Peter Lopez is an up and coming writer whom I connected with through Twitter upon learning of his writing projects, which seemed excellent to me. He’s since gone on to participate in #DVPit, work with Claribel Ortega, and overall make me wanna play more video games (I’ve even made him play one!). Peter’s one of the most multi-faceted people I know who still maintains a pretty lowkey presence online. I talked to him about writing and video games, Spy Kids, and his projects.
I know that video games are your first love, and you've comped many of your projects with video games like Kingdom Hearts and The Legend of Zelda. What does the video game format have that differs to perhaps a novel in terms of storytelling? What do you think writers could afford to learn from video games?
The storytelling in video games is often very rich and immersive, and since you are the person who is the eyes of the world you really do feel like you are the main character. I think that looking at my books as a video game has helped me step into the shoes of my main characters and think about their worlds in a grand way. By playing video games, writers would have the opportunity to think about their plot in a way that could pace well too.
For example, you have to level-up in video games and things get progressively harder. You don't start the video game with the most intense battle, that's saved for the end. So when I think about my characters leveling up, or having weapons come into play as the story progresses, or the environment and how they interact with it, I think a lot of that comes from playing video games.
Right now I'd really love to comp something to Splatoon which is this Nintendo video game where you play turf war and basically play paint-ball. I really want to write something that feels like that and has the competitive aspect of a multiplayer game.
How has community helped you in your writing journey?
The community has helped me so much in my writing journey. Right off the bat, I can think of Claribel Ortega who took the time to take me under her wing when no one knew who I was and introduced me to so many people and supported me publicly many times. If it wasn't for that support I don't think that I would have gotten this level of support yet in a time where I haven't even posted any of my writing yet. And there are too many supportive authors to count and I don't want to forget anyone, but I really have appreciated the mentors and just overall kindness that I was blessed with in this community.
I also think the community has helped me because I feel a healthy dose of peer pressure. Like, I finished my first manuscript last year after years of writing it very slowly because I saw that people don't usually take forever and keep revising their unfinished first draft. And then with my second manuscript, I finished that first draft in two months. So I think that being a part of the community makes me want to write and work on my craft instead of just daydream about my characters and change the first chapter fifty times like I used to.
How do you decide which ideas are worth pursuing when writing and which ones to keep in the back burner?
I mostly just have an idea of how I want my career to go. Right now I have an idea of what I would like to debut with in both MG and YA, and what I would want to do after to keep evolving my career and maintaining a readership. If you ask my critique partner of like five years, Sammy Holden, she will tell you that I have a new idea every week, but I have to plan it all in this 20 year timeline of how it would go if I got my way.
You have free reins to collab with another Latinx creative and they’re free and on board as well, who are you picking and what are you making?
This is such a hard question. I feel like my mind is racing thinking of all the Latinx creatives that I admire. I'm going to cop out and answer with someone who isn't an author: Becky G. I also sing and write lyrics, so i would love to create something fun with her someday. Or even consider that one of my books could be a musical or something. Who knows.
How does your identity affect your writing?
It used to not affect my writing at all, but in the past few years with all the amazing writers and authors coming forward and really showcasing their cultures, I've been incredibly inspired and feel like I can write about being Latinx and feel like I can have my Salvadoran or Spanish culture in what I do. Most recently, I wrote a middle grade book (which I hashtag as #PipilBook on Twitter) about the Pipil people of El Salvador and their worship of the Aztec gods. The book was so fun to write because I got to talk about pupusas and use Spanish enchantments and really expand on family dynamics in a Latinx family. I really want to continue to do that with my work and I am just feeling more empowered than ever to do so.
Who do you write for?
I think I write for kids who believe in magic and for teens and adults who continue to search for it . I still believe in magic and want to write about it and the different kinds of kids and teens who can encounter it in my stories.
Is there a piece of media (book, TV, movie, etc) created by a Latinx that has helped shape your creativity?
Probably Spy Kids. That film series was everything to me!
And even now, honestly, Disney's Coco means so much to me. I remember sobbing in the movie theater. I remember feeling like maybe I shouldn't hate my skin color or want to look different, because I looked like the characters on the screen. It was a really powerful movie for my creativity and my life in general.
Shoutout a Latinx writer or creator whom you admire!
I admire so many Latinx authors, honestly. But I really want to shout out my godsister Ruby Hernandez, who is writing the first draft of her first manuscript. I just know that she will do an amazing job, and I hope that everyone supports her in her journey!
Anything you can share about your upcoming projects?
Right now I'm working on rewriting my MG high fantasy, #MagicheroBook, and I'm drafting my first YA fantasy #PoisonBook. These projects both are so fun and feature Latinx main characters so I really hope I get to share them with everyone some day! I'm just excited that I have the privilege and time to write and explore my imagination in the way that I do. I really owe everything to my family, and if any of my books ever make it to a bookshelf, it'll be because of them.
Peter Lopez
Peter Lopez is a writer and a dreamer. He graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelors in Journalism and Media Studies. Now, he writes books about Latinx kids going on fantastical adventures in worlds that might exist if we believe hard enough. When he's not writing, he's probably playing video games or obsessing over another Disney movie.