More than romance
This was originally a comment I made on the HuffPost article “Lovesick and Tired: Unnecessary Romance in YA,“ but it encapsulates my thoughts on romance and relationships within YA that I’m reposting it here. YA literature is, at its heart, about relationships. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be romantic ones. Some of the most beautiful YA I’ve read didn’t center on romance. One of my faves in recent years is The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia...
Read MoreAm I doing enough?
I would consider myself a fairly accepting individual, with friends from various places around the world, but every single time I get a bit cocky and think, “Pshh, I know how to be color-blind. No need to lecture me,” something happens (either that I stupidly did or saw in the world around me) to make me rethink just how inclusive I really am. I’m going to assume you’ve heard or seen news stories about the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin. As you’re reading this...
Read MoreDanger of the “bad boy” fantasy in YA
Update: For another perspective on this, using one YA book as an example, see Bookshop’s post Bad Romance (or YA and rape culture). I’ve been noticing something disturbing with quite a few of the beautiful paranormal romances currently shimmering on bookstore shelves, and I’m not talking about the paranormal aspects. In too many of them, the controlling and violent behavior of the “bad boy” becomes fodder for a romantic fantasy where the sweet, innocent girl...
Read MoreMake your prose fragrant, not florid
In the past—and even still today—literature professors and book critics and whatnot feed writers a line about how florid, purple phrasing makes for “high” literature. In most cases, I see it as an impediment to the story. When it takes so long to even understand what the author is trying to say, you don’t have time to see the bigger picture or the story as a whole. Obviously, there are writers whose prose is breathtakingly beautiful but still simple in that they...
Read MoreA profile in visual storytelling
Recently I started paying attention to the TV shows that book people find fascinating. I normally don’t watch TV, but I decided that with the profusion of TV on DVD it would be easy to catch up on entire seasons at my leisure. And how does this relate to writing? It’s the storytelling, baby. Thought the mediums differ, the principles are the same: hook your audience with a great story. One of the best of these TV storytellers is the cult icon Joss Whedon. The creator, director, and...
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