Category: Inspiration

Why We Write YA

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It’s a good time to be a young adult or middle grade writer. Thanks to the success of series like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, people are paying a lot more attention to these genres and realizing that there’s a major audience out there for good YA/MG literature.

But the YA/MG writers I know don’t get into the genre because it’s popular or because it could make them a lot of money. (Ha!) Instead, it’s because they have a passion for stories that will resonate with younger reader. Writers don’t choose YA; YA chooses them.

A couple of these writers–Lucas Klauss and Melissa Kantor–have great posts about why they write YA. You should read the complete posts, but a couple of good quotes. First, from Lucas Klaus:

“Most YA novels tell a story in a direct way, unencumbered by cynicism, cleverness, or pretentiousness. Teenage readers will not tolerate that bulls**t. True, this approach, like any other, has limitations, and more oblique methods can yield surprising insights, but I find young adult literature’s straightforward style refreshing and rewarding. If one of the major goals of fiction is to help us empathize with one another—or, from a different point of view, to help us feel less alone—then why not try simply to communicate?”

I don’t tell to like very experimental fiction, so this focus on emotional communication is key for me as a reader and as a writer. And from Melissa Kantor:

“Writing about teenagers (for me), means not just remembering but being willing to dwell in that place where life felt like walking a tightrope without a net.”

Love that description. Although anyone can feel desperation at any point their lives, there’s something about being a teenager in which emotions are heightened–and not just because of hormones. It’s a time when you are first experiencing so many things on your own, and when you’re learning to be yourself. As a result, relationships and events are filled with an intensity you might not feel at any other point in your life. Literature about those experiences can really resonate with readers–both teen and adult.

I didn’t set out thinking I’d be a YA author. My MFA program was in general fiction writing. I came to realize that I’d way rather will a Printz or Newbery than a Pulitzer, and that most of my short stories centered around young characters. I love how daring the genre is–you can write historical fiction, novels in verse, or paranormal romance and still connect with readers. The focus is on crafting a good story with compelling characters.

I also love how vibrant the YA community is. I’m not sure how it compares with, say, literary fiction or adult fantasy, but the YA/MG community has felt very encouraging t me so far. Again, people get into it because they love the literature, and teen readers are unabashedly enthusiastic about their favorite books. Why wouldn’t you want to be part of a literary community like that?

Feel free to share your own thoughts about why YA/MG rocks.

A Whale of a Tale

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Confession: I love giant sea creatures. I’ll watch any movie about them (even horrifically bad SyFy channel movies). I love real life versions. Shark Week is like a holiday.

So of course I have to share this article by Ben Shattuck that answers the question: Can you actually survive in the belly of a whale? I won’t give away the answer (lots of cool whale info in the actual article), but here’s a taste:

“You want to believe in an animal that can fit you inside them — that you might be consumed not piece-by-piece, mouthful-by-mouthful as sharks and bears would eat you, but wholly; to be encased as your full self, womb-like. You want to believe in big animals like you did when you were a kid. You want to be powerless as you are leaning into hurricane winds or with your eyes closed or looking into the ocean.”

The sea is not our natural habitat, and it’s so thrilling to think of these ancient, giant creatures that could overwhelm us. Make sure to check out the whole article. Shattuck even ends up at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which isn’t far from Boston and a place I haven’t visited when I was very young. This might inspire me to take a visit this spring. Maybe a nautical  novel is in the works at some point? Apparently the museum has a Visiting Scholar in Residence program, so anyone interested in writing about whales or whaling should check it out.

(image via KPBS, Nantucket Historical Association)

Don’t Worry, Be Fitzgerald

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I didn’t know that the Fitzgeralds even had children, so I was very interested to see F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life suggestions for his daughter, Scottie. Apparently I need to start thinking more about my horsemanship (nonexistent) and worry less about growing up (I think that’s happened?) and insects in general (but they’re so creepy!). But I do like how he ends the letter:

Things to think about:

What am I really aiming at?
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

Will endeavor to get along with people and make my body a useful instrument. Or at least live like a flapper. That works too, right?

(image: PBS/Time Life Pictures/Mansell/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

How Do You Define Yourself as a Writer?

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Over at Swagger, Melissa has put together a great list of questions to get writers thinking about themselves as writers. I thought it would be fun to post my own answers here.

1. How do you define “writer”? Do you consider yourself to be one?
Part of me wants to say that a writer is someone who puts forth time and effort into literary projects, regardless of their publishing status. But when people ask me what I do, I hesitate to say “I’m a writer.” Instead I tell them about my 9-5 job. Shouldn’t I own it more, if I’m putting in all that time and effort?

