Wednesday 26 October 2011

Late, Confuzzled and ROW80 check in. :)

OK...I've been bad about checking in,
I need a slap on the wrist. :)

The last week I did well getting two more chapters done,
I felt like I was on a roll.
I imagine runner's get the same feeling when they 'hit their stride'.

I imagine that's true.
Although I don't know for sure.
I don't run.
Ever.
That is an entirely different blog post. :P

This week I feel sort of stuck.
When I started this novel I just assumed it would be for YA since the main character is a girl of about sixteen years old.
However, one of my lovely critique partners,
(whom I love and wouldn't trade for the world,
because she is always so helpful and yet honest at the same time),
pointed out that it didn't have a lot of the elements that a YA novel is supposed to have.

If you are curious if yours qualifies check out this link here which she gave me.

I have always admired writers who did things differently,
a major influence has been Cornelia Funke,
whose writing does not patronize the audience,
She does not shirk from using adult POV in her work.
She just enjoys telling a story and invites the reader to sit and listen.
That's how I imagine my writing,
but I am not Funke...lol.

So now I'm at a juncture in my writing.
Do I change how I've told the story to fit my book into YA?
Or do I send my work into the adult market instead?

So I ask you, wise writer's from around the world...what would you do?

10 comments:

  1. Yup, your week sounds a lot like mine! Good intentions and such. Interesting link on what makes YA! I never thought about it, but it makes sense. It also makes sense now that I think about it, most YA I've read is in first person point of view, so no getting into the adults' heads there. However you write your story, you can always revise if the end result isn't what you envisioned. Good luck!

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  2. It's such a tough call because from my experience, agents are SOOO picky about things being a certain way. They don't like to take risks, especially on unpublished authors. I know they're pretty set on having your MC be a teenager if you're writing for teens.

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  3. Karen:

    Write the story as it needs to be written. Never try to second guess the market. It will have changed when you get there.

    Only listen to that kind of advice when it makes sense for your story. If you follow the rules at the expense of the story, you end up with something that is at best mediocre, and won't even sell when the rules change later.

    And don't give up on that YA market either -- think first about what the story is going to mean to the audience, and whether you think that meaning will hook up with a teen or an adult. Sometimes books about adults really resonate with kids. Sometimes the other way around. (Examples: the movie UP is about an old man, and resonates with kids. The novel Oliver Twist is about a little boy, but is way too mature for kids to understand at all.)

    If you write something that doesn't fit in any genre, then at least allow it to be extraordinary.

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  4. And Kris Rusch had a GREAT post about this today. Anyone who feels they ought to change because of the common wisdom should read this:

    Believe In Yourself

    Kris is not only an award winning author with many dozens of books to her credit, but is also an award winning editor, publisher and teacher who has been in the business a very very long time.

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  5. I guess YA must be the latest great thing? I can't imagine having to "make your book fit" in that market.

    But maybe I've never worried about genre, and perhaps I should?

    One of my published books centers around the lives of four teens...but also includes the adults' perspectives. So in my mind, it is a cross over into YA, but maybe YA has to follow a certain formula. I'll have to check out your link.

    Interesting, anyway.

    Thanks for visiting my blog today.

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  6. Finish the story as you see it, then go back and adjust. Janice Hardy's Healing Wars trilogy started out as YA and then got adjusted down to MG. Sounds like yours might go either way on YA or adult. I've got one that could go like that too depending how I tweak it. I'm aiming for YA though, so I'll make sure to bookmark that link.

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  7. I was going to write something profound, but it looks like everyone else beat me to it!

    Write the story you need to tell, the one you're passionate about.

    Be true to the story. Be true to yourself.

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  8. *breaks out the ruler* Just kidding. You should write it how you want to write it and let your agent/publisher decided how to sell to it.

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  9. @ Jeanette Marie Powell: Thanks for the encouragement. :)

    @ Cortney:Yeah, I know agents are very picky about these sorts of things. I have nightmares about them picking apart my piece...lol. My MC is a teenager but I have a few adult pov's in there as well.

    @ The Daring Novelist: Thanks for the sound advice and the excellent link. Just what the doctor ordered!

    @ Laurel-Rain Snow: I don't think you need to worry about genre but you should have a firm grasp of the audience you are writing for. Things will change based on the audience.

    @ Jaleh: The story is finished I'm now in the editing stage. Was Janice Hardy's work adjusted on her own or did her agent suggest it?

    @ annaliterally: Still profound! Thank you!

    @ Ryan King: *sucking on her sore knuckles* You weren't really supposed to hit them. ;) Thanks for the boost.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for your input. It made my day to have so many responses.

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  10. I agree with the Daring Novelist: write the story that needs to be written.

    And yes, all the most profound words have been taken by others! :-)

    I am impressed by what I read in your post: tenacity, community, and a deep love for writing. Brava!

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