would expect nothing less. I always had this goal on my bucket list, but this conversation is what really sparked the start for me.

Two days after that, I was writing my first handwritten journal entry about my upcoming book and the rest is history…

OK.

The rest isn’t history. It is happening as we speak. Well, it’s been happening for an entire year but there is so much to say and so little time. Isn’t that always the case?

Basically, the one USEFUL thing I will say here is that goals will be met if priorities are made. Yes, there are so many other goals I could accomplish, but I simply don’t prioritize them.

In fact, I thought it would be ambitious of me to set 20 goals in honor of 2020, and guess what? Drinking enough water still hasn’t happened and it’s about to be 2022!  

I think you get the overall picture FOR NOW.

I do not have a fancy desk or a cute office and I do not even drink coffee, but I told myself that I will do one thing this year and that was to write a book and I made it happen.

I hope that you find something you’re passionate about and do it. Whatever it is. No matter the end product (or lack of one), the most important thing is that it brings you joy. With love,Ruba

 

Hi there. You know that thing that you say you’re never going to do but you really really want to? Well… that’s me and this blog. I always thought I would be great at blogging, mainly because I always have SO MUCH to say. But I also felt that when I sat down and focused, I did have a way with words.

So here I am, a few years later, finally fulfilling something on my bucket list.

The main push for being here is that I did another huge thing that has been on my bucket list: writing a children’s book!

If you know me, finishing basic tasks is a challenge (thank you ADHD), so this is HUGE. I also don’t have the attention span to read adult content many times, hence my children’s book addiction. I am typically reading, reviewing, researching, and now writing them!

If you made it this far, congratulations! These days, reading a blog is way out of people’s interests or priorities.

I’m super duper excited to explore this crazy journey of writing, blogging, and all this fancy stuff. Most days, I am winging it but for now I am fulfilling a dream and I thank you for being here with me.

With love,Ruba