On Writing: An Academic Inquiry

   I'm working on a critical essay comparing YA literature with “adult” fiction that features teen protagonists (ie, John Searles' “Boy Still Missing” and the like).

   I was hoping you could help me out by answering a couple of questions. I'd be more than happy to send you a copy of the essay when I'm through, and I'll certainly let you know if anyone wants to publish the thing.

   My thesis is that the central differences between the two are a matter of perspective and tone. YA tends to be written in present tense, showing the “youth experience” as it happens, warts, pain and all. Adult fiction with youthful protagonists tends to be told in a older voice, usually a main character looking back from a distance of years. As such, it casts the youth experience in halcyon colors, giving it a kind of those-were-the-days tone.

    Question 1: What have you seen, read, or written that would support or invalidate my thesis? Specific titles would be helpful, but a general sense of the media would work just fine.

   Question 2: Given that a growing number of adults, readers and writers, are dipping into the YA pool, what do you suppose is the attraction?

    Question 3: In what ways do you see writers of adult fiction, recognizing YA's appeal, adopting the tools and themes of the YA genre?

    I appreciate any assistance you can give. Even a sentence or two per question would be a great deal of help. I thank you for your time and wish you, yours, and writing, well.

On Writing: Hard Out There for a Wordsmith

According to Duotrope’s submission tracker, I should give myself a pat on the back. My acceptance ratio, 4.55 % this year, is “higher than the average for users who have submitted to the same markets.”

Still, lately, it feels as if I’m treading water.

I put part of the blame at the feet of the new school year. A combination of news (new schedule, new students, new personal goals, new classes, new state mandates) has made it difficult to get on top of the wave this fall. Writing has taken a backseat to the day job. However, I think I started slowing down in late July, as soon as I hit “save” on the finished first draft of my big W.I.P.

Books for Writers: Breaking up "Ship Breaker"

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             I picked up Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker the other day because he and I are writing on the same page. Ship Breaker deals with a near-future dystopia caused by environmental collapse; my manuscript deals with a near-future dystopia caused by environmental collapse. His protagonists are teens; my protagonists are teens. Our list of similarities goes on. Our primary difference is that Ship Breaker was written for the young-adult audience in mind, and in my Leaving Home I’m aiming for the middle, transitional audience. (How — and if — Leaving Home ends up marketed is a different post altogether.)

I cracked open Bacigalupi’s world in hopes of learning three things from the National Book Award finalist:  One, how to create a world that is wholly familiar but totally alien to our own. Two, how to deliver a message in a story without, you know, making it read like a message. Three, how to use character dialog to show cultural divides among age mates.