Sunday, August 19, 2012

What the Bleep is YA?

4 comments:

  1. Your assignment--count instances of "you know" that appear in the video above. It's, you know, a crazy verbal tic I never knew you had! :D

    Extra credit for counting "um"s.

    Those excruciating quirks aside, I agree with your assessment of YA. I'm not sure it is harder to write than adult books, as I think some authors take advantage of the lower reading level to mail it in, but I do think it is a rich and varied section of the bookstore and one where, like all sections, both greatness and lousy writing can be found.

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  2. Ha! Gone are the days when I could charm the pants of a debate judging panel with a perfect 7-9 minute speech I was making up as I went along.

    Of course, these Vlogs would benefit from some serious editing or not trying to do them all in one take.

    But, you know, there's no way I'm going back and watching this. It's just too scary :)

    I guess I should have qualified my statement. I think it's more difficult to write good YA. You're correct that some authors do take advantage of their readership and attempt to get away with crap (crap that sells, but crap nonetheless) but the best YA is some of the best literature around.

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  3. Shaun, I enjoyed this. And I agree with you. Personally, I think YA is tougher to write because of the voice. I've got books coming out in the next few months in three different genres -- YA, MG, and chic-lit. My YA novel was the toughest to write since it's in first person narrative and every word had to be authentic to my MC. I loved writing it, but I don't know if I'm going to write any other YA novels. It's tough to do really well, I think.

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  4. First of all, for one single long take, you did very well.

    Now, when it comes to the topic, I don't worry about it as much as some writers I know. Maybe if I was published or had an agent, it would seem more important. Personally, when I started writing, I didn't even know YA was a thing.

    Now that I do, I always say it like this: I write books that are about young people, that may or may not be for young people.

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