Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Why I Write YA

Like most *ahem* "older" YA readers, Twilight was the book that got me turned on to YA again - a genre I had really considered since I was a teenager. Sure, I'd read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, but that's a book that really transcends age. I should have realized then that YA is so much more than Young Adult fiction - it's really about great storytelling, rich characters, and real life emotions. Who hasn't fallen in love or gotten their heart broken? Wished they were more popular? Or thinner? Or had better grades? Or that their family situation were somehow different?

Reading YA made me want to write YA. My voice seemed to fit the genre, according to my fab agent, so I decided to give it a try. I fell in love with writing it almost instantly. It seems a perfect fit. I tell people I write YA because I haven't grown up yet myself and I'm cool with that. Who wants to grow up anyway? Grown-ups have to pay bills and get jobs. No thank you! lol

The other aspect I love about YA is pretty much anything goes: from vampires, to fairies (Melissa Marr ROCKS!) to angst and boyfriends (Melissa Kantor) to real life situations that break your heart (Laurie Halse Anderson). YA is an open field for the imagination. I love it!

6 comments:

  1. I love it...you really nailed why YA is so awesome!!!

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  2. My love for YA started in middle school. Our librarian had a special 8th grade room that only the "chosen few" were allowed to get books from (the racier books were in there). I'll never forget her. She made reading something that the "cool" kids did.

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  3. Anonymous12:45 PM

    I recently rediscovered my fave YA series from back when I was a preteen. It's the Satin Slippers books, about a girl named Leah Stephenson who's a student at the San Francisco Ballet Academy. It's sweet YA romance, focusing on the loves and lives of girls and guys at a boarding school.

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  4. Anonymous12:45 PM

    I recently rediscovered my fave YA series from back when I was a preteen. It's the Satin Slippers books, about a girl named Leah Stephenson who's a student at the San Francisco Ballet Academy. It's sweet YA romance, focusing on the loves and lives of girls and guys at a boarding school.

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  5. I loved Twilight. I'm reading New Moon as we speak. If Edward Cullen were real, I might let him fight Matt Damon for me.

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  6. I haven't read Twilight yet, but it's on my TBR list. Best of luck with this blog, K. The look is awesome!

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