Today, I might have come to the conclusion that I should focus my writing efforts toward younger readers, at least for the moment. I feel like my plots and characters better suit YA and MG fiction. I'm still a lover of fantasy and science fiction, and I don't think that will ever change. I'll also continue reading adult fantasy and science fiction because they can always supply me with ideas. Now I need to do a bit more reading of YA and MG books. I'll probably have to explain to the people at the library that I'm trying to write fiction for younger readers so that I don't get weird looks.
Ironically enough, I came to this conclusion while reading an adult fantasy novel (though one that I'm sure has some YA crossover appeal): the final book in The Wheel of Time. The beginning of the series definitely had a YA feel, as does a fair amount of fantasy with quest elements. Most notably, The Lord of the Rings definitely has crossover appeal for a YA audience, as do works by Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, and Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickmann..
I feel like this brings me back to the series that got me into writing (and reading) in the first place: Harry Potter. I've never read anything I've enjoyed quite as much as Harry Potter, and I would like nothing more than to do for some kid out there what J.K. Rowling did for me. No matter what flaws there might be in her writing, Harry Potter will always hold a special place in my heart.
And that has me thinking I should play to that special place in my heart and focus on writing stories for younger readers. I do have an upper MG fantasy series that I've been working on, and now I'm thinking about changing a few things about it to give it the excitement and adventure of something like Harry Potter.
So maybe I have solved my question from a few posts ago. Maybe I'm a MG and YA fantasy and science fiction writer.
I was under the impression that the story fit into adult vs YA vs MG based on the age of the MC. So...are you going to age down your MCs, or have they always been younger? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteIts not just the age. And if you haven't read YA, don't just assume that you can write it. It's a different beast entirely. If you think you might be interested and writing YA then get reading it. Immediately.
ReplyDeleteWant fantasy then get reading award winners, pick up books like Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series, Rae Carlson's girl of fire and thrones, The wrinkle in time series, Collins hunger games (if you haven't already read it) and Wynne Jones howl's moving castle. Just to get started.
And don't worry about what your library thinks. They don't care how old you are and what you read. Just that you are reading.
Also as a YA writer and Librarian I have to tell you this kind of attitude is obnoxious. If you don't know anything about the YA genre (other than harry freaking potter) don't just suppose that you can write it. It's like anything else, you want to do it, then do your research. If you can't even talk about Ya writers, or know of a few Ya books, then you aren't ready to write it. It's a crass assumption to make.
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DeleteI think it's a great idea to write to the part of you that inspired your desire to write. I wouldn't worry much about MG/YA/NA/Adult, whatever. That's all marketing stuff. It matters more if your going traditional, but when I was growing up, they weren't really out there. I read what I could get into and never thought about what area of the bookstore it was in. If the story sounded interesting I read it. If it used words I didn't understand, I looked them.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I read YA, knowing it was YA, was last year I think at 30. I started reading H.G. Wells at the beginning of my reading career.
I'm probably the exception. Hey, don't knock being homeschooled until you see the final product. Some kids will get intimidated by a book based on a number of different items. But if I'm an exception to the rule, there are others besides me. Adults will read YA if the story sounds interesting, good young readers will read up. It's just a marketing question.
Write the book. Where it lands will be determined by the readers. Harry Potter was not necessarily written for MG or YA, it was just a story that suited readers of all ages including YA.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I like Harry Potter's story Rowlings writing drives me up the wall. The first two books were fine, but after the third I felt a disturbance in the force. The dialogue is so massive throughout the rest of the books it's almost ridiculous to me, especially the endings where each characters spills out every single detail of what they did, how they did it, who else was involved...etc...etc. After the half blood prince dialogue between Draco and Dumbledore I had enough of Rowlings writing. I like the story she came up with and her wizard-ing world is very magical, creative and holds some originality to it, but her form and style of writing isn't suited for me.
ReplyDeleteyou can get creative idea, you seem talented
ReplyDeletegood luck