Here are several things I learned in my recent Bilingual Book Buddies' podcast & webcast interview with author-illustrator Nomar Perez:
First, yet very important to mention even if it's a common tip among writers, Nomar said "Look at your own experiences for your writing." I particularly like this reminder because much too often I see other writers including myself struggling with a piece and it turns out it's something "cool" we read and thought we should write about it but it's not our own experience. Hence the struggle. No matter how well research, and I LOVE doing my research!... the piece is always missing a special something. Nomar said it well, when we're writing from our own experiences there's rarely a struggle because the special something comes organically from those experiences.
Second, express your culture in your own way and how you see it. This one ties with the first one above and it's a sure recipe for creating authentic works. Nomar emphasized to "showcase the differences and similarities with other cultures." This will naturally and gracefully educate the world about the fact that there is diversity even within cultural, ethnic, racial or whatever groups of people you're a part of. Nomar specifically named the great diversity that exists within the Spanish-speaking community, which is surprising to many.
Last, "reach out to your neighbors". This seems completely unrelated but that's precisely why I chose to include it here. Too often we don't even know the people around us! I grew up in an environment where I knew pretty much all our neighbors, their kids and in some case their extended family. Chisme was HUGE! But there were also wonderful things about these relationships including the gift of friendship. So, talk to your neighbors, get to know them, be there for each other!
EXTRA TIP: If you're shy about how to get started, simply go outside when the weather is good and walk around your block with the goal of smiling to every neighbor you encounter without expecting a smile, a word, or anything back. Do this for several days in a week. :-)