2. What is your passion when it comes to writing? (novels, non-fiction, poetry, short-stories, children’s books, journaling, etc.)
YA novels are my passion. I’ve been writing for fun since I can remember being able to form letters. When I took creative writing classes in high school and college, my characters were usually teenagers, but I didn’t think I’d write YA. When I was in grad school I took a class on Shakespeare and, for my final project, wrote a series of YA short stories dealing with tropes/images from Shakespeare’s plays. I realized that I spent way more time and effort on those stories than I did with more “literary” ones. My thesis ended up being a YA novel and I haven’t looked back since.

3. What do you read as a writer? What types of books have you read in the past six months?
I read a lot of YA, branching out into literary fiction and occasionally nonfiction. I say I don’t read a lot of fantasy or sci-fi, but that’s becoming increasingly less true. In the last six months I’ve read a fair amount of YA novels and a few classics.

4. Do you write what you read or would you consider it?
Definitely. (See answers to #2 and #3.) I’d like to try writing more nonfiction–either creative nonfiction essays or columns.

5. What two genres stand out in your mind the most?
YA and fiction in general.

6. Do you write for others, or is your writing strictly private?
I submit my work, but I’m still fairly private with my work. I don’t show it to most people outside of the literary circle. When I’m working on something, I don’t tend to talk about it a lot; otherwise I feel like I won’t be able to change things if people expect it to come out a certain way.

7. Would you like to share your writing with others someday?
Yes! I’ve been published in a few journals and it’s a thrill.

8. What is the biggest gift that writing has given to you?
It’s a place for all the stories in my mind to go. Even if I didn’t have any aspirations about writing as a career, I’d still want to write.

9. What keeps you motivated to write?
Reading great books and thinking “What if I could do this, too?” Or reading bad books and thinking “I could do better.” Being part of a writerly community (in real life and online) that encourages great work.

10. What writing goals have you set for yourself in 2012?
Revise my current novel, finish a draft of the new one. Blog regularly.

Now it’s your turn! How do you see yourself as a writer? Feel free to share your thoughts at Swagger, here, or in your own blog.

Launching the Stars

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Last night was the launch event for John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars book tour, and I was lucky enough to go. The kick-off was hosted by Wellesley Books, a fantastic local bookstore. (Thanks to them, I’ve gotten to see Shannon Hale and Suzanne Collins, too.) Since John and his brother Hank are kind of internet superstars, the event was ticketed and was held at the Wellesley Middle School due to size.

I was toward the back of the line into the event, so by the time I made it inside the auditorium was pretty full. But it was so exciting to hear the cheers of the crowd before the event even started. Usually you get this kind of reaction at concerts or sporting events. Hundreds of teens and young adults were bouncing around at the thought that soon John and Hank would take the stage. The vibe was electric.

Since these are the vlog brothers, this obvious wasn’t your average reading. The event opened with a sock puppet show, followed by a brief reading of The Fault in Our Stars, included a couple of funny question-and-answer rounds (one of which ended with punishment–sorry Hank) and a couple of song sessions. Audience members sang along, shouted out questions, and cheered whenever the Katherine appeared. I went to a Green Brothers event a few years ago–for Paper Towns, I think–and the energy was even stronger here. It’s so awesome to see so many young people who are so excited by books, by making the world a better place, by connecting with one another, and by funny songs about Harry Potter.

Since I forgot my camera and my phone refused to be functional, I borrowed my husband’s phone and took these very sad pictures. I like to think that the problem was with my lack of knowledge about his phone’s camera feature, but I don’t think that’s really the problem. In any case:

Here’s John reading from the first couple chapters of The Fault in Our Stars. He wore a suit when he first came out but changed into jeans and a t-shirt later. Does that mean John suits up for his novels? Is this a comment about the sartorial aspects of the literary life? Am I thinking too much about pants?

Never.

Here’s Hank and his guitar. One of his songs was written for The Fault in Our Stars and it was really lovely. When he played “Shake-a-Booty” everyone got up and danced. It was a-dor-a-ble.

The line for signing was insane, so I got to read about half of The Fault in Our Stars before the evening was over. As a mini-review, so far it’s great. It might be my favorite of Green’s novels so far–a nice combination of witty dialogue, depth of character, and big ideas about life and death.

A few other fun things from the event:

  • Lots of people talking about Doctor Who. My heart!
  • Hearing other Nerdfighters befriend each other.
  • Talking to people in line for the signing.
  • John liked my scarf. And he says he doesn’t notice fashion!
  • I think one of the Wellesley people hosting the event went to the same summer writing camp I did when I was in high school. Enter awkward book stalking?

I didn’t get home until almost midnight, but it was well worth it. I’m sure all the subsequent book tour events will be just as fun; Nerdfighters across the country are in for a treat.

Maybe a The Fault in Our Stars 15-word review on Friday forthcoming?

Revision Feels Better

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From Martha Brockenbrough’s interview with Scholastic editor Cheryl Klein:

How do you know when a revision is working? Is it hard for you, as an editor, to retain enough distance?

A revision is working when I don’t notice the issues anymore — or when I notice myself not noticing them, when I see a new clue laid in or plot development and think “Ah, nice work.” Generally, though, after a good revision, the manuscript just feels better, and makes me feel more, and more deeply.

I’m just starting revisions on my novel and keeping Klein’s comment in mind. I actually really enjoy the revision process–it can be hard work, but it’s so satisfying to discover new depth to characters or find a more exciting plot arch.

If you like Cheryl Klein’s interview, she will be leading a workshop on revision at the upcoming SCBWI conference in New York. So excited for the conference!

Writing on Writing

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It’s almost two weeks into the new year, and your resolution is write more is lagging a little. If you need some writerly inspiration, check out these great books on writing. My favorite is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. She’s encouraging, offers solid advice, and adds more than a dash of humor throughout.

A couple of others I’d add:

  • What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by By Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
    Pam was one of my professor in grad school, so I might be biased, but honestly it’s an excellent book with fantastic examples and exercises. I used it in an undergrad fiction class as well and loved it then.
  • Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
    More on the literary analysis side, but still very helpful.
  • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
    A workshop classic. Lots of great advice about writing as a practice.
  • 2012 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market by Chuck Sambuchino
    A fantastic collection of information on agents, publishing houses, magazines, and more. Plus lots of articles on craft. A new one is released every year, so make sure to get the most up-to-date info.

What are your books for literary inspiration?

Stories of Story of a Girl

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One of my very favorite contemporary YA novels is Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr–which was published almost five years ago! (Five years exactly on Tuesday.) To celebrate, Zarr is sharing some of the novel’s journey to publication on her blog this week. After the first post alone, I’m stunned that Zarr didn’t just shoot to success. Her writing is so good! How could anyone have rejected anything she wrote?! But that’s the fun and inspiring part of the “inside scoop” from writer’s–as always, it’s a tough job and you never know when your work will find that right agent/editor. Loving the back story so far!

Plus, Tuesday she’s hosting a giveaway on Twitter:

“Tweet something about Story of a Girl–a favorite line or moment, a memory of reading it, a response to the story, a comment about a character, etc., and use the hashtag #storyofagirl (easy to remember). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will randomly pick from these tweets and give away five signed copies of Story of a Girl.

Obviously, if you have a memory or favorite line or comment about the book, there’s a good chance you don’t need a copy. Play anyway, and if you win you could give your copy to a friend, or donate it to a school or public library. If you haven’t read the book, you too can play along. You can tweet something about one of my other books that makes you want to read Story, or straight up beg for a copy. Just be sure to use #storyofagirl in your tweet. Tomorrow. Tuesday.“

So get your tweets ready and help celebrate five years of this awesome novel. Congrats, Sara!

Wishing and Hoping

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When I was in grad school, one of my professors encouraged our class to submit our work to journals, agents, editors, etc. “You live differently when you have work out there,” she said. I’ve found this to be surprisingly true. Over at Kiss and Tell, Sheri Adkins has a post about a very similar feeling: the waiting while your work is out there. Such as waiting for that special call from an agent or editor:

“Still, every time the phone rang I had the pleasure of wishing for it to be “the call”. For the few seconds it would take to get to the phone I would often send up a little prayer or get a little thrill that this could be it—my big break!“

I totally felt this! There have been times when I’d see an unfamiliar number on my cell phone and think “Maybe this is it!” And of course it would be my dentist confirming my appointment for the next day, or the CVS automatic refill reminder. But there’s something exciting about that, too: any moment could be the moment your life changes. As Sheri says:

“Still, the wish for that possibility keeps us going, don’t you think? It’s the courage to go after our dreams and most cherished wish that defines who we are.”

When you submit your work to an agent/editor/journal, it means the potential for rejection, which is hard. But it also means that you are a writer. You are living the writer’s life. And you never know when your work is going to land on the right agent’s desk. There are a lot of people who say they’d like to be writers, but they keep their work to themselves. That’s fine, but they’re missing out on the possibility that someone will love their work.

So submit your work. Send out those queries. You’re living a different life when you do.

(via NESCBWI Kidlit Reblogger)