YA MFA Q&A #3

Continuing with my responses to an MFAs student's questions to me about Young Adult Literature, I present to you question number three. Check out the links below for one and two.

The Questions:

1. What does the term "young adult literature" mean to you as an author?

2. What do you believe makes a novel young adult?

3. What made you want to write a young adult novel (or market Eleanor, Celeste, and David as such)?

4. Do you believe young adult novels have literary value? How so or why not?

5. What do you believe the future of young adult literature entails?

This week:

3. What made you want to write a young adult novel (or market Eleanor, Celeste, and David as such)?

I wrote my UNSEEN series for the same reason I write any book; I was interested in certain concepts and needed a way to explore them. Driven by ideas and themes of trust, change, forgiveness and the nature of predator versus prey, human versus animal, I lighted upon a story that could be placed in a YA setting. I won’t lie, part of my decision to work in the young adult genre was based in my knowledge that young adult books are popular and sell and are read by adults as well.

It is important to remember that the life of a young adult, a teenager, is very much different from any other time in one's life. What an adult would call a mid-life crisis, a teenager calls a Tuesday. It is a time of unparalleled change and challenges. It is the time of leaving the nest and for self-discovery unlike any time before and after. This rush of change and definition is dramatic and important and fertile ground for story and evolution. It’s a good place to explore character and meaning, thus a perfect setting for Eleanor, even though she’s old and young.

I wrote The Unseen in a YA setting, but I didn’t dumb it down. I kept the very adult and important themes and only lowered the violence and sex ratios, which wasn’t hard for a frightened protagonist. The age of Eleanor is vexing; I got to cheat there, but it’s also thematic. I had faith in my readers that they would respond to my ideas and my themes and I have been proven right time and time again. Young adult readers, because they are readers, are pretty smart.

Thanks!

I interrupt my regular scheduled blog to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for your support and friendship and interest and turkey and stuff.

An attitude of gratitude.

YA MFA Q&A #2

If you remember from last week, I was approached by a MFA candidate friend about Young Adult literature. Today, I approach the second question.

The Questions:

1. What does the term "young adult literature" mean to you as an author?

2. What do you believe makes a novel young adult?

3. What made you want to write a young adult novel (or market Eleanor, Celeste, and David as such)?

4. Do you believe young adult novels have literary value? How so or why not?

5. What do you believe the future of young adult literature entails?



2. What do you believe makes a novel young adult?

There are three elements I’ve found that are required to have a book fall into the young adult category. First, the protagonist must be of young adult age, 12-17 years old typically. This is the foundation and if this one condition is met, the rest can be bent and broken.

The other conditions are meant to get past the assumed gatekeeper of the reader. There is an assumption that young adult readers have someone between them and their possible books. Be they parents, guardians or librarians, typically it is assumed, that there is someone vetting the titles before they find their ways into the young adult readers hands. Because of this, for the adult wanting to censor, sex and violence must be blunted. Though these borders are being constantly pressed, there is a standard idea that sex should be out or at least highly softened and violence, though theoretically as harsh as you’d like it (see The Hunger Games) shouldn’t be written in gory detail. 

So, the age of the protagonist is paramount and defining. Sex must be out or softened and violence shouldn’t be graphic. 

YA MFA Q&A #1

I was approached by a friend working on her MFA thesis to comment on Young Adult literature. She asked me to answer a few questions. This is a topic close to my heart and I answered at them at some blog-worthy lengths. So today I begin my five part blog on YA MFA Q&A where I share my thoughts.

The Questions:

1. What does the term "young adult literature" mean to you as an author?"

2. What do you believe makes a novel young adult?

3. What made you want to write a young adult novel (or market Eleanor, Celeste, and David as such)?

4. Do you believe young adult novels have literary value? How so or why not?

5. What do you believe the future of young adult literature entails?

1. What does the term "young adult literature" mean to you as an author?"

The genre of “young adult” did not exist when I was young. It is a recent invention, a new flavor that now occupies the space between what used to be called “children’s books” and “adult.” When I was in school there was that gap between Where the Red Fern Grows and Carrie. It was actually not that big and most of us made the jump easily as a literary rite of passage and didn’t worry about it. We were led into adult books just like that, and, perhaps acting my stereotypical age, I’d say we didn’t suffer for it all.

Modern life is about specialization and that is why this new genre exists, to further separate and hone tastes and choices. Like all genres it is a curation. The rise of Young Adult however, is a specific modern phenomenon. It aims at a vibrant and active readership. Though adults buy books, a greater proportion of young adults read, they are required to in school and it bleeds into their private lives. It is often a daily activity quite unlike an average adult’s. Thank the vestiges of Humanities education for that.

The concept of literature or “Literature” is a reflection of the worthiness and dialog of the art. Calling a genre literature (lower case l) could refer to the basic idea that it’s a book, as opposed to television show, movie, or t-shirt. Put a capital L on Literature and you’re making claims as to merit and history.

All books are art, even those produced for mass consumption and meant to be imminently disposable. Each work of art furthers the art as a whole, and the culture to some degree. Sometimes art manages to reach beyond itself into greater themes and ideas that transcend the tropes of its medium by reflecting upon life and death, love and loss, and even the art itself. It can be done, should be done, IS being done in young adult books as well as other less-respected genres (mystery, western, romance etc.). It’s a subjective choice whether it’s an l of an L and it’s often determined not by contemporaries but by historians. I’m confident that many modern YA stories will be so named.


Next week:

2. What do you believe makes a novel young adult?

Nanowrimo – I'm already behind

It’s November and that means Nanowrimo and three days in, I’m already behind. I’m cheating and I’m already behind.

But I’m working, hard, and that’s enough for me. I guess.

I’ve noticed in my writing now I write more slowly than I used to. 2,000 words per day was once not a problem at all. Now I struggle for a 1,000 or my (and Nano’s) fabled 1,666. I’ve thought a lot about this and think I know why. It’s a couple of things.

First, I’m experimenting. I’m trying new things. I’m in a genre I haven’t written before, science fiction. I’m exploring very complicated social ideas. I’m making a full-on epic as a full-on trilogy from the get go. The scope of the thing is intimidating and intimidates me sometimes.

Second, in new waters of genre and length and meaning, I’m expanding the situation into more complications. It’s not a character study where I follow a single individual though the challenges of their being. It’s not a mystery where I follow a single quest. It’s those multiplied. I have to plan. And not just for a single character or plot line, but for multiple. Multiple multiple.

Third, and this is a little weird to say perhaps, but I’m censoring. It’s not that I'm afraid of saying something wrong, but of saying something again. This is now my 15th novel and I find myself falling into patterns, situations, and sometimes language that I have used before. It’s not always obvious or bad, but it is redundant, to me at least, the only person alive who’s familiar with my entire cannon.

When I finish a chapter, a rare enough event right now, I can’t just turn to the next and begin. Each chapter right now is it’s own compartment, it’s own short story, snippet of a larger thematic texture and woven plot line. It won’t just be poured out. It’s a careful coaxing of words right now, events and character are feeling their way around theme. My broad strokes are solid enough but close up, I’ve got to thread the needles carefully.

So I’m behind. And I’m thinking about my book instead of writing it. Telling you all about it. Explaining why I’m not writing (but am thinking) and distracting myself in the process. Allowing publisher drama (which worked out really well by the way) and personal landmarks (turning fifty this month) to pull my attention away from my distant star system where the fate of man is being forged. I’m telling everyone why I’m behind. In Nanowrimo. Why I’m not writing. I’m writing about not writing